af - emacs-like mail reader.

af [ -envwzEFH ] [ -f folder ] [ -u user ] [ -l loadfile ] [ -S scriptfile ] [ -c cc ] [ -b bcc ] [ -s subject ] [ -C content-type ] [ destination ... ]

Af is a screen-oriented electronic mail reader and composer. The interface is designed to be quite similar to that of the Emacs screen editor, with lines on the display representing mail messages. By default, af will read your incoming mailbox, and then wait for commands. For more detail on using af interactively, see the Af User Manual.

If you specify destinations on the command line, or use the -c or -b options, af will allow you to compose and send mail to the specified destinations, just as if you had executed the command send-mail from within af. Once the message has been sent (or if you abort the message), then af exits.

Other arguments are options influencing the behaviour of af.

The -v (version) option makes af print its version information to standard output and then quit, regardless of any other arguments.

The -e (exists) option makes af check whether there is mail in your default mailbox (or, if -f or -u are given, any specified folders) and then exit. The exit status is zero if there is mail in any of the folders; one if not.

This option is ignored if destinations were specified.

The -z (zero) option makes af terminate immediately with an exit status of 1 if your default mailbox (or, if -f or -u is given, any specified folders) is empty. Otherwise, af will start up normally.

This option is ignored if destinations were specified.

The -n (no startup file) option makes af ignore the file .afrc in the user's home directory.

The -E (edit and deliver) option forces af to send a single mail message, asking for the destinations if not given on the command line. If the if the text of the message to be sent is being read from the standard input, then the text is gathered into a temporary file and af then asks for destinations and subject (if it has not already read them from the message's text), editing the file and asking for disposition. This is mainly useful when af is being called by other programs or is at the receiving end of a pipeline of commands; you'll very rarely need it, but when you do, it's invaluable.

The -H (headers anyway) option forces af to present the user with the headers of an outgoing message when editing it, or to force translation of headers in mail sent from the standard input. In effect, it causes af's edit-initial-headers variable to be set to true regardless of the contents of the user's .afrc file.

Multiple occurrences of -e, -z, -E, or -H act as only one occurrence of the option; if given together, -e takes precedence over -z. It's not clear why anyone should ever wish to do these things, but now you know.

The -f folder (file or folder) option specifies the folder to be read instead of your default mailbox. Multiple -f options may be given. -f and -u may be intermixed. More than one -f or -u causes each named folder to be read into its own buffer.

This option is ignored if destinations were specified.

The -u user (user) option specifies that user's incoming mailbox is to be read instead of your own. You must have any necessary access permissions to read the mailbox. Multiple -u options may be given. -u and -f may be intermixed. More than one -u or -f causes each named file to be read into its own buffer.

This option is ignored if destinations were specified.

The -F (all files or folders) option tells af to treat any arguments as folders to be read rather than destinations to send mail. This can be convenient when you want load several folders at once into af.

The -w (windows) option makes af create enough windows to display all the folders specified with the -f, -u or -F, options, subject to the maximum number of windows that will fit on the screen (usually about four or five).

This option is ignored if destinations were specified.

The -l loadfile (loadfile) option specifies a file of af commands which should be read and executed on startup before any buffers are created. Used with the -n option, this allows the user to specify an alternate startup file, rather than the default of .afrc in their home directory. See the Af User Manual for details on startup files.

The -S file (script) option names a file of commands in af's internal language afl. The commands in the file are read and executed exactly as if af had been started up interactively and then the af command load-file had been executed. When all the afl commands in file have been executed, or if an error is encountered in the file, then af terminates. If the -S option is given, then af will not display the screen; only messages will be printed to the standard output.

Only one -S option may be given, it is ignored if destinations were specified.

The -c cc (cc) option specifies Carbon copy addresses for an outgoing message. Only one -c option may be given.

The -b bcc (cc) option specifies Blind carbon copy addresses for an outgoing message. Only one -b option may be given.

The -s subject (subject) option specifies the Subject: for an outgoing message. Only one -s option may be given.

This option is ignored if destinations were not specified.

The -C content-type (subject) option specifies the MIME Content-Type: for an outgoing message. Only one -C option may be given.

This option is ignored if destinations were not specified.

The definitive reference for af is the Af Reference Manual, which is available in texinfo and info, forms with the af distribution.

More convenient is the Af Quick Reference Card, which gives a very condensed summary of af commands, variables, and options. The LaTeX sources for the reference card are available as part of the af distribution.

More immediately useful for exploring af is af's internal help system, which can be accessed by entering af and typing C-h (control-H). The first command you'll probably want to use is C-h C-i (control-H followed by control-I), which will allow you to browse the af user manual.

/usr/spool/mail/user (or similar)

incoming mail for user; the incoming mailfile

$HOME/.signature

default signature file

$HOME/dead.letter

repository for unsent mail read from standard input

$HOME/.afrc

personal startup file

/etc/af/afrc

global startup file

$HOME/.afalias

personal alias file

/etc/af/afalias

global alias file

/usr/lib/af/af.help

help file

/usr/lib/af/readmbox

program to read mailboxes

/usr/lib/af/writembox

program to write mailboxes

/tmp/aftmp

temporary file used when editing

SHELL

Shell to run as an inferior shell

VISUAL, EDITOR

editor for outgoing mail

PAGER

program to page text

MAIL

location of your incoming mailbox

FOLDER

directory for your folders

SAVEDIR

directory for your news folders

HOME

your home directory

MAILCAPS

location of mailcap files to read

NAME

your real name

ORGANIZATION

your organisational affiliation

TMPDIR

directory for temporary files

Af exits with status zero indicating that all is well; status one for unusual but not strictly incorrect happenings; and status two for things that are just plain wrong.

Af was written by Malc Arnold, with assistance from Kay Dekker and Ian Dickinson.

afack(1), afalias(5) ``The Af User Manual''.

Running out of memory causes ungraceful termination.