4 .TH MH-PROFILE %manext5% "%nmhdate%" MH.6.8 [%nmhversion%]
6 mh-profile \- user profile customization for nmh message handler
8 .I $HOME/.mh\(ruprofile
12 is expected to have a file named
14 in his or her home directory. This file contains
15 a set of user parameters used by some or all of the
17 family of programs. Each entry in the file is of the format
20 .IR profile\-component ": " value
23 If the text of profile entry is long, you may extend it across several
24 real lines by indenting the continuation lines with leading spaces or tabs.
25 Comments may be introduced by a line starting with `#:':
32 Blank lines are not permitted in
35 .SS "Standard Profile Entries"
36 The possible profile components are exemplified below. The only mandatory
37 entry is `Path:'. The others are optional; some have default values if
38 they are not present. In the notation used below, (profile, default)
39 indicates whether the information is kept in the user's
43 context, and indicates what the default value is.
50 transactions in directory \*(lqMail\*(rq. This is the
51 only mandatory profile entry. (profile, no default)
57 Declares the location of the
59 context file. This is overridden by the environment variable
64 (profile, default: <nmh\-dir>/context)
70 Keeps track of the current open folder.
71 (context, default: folder specified by \*(lqInbox\*(rq)
77 Defines the name of your default inbox.
78 (profile, default: inbox)
81 .BR Previous\-Sequence :
84 Names the sequence or sequences which should be defined as the `msgs' or
85 `msg' argument given to any
87 command. If not present or empty,
88 no such sequences are defined. Otherwise, for each name given, the
89 sequence is first zero'd and then each message is added to the sequence.
92 man page for the details about this sequence. (profile, no default)
95 .BR Sequence\-Negation :
98 Defines the string which, when prefixed to a sequence name, negates
99 that sequence. Hence, \*(lqnotseen\*(rq means all those messages that
100 are not a member of the sequence \*(lqseen\*(rq. Read the
102 man page for the details. (profile, no default)
105 .BR Unseen\-Sequence :
108 Names the sequence or sequences which should be defined as those
109 messages which are unread. The commands
115 will add or remove messages from these
116 sequences when they are incorporated or read. If not present or
117 empty, no such sequences are defined. Otherwise, each message is
118 added to, or removed from, each sequence name given. Read the
120 man page for the details about this sequence.
121 (profile, no default)
127 The name of the file in each folder which defines public sequences.
128 To disable the use of public sequences, leave the value portion of this
129 entry blank. (profile, default: \&.mh\(rusequences)
132 .BI atr\- seq \- folder :
135 Keeps track of the private sequence called \*(lqseq\*(rq in the specified
136 folder. Private sequences are generally used for read\-only folders.
139 man page for details about private sequences.
140 (context, no default)
146 Defines the editor to be used by the commands
152 (profile, default: %default_editor%)
157 If defined and set to 1, then the
159 program will automatically
160 invoke the buildmimeproc (discussed below) to process each message as a MIME
161 composition draft before it is sent.
162 (profile, no default)
168 An octal number which defines the permission bits for new message files.
171 for an explanation of the octal number.
172 (profile, default: 0600)
175 .BR Folder\-Protect :
178 An octal number which defines the permission bits for new folder
181 for an explanation of the octal number.
182 (profile, default: 700)
188 Sets default switches to be used whenever the mh program
190 is invoked. For example, one could override the \*(lqEditor:\*(rq profile
191 component when replying to messages by adding a component such as:
194 repl: \-editor /bin/ed
197 (profile, no defaults)
200 .IB lasteditor "-next:"
203 Names \*(lqnexteditor\*(rq to be the default editor after using
204 \*(lqlasteditor\*(rq. This takes effect at \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq prompt
212 the draft with \*(lqlasteditor\*(rq, the default editor is set to be
213 \*(lqnexteditor\*(rq. If the user types \*(lqedit\*(rq without any
214 arguments to \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq, then \*(lqnexteditor\*(rq is used.
215 (profile, no default)
221 The contents of the folder-stack for the
224 (context, no default)
228 Your Username <user@some.host>
230 Tells the various MH tools what your local mailbox is. If set, will be used
231 by the default component files by tools like
235 to construct your default \*(lqFrom\*(rq header. The text used here will
236 be copied exactly to your From: header, so it should already be RFC-822
237 compliant. If this is set, the
239 profile entry is NOT used, so it should include a signature as well. (profile,
240 default: userid@local.hostname)
243 .BR Alternate\-Mailboxes :
244 mh@uci\-750a, bug-mh*
250 which addresses are really yours.
253 knows which addresses should be included in the
256 knows if the message really originated from you.
257 Addresses must be separated by a comma, and the hostnames listed should
258 be the \*(lqofficial\*(rq hostnames for the mailboxes you indicate, as
259 local nicknames for hosts are not replaced with their official site names.
260 For each address, if a host is not given, then that address on any host is
261 considered to be you. In addition, an asterisk (`*') may appear at either
262 or both ends of the mailbox and host to indicate wild-card matching.
263 (profile, default: your user-id)
270 Indicates aliases files for
275 This may be used instead of the
278 switch. (profile, no default)
284 Indicates a default draft folder for
293 man page for details. (profile, no default)
296 .BI digest\-issue\- list :
301 the last issue of the last volume sent for the digest
303 (context, no default)
306 .BI digest\-volume\- list :
311 the last volume sent for the digest
313 (context, no default)
321 your maildrop, if different from the default. This is
322 superseded by the environment variable
324 (profile, default: %mailspool%/$USER)
328 RAND MH System (agent: Marshall Rose)
330 Tells front-end programs such as
335 your mail signature. This is superseded by the
340 is not set and this profile entry is not present, the \*(lqgcos\*(rq field of
341 the \fI/etc/passwd\fP file will be used.
342 Your signature will be added to the address
344 puts in the \*(lqFrom:\*(rq header; do not include an address in the
345 signature text. The \*(lqLocal\-Mailbox\*(rq profile component
346 supersedes all of this. (profile, no default)
349 .SS "Process Profile Entries"
350 The following profile elements are used whenever an
352 program invokes some other program such as
356 can be used to select alternate programs if the
357 user wishes. The default values are given in the examples.
363 This is the program used by
365 to process drafts which are MIME composition files.
371 This program is used to refile or link a message to another folder.
374 to file a copy of a message into a folder given
375 by a \*(lqFcc:\*(rq field. It is used by the draft folder facility in
382 message into another folder. It is used to refile a draft message in
385 directive at the \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq prompt.
392 to filter a component when it is tagged with the \*(lqformat\*(rq variable
393 in the mhl filter. See
395 for more information.
403 to incorporate new mail when it
404 is invoked with no arguments.
410 This program is called to initialize the environment for
418 This program is used to list the contents of a message in response
421 directive at the \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq prompt. It is
422 also used by the draft folder facility in
428 to display the draft message.
434 This is the program used to automatically mail various messages
435 and notifications. It is used by
439 option. It is used by
441 to post failure notices.
442 It is used to retrieve an external-body with access-type `mail-server'
443 (such as when storing the body with
450 This is the program used to filter messages in various ways. It
453 to filter and display the message headers
454 of MIME messages. When the
465 is used to filter the
466 message that you are forwarding, or to which you are replying.
473 is used to filter the copy of the message
474 that is sent to \*(lqBcc:\*(rq recipients.
480 This is the program used by
484 formatted message when displaying to a terminal. It is also the default
487 to display message bodies (or message parts) of type text/plain.
505 This is the program used by
514 post a message to the mail transport system. It is also called by
516 (called with the switches
520 to do address verification.
526 This is the program used by
530 to delete a message from a folder.
536 This is the program to use by
538 to actually send the message
544 This is the program used by
546 to process and display non-text (MIME) messages.
552 This is the program used by
554 to filter and display text (non-MIME) messages.
560 This is the program invoked by
566 to query about the disposition of a composed draft message.
572 This is the program used by
574 to determine to whom a message would be sent.
577 .SS "Environment Variables"
580 and its commands it also controlled by the
581 presence of certain environment variables.
583 Many of these environment variables are used internally by the
584 \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq interface. It's amazing all the information
585 that has to get passed via environment variables to make the
586 \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq interface look squeaky clean to the
588 user, isn't it? The reason for all this is that the
596 one of the standard shells. As a result, it's not possible to pass
597 information via an argument list. The convention is that environment
598 variables whose names are all upper-case are user-settable; those
599 whose names are lower-case only are used internally by nmh and should
600 not generally be set by the user.
604 With this environment variable, you can specify a profile
610 that you invoke. If the value of
612 is not absolute, (i.e., does
613 not begin with a \*(lq/\*(rq), it will be presumed to start from the current
614 working directory. This is one of the very few exceptions in
616 where non-absolute pathnames are not considered relative to the user's
623 With this environment variable, you can specify a
624 context other than the normal context file (as specified in
627 profile). As always, unless the value of
629 is absolute, it will be presumed to start from your
636 With this environment variable, you can specify an
637 additional user profile (file) to be read by
639 in addition to the mhn.defaults profile.
644 With this environment variable, you can specify an
645 additional user profile (file) to be read by
647 in addition to the mhn.defaults profile.
649 is deprecated, so this support for this variable will
650 be removed from a future nmh release.
655 With this environment variable, you can specify an
656 additional user profile (file) to be read by
658 in addition to the mhn.defaults profile.
663 With this environment variable, you can specify an
664 additional user profile (file) to be read by
666 in addition to the mhn.defaults profile.
671 With this environment variable, you can specify
672 the native character set you are using. You must be able to display
673 this character set on your terminal.
675 This variable is checked to see if a RFC-2047 header field should be
688 be called, since showmimeproc will be called if a text message uses
689 a character set that doesn't match
694 for matches against the charset parameter
695 of text contents to decide it the text content can be displayed
696 without modifications to your terminal. This variable is checked by
698 to decide what character set to specify in the charset
699 parameter of text contents containing 8\-bit characters.
701 When decoding text in such an alternate character set,
703 must be able to determine which characters are alphabetic, which
704 are control characters, etc. For many operating systems, this
705 will require enabling the support for locales (such as setting
706 the environment variable
715 the default maildrop. This supersedes the \*(lqMailDrop\*(rq profile entry.
722 the POP host to query for mail to incorporate. See the
723 inc(1) man page for more information.
726 .B $USERNAME_EXTENSION
728 This variable is for use with username_extension masquerading. See the
729 mh-tailor(5) man page.
738 your mail signature. This supersedes the \*(lqSignature\*(rq profile entry,
739 and is not used when the \*(lqLocal\-Mailbox\*(rq profile component is set.
748 your default maildrop: see the \*(lqMailDrop\*(rq profile entry.
753 This variable tells all
755 programs your home directory
764 The environment variable
766 is also consulted. In particular,
771 how to clear your terminal, and how
772 many columns wide your terminal is. They also tell
775 lines long your terminal screen is.
780 If this variable is set to a non-null value, it specifies the
781 name of the mail transport configuration file to use by
784 and other programs that interact with the mail transport system,
785 instead of the default. See mh-tailor(5).
790 If this variable is set to a non-null value, it specifies the name of
791 a mail transport configuration file to be read in addition to the
792 default. See mh-tailor(5).
799 These variables are searched, in order, for the directory in which to
800 create some temporary files.
805 If this variable is set to a non-null value,
807 will emit debugging information.
812 If this variable is set to a non-null value,
814 will emit a representation of the search pattern.
819 If this variable is set to a non-null value,
821 commands that use the
822 .BR Alternate\-Mailboxes
823 profile entry will display debugging information
824 about the values in that entry.
829 This is the alternate message.
835 during edit sessions so you can
836 peruse the message being distributed or replied to. The message is also
837 available through a link called \*(lq@\*(rq in the current directory if
838 your current working directory and the folder the message lives in are
839 on the same UNIX filesystem.
844 This is the path to the working draft.
854 which file to ask \*(lqWhat now?\*(rq
867 about an alternate message associated with the
868 draft (the message being distributed or replied to).
873 This is the folder containing the alternate message.
879 during edit sessions so you
880 can peruse other messages in the current folder besides the one being
881 distributed or replied to. The environment variable
899 that message re-distribution is occurring.
913 editor (unless overridden by
930 if annotations are to occur.
940 if annotations are to occur.
950 if annotations are to occur.
956 .ta \w'%etcdir%/ExtraBigFileName 'u
957 ^$HOME/\&.mh\(ruprofile~^The user profile
958 ^or $MH~^Rather than the standard profile
959 ^<mh\-dir>/context~^The user context
960 ^or $MHCONTEXT~^Rather than the standard context
961 ^<folder>/\&.mh\(rusequences~^Public sequences for <folder>
965 nmh(1), environ(5), mh-sequence(5)
970 contains only static information, which
974 update. Changes in context are made to the
976 file kept in the users
979 This includes, but is not limited to: the \*(lqCurrent\-Folder\*(rq entry
980 and all private sequence information. Public sequence information is
981 kept in each folder in the file determined by the \*(lqmh\-sequences\*(rq
982 profile entry (default is
983 .IR \&.mh\(rusequences ).
987 may override the path of the
989 file, by specifying a \*(lqcontext\*(rq entry (this must be in
990 lower-case). If the entry is not absolute (does not start with a
991 \*(lq/\*(rq), then it is interpreted relative to the user's
993 directory. As a result, you can actually have more than one set of
994 private sequences by using different context files.
997 The shell quoting conventions are not available in the
998 .IR \&.mh\(ruprofile .
999 Each token is separated by whitespace.
1001 There is some question as to what kind of arguments should be placed
1002 in the profile as options. In order to provide a clear answer, recall
1003 command line semantics of all
1005 programs: conflicting switches
1010 may occur more than one time on the
1011 command line, with the last switch taking effect. Other arguments, such
1012 as message sequences, filenames and folders, are always remembered on
1013 the invocation line and are not superseded by following arguments of
1014 the same type. Hence, it is safe to place only switches (and their
1015 arguments) in the profile.
1017 If one finds that an
1019 program is being invoked again and again
1020 with the same arguments, and those arguments aren't switches, then there
1021 are a few possible solutions to this problem. The first is to create a
1027 of your choice. By giving this link a different name, you can create
1028 a new entry in your profile and use an alternate set of defaults for
1031 command. Similarly, you could create a small shell script
1034 program of your choice with an alternate set
1035 of invocation line switches (using links and an alternate profile entry
1036 is preferable to this solution).
1040 user could create an alias for the command of the form:
1043 alias cmd 'cmd arg1 arg2 ...'
1046 In this way, the user can avoid lengthy type-in to the shell, and still
1049 commands safely. (Recall that some
1052 invoke others, and that in all cases, the profile is read, meaning that
1053 aliases are disregarded beyond an initial command invocation)
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