Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!boulder!sunybcs!rutgers!iuvax!bsu-cs!cfchiesa
From: cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher F. Chiesa)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Symbols in mail?
Message-ID: <1762@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Date: 2 Jan 88 04:58:03 GMT
References: <8712312112.AA01825@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana
Lines: 44
Summary: Yes, you can define commands in Mail - sort of.

In article <8712312112.AA01825@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>, rdavenport@GTEWIS.ARPA writes:
>     I would like to know if there is a way to define symbols in DCL that can
>   be used when in MAIL. What I'd like is to be able to define something like:
>   $ mail$ext_vax  :== extract/append [.mail]info_vax.text
> 
>   so I can say in mail :
> 
>   MAIL> ext_vax
> 
>   and have it execute "extract/append [.mail]info_vax.text".

You can't do this, exactly, but you CAN assign any command-string you like,
to any "application keypad" key.  The only requirement, of course, is that you
must use a terminal that HAS an application keypad.

Within Mail, the command to do this is  DEFINE/KEY (I believe it also accepts
several qualifiers, particularly those dealing with /IF_STATE and /LOCK_STATE,
which effectively multiply the number of function keys you have available).
See HELP DEFINE/KEY at the Mail> prompt for further information.

I assume you'd like your keypad definitions to take effect automatically when
you enter Mail; this, too, can be done.  In DCL, define the logical name
MAIL$INIT to the name of a file containing the DEFINE/KEY commands you want
activated when you go in.  No "$" or other prefix needed, one command per
line. 

The example you give above, if bound to, say, the "5" key on the keypad,
might look like this:

DEFINE/KEY KP5 "extract/append [.mail]info_vax.text"

As is, this would require you to press RETURN after the keypad-5; to eliminate
that necessity, you would use the /TERMINATE qualifier:

DEFINE/KEY/TERMINATE  ... etc....

Hope this does what you want!

  Chris Chiesa
  Senior, CS Dept.
  Ball State University
  Muncie, IN
     (317) 288-2957 (home)