REPL(1mh)

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] [-filter filterfile | -nofilter] [-mime | -nomime] [-editor editor] [-whatnowproc program] [-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 mmh 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: +sent
    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 (< >) indicate the contents of the named field from the message to which the reply is being made.

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 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 mmh directory, it will be used instead of this default forms file.

The default group reply template `replgroupcomps' will direct repl to construct the reply message draft as follows:

    To: <Mail-Followup-To>
    Subject: Re: <Subject>
    In-Reply-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
    <Message-Id>
    --------

or if the field <Mail-Followup-To> is not available:

    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>.
    <Message-Id>
    --------

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, these fields will be wrapped at a reasonable length.

See comp(1) for a description of the -editor switch. Note that while in the editor, the actual pathname of the message being replied to is stored in the environment variable $mhaltmsg, and the pathname of the folder containing the message is stored in the environment variable $mhfolder.

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.

By default, the original message gets filtered through a default message filter file and then included into the draft body as quotation. This should be adequate for most users. This default filter `mhl.reply' is:

    ; mhl.reply
    ;
    ; default message filter for `repl' (repl -format)
    ;
    body:component="> ",overflowtext="> ",overflowoffset=0

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 mmh 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:

    :
    body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9

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:

    message-id:nocomponent,nonewline,\
    formatfield=`In message %{text}, '
    from:nocomponent,formatfield=`%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:'
    body:component=`>',overflowtext=`>',overflowoffset=0

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.

If the switch -nofilter is given, then the message to which you are replying will not be formatted and thus not included in the body of the draft. (It may be added as MIME attachment with -mime though.)

To MIME-attach the original message, specify the -mime switch. Note: In mmh, the -mime switch is unrelated to the -filter and -nofilter switches. It is therefore possible to have the original message quoted in the body and attached as MIME part. However, using the -mime switch is discouraged. It may get removed in the future.

If the -annotate switch is given, the message being replied-to will be annotated with the line:

    Replied: date

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. Annotations are always done inplace in order to preserve any links to the message.

The default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be put in the folder 'sent'.

To avoid reiteration, repl strips any leading `Re: ' strings from the subject component.

Consult the mh-draft(7) 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 -build switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface to nmh. It causes a file reply (in the mail storage root) to be created, containing the draft message that would normally be presented to the user for editing. No whatnow program is invoked. No mail is actually sent.

The -file msgfile switch specifies the message to be replied to as an exact filename rather than as an mh 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.

FILES
^/etc/mmh/replcomps~^The standard reply template
^or $HOME/.mmh/replcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^/etc/mmh/replgroupcomps~^The standard `reply -group' template
^or $HOME/.mmh/replgroupcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^/etc/mmh/mhl.reply~^The standard message filter
^or $HOME/.mmh/mhl.reply~^Rather than the standard filter
^$HOME/.mmh/profile~^The user profile
^+drafts~^The draft folder

PROFILE COMPONENTS
^Path:~^To determine the user's mail storage
^Alternate-Mailboxes:~^To determine the user's mailboxes
^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
^Draft-Folder:~^To set the default draft-folder
^Editor:~^To override the default editor
^Msg-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
^whatnowproc:~^Program to ask the `What now?' questions

SEE ALSO
mhbuild(1), comp(1), forw(1), send(1), whatnow(1), mh-format(5)

DEFAULTS
`+folder' defaults to the current folder
`msg' defaults to the current message
`-nogroup'
`-nocc all' with `-nogroup', `-cc all' with `-group'
`-noannotate'
`-nomime'
`-noquery'

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.

The quotation of the original message does not get transfer-decoded, yet.