Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!batcomputer!theory.tn.cornell.edu!jch
From: jch@chumley.tn.cornell.edu (Jeffrey C Honig)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh
Subject: Re: Aliases and MhMail
Message-ID: <JCH.90Dec19102032@chumley.tn.cornell.edu>
Date: 19 Dec 90 18:20:32 GMT
References: <4712@umbc3.UMBC.EDU>
Sender: news@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu
Organization: Cornell Theory Center; Cornell University; Ithaca, NY USA
Lines: 52
In-Reply-To: jhon@dubhe.gsfc.nasa.gov's message of 18 Dec 90 23:58:17 GMT
Nntp-Posting-Host: chumley.tn.cornell.edu

> How can I use aliases with mhmail?

> The only way I've found is:
>	mhmail `ali -normalize alias` <file

The problem with your method is that mhmail will choke on aliases that
contain personal names, for example:

	jeff:	Jeffrey C Honig <jch@devvax.tn.cornell.edu>

To do this with one alias you could use:

	mhmail "`ali -normalize alias`" < file

It is more difficult to do with several aliases.  I wrote the
following script to send a piece of test mail for debugging mailers
that you could probably easily modify to do what you want.

Jeff

#! /bin/sh

if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
	echo "Usage: ${0} address [address] [address] ..."
	exit 1
fi

line= ;
send=1 ;

for name do
	case ${name} in
		-cc|-from)
			line="${line} ${name}" ;
		;;
		-test)
			send=0 ;
			;;
		-*)
			echo "Invalid switch" ${name} ;
			exit 1 ;
		;;
		*)
			line="${line} `/usr/local/lib/mh/ap -format '%<{error}%{error}: %{text}%|%(putstr(mbox{text}))%<(nohost{text})%|%(lit @)%(putstr(host{text}))%>%>' \"\`ali ${name}\`\"`" ;
	esac
done

if [ $send -eq 1 ]; then
	mhmail ${line} -subject "Test.`hostname`.$$" -body "Please ignore this test mail."
else
	echo ${line} ;
fi