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   1 .TH REPL %manext1% "October 15, 2016" "%nmhversion%"
   2 .\"
   3 .\" %nmhwarning%
   4 .\"
   5 .SH NAME
   6 repl \- reply to a message
   7 .SH SYNOPSIS
   8 .HP 5
   9 .na
  10 .B repl
  11 .RB [ \-help ]
  12 .RB [ \-version ]
  13 .RI [ +folder ]
  14 .RI [ msg ]
  15 .RB [ \-annotate " | " \-noannotate ]
  16 .RB [ \-group " | " \-nogroup ]
  17 .RB [ \-cc
  18 all/to/cc/me]
  19 .RB [ \-nocc
  20 all/to/cc/me]
  21 .RB [ \-query " | " \-noquery ]
  22 .RB [ \-form
  23 .IR formfile ]
  24 .RB [ \-format " | " \-noformat ]
  25 .RB [ \-filter
  26 .IR filterfile ]
  27 .RB [ \-inplace " | " \-noinplace ]
  28 .RB [ \-mime " | " \-nomime ]
  29 .RB [ \-fcc
  30 .IR +folder ]
  31 .RB [ \-width
  32 .IR columns ]
  33 .RB [ \-draftfolder
  34 .IR +folder ]
  35 .RB [ \-draftmessage
  36 .IR msg ]
  37 .RB [ \-nodraftfolder ]
  38 .RB [ \-editor
  39 .IR editor ]
  40 .RB [ \-noedit ]
  41 .RB [ \-convertargs
  42 .IR "type argstring" ]
  43 .RB [ \-whatnowproc
  44 .IR program ]
  45 .RB [ \-nowhatnowproc ]
  46 .RB [ \-atfile ]
  47 .RB [ \-noatfile ]
  48 .RB [ \-fmtproc
  49 .IR program ]
  50 .RB [ \-nofmtproc ]
  51 .RB [ \-build ]
  52 .RB [ \-file
  53 .IR msgfile ]
  54 .ad
  55 .SH DESCRIPTION
  56 .B repl
  57 may be used to produce a reply to an existing message.
  58 .PP
  59 In its simplest form (with no arguments),
  60 .B repl
  61 will set up a
  62 message\-form skeleton in reply to the current message in the current
  63 folder, and invoke the whatnow shell.
  64 .PP
  65 In order to construct the message draft of the reply,
  66 .B repl
  67 uses
  68 a reply template to guide its actions.  A reply template is simply a
  69 .B mhl
  70 format file (see
  71 .IR mh\-format (5)
  72 for details).
  73 .PP
  74 If the switch
  75 .B \-nogroup
  76 is given (it is on by default), then
  77 .B repl
  78 will use the standard forms file \*(lqreplcomps\*(rq.  This will construct
  79 a draft message that is intended to be sent only to the author of the
  80 message to which you are replying.  If a file named \*(lqreplcomps\*(rq
  81 exists in the user's
  82 .B nmh
  83 directory, it will be used instead of this
  84 default forms file.
  85 .PP
  86 The default reply template \*(lqreplcomps\*(rq will direct
  87 .B repl
  88 to construct the reply message draft as follows:
  89 .PP
  90 .RS 5
  91 .nf
  92 To: <Mail\-Reply\-To> or <Reply\-To> or <From>
  93 cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
  94 Fcc: {fcc switch} or +outbox
  95 Subject: Re: <Subject>
  96 In\-Reply\-To: <Message\-Id>
  97 References: <Message\-Id>
  98 Comments: In\-Reply\-To <From> or <apparently from> or <Sender>
  99 .ti +3
 100 message dated <date>
 101 --------
 102 .fi
 103 .RE
 104 .PP
 105 where field names enclosed in angle brackets (<\ >) indicate the
 106 contents of the named field from the message to which the reply is
 107 being made.
 108 .PP
 109 By default, the \*(lqcc:\*(rq field is empty.  You may selectively add
 110 addresses to this default with the
 111 .B \-cc
 112 .I type
 113 switch.  This switch takes an
 114 argument
 115 .RI ( all / to / cc / me )
 116 which specifies who gets added to the default
 117 \*(lqcc:\*(rq list of the reply.  You may give this switch multiple times (with
 118 different arguments) if you wish to add multiple types of addresses.
 119 .PP
 120 If the switch
 121 .B \-group
 122 is given, then
 123 .B repl
 124 will use the
 125 standard forms file \*(lqreplgroupcomps\*(rq.  This will construct a
 126 draft message that is intended as a group or followup reply.  If a file
 127 named \*(lqreplgroupcomps\*(rq exists in the user's nmh directory, it
 128 will be used instead of this default forms file, unless you specify
 129 another forms file on the command line or in your profile.
 130 .PP
 131 The default group reply template \*(lqreplgroupcomps\*(rq will direct
 132 .B repl
 133 to construct the reply message draft as follows:
 134 .PP
 135 .RS 5
 136 .nf
 137 To: <Mail\-Followup\-To>
 138 Subject: Re: <Subject>
 139 In\-Reply\-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
 140 .ti +\w'In\-Reply\-To: 'u
 141 <Message\-Id>
 142 --------
 143 .fi
 144 .RE
 145 .PP
 146 or if the field <Mail\-Followup\-To> is not available:
 147 .PP
 148 .RS 5
 149 .nf
 150 To: <Mail\-Reply\-To> or <Reply\-To> or <From>
 151 cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
 152 Subject: Re: <Subject>
 153 In\-Reply\-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
 154 .ti +\w'In\-Reply\-To: 'u
 155 <Message\-Id>
 156 --------
 157 .fi
 158 .RE
 159 .PP
 160 By default, the \*(lqcc:\*(rq contains all the addresses shown.  You may
 161 selectively remove addresses from this default with the
 162 .B \-nocc
 163 .I type
 164 switch.
 165 This switch takes an argument (
 166 .IR all / to / cc / me )
 167 which specifies who gets removed
 168 from the default \*(lqcc:\*(rq list of the reply.  You may give this switch
 169 multiple times (with different arguments) if you wish to remove multiple types
 170 of addresses.
 171 .PP
 172 In any case, you may specify an alternate forms file with the switch
 173 .B \-form
 174 .IR formfile .
 175 .PP
 176 The
 177 .B \-query
 178 switch modifies the action of
 179 .B \-nocc
 180 .I type
 181 switch by
 182 interactively asking you if each address that normally would be placed in
 183 the \*(lqTo:\*(rq and \*(lqcc:\*(rq list should actually be sent a copy.
 184 This is useful for special\-purpose replies.  Note that the position of
 185 the
 186 .B \-cc
 187 and
 188 .B \-nocc
 189 switches, like all other switches which take a
 190 positive and negative form, is important.
 191 .PP
 192 Lines beginning with the fields \*(lqTo:\*(rq, \*(lqcc:\*(rq, and
 193 \*(rqBcc:\*(rq will be standardized and have duplicate addresses removed.
 194 In addition, the
 195 .B \-width
 196 .I columns
 197 switch will guide
 198 .BR repl 's
 199 formatting of these fields.
 200 .PP
 201 If the draft already exists,
 202 .B repl
 203 will ask you as to the disposition
 204 of the draft.  A reply of
 205 .B quit
 206 will abort
 207 .BR repl ,
 208 leaving the
 209 draft intact;
 210 .B replace
 211 will replace the existing draft with a blank
 212 skeleton; and
 213 .B list
 214 will display the draft.
 215 .PP
 216 See
 217 .IR comp (1)
 218 for a description of the
 219 .B \-editor
 220 and
 221 .B \-noedit
 222 switches.  Note that while in the editor, with
 223 .B \-atfile
 224 and if the current directory is writable, the message being replied
 225 to is available through a link named \*(lq@\*(rq (assuming the default
 226 .IR whatnowproc ).
 227 In addition, the actual pathname of the message is
 228 stored in the environment variable
 229 .BR $editalt ,
 230 and the pathname of
 231 the folder containing the message is stored in the environment variable
 232 .BR $mhfolder .
 233 The creation of the \*(lq@\*(rq file is controlled via the
 234 .B \-atfile
 235 and
 236 .B \-noatfile
 237 options.
 238 .PP
 239 The
 240 .B \-convertargs
 241 switch directs
 242 .B repl
 243 to pass the arguments for
 244 .I type
 245 to
 246 .BR mhbuild .
 247 Both arguments are required;
 248 .I type
 249 must be non-empty while
 250 .I argstring
 251 can be empty, e.g., '' in a shell command line.  The
 252 .B \-convertargs
 253 switch can be used multiple times.
 254 See the Convert Interface section of the
 255 .B mhbuild
 256 man page for description of the convert mechanism, and
 257 .I %docdir%/contrib/replaliases
 258 for examples of its use.
 259 .PP
 260 Although
 261 .B repl
 262 uses a forms file to direct it how to construct
 263 the beginning of the draft, it uses a message filter file to direct
 264 it as to how the message to which you are replying should be filtered
 265 (re\-formatted) in the body of the draft.  The filter file for
 266 .B repl
 267 should be a standard form file for
 268 .BR mhl ,
 269 as
 270 .B repl
 271 will invoke
 272 .B mhl
 273 to format the message to which you are replying.
 274 .PP
 275 The switches
 276 .BR \-noformat ,
 277 .BR \-format ,
 278 and
 279 .B \-filter
 280 .I filterfile
 281 specify
 282 which message filter file to use.
 283 .PP
 284 If the switch
 285 .B \-noformat
 286 is given (it is the default) and the
 287 .B \-filter
 288 switch is not used, then the message
 289 to which you are replying is not included in the body of the draft.
 290 .PP
 291 If the switch
 292 .B \-format
 293 is given, then a default message filter file
 294 is used.  This default message filter should be adequate for most users.
 295 This default filter
 296 .RI \*(lq mhl.reply \*(rq
 297 is:
 298 .PP
 299 .RS 5
 300 .nf
 301 %mhl_reply%
 302 .fi
 303 .RE
 304 .PP
 305 which outputs each line of the body of the message prefaced with the
 306 \*(lq>\*(rq character and a space.
 307 .PP
 308 If a file named
 309 .RI \*(lq mhl.reply \*(rq
 310 exists in the user's
 311 .B nmh
 312 directory,
 313 it will be used instead of this form.  You may specify an alternate
 314 message filter file with the switch
 315 .B \-filter
 316 .IR filterfile .
 317 .PP
 318 Other reply filters are commonly used, such as:
 319 .PP
 320 .RS 5
 321 .nf
 322 :
 323 body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9
 324 .fi
 325 .RE
 326 .PP
 327 which says to output a blank line and then the body of the message
 328 being replied\-to, indented by one tab\-stop.  Another popular format
 329 is:
 330 .PP
 331 .RS 5
 332 .nf
 333 message-id:nocomponent,\|nonewline,\\
 334 formatfield=\*(lqIn message %{text},\ \*(rq
 335 from:nocomponent,\|formatfield=\*(lq%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:\*(rq
 336 body:component=\*(lq>\*(rq,\|overflowtext=\*(lq>\*(rq,\|overflowoffset=0
 337 .fi
 338 .RE
 339 .PP
 340 This message filter file cites the Message-ID and author of the message
 341 being replied\-to, and then outputs each line of the body prefaced with
 342 the \*(lq>\*(rq character.
 343 .PP
 344 You can also use an external format program to format the message body.
 345 The format program is specified by the
 346 .IR formatproc
 347 profile entry, and is enabled by the \*(lqformat\*(rq flag.  A message
 348 filter using an external format program would look like this:
 349 .PP
 350 .RS 5
 351 .nf
 352 body:component=\*(lq>\*(rq,\|nowrap,\|format
 353 .fi
 354 .RE
 355 .PP
 356 See the
 357 .IR mhl(1)
 358 documentation for more information.  The format program can be changed by
 359 the
 360 .B \-fmtproc
 361 .I program
 362 and
 363 .B \-nofmtproc
 364 switches.
 365 .PP
 366 To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the
 367 .B \-mime
 368 switch.
 369 This directs
 370 .B repl
 371 to generate an
 372 .B mhbuild
 373 composition file.
 374 Note that
 375 .B nmh
 376 will not invoke
 377 .B mhbuild
 378 automatically; you must specifically give the command
 379 .PP
 380 .RS 5
 381 What now? mime
 382 .RE
 383 .PP
 384 prior to sending the draft.
 385 .PP
 386 If the
 387 .B \-annotate
 388 switch is given, the message being replied\-to will
 389 be annotated with the lines
 390 .PP
 391 .RS 5
 392 Replied:\ date
 393 Replied:\ addrs
 394 .RE
 395 .PP
 396 where the address list contains one line for each addressee.
 397 The annotation will be done only if the message is sent directly from
 398 .BR repl .
 399 If the message is not sent immediately from
 400 .BR repl ,
 401 .RB \*(lq "comp\ \-use" \*(rq
 402 may be used to re\-edit and send the constructed
 403 message, but the annotations won't take place.  Normally annotations are
 404 done inplace in order to preserve any links to the message.  You may use
 405 the
 406 .B \-noinplace
 407 switch to change this.
 408 .PP
 409 Although the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be
 410 put in
 411 the folder 'outbox',
 412 if the
 413 .B \-fcc
 414 .I +folder
 415 switch is given it will override the default value.
 416 More than one folder, each preceded by
 417 .B \-fcc
 418 can
 419 be named.
 420 .PP
 421 In addition to the standard
 422 .IR mh\-format (5)
 423 escapes,
 424 .B repl
 425 also recognizes the following additional
 426 .I component
 427 escape:
 428 .PP
 429 .RS 5
 430 .nf
 431 .ta \w'Escape  'u +\w'Returns  'u
 432 .I "Escape      Returns Description"
 433 fcc     string  Any folders specified with `\-fcc\ folder'
 434 .fi
 435 .RE
 436 .PP
 437 To avoid reiteration,
 438 .B repl
 439 strips any leading `Re: ' strings from
 440 the
 441 .I subject
 442 component.
 443 .PP
 444 The
 445 .B \-draftfolder
 446 .I +folder
 447 and
 448 .B \-draftmessage
 449 .I msg
 450 switches invoke
 451 the
 452 .B nmh
 453 draft folder facility.  This is an advanced (and highly
 454 useful) feature.  Consult the
 455 .IR mh-draft (5)
 456 man page for more
 457 information.
 458 .PP
 459 Upon exiting from the editor,
 460 .B repl
 461 will invoke the
 462 .B whatnow
 463 program.  See
 464 .IR whatnow (1)
 465 for a discussion of available
 466 options.  The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using the
 467 .B \-nowhatnowproc
 468 switch.  (In truth of fact, it is the
 469 .B whatnow
 470 program which starts the initial edit.  Hence,
 471 .B \-nowhatnowproc
 472 will
 473 prevent any edit from occurring.)
 474 .PP
 475 The
 476 .B \-build
 477 switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface
 478 to
 479 .BR nmh .
 480 It implies
 481 .BR \-nowhatnowproc .
 482 It causes a file
 483 .I <mh\-dir>/reply
 484 to be created, containing the draft message that would normally be presented
 485 to the user for editing.
 486 No mail is actually sent.
 487 .PP
 488 The
 489 .B \-file
 490 .I msgfile
 491 switch specifies the message to be replied to as an
 492 exact filename rather than as an
 493 .B nmh
 494 folder and message number.
 495 The same caveats apply to this option as to the
 496 .B \-build
 497 switch.
 498 .SH FILES
 499 .B repl
 500 looks for all format, filter and template files in multiple locations:
 501 absolute pathnames are accessed directly, tilde expansion is done on
 502 usernames, and files are searched for in the user's
 503 .I Mail
 504 directory as specified in their profile.  If not found there, the directory
 505 .RI \*(lq %nmhetcdir% \*(rq
 506 is checked.
 507 .PP
 508 .fc ^ ~
 509 .nf
 510 .ta \w'%nmhetcdir%/ExtraBigFileName  'u
 511 ^%nmhetcdir%/replcomps~^The standard reply template
 512 ^or <mh\-dir>/replcomps~^Rather than the standard template
 513 ^%nmhetcdir%/replgroupcomps~^The standard `reply -group' template
 514 ^or <mh\-dir>/replgroupcomps~^Rather than the standard template
 515 ^%nmhetcdir%/mhl.reply~^The standard message filter
 516 ^or <mh\-dir>/mhl.reply~^Rather than the standard filter
 517 ^$HOME/\&.mh\(ruprofile~^The user profile
 518 ^<mh\-dir>/draft~^The draft file
 519 .fi
 520 .SH "PROFILE COMPONENTS"
 521 .fc ^ ~
 522 .nf
 523 .ta 2.4i
 524 .ta \w'ExtraBigProfileName  'u
 525 ^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory
 526 ^Alternate\-Mailboxes:~^To determine the user's mailboxes
 527 ^Current\-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
 528 ^Draft\-Folder:~^To find the default draft\-folder
 529 ^Editor:~^To override the default editor
 530 ^Msg\-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
 531 ^fileproc:~^Program to refile the message
 532 ^mhlproc:~^Program to filter message being replied\-to
 533 ^whatnowproc:~^Program to ask the \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq questions
 534 .fi
 535 .SH "SEE ALSO"
 536 .IR comp (1),
 537 .IR forw (1),
 538 .IR mhbuild (1),
 539 .IR send (1),
 540 .IR whatnow (1),
 541 .IR mh\-format (5)
 542 .PP
 543 .I %docdir%/contrib/replaliases
 544 .SH DEFAULTS
 545 .nf
 546 .RB ` +folder "' defaults to the current folder"
 547 .RB ` msg "' defaults to cur"
 548 .RB ` \-nogroup '
 549 .RB ` "\-nocc\ all" "' with `\-nogroup', `\-cc\ all' with `\-group'"
 550 .RB ` \-noannotate '
 551 .RB ` \-nodraftfolder '
 552 .RB ` \-noformat '
 553 .RB ` \-inplace '
 554 .RB ` \-nomime '
 555 .RB ` \-noquery '
 556 .RB ` \-noatfile '
 557 .RB ` "\-width\ 72" '
 558 .fi
 559 .SH CONTEXT
 560 If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.  The message
 561 replied\-to will become the current message.
 562 .SH BUGS
 563 If any addresses occur in the reply template, addresses in the template
 564 that do not contain hosts are defaulted incorrectly.  Instead of using
 565 the localhost for the default,
 566 .B repl
 567 uses the sender's host.
 568 Moral of the story: if you're going to include addresses in a reply
 569 template, include the host portion of the address.
 570 .PP
 571 The
 572 .B \-width
 573 .I columns
 574 switch is only used to do address-folding; other
 575 headers are not line\-wrapped.
 576 .PP
 577 If
 578 .I whatnowproc
 579 is
 580 .BR whatnow ,
 581 then
 582 .B repl
 583 uses a built\-in
 584 .BR whatnow ,
 585 it does not actually run the
 586 .B whatnow
 587 program.
 588 Hence, if you define your own
 589 .IR whatnowproc ,
 590 don't call it
 591 .B whatnow
 592 since
 593 .B repl
 594 won't run it.