repl - reply to a message

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 nmh 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: {fcc switch} or +outbox
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 nmh 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, the -width columns switch will guide repl's formatting of these fields.

If the draft already exists, repl will ask you as to the disposition of the draft. A reply of quit will abort repl, leaving the draft intact; replace will replace the existing draft with a blank skeleton; and list will display the draft.

See comp(1) for a description of the -editor and -noedit switches. Note that while in the editor, the message being replied to is available through a link named “@” (assuming the default whatnowproc). In addition, the actual pathname of the message is stored in the environment variable $editalt, 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.

The switches -noformat, -format, and -filter filterfile specify which message filter file to use.

If the switch -noformat is given (it is the default), then the message to which you are replying is not included in the body of the draft.

If the switch -format is given, then a default message filter file is used. This default message filter 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 nmh 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=“%(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.

To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the -mime switch. This directs repl to generate an mhbuild composition file. Note that nmh will not invoke mhbuild automatically, unless you add this line to your .mhprofile file:

automimeproc: 1

Otherwise, you must specifically give the command

What now? mime

prior to sending the draft.

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

Replied: date Replied: addrs

where the address list contains one line for each addressee. 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. Normally annotations are done inplace in order to preserve any links to the message. You may use the -noinplace switch to change this.

Although the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be put in the folder 'outbox', if the -fcc +folder switch is given it will override the default value. More than one folder, each preceded by -fcc can be named.

In addition to the standard mh-format(5) escapes, repl also recognizes the following additional component escape:

Escape	Returns	Description
fcc	string	Any folders specified with `-fcc folder'

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

The -draftfolder +folder and -draftmessage msg switches invoke the nmh draft folder facility. This is an advanced (and highly useful) feature. Consult the mh-draft(5) 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 invocation of this program can be inhibited by using the -nowhatnowproc switch. (In truth of fact, it is the whatnow program which starts the initial edit. Hence, -nowhatnowproc will prevent any edit from occurring.)

The -build switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface to nmh, and is only present if nmh was compiled with support for mh-e. It implies -nowhatnowproc. It causes a file <mh-dir>/reply to be created, containing the draft message that would normally be presented to the user for editing. No mail is actually sent. Note that this switch is not guaranteed to be present or to have the same effects in future versions of nmh: it is documented here only for completeness.

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

^/etc/nmh/replcomps~^The standard reply template
^or <mh-dir>/replcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^/etc/nmh/replgroupcomps~^The standard `reply -group' template
^or <mh-dir>/replgroupcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^/etc/nmh/mhl.reply~^The standard message filter
^or <mh-dir>/mhl.reply~^Rather than the standard filter
^$HOME/.mhprofile~^The user profile
^<mh-dir>/draft~^The draft file

^Path:~^To determine the user's nmh directory
^Alternate-Mailboxes:~^To determine the user's mailboxes
^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
^Draft-Folder:~^To find the default draft-folder
^Editor:~^To override the default editor
^Msg-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
^fileproc:~^Program to refile the message
^mhlproc:~^Program to filter message being replied-to
^whatnowproc:~^Program to ask the “What now?” questions

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

`+folder' defaults to the current folder
`msg' defaults to cur
`-nogroup'
`-nocc all' with `-nogroup', `-cc all' with `-group'
`-noannotate'
`-nodraftfolder'
`-noformat'
`-inplace'
`-nomime'
`-noquery'
`-width 72'

If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. The message replied-to will become the current message.

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 -width columns switch is only used to do address-folding; other headers are not line-wrapped.

If whatnowproc is whatnow, then repl uses a built-in whatnow, it does not actually run the whatnow program. Hence, if you define your own whatnowproc, don't call it whatnow since repl won't run it.

If your current working directory is not writable, the link named “@” is not available.