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   1 .TH REPL %manext1% 2014-12-15 "%nmhversion%"
   2 .
   3 .\" %nmhwarning%
   4 .
   5 .SH NAME
   6 repl \- reply to an nmh 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 reply to a message.
  58 .PP
  59 In its simplest form (with no arguments),
  60 .B repl
  61 will set up a message-form skeleton in reply to the current message
  62 in the current folder, and invoke the
  63 .B whatnow
  64 shell.
  65 .PP
  66 .B repl
  67 uses a reply template to construct the draft of the reply.
  68 A reply template is simply an
  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 default forms file.
  84 .PP
  85 The default reply template \*(lqreplcomps\*(rq will direct
  86 .B repl
  87 to construct the reply message draft as follows:
  88 .PP
  89 .RS 5
  90 .nf
  91 To: <Mail\-Reply\-To> or <Reply\-To> or <From>
  92 cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
  93 Fcc: {fcc switch} or +outbox
  94 Subject: Re: <Subject>
  95 In\-Reply\-To: <Message\-Id>
  96 References: <Message\-Id>
  97 Comments: In\-Reply\-To <From> or <apparently from> or <Sender>
  98 .ti +3
  99 message dated <date>
 100 --------
 101 .fi
 102 .RE
 103 .PP
 104 where field names enclosed in angle brackets (<\ >) indicate the
 105 contents of the named field from the message to which the reply is
 106 being made.
 107 .PP
 108 By default, the \*(lqcc:\*(rq field is empty.  You may selectively add
 109 addresses to this default with the
 110 .B \-cc
 111 .I type
 112 switch.  This switch takes an argument
 113 .RI ( all / to / cc / me )
 114 which specifies who gets added to the default
 115 \*(lqcc:\*(rq list of the reply.  You may give this switch multiple times (with
 116 different arguments) if you wish to add multiple types of address.
 117 .PP
 118 If the switch
 119 .B \-group
 120 is given, then
 121 .B repl
 122 will use the standard forms file \*(lqreplgroupcomps\*(rq.
 123 This will construct a draft message that is intended as a group or
 124 followup reply.  If a file named \*(lqreplgroupcomps\*(rq exists
 125 in the user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of this default
 126 forms file, unless you specify another forms file on the command line
 127 or in your profile.
 128 .PP
 129 The default group reply template \*(lqreplgroupcomps\*(rq will direct
 130 .B repl
 131 to construct the reply message draft as follows:
 132 .PP
 133 .RS 5
 134 .nf
 135 To: <Mail\-Followup\-To>
 136 Subject: Re: <Subject>
 137 In\-Reply\-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
 138 .ti +\w'In\-Reply\-To: 'u
 139 <Message\-Id>
 140 --------
 141 .fi
 142 .RE
 143 .PP
 144 or if the field <Mail\-Followup\-To> is not available:
 145 .PP
 146 .RS 5
 147 .nf
 148 To: <Mail\-Reply\-To> or <Reply\-To> or <From>
 149 cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
 150 Subject: Re: <Subject>
 151 In\-Reply\-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
 152 .ti +\w'In\-Reply\-To: 'u
 153 <Message\-Id>
 154 --------
 155 .fi
 156 .RE
 157 .PP
 158 By default, the \*(lqcc:\*(rq contains all the addresses shown.  You may
 159 selectively remove addresses from this default with the
 160 .B \-nocc
 161 .I type
 162 switch.
 163 This switch takes an argument (
 164 .IR all / to / cc / me )
 165 which specifies who gets removed from the default \*(lqcc:\*(rq list of
 166 the reply.  You may give this switch multiple times (with different arguments)
 167 if you wish to remove multiple types of address.
 168 .PP
 169 In any case, you may specify an alternative forms file with the switch
 170 .B \-form
 171 .IR formfile .
 172 .PP
 173 The
 174 .B \-query
 175 switch modifies the action of
 176 .B \-nocc
 177 .I type
 178 switch by interactively asking you if each address that normally would be
 179 placed in the \*(lqTo:\*(rq and \*(lqcc:\*(rq list should actually be sent a copy.
 180 This is useful for special-purpose replies.  Note that the position of
 181 the
 182 .B \-cc
 183 and
 184 .B \-nocc
 185 switches, like all other switches which take a positive and negative form,
 186 is important.
 187 .PP
 188 Lines beginning with the fields \*(lqTo:\*(rq, \*(lqcc:\*(rq, and
 189 \*(rqBcc:\*(rq will be standardized and have duplicate addresses removed.
 190 In addition, the
 191 .B \-width
 192 .I columns
 193 switch will guide
 194 .BR repl 's
 195 formatting of these fields.
 196 .PP
 197 If the draft already exists,
 198 .B repl
 199 will ask you as to the disposition of the draft.  A reply of
 200 .B quit
 201 will abort
 202 .BR repl ,
 203 leaving the
 204 draft intact;
 205 .B replace
 206 will replace the existing draft with a blank skeleton; and
 207 .B list
 208 will display the draft.
 209 .PP
 210 See
 211 .IR comp (1)
 212 for a description of the
 213 .B \-editor
 214 and
 215 .B \-noedit
 216 switches.  Note that while in the editor, with
 217 .B \-atfile
 218 and if the current directory is writable, the message being replied
 219 to is available through a link named \*(lq@\*(rq (assuming the default
 220 .IR whatnowproc ).
 221 In addition, the actual pathname of the message is stored in the
 222 environment variable
 223 .BR $editalt ,
 224 and the pathname of the folder containing the message is stored in
 225 the environment variable
 226 .BR $mhfolder .
 227 The creation of the \*(lq@\*(rq file is controlled via the
 228 .B \-atfile
 229 and
 230 .B \-noatfile
 231 options.
 232 .PP
 233 The
 234 .B \-convertargs
 235 switch directs
 236 .B repl
 237 to pass the arguments for
 238 .I type
 239 to
 240 .BR mhbuild .
 241 Both arguments are required;
 242 .I type
 243 must be non-empty while
 244 .I argstring
 245 can be empty, e.g., '' in a shell command line.  The
 246 .B \-convertargs
 247 switch can be used multiple times.
 248 See the Convert Interface section of
 249 .IR mhbuild (1)
 250 for a description of the convert mechanism, and
 251 .I %docdir%/contrib/replaliases
 252 for examples of its use.
 253 .PP
 254 Although
 255 .B repl
 256 uses a forms file to direct it how to construct the beginning of the
 257 draft, it uses a message filter file to direct it as to how the message
 258 to which you are replying should be filtered (re-formatted) in the body
 259 of the draft.  The filter file for
 260 .B repl
 261 should be a standard form file for
 262 .BR mhl ,
 263 as
 264 .B repl
 265 will invoke
 266 .B mhl
 267 to format the message to which you are replying.
 268 .PP
 269 The switches
 270 .BR \-noformat ,
 271 .BR \-format ,
 272 and
 273 .B \-filter
 274 .I filterfile
 275 specify which message filter file to use.
 276 .PP
 277 If the switch
 278 .B \-noformat
 279 is given (it is the default) and the
 280 .B \-filter
 281 switch is not used, then the message to which you are replying is not
 282 included in the body of the draft.
 283 .PP
 284 If the switch
 285 .B \-format
 286 is given, then a default message filter file is used.
 287 This default message filter should be adequate for most users.
 288 This default filter
 289 .RI \*(lq mhl.reply \*(rq
 290 is:
 291 .PP
 292 .RS 5
 293 .nf
 294 %mhl_reply%
 295 .fi
 296 .RE
 297 .PP
 298 which outputs each line of the body of the message prefaced with the
 299 \*(lq>\*(rq character and a space.
 300 .PP
 301 If a file named
 302 .RI \*(lq mhl.reply \*(rq
 303 exists in the user's
 304 .B nmh
 305 directory,
 306 it will be used instead of this form.  You may specify an alternate
 307 message filter file with the switch
 308 .B \-filter
 309 .IR filterfile .
 310 .PP
 311 Other reply filters are commonly used, such as:
 312 .PP
 313 .RS 5
 314 .nf
 315 :
 316 body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9
 317 .fi
 318 .RE
 319 .PP
 320 which says to output a blank line, and then the body of the message
 321 being replied to, indented by one tab stop.  Another popular format
 322 is:
 323 .PP
 324 .RS 5
 325 .nf
 326 message-id:nocomponent,\|nonewline,\\
 327 formatfield=\*(lqIn message %{text},\ \*(rq
 328 from:nocomponent,\|formatfield=\*(lq%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:\*(rq
 329 body:component=\*(lq>\*(rq,\|overflowtext=\*(lq>\*(rq,\|overflowoffset=0
 330 .fi
 331 .RE
 332 .PP
 333 This message filter file cites the Message-ID and author of the message
 334 being replied to, and then outputs each line of the body prefaced with
 335 the \*(lq>\*(rq character.
 336 .PP
 337 You can also use an external format program to format the message body.
 338 The format program is specified by the
 339 .I formatproc
 340 profile entry, and is enabled by the \*(lqformat\*(rq flag.  A message
 341 filter using an external format program would look like this:
 342 .PP
 343 .RS 5
 344 .nf
 345 body:component=\*(lq>\*(rq,\|nowrap,\|format
 346 .fi
 347 .RE
 348 .PP
 349 See the
 350 .IR mhl (1)
 351 documentation for more information.
 352 The format program can be changed by the
 353 .B \-fmtproc
 354 .I program
 355 and
 356 .B \-nofmtproc
 357 switches.
 358 .PP
 359 To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the
 360 .B \-mime
 361 switch.
 362 This directs
 363 .B repl
 364 to generate an
 365 .B mhbuild
 366 composition file.
 367 Note that
 368 .B nmh
 369 will not invoke
 370 .B mhbuild
 371 automatically; you must specifically give the command
 372 .PP
 373 .RS 5
 374 What now? mime
 375 .RE
 376 .PP
 377 prior to sending the draft.
 378 .PP
 379 If the
 380 .B \-annotate
 381 switch is given, the message being replied to will be annotated with
 382 the lines
 383 .PP
 384 .RS 5
 385 Replied:\ date
 386 Replied:\ addrs
 387 .RE
 388 .PP
 389 where the address list contains one line for each addressee.
 390 The annotation will be done only if the message is sent directly from
 391 .BR repl .
 392 If the message is not sent immediately from
 393 .BR repl ,
 394 .RB \*(lq "comp\ \-use" \*(rq
 395 may be used to re-edit and send the constructed message, but the
 396 annotations won't take place.
 397 Normally annotations are done inplace in order to preserve any links
 398 to the message.
 399 You may use the
 400 .B \-noinplace
 401 switch to change this.
 402 .PP
 403 Although the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be
 404 put in the folder 'outbox', if the
 405 .B \-fcc
 406 .I +folder
 407 switch is given it will override the default value.
 408 More than one folder, each preceded by
 409 .B \-fcc
 410 can be named.
 411 .PP
 412 In addition to the standard
 413 .IR mh\-format (5)
 414 escapes,
 415 .B repl
 416 also recognizes the following additional
 417 .I component
 418 escape:
 419 .PP
 420 .RS 5
 421 .nf
 422 .ta \w'Escape  'u +\w'Returns  'u
 423 .I "Escape      Returns Description"
 424 fcc     string  Any folders specified with `\-fcc\ folder'
 425 .fi
 426 .RE
 427 .PP
 428 To avoid reiteration,
 429 .B repl
 430 strips any leading `Re: ' strings from the
 431 .I subject
 432 component.
 433 .PP
 434 The
 435 .B \-draftfolder
 436 .I +folder
 437 and
 438 .B \-draftmessage
 439 .I msg
 440 switches invoke the
 441 .B nmh
 442 draft folder facility.  This is an advanced (and highly useful) feature.
 443 Consult
 444 .IR mh-draft (5)
 445 for more information.
 446 .PP
 447 Upon exiting from the editor,
 448 .B repl
 449 will invoke the
 450 .B whatnow
 451 program.  See
 452 .IR whatnow (1)
 453 for a discussion of available
 454 options.  The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using the
 455 .B \-nowhatnowproc
 456 switch.  (In fact, it is the
 457 .B whatnow
 458 program which starts the initial edit.  Hence,
 459 .B \-nowhatnowproc
 460 will prevent any edit from occurring.)
 461 .PP
 462 The
 463 .B \-build
 464 switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface
 465 to
 466 .BR nmh .
 467 It implies
 468 .BR \-nowhatnowproc .
 469 It causes a file
 470 .I <mh-dir>/reply
 471 to be created, containing the draft message that would normally be presented
 472 to the user for editing.
 473 No mail is actually sent.
 474 .PP
 475 The
 476 .B \-file
 477 .I msgfile
 478 switch specifies the message to be replied to as an exact filename rather
 479 than as an
 480 .B nmh
 481 folder and message number.
 482 The same caveats apply to this option as to the
 483 .B \-build
 484 switch.
 485 .SH FILES
 486 .B repl
 487 looks for all format, filter and template files in multiple locations:
 488 absolute pathnames are accessed directly, tilde expansion is done on
 489 usernames, and files are searched for in the user's
 490 .I Mail
 491 directory as specified in their profile.  If not found there, the directory
 492 .RI \*(lq %nmhetcdir% \*(rq
 493 is checked.
 494 .PP
 495 .fc ^ ~
 496 .nf
 497 .ta \w'%nmhetcdir%/ExtraBigFileName  'u
 498 ^%nmhetcdir%/replcomps~^The standard reply template
 499 ^or <mh-dir>/replcomps~^Rather than the standard template
 500 ^%nmhetcdir%/replgroupcomps~^The standard `reply -group' template
 501 ^or <mh-dir>/replgroupcomps~^Rather than the standard template
 502 ^%nmhetcdir%/mhl.reply~^The standard message filter
 503 ^or <mh-dir>/mhl.reply~^Rather than the standard filter
 504 ^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The user profile
 505 ^<mh-dir>/draft~^The draft file
 506 .fi
 507 .SH "PROFILE COMPONENTS"
 508 .fc ^ ~
 509 .nf
 510 .ta 2.4i
 511 .ta \w'ExtraBigProfileName  'u
 512 ^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory
 513 ^Alternate\-Mailboxes:~^To determine the user's mailboxes
 514 ^Current\-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
 515 ^Draft\-Folder:~^To find the default draft-folder
 516 ^Editor:~^To override the default editor
 517 ^Msg\-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
 518 ^fileproc:~^Program to refile the message
 519 ^mhlproc:~^Program to filter message being replied-to
 520 ^whatnowproc:~^Program to ask the \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq questions
 521 .fi
 522 .SH "SEE ALSO"
 523 .IR comp (1),
 524 .IR forw (1),
 525 .IR mh\-format (5),
 526 .IR mhbuild (1),
 527 .IR send (1),
 528 .IR whatnow (1)
 529 .PP
 530 .I %docdir%/contrib/replaliases
 531 .SH DEFAULTS
 532 .nf
 533 .RB ` +folder "' defaults to the current folder"
 534 .RB ` msg "' defaults to cur"
 535 .RB ` \-nogroup '
 536 .RB ` "\-nocc\ all" "' with `\-nogroup', `\-cc\ all' with `\-group'"
 537 .RB ` \-noannotate '
 538 .RB ` \-nodraftfolder '
 539 .RB ` \-noformat '
 540 .RB ` \-inplace '
 541 .RB ` \-nomime '
 542 .RB ` \-noquery '
 543 .RB ` \-noatfile '
 544 .RB ` "\-width\ 72" '
 545 .fi
 546 .SH CONTEXT
 547 If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.  The message
 548 replied to will become the current message.
 549 .SH BUGS
 550 If any addresses occur in the reply template, addresses in the template
 551 that do not contain hosts are defaulted incorrectly.  Instead of using
 552 the localhost for the default,
 553 .B repl
 554 uses the sender's host.
 555 Moral of the story: if you're going to include addresses in a reply
 556 template, include the host portion of the address.
 557 .PP
 558 The
 559 .B \-width
 560 .I columns
 561 switch is only used to do address-folding; other headers are not line-wrapped.
 562 .PP
 563 If
 564 .I whatnowproc
 565 is
 566 .BR whatnow ,
 567 then
 568 .B repl
 569 uses a built-in
 570 .BR whatnow ,
 571 it does not actually run the
 572 .B whatnow
 573 program.
 574 Hence, if you define your own
 575 .IR whatnowproc ,
 576 don't call it
 577 .B whatnow
 578 since
 579 .B repl
 580 won't run it.