repl (1) - Linux Manuals
repl: reply to a message
NAME
repl - reply to a message
SYNOPSIS
- repl [+folder] [msgs] [-annotate | -noannotate] [-group | -nogroup] [-cc
- all/to/cc/me] [-nocc all/to/cc/me] [-query | -noquery] [-form formfile] [-format | -noformat] [-filter filterfile] [-inplace | -noinplace] [-mime | -nomime] [-fcc +folder] [-width columns] [-draftfolder +folder] [-draftmessage msg] [-nodraftfolder] [-editor editor] [-noedit] [-whatnowproc program] [-nowhatnowproc] [-atfile] [-noatfile] [-fmtproc program] [-nofmtproc] [-build] [-file msgfile] [-version] [-help]
DESCRIPTION
Repl may be used to produce a reply to an existing message.In its simplest form (with no arguments), repl will set up a message-form skeleton in reply to the current message in the current folder, and invoke the whatnow shell.
In order to construct the message draft of the reply, repl uses a reply template to guide its actions. A reply template is simply a mhl format file (see mh-format(5) for details).
If the switch -nogroup is given (it is on by default), then repl will use the standard forms file ``replcomps''. This will construct a draft message that is intended to be sent only to the author of the message to which you are replying. If a file named ``replcomps'' exists in the user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of this default forms file.
The default reply template ``replcomps'' will direct repl to construct the reply message draft as follows:
-
To: <Mail-Reply-To> or <Reply-To> or <From> cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address> Fcc: {fcc switch} or +outbox Subject: Re: <Subject> In-Reply-To: <Message-Id> References: <Message-Id> Comments: In-Reply-To <From> or <apparently from> or <Sender>
message dated <date> --------
where field names enclosed in angle brackets (<
By default, the ``cc:'' field is empty. You may selectively add
addresses to this default with the
-cc
type
switch. This switch takes an
argument
(all/to/cc/me)
which specifies who gets added to the default
``cc:'' list of the reply. You may give this switch multiple times (with
different arguments) if you wish to add multiple types of addresses.
If the switch
-group
is given, then
repl
will use the
standard forms file ``replgroupcomps''. This will construct a
draft message that is intended as a group or followup reply. If a file
named ``replgroupcomps'' exists in the user's nmh directory, it
will be used instead of this default forms file, unless you specify
another forms file on the command line or in your profile.
The default group reply template ``replgroupcomps'' will direct
repl
to construct the reply message draft as follows:
or if the field <Mail-Followup-To> is not available:
By default, the ``cc:'' contains all the addresses shown. You may
selectively remove addresses from this default with the
-nocc
type
switch.
This switch takes an argument (
all/to/cc/me)
which specifies who gets removed
from the default ``cc:'' list of the reply. You may give this switch
multiple times (with different arguments) if you wish to remove multiple types
of addresses.
In any case, you may specify an alternate forms file with the switch
-form
formfile.
The
-query
switch modifies the action of
-nocc
type
switch by
interactively asking you if each address that normally would be placed in
the ``To:'' and ``cc:'' list should actually be sent a copy.
This is useful for special-purpose replies. Note that the position of
the
-cc
and
-nocc
switches, like all other switches which take a
positive and negative form, is important.
Lines beginning with the fields ``To:'', ``cc:'', and
''Bcc:'' will be standardized and have duplicate addresses removed.
In addition, the
-width
columns
switch will guide
repl's
formatting of these fields.
If the draft already exists,
repl
will ask you as to the disposition
of the draft. A reply of
quit
will abort
repl,
leaving the
draft intact;
replace
will replace the existing draft with a blank
skeleton; and
list
will display the draft.
See
comp(1)
for a description of the
-editor
and
-noedit
switches. Note that while in the editor, with
-atfile
and if the current directory is writable, the message being replied
to is available through a link named ``@'' (assuming the default
whatnowproc).
In addition, the actual pathname of the message is
stored in the environment variable
$editalt,
and the pathname of
the folder containing the message is stored in the environment variable
$mhfolder.
The creation of the ``@'' file is controlled via the
-atfile
and
-noatfile
options.
Although
repl
uses a forms file to direct it how to construct
the beginning of the draft, it uses a message filter file to direct
it as to how the message to which you are replying should be filtered
(re-formatted) in the body of the draft. The filter file for
repl
should be a standard form file for
mhl,
as
repl
will invoke
mhl
to format the message to which you are replying.
The switches
-noformat,
-format,
and
-filter
filterfile
specify
which message filter file to use.
If the switch
-noformat
is given (it is the default), then the message
to which you are replying is not included in the body of the draft.
If the switch
-format
is given, then a default message filter file
is used. This default message filter should be adequate for most users.
This default filter
``mhl.reply''
is:
which outputs each line of the body of the message prefaced with the
``>'' character and a space.
If a file named
``mhl.reply''
exists in the user's
nmh
directory,
it will be used instead of this form. You may specify an alternate
message filter file with the switch
-filter
filterfile.
Other reply filters are commonly used, such as:
which says to output a blank line and then the body of the message
being replied-to, indented by one tab-stop. Another popular format
is:
This message filter file cites the Message-ID and author of the message
being replied-to, and then outputs each line of the body prefaced with
the ``>'' character.
You can also use an external format program to format the message body.
The format program is specified by the
formatproc
profile entry, and is enabled by the ``format'' flag. A message
filter using an external format program would look like this:
See the
mhl(1)
documentation for more information. The format program can be changed by
the
-fmtproc
program
and
-nofmtproc
switches.
To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the
-mime
switch.
This directs
repl
to generate an
mhbuild
composition file.
Note that
nmh
will not invoke
mhbuild
automatically; you must specifically give the command
prior to sending the draft.
If the
-annotate
switch is given, the message being replied-to will
be annotated with the lines
where the address list contains one line for each addressee.
The annotation will be done only if the message is sent directly from
repl.
If the message is not sent immediately from
repl,
``comp -use''
may be used to re-edit and send the constructed
message, but the annotations won't take place. Normally annotations are
done inplace in order to preserve any links to the message. You may use
the
-noinplace
switch to change this.
Although the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be
put in
the folder 'outbox',
if the
-fcc
+folder
switch is given it will override the default value.
More than one folder, each preceded by
-fcc
can
be named.
In addition to the standard
mh-format(5)
escapes,
repl
also recognizes the following additional
component
escape:
To avoid reiteration,
repl
strips any leading `Re: ' strings from
the
subject
component.
The
-draftfolder
+folder
and
-draftmessage
msg
switches invoke
the
nmh
draft folder facility. This is an advanced (and highly
useful) feature. Consult the
mh-draft(5)
man page for more
information.
Upon exiting from the editor,
repl
will invoke the
whatnow
program. See
whatnow(1)
for a discussion of available
options. The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using the
-nowhatnowproc
switch. (In truth of fact, it is the
whatnow
program which starts the initial edit. Hence,
-nowhatnowproc
will
prevent any edit from occurring.)
The
-build
switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface
to
nmh.
It implies
-nowhatnowproc.
It causes a file
<mh-dir>/reply
to be created, containing the draft message that would normally be presented
to the user for editing.
No mail is actually sent.
The
-file
msgfile
switch specifies the message to be replied to as an
exact filename rather than as an
nmh
folder and message number. It is
intended to be used by the
msh
interface to
nmh.
The same caveats apply to this option as to the
-build
switch.
The
-width
columns
switch is only used to do address-folding; other
headers are not line-wrapped.
If
whatnowproc
is
whatnow,
then
repl
uses a built-in
whatnow,
it does not actually run the
whatnow
program.
Hence, if you define your own
whatnowproc,
don't call it
whatnow
since
repl
won't run it.
To: <Mail-Followup-To>
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In-Reply-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
To: <Mail-Reply-To> or <Reply-To> or <From>
cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In-Reply-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
; mhl.reply
;
; default message filter for `repl' (repl -format)
;
from:nocomponent,formatfield="%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:"
body:component="> ",overflowtext="> ",overflowoffset=0
:
body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9
message-id:nocomponent,nonewline,\
formatfield=``In message %{text},
body:component=``>'',nowrap,format
Escape Returns Description
fcc string Any folders specified with `-fcc folder'
FILES
repl
looks for all format, filter and template files in multiple locations:
absolute pathnames are accessed directly, tilde expansion is done on
usernames, and files are searched for in the user's
Mail
directory as specified in their profile. If not found there, the directory
``/etc/nmh''
is checked.
^/etc/nmh/replcomps~^The standard reply template
^or <mh-dir>/replcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^/etc/nmh/replgroupcomps~^The standard `reply -group' template
^or <mh-dir>/replgroupcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^/etc/nmh/mhl.reply~^The standard message filter
^or <mh-dir>/mhl.reply~^Rather than the standard filter
^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The user profile
^<mh-dir>/draft~^The draft file
PROFILE COMPONENTS
^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory
^Alternate-Mailboxes:~^To determine the user's mailboxes
^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
^Draft-Folder:~^To find the default draft-folder
^Editor:~^To override the default editor
^Msg-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
^fileproc:~^Program to refile the message
^mhlproc:~^Program to filter message being replied-to
^whatnowproc:~^Program to ask the ``What now?'' questions
DEFAULTS
`+folder' defaults to the current folder
`msg' defaults to cur
`-nogroup'
`-nocc all' with `-nogroup', `-cc all' with `-group'
`-noannotate'
`-nodraftfolder'
`-noformat'
`-inplace'
`-nomime'
`-noquery'
`-noatfile'
`-width 72'
CONTEXT
If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. The message
replied-to will become the current message.
BUGS
If any addresses occur in the reply template, addresses in the template
that do not contain hosts are defaulted incorrectly. Instead of using
the localhost for the default,
repl
uses the sender's host.
Moral of the story: if you're going to include addresses in a reply
template, include the host portion of the address.