-.TH MH-MAIL %manext5% "March 5, 2013" "%nmhversion%"
+.TH MH-FOLDERS %manext5% "February 25, 2016" "%nmhversion%"
.\"
.\" %nmhwarning%
.\"
.IP \(bu 4
Attempt to link the temporary file to the new message number.
.IP \(bu 4
-If successful, remove the temporary file. If the link fails increment the
+If successful, remove the temporary file. If the link fails, increment the
message number and try again.
.PP
.RE
.B sequences
.RS 5
There is one sequences file in each
-.B .nmh
+.B nmh
folder. Its default name is
.IR \&.mh\(rusequences ,
but that can be overridden with the \*(lqmh\-sequences\*(rq profile entry.
sequence has at most just a single message number, not a range.
.PP
Sequence names have a maximum size of 998 characters. Each line is also
-limited to a maximum of 998 characters, but RFC\-822 continuation rules
+limited to a maximum of 998 characters, but RFC 822 continuation rules
apply; sequences can be continued across multiple lines by prefixing
continuation lines with a whitespace character.
.PP
from the sequence. If a sequence contains no messages, it should be
removed from the sequence file. The exception to this is the
.B cur
-sequence, which can refer to a nonexistant message.
+sequence, which can refer to a nonexistent message.
.RE
.PP
.SS Locking
.B nmh
programs read and write the context and sequences files, and lock
-these files when accessing them. Any program outside of
+these files when accessing them. There should not be a need to
+access these files directly; instead, programs such as
+.BR flist ,
+.BR folder ,
+.BR mark ,
+.BR pick ,
+and
+.B rcvstore
+should be used to query and update their contents. Any program
+outside of
.B nmh
that accesses these files must be sure to lock them using the same
-locking method. The locking method is selected when
+locking method as
+.BR nmh .
+The default data locking method is selected when
.B nmh
is configured and can be accessed as a string using
-.BR "mhparam lockmethod" .
+.BR "mhparam datalocking" .
+By default, fcntl locking is used, but this may be overridden with
+the
+.B datalocking
+profile entry.
+.PP
+A second, possibly different, locking method is used by
+.BR inc (1)
+when accessing the user's mail spool file or by
+.B nmh
+programs that open any mbox file. This locking method can be overridden
+when
+.B nmh
+is configured, or in the
+.B nmh
+mts configuration file, and can be accessed as a string using
+.BR "mhparam spoollocking" .
By default, kernel-level locking is used if appropriate for the
platform, and it is for popular platforms. That default should also
be the same as used by the
.B mail
program, if provided on the platform.
+.PP
+.SS Naming
+.B nmh
+folders can be given arbitrary names, with one exception:
+folders should not be given all-numeric names. This
+limitation results from
+.B nmh
+messages themselves being stored
+in numerically named files -- allowing folders to be named
+similarly would make
+.B nmh
+slower, and introduce usage ambiguities.
.SH FILES
-.fc ^ ~
-.nf
-.ta \w'%etcdir%/ExtraBigFileName 'u
-^<mh\-dir>/context~^The user context
-^or $MHCONTEXT~^Rather than the standard context
-^<folder>/\&.mh\(rusequences~^Public sequences for <folder>
-.fi
+.PD 0
+.TP 20
+<mh\-dir>/context
+The user's context.
+.TP 20
+$MHCONTEXT
+Overrides the above context.
+.TP 20
+<folder>/\&.mh\-sequences
+Public sequences for <folder>.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.I
+.IR flist (1),
+.IR folder (1),
.IR mail (1),
-.IR mh\-param (1),
-.IR mh\-path (1),
+.IR mark (1),
+.IR mhparam (1),
+.IR mhpath (1),
.IR mh\-profile (5),
-.IR mh\-sequence (5)
+.IR mh\-sequence (5),
+.IR mh\-tailor (5),
+.IR pick (1),
+.IR rcvstore (1)
projects / nmh / blobdiff