Xref: utzoo gnu.emacs.help:1935 comp.emacs:10650
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unreplyable!garbage
From: tsilva%aaec1.UUCP@DSPVAX.MIT.EDU (Tony Silva)
Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help,comp.emacs
Subject: accessing environment variables in Lisp expressions
Message-ID: <9105022259.AA17238@aaec.com.uucp>
Date: 2 May 91 22:59:30 GMT
Sender: daemon@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Followup-To: gnu.emacs.help
Distribution: world
Organization: Gatewayed from the GNU Project mailing list help-gnu-emacs@prep.ai.mit.edu
Lines: 50


After putting:

    (setq mail-archive-file-name "/u/tsilva/SMAIL.tmp")

in my ~/.emacs file, I can successfully send a message (to myself)
with a copy written to SMAIL.tmp in my home directory:

    To: tsilva
    Subject: test
    FCC: /u/tsilva/SMAIL.tmp
    --text follows this line--
    using /u/tsilva/SMAIL.tmp

However, I don't like hardwiring the directory name "/u/tsilva" in the
Lisp expression above.  I can't seem to figure out how to utilize the
$HOME environment variable. I tried:

    (setq mail-archive-file-name "$HOME/SMAIL.tmp")

and then

    To: tsilva
    Subject: test
    FCC: $HOME/SMAIL.tmp
    --text follows this line--
    using $HOME/SMAIL.tmp

which failed with the following message:

    Opening output file: no such file or directory, /u/tsilva/$HOME/SMAIL.tmp

The expression:

    (setq mail-archive-file-name "/$HOME/SMAIL.tmp")

also failed. I'm sure there's a simple way to use $HOME. Any hints?
Thanks in advance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony Silva
Atlantic Aerospace Electronics Corp.
470 Totten Pond Road
Waltham, MA 02154

voice:    (617)890-4200
FAX:      (617)890-0224
Internet: tsilva%aaec1.uucp@dspvax.mit.edu
UUCP:     ...!seismo!dspvax!aaec1!tsilva