-.TH PROMPTER %manext1% "%nmhdate%" MH.6.8 [%nmhversion%]
-.\"
+.TH PROMPTER %manext1% 1999-04-30 "%nmhversion%"
+.
.\" %nmhwarning%
-.\"
+.
.SH NAME
-prompter \- prompting editor front-end for nmh
+prompter \- nmh's prompting editor front-end
.SH SYNOPSIS
.HP 5
.na
.B prompter
+.RB [ \-help ]
+.RB [ \-version ]
.RB [ \-erase
.IR chr ]
.RB [ \-kill
.RB [ \-rapid " | " \-norapid ]
.RB [ \-doteof " | " \-nodoteof ]
.I file
-.RB [ \-version ]
-.RB [ \-help ]
.ad
.SH DESCRIPTION
-.B Prompter
-is an editor front\-end for
+.B prompter
+is an editor front-end for
.B nmh
-which allows rapid
-composition of messages. This program is not normally invoked directly by
-users but takes the place of an editor and acts as an editor front\-end.
-It operates on an RFC\-822 style message draft skeleton specified by
+which allows rapid composition of messages.
+This program is not normally invoked directly by users but takes
+the place of an editor and acts as an editor front-end.
+It operates on an RFC 822-style message draft skeleton specified by
.IR file ,
normally provided by the
.B nmh
or
.BR repl .
.PP
-.B Prompter
+.B prompter
is particularly useful when composing messages over slow
network or modem lines. It is an
-.B nmh program in that it can have
-its own profile entry with switches, but it is not invoked directly by
-the user. The commands
+.B nmh
+program in that it can have its own profile entry with switches,
+but it is not invoked directly by the user.
+The commands
.BR comp ,
.BR dist ,
.BR forw ,
and
.B repl
invoke
-.B prompter as an editor, either when invoked with
+.B prompter
+as an editor, either when invoked with
.B \-editor
.IR prompter ,
or by the profile entry \*(lqEditor:\ prompter\*(rq,
at the \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq prompt.
.PP
For each empty component
-.B prompter finds in the draft, the user
-is prompted for a response; A <RETURN> will cause the whole component
-to be left out. Otherwise, a `\\' preceding a <RETURN> will continue
-the response on the next line, allowing for multiline components.
+.B prompter
+finds in the draft, the user is prompted for a response;
+A <RETURN> will cause the whole component to be left out.
+Otherwise, a `\\' preceding a <RETURN> will continue the
+response on the next line, allowing for multiline components.
Continuation lines
-.B must
+.I must
begin with a space or tab.
.PP
-Each non\-empty component is copied to the draft and displayed on the
+Each non-empty component is copied to the draft and displayed on the
terminal.
.PP
The start of the message body is denoted by a blank line or a line
-of dashes. If the body is non\-empty, the prompt, which isn't written
+of dashes. If the body is non-empty, the prompt, which isn't written
to the file, is
.PP
.RS 5
--------Enter initial text
.RE
.PP
-Message\-body typing is terminated with an end\-of\-file (usually
-CTRL\-D). With the
+Message-body typing is terminated with an end-of-file (usually
+CTRL-D). With the
.B \-doteof
-switch, a period on a line all by itself
-also signifies end\-of\-file. At this point control is returned to
-the calling program, where the user is asked \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq.
+switch, a period on a line all by itself also signifies end-of-file.
+At this point control is returned to the calling program,
+where the user is asked \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq.
See
-.B whatnow (1)
+.IR whatnow (1)
for the valid options to this query.
.PP
By using the
.B \-prepend
-switch, the user can add type\-in to the
-beginning of the message body and have the rest of the body follow.
+switch, the user can add type-in to the beginning of the message body
+and have the rest of the body follow.
This is useful for the
.B forw
command.
.PP
By using the
.B \-rapid
-switch, if the draft already contains text in
-the message\-body, it is not displayed on the user's terminal. This is
-useful for low\-speed terminals.
+switch, if the draft already contains text in the message-body, it is
+not displayed on the user's terminal. This is useful for low-speed
+terminals.
.PP
The line editing characters for kill and erase may be specified by the
user via the arguments
may be a character; or `\\nnn', where \*(lqnnn\*(rq is the octal value for
the character.
.PP
-An interrupt (usually CTRL\-C) during component typing will abort
+An interrupt (usually CTRL-C) during component typing will abort
.B prompter
and the
.B nmh
-command that invoked it. An interrupt
-during message\-body typing is equivalent to CTRL\-D, for historical
-reasons. This means that
+command that invoked it. An interrupt during message-body typing is
+equivalent to CTRL-D, for historical reasons.
+This means that
.B prompter
should finish up and exit.
.PP
-The first non\-flag argument to
-.B prompter is taken as the name of
-the draft file, and subsequent non\-flag arguments are ignored.
-.\" (\fIRepl\fR invokes editors with two file arguments:
-.\" the draft file name and the replied\-to message file name.)
+The first non-flag argument to
+.B prompter
+is taken as the name of the draft file, and subsequent non-flag
+arguments are ignored.
+.\" (\fIrepl\fR invokes editors with two file arguments:
+.\" the draft file name and the replied-to message file name.)
.SH FILES
.fc ^ ~
.nf
-.ta \w'%etcdir%/ExtraBigFileName 'u
-^$HOME/\&.mh\(ruprofile~^The user profile
+.ta \w'%nmhetcdir%/ExtraBigFileName 'u
+^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The user profile
^/tmp/prompter*~^Temporary copy of message
.fi
.SH "PROFILE COMPONENTS"
^Msg\-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new draft
.fi
.SH "SEE ALSO"
-comp(1), dist(1), forw(1), repl(1), whatnow(1)
+.IR comp (1),
+.IR dist (1),
+.IR forw (1),
+.IR repl (1),
+.IR whatnow (1)
.SH DEFAULTS
.nf
.RB ` \-prepend '
.BR \-use .
.PP
The user may wish to link
-.B prompter under several names (e.g.,
-\*(lqrapid\*(rq) and give appropriate switches in the profile entries
-under these names (e.g., \*(lqrapid: -rapid\*(rq). This facilitates
+.B prompter
+under several names (e.g., \*(lqrapid\*(rq) and give appropriate
+switches in the profile entries under these names
+(e.g., \*(lqrapid: -rapid\*(rq). This facilitates
invoking prompter differently for different
.B nmh
commands (e.g.,
\*(lqforw: -editor rapid\*(rq).
.SH BUGS
-.B Prompter
+.B prompter
uses
-.BR stdio (3),
+.IR stdio (3),
so it will lose if you edit files with nulls in them.
projects / nmh / blobdiff