mimep - to print a Multimedia Internet MEssage

mimep [source_file] [-o target_file] [-f] [-fp] [-printer printername] [-a4] [-us] [-typesize size] [-noburstpage] [-nopagenum] [-addhdrs headertype...] [-rmhdrs headertype...] [-allheaders] [-boundary filename | default | none]

The mimep program allows users to print multimedia messages composed with any UA respecting the MIME standard. It can print most of the bodyparts composing this kind of mail (gif, jpeg images, text/plain, text/enriched, postscript files ...). To achieve its goal, mimep builds a LaTeX document from the MIME message. Afterwards, it converts it into a "dvi" file, then into Postscript, outputting either to a file or to a printer. Mimep can be used in an UA such as exmh, just by installing the mimep distribution, putting the binaries in a directory accessible through your search path and configuring the printing preferences of exmh with such a line:

mimep $file &

With this done, mimep still cannot run yet...

Indeed, to work, mimep needs these programs to be installed:

- metamail, used to decode the MIME messages, it furnishes the different bodyparts of a mail to the shell script "printmim" of the Mimep distribution. - LaTeX2e a complete distribution with a binary named latex, to transform the LaTeX document, created by mimep and printmim into a dvi file. - dvips, to convert the dvi file into printable Postscript code. - lpr, to print.

As it uses metamail, it also needs its mailcap or $HOME/.mailcap configuration file. For each "mailcap entry" handled by mimep, the "print field" must be correctly filled in. One must specify that the printmim command must be called by metamail with the correct options. A "print field" in the "mailcap entry" should be:

print= printmim %t %s;

(%t being the content/type of the bodypart given by metamail to printmim and %s being the reference to the file given by metamail to printmim)

(For more details see the mailcap_example file in the mimep distribution and the metamail's manpages.)

The configuration of metamail done, mimep can be used with its default parameters...

Mimep may be distributed as part of the Mp distribution, because it uses some files of this distribution, and also because Mp was one of the first Postscript pretty printer command for mailers.

So for its own configuration, mimep uses the same file as mp:

.mpdefaults

which by default is in the user's home directory. ($HOME/.mpdefaults)

This file may contain the following X resources... Note these resource names will be prepended with the running application name; so that you can have different sets of resources for mimep and for mp...

Resource: allHeaders

Values:

True, False (default value: False)

Description

If set to true, then all mail or news headers are printed out. (rfc 822 headers)

Resource: addHeaders

Values:

Headers to add (string)

Description

A comma separated list of the extra headers that mimep should print out. (example: mimep*addHeaders: From:, To:)

Resource: removeHeaders

Values:

Headers to remove (string)

Description

A comma separated list of the standard headers that mimep should not print out.

Resource: paperSize

Values:

None, A4 or US (A4)

Description

Describes the size of the paper the output will be printed on.

Resource: printHeaderPage

Values:

True, False (False)

Description

If set to true then a burst banner page will be printed at the beginning of the mimep output.

Resource: printerName

Values:

Text string (NULL)

Description

The name of the printer to send output to. If no name is supplied, then mimep will use the default printer.

Resource: boundary

Values:

none, default or the location of the Postscript boundary file (Text string). (none by default...)

Description

mimep can put a boundary between the bodyparts of a mail if you specify one... (example: mimep*boundary: /images/myboundary.eps)

Resource: paginate

Values:

True, False (True)

Description

If set to true, then mimep will print the page numbers.

Resource: typeSize

Values:

10, 11 or 12 (10)

Description

Size of the characters to print.

mimep by default

Mimep by default will interpret the "source_file" or the standard input, and print the Postscript resulting from its interpretation.

[source_file]

If no source_file is specified, mimep will use the standard input, else mimep will interpret the mail named "source_file".

-o target_file

Creates a document (from the mail) in LaTeX, named "target_file", the same document in dvi and postscript formats.

-f

Write the Postscript file resulting from the interpretation of the message to the standard output.

-fp

Print the document even if the -o option is specified. (not applicable with -f).

-printer printername

Send output to the named printer. Otherwise send output to the printer named in the PRINTER or LPDEST environment variables.

-a4

Use A4 paper size (8.5 x 11.4 inches).

-us

Use US paper size (8.5 x 11 inches).

-typesize size

To specify the size of the characters to print.

-noburstpage

Disable the printing of the burst banner page.

-nopagenum

Disable the printing of the page numbers.

-addhdrs headertype1 headertype2...

Enable the printing of the headers following the option.

-rmhdrs headertype1 headertype2...

Disable the printing of the headers following the option.

-allheaders

Print all headers.

-boundary filename | default | none

If set to "none", disable the printing of a boundary between the bodyparts else, if set to "default" makes mimep print a horizontal line between two bodyparts; else prints the Postscript (EPS) file named "filename" between these parts.

$HOME/.mpdefaults

X resource initialisation file.

$HOME/.mailcap

metamail configuration file.

BINDIR/mimep

executable.

BINDIR/metamail

a program mimep uses.

BINDIR/latex

a program mimep uses.

BINDIR/dvips

a program mimep uses.

BINDIR/mp

a program mimep can use.

BINDIR/lpr

a program mimep uses.

BINDIR/iseps

a program of the mimep distribution.

BINDIR/ertf2latex

a program of the mimep distribution.

BINDIR/text2latex

a program of the mimep distribution.

BINDIR/cutlines

a program of the mimep distribution.

BINDIR/mimepurl

a program of the mimep distribution.

BINDIR/printmim

a shell script of the mimep distribution.

mimep uses the following environment variables:

MIMEPTMPDIR

If set, this variable overrides "/tmp" as the name of the directory in which mimep will create temporary files.

PRINTER or LPDEST

If no printername is defined, either in the $HOME/.mpdefaults file or with the -printer option, mimep will use the name set in the LPDEST or the PRINTER variable.

mimep creates some environment variables to interact with other programs of its distribution and with the shell script metamail called to treat the bodyparts of a message. Because these variables might be useful to implement some extensions to mimep, here they are:

MIMEPOUT

This variable is set to the name of the output file of mimep. (for the LaTeX document it creates)

MIMEPBOUND

This variable can be set to "none", "default", or to the path of an EPS file used by mimep to draw a boundary between bodyparts. If set to default, mimep will just draw a horizontal line with a height defined in the MIMEPRULEH variable.

MIMEPRULEH

Height of the horizontal line, if used to draw a boundary.

MIMEPMAXCH

Used by the program cutlines which needs to know the maximum size of a line in characters.

MIMEPPRINTER

If set, the printername in this variable overrides the default name of the printer given by the LPDEST or the PRINTER environment variables. It can be used in the shell script and in other programs to make them use the same printer as mimep.

latex(1) metamail(1) dvips(1) mp(1) lpr(1)

Please, report bugs to Serge Aumont. Serge.Aumont@univ-rennes1.fr

Copyright (c) 1995 C.R.I. of Rennes 1. (University of Rennes 1 - France)

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this material for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies, and that neither the name of the C.R.I. of Rennes 1 nor the one of the University of Rennes 1 be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to this material without the specific, prior written permission of an authorized representative of the University. THE C.R.I. MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR SUITABILITY OF THIS MATERIAL FOR ANY PURPOSE. IT IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES.

Mikael Cam, student at the Vannes Institute of Technology with a lot of pieces of advice from Serge Aumont, Eric Picheral & Rich Burridge.