Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!unido!sapwdf!wohler From: wohler@sapwdf.UUCP (Bill Wohler) Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh Subject: MH Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) with Answers Message-ID: <2639@sapwdf.UUCP> Date: 1 Mar 91 12:06:02 GMT Expires: 1 Apr 91 00:00:00 GMT Reply-To: Bill Wohler Organization: SAP AG, Walldorf, Germany Lines: 328 folks, here is the first mh faq. in order to get the ball rolling and to mail this document at the beginning of the month, i've posted it in an incomplete state (i've already spent quite a bit of time on it). thus, i encourage all of you to read the entire document: the top for info, and the answers to check that the information is correct. if you are willing to fill in a question with no answer, send me mail first so we can avoid a duplication of effort. also, let me know if there are questions that you think should be deleted, or added. i've included everything that was sent to jerry, but i'm not entirely sure that all of them should remain. but this is a democracy... when the maintainer of the mailing list archive is established, please let me know: i may need to reference them now and again. here, forewith, is the first mh faq: --bw wohler@sap-ag.de Last update: $Date: 91/03/01 13:03:30 $ $Revision: 91.3 $ This is a living list of frequently asked questions on MH. The point of this is to circulate existing information, and avoid rehashing old answers. Better to build on top than start again. This article is posted monthly. If it has already expired and you're not reading this, feel free to request copies directly from me ;-). If someone posts a frequently-asked question, I will mail them a copy of this posting, and point out that the answer is there. Otherwise, if you feel that the answer should be added to the list, let me know, for I will only add questions upon popular demand. Your comments, additions and fixes to this list are welcome: please send them to Bill Wohler . Table of Contents (+ new, - deleted, ! changed) Introductory +1. Why should I use MH? +2. Where can I get MH? +3. What references exist for MH? +4. How should I report bugs? +5. How can I convert from my mailer to MH? +6. What kind of application are build upon mh ? Building MH +7. How do I build MH? +8. What options should I use? Using MH +9. Where can I read about slocal and the format of the .maildelivery file? +10. How do I include messages in repl with or without ">"? +11. How can I eliminate duplicate copies of letters to myself? +12. How would one go about reading Usenet with MH? Viewing this article If you are using GNU Emacs, type "M-2 C-x $" to get an overview of just the questions. Use "C-x $" to display the text again ("M-0 C-l C-x $" ensures that the current cursor location remains on the screen). To skip to a particular question numbered XX, in emacs type "M-C-s ^.XX", (or C-r to search backwards), followed by ESC to end the search. Or, use "/^.XX" with other pagers. To skip to new or changed questions, use "M-C-s ^[^ ]" in emacs and "^[^ ]" in other pagers. . Questions and Answers . Introductory +1. Why should I use MH? The MH Message Handling System is a set of electronic mail programs in the public domain. If your computer runs UNIX, it can probably run MH. The big difference between MH and most other "mail user agents" is that you can use MH from a UNIX shell prompt. In MH, each command is a separate program, and the shell is used as an interpreter. So, all the power of UNIX shells (pipes, redirection, history, aliases, and so on) works with MH--you don't have to learn a new interface. Other mail agents have their own command interpreter for their individual mail commands (although the mush mail agent simulates a UNIX shell). Because MH commands aren't part of a monolithic mail system, you can use them at any time; you don't have to start or quit the mail agent. Because you use them from a shell prompt, you can use all the power of the shell. If your shell has time-saving aliases or functions (and most do), you'll be able to use them with MH, of course. And because MH isn't a monolithic mail agent, you can use MH commands in UNIX shell scripts, or call them from programs in high-level languages like C. Unlike most mail agents, MH keeps each message in a separate file. The filename is the message number. To rearrange the messages, MH just changes the filenames. MH can use standard UNIX filesystem operations such as removing, copying and linking on it messages. The message files are grouped into one or more folders, which are actually UNIX directories. MH is free, powerful, flexible--and the basics are easy to learn. [Jerry Peek ] +2. Where can I get MH? The current version of MH is 6.7.1. Via anonymous ftp: ics.uci.edu [128.195.1.1] pub/mh/mh-6.7.tar.Z 1.5 M (compress) louie.udel.edu [128.175.1.3] portal/mh-6.7.tar 4.0 M (tar) louie.udel.edu [128.175.1.3] portal/mh-6.7.tar.C 2.3 M (compact) louie.udel.edu [128.175.1.3] portal/mh-6.7.tar.Z 1.6 M (compress) [is this complete and accurate? can someone send me a long listing of the directories above? does anyone else provide mh? if so, please send me a directory listing of the relevant mh files, the hostname, address, and directory containing those files.] Via anonymous uucp: [i'd like to put something here. anyone?] Via U.S. mail: Send a check drawn on U.S. funds made out to the "Regents of the University of California" to: Computing Support Group Attn: MH distribution Department of Information and Computer Science University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92717 714-856-7554 This covers the cost of a 6250 BPI 9-track magtape, handling, and shipping. In addition, you'll get a laser-printed hard-copy of the entire MH documentation set. Be sure to include your USPS address with your check. It's also a good idea (though not mandatory) to send a computer mail message to "Bug-MH@ics.uci.edu" when you send your check via USPS to ensure minimal turn-around time. Sadly, if you just want the hard-copies of the documentation, you still have to pay the $75.00. The tar image has the documentation source (the manual is in roff format, but the rest are in TeX format). Postscript formatted versions of the TeX papers are available, as are crude tty-conversions of those papers. [how to get just xmh?] +3. What references exist for MH? MH & xmh. Jerry Peek. ISBN 0-937175-63-3. $27.95. 550 pages. O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. 90 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA 02140; 617-354-5800 Book Orders: 632 Petaluma Ave, Sebastopol, CA 95472 800-DEV-NUTS (that's 800-338-6887) FAX 707-829-0104 Usenet: comp.mail.mh Mailing list: mh-users@isi.edu Please use mh-users-request to request an addition or deletion. [how are comp.mail.mh and mh-users gatewayed?] [where are the archives?] +4. How should I report bugs? Mail them to bug-mh@isi.edu and be sure to include the output of the -help option as well as what hardware and operating system you are using. +5. How can I convert from my mailer to MH? [anyone?] +6. What kind of applications are built upon mh? [comments?] . Building MH +7. How do I build MH? [this will basically be a reference to the READ-ME file in the distribution. however, perhaps we should include tricks on how to compile MH on different machines that is not discussed in the installation instructions. comments?] +8. What options should I use? [if you think this is a good question/idea, please send me *your* options and be sure to tell me which machines and os's they are running on.] . Using MH +9. Where can I read about slocal and the format of the .maildelivery file? In the distribution, this information is provided in the mhook man page. Wasn't this obvious? One can actually specify slocal or .maildelivery with IBM's AIX man. Here is brief example of a .maildelivery file that stores messages to mh-users in a folder and the system mailbox, stores babble in a folder but not the system mailbox, and puts the rest in the system mailbox. to mh-users | A "/usr/local/lib/mh/rcvstore -create +lists/mh-users" cc mh-users | A "/usr/local/lib/mh/rcvstore -create +lists/mh-users" to babble | R "/usr/local/lib/mh/rcvstore -create +lists/babble" cc babble | R "/usr/local/lib/mh/rcvstore -create +lists/babble" default - > ? /usr/spool/mail/wohler Your .forward file may look like (quotes necessary): "| /usr/local/lib/mh/slocal" [Bill Wohler ] +10. How do I include messages in repl with or without ">"? [anyone?] +11. How can I eliminate duplicate copies of letters to myself? Add these two lines to your MH profile file: Alternate-Mailboxes: user@host1, user@host2, ... repl: -nocc me To get one copy, you can either: - Take out the "-nocc me"... then you'll get exactly one copy of your replies (assuming all your addresses are listed in Alternate-Mailboxes), or - Add an "Fcc: foldername" to the headers of messages you send. That will drop a copy of the message in the folder "foldername". You can do this for *all* MH messages you send (not just with repl) by putting an "Fcc:" entry in your personal copy of the files "components", "replcomps", and "forwcomps" in your MH directory. (If you make a "distcomps" file, it needs "Resent-Fcc:".) For more info, see the man pages comp(1), repl(1), forw(1), dist(1) and mh-mail(5). [Jerry Peek ] The Alternate-Mailboxes also tells scan which messages are really from you so that it can place the recipient in the scan line instead of the sender. +12. How would one go about reading Usenet with MH? The news readers are better interfaces for reading news. However, you can save articles in the news readers for later perusal with MH. First, create a symbolic link from your mail directory (ie. usenet) to your news directory (ie. "ln -s ~/News ~/Mail/usenet"). You can then treat your news directory as a mail folder. Thus, to select a news group, use "folder +usenet/comp/mail/mh". To set the default save location correctly in rn, use: rn -M -/ or in your nn presentation sequence: news.announce. +$F/$N comp.mail.mh + . . [Bill Wohler ] Glossary [any good acronyms we can put here?] Acknowledgements I'd like to thank the following people for providing ideas on the layout of this article: Joe Wells Richard M. Stallman David Elliott Tom Christiansen Eugene N. Miya All of us are also grateful to the following individuals that have provided answers. The actual list is undoubtedly larger. Jerry Peek No Warranty: Because this article is provided free of charge as a service to comp.mail.mh readers, we provide absolutely no warranty, to the extent permitted by applicable state law. This article is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Should the information prove defective, you assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.