.\"
.TH MHMAIL %manext1% "%nmhdate%" MH.6.8 [%nmhversion%]
.SH NAME
-mhmail \- send or read mail
+mhmail \- send mail (mailx replacement)
.SH SYNOPSIS
.HP 5
.na
.B mhmail
-.RI [ addrs
-\&...]
-.RB [ \-body
-.IR text ]
+.IR addrs ...
.RB [ \-cc
-.I addrs
-\&...]
+.IR addrs ...]
.RB [ \-from
.IR addr ]
.RB [ \-subject
.IR subject ]
-.RB [ \-version ]
+.RB [ \-bodytext
+.IR text ]
+.RB [ \-Version ]
.RB [ \-help ]
.ad
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B mhmail
-is intended as a replacement for the standard Berkeley
-mail program
+is inspired by the standard Berkeley mail program
.RB ( mail
or
-.BR mailx ),
-which is compatible with
-.BR nmh .
-This program is intended for the use of programs such as
-.BR cron ,
-which expect to send mail automatically to various
-users. It is also used by various
-.B nmh
-commands to mail various
-error notifications. Although
-.B mhmail
-can be used interactively,
-it is recommended that
+.BR mailx ).
+It should not be seen as a drop-in replacement for these programs,
+but rather as a more convenient alternative to
+.B comp
+for non-interactive use.
+For interactive use,
.B comp
and
.B send
-be used instead to send messages.
+are recommended over
+.BR mhmail .
.PP
-When invoked without arguments, it simply invokes
-.B inc
-to incorporate new messages from the user's maildrop. When one or more users
-is specified, a message is read from the standard input and spooled to
+When one or more addresses
+are specified, a message is read from the standard input and spooled to
a temporary file.
.B mhmail
then invokes
-.B post
-with the
-name of the temporary file as its argument to deliver the message to
-the specified user.
+.B spost
+to deliver the message.
+.PP
+.B mhmail
+can not be used for mal reading. Use
+.BR inc ,
+.BR scan ,
+.B show
+instead.
.PP
The
.B \-subject
.I subject
switch can be used to specify the
-\*(lqSubject:\*(rq field of the message.
+`Subject:' field of the message.
.PP
By default,
.B mhmail
will read the message to be sent from the
-standard input. You can specify the text of the message at the command
+standard input.
+The message is terminated by either end-of-file or by a single period
+alone on a line. This is compatible to
+.B mail
+and
+.BR mailx .
+Alternatively, you can specify the text of the message at the command
line with the
-.B \-body
+.B \-bodytext
.I text
-switch. If the standard input has zero
-length,
+switch.
+.PP
+If the standard input has zero length,
.B mhmail
-will not send the message. You can use the switch
-.B \-body
-\*(lq\*(rq to force an empty message.
+will not send the message. You can use
+.B \-bodytext
+"" to force an empty message.
.PP
-Normally, addresses appearing as arguments are put in the \*(lqTo:\*(rq
+Normally, addresses appearing as arguments are put in the `To:'
field. If the
.B \-cc
switch is used, all addresses following it are
-placed in the \*(lqcc:\*(rq field.
+placed in the `Cc:' field.
.PP
By using
.B \-from
.IR addr ,
-you can specify the \*(lqFrom:\*(rq header of
+you can specify the `From:' header of
the draft. Naturally,
.B post
-will fill\-in the \*(lqSender:\*(rq
+will fill\-in the `Sender:'
header correctly.
.SH FILES
.fc ^ ~
.nf
-.ta \w'%etcdir%/ExtraBigFileName 'u
-^%bindir%/inc~^Program to incorporate maildrop into folder
-^%libdir%/post~^Program to deliver a message
+.ta \w'%etcdir%/BigFileName 'u
^/tmp/mhmail*~^Temporary copy of message
.fi
.SH "SEE ALSO"
-inc(1), post(8)
+inc(1), scan(1), show(1), post(8)
.SH DEFAULTS
None
.SH CONTEXT
-If
+None
+
+.SH HISTORY
+.B mhmail
+was intended as a replacement for the standard Berkeley
+mail program
+.RB ( mail
+or
+.BR mailx ),
+which is compatible with
+.BR mmh .
+This program was intended for the use of programs such as
+.BR cron ,
+which expect to send mail automatically to various
+addresses. It was also used by various
+.B mmh
+commands to mail various error notifications.
+.PP
+When invoked without arguments, it had once simply invoked
.B inc
-is invoked, then
-.BR inc 's
-context changes occur.
+to incorporate new messages from the user's maildrop.
+It does this no longer.
+
+.SH BUGS
+.B mhmail
+should no longer try to replace
+.BR mailx ,
+but become a mail sending front-end to
+.B comp
+or
+.BR send ,
+which is more convenient in some situations.
projects / mmh / blobdiff