Manual page for MAILTOOL(1)
mailtool - SunView interface for the mail program
SYNOPSIS
mailtool
[
-Mx
]
[
-Mi
interval
]
[
generic-tool-arguments
]
AVAILABILITY
This command is available with the
[a manual with the abbreviation SVBG]
software installation option. Refer to
[a manual with the abbreviation INSTALL]
for information on how to install optional software.
DESCRIPTION
mailtool
is the standard SunView interface to
mail.1
It provides a window and mouse-based interface for reading, storing,
composing, and sending mail messages.
Scrollable windows allow easy access to
your mailbox and mail folders.
Software ``panel buttons'' make frequently-used commands readily
available.
Less-used commands are accessible from
menus, and keyboard accelerators are provided
for the more experienced user.
The full editing capabilities of
textedit.1
and the SunView selection service are available
for modifying and composing mail.
In addition, you can customize
mailtool
by setting various parameters with
defaultsedit.1
OPTIONS
- -Mx
-
Expert mode.
Do not ask for confirmation after potentially damaging
mail
commands.
This has the same effect as setting the
expert
variable.
- -Mi interval
-
Check for new mail every
interval
seconds.
This has the same effect as specifying a value for the
interval
variable.
- generic-tool-arguments
-
mailtool
accepts the generic tool arguments described in
sunview.1
USAGE
Users who are not familiar with the
mail
command should read
[a manual with the abbreviation GSBG].
For more information on text editing and the
selection service, see the
[a manual with the abbreviation SVBG].
mailtool
comes up closed.
You can open the tool by clicking on the icon with the
LEFT
mouse button.
mailtool
starts reading your system mailbox as it opens.
Alternatively, the frame menu on the icon contains the
Open
pull-right item, which allows you to open
mailtool
to a selected folder, or open and
Compose,
or just open without performing any other operation.
Subwindows
mailtool
is composed of six parts.
From top to bottom, they are:
- frame header
-
This is the broad stripe at the top of the tool, and it
displays status information.
The right side displays information about the
most-recently executed command.
The left side displays other information such as the
name of the current folder.
When involved in a lengthy operation,
mailtool
displays a message to that effect on the left side.
While an operation is pending, the cursor takes on
the shape of an hourglass; you must wait until it
finishes.
- header-list window
-
This read-only text window contains a list of message headers
from the current folder or mailbox.
Initially, it shows the contents of your system mailbox (by default).
Each header typically contains fields indicating who the message is from,
its subject, and so forth.
There is a scrollbar to the left
that you can use to scroll through the headers.
- control panel
-
This panel contains a collection of
software buttons corresponding to the most frequently used
mail.1
commands.
Clicking on one of these buttons starts the indicated
operation for either the selected or the current message.
Commands that require the name of a folder, such as
Save,
use the contents of the
`File:'
text item.
You must enter the name of a file or folder in this space before
clicking on the button.
In addition to the panel buttons, other commands
and variations are accessible through menus ``behind''
each panel button.
To display a button menu, hold down the
RIGHT
mouse button over the panel button.
See
Command Menus,
below, for details.
- The message window
-
This text window displays the current message
(marked with
`>'
in the header window).
You can edit this message, in which case the result replaces
the original message in the mailbox or folder.
- composition panel
-
This panel contains software buttons for
composing or replying to messages, and is visible
only when you are composing a message or reply.
- composition window
-
This text window, in which you compose messages to send, appears in
conjunction with the composition panel.
It is normally displayed only when composing a message or reply.
It is initially loaded with mail header lines such as
`To:'
and
`Subject:',
and perhaps,
`Cc:'.
After these labels come various text fields, such as
|>recipients<|.
You can move from field to field using
CTRL-TAB.
This advances to the next text field.
If you supply input to
the field, your input replaces its contents.
Empty fields are deleted when the message is sent.
You can continue
to edit the message as you see fit until you click on
Deliver,
at which point the message is sent as is.
(You normally cannot retrieve a message once it has been sent).
- pop-up composition window
-
While composing a message or reply, clicking again on
Compose
or
Reply,
opens another frame that contains a composition panel and window.
The only limit on the number of such pop-up composition frames is the
number of windows that a tool can support.
These additional frames operate independently.
Basic Mailtool Concepts
- Choosing a message
-
To choose a message, place the cursor anywhere
in its header in the header window and click the
LEFT
mouse button.
If there is no message chosen,
mailtool
applies operations to the current message.
- Current message
-
The message that is displayed in
the message window, and flagged with a
`>'
in the header window.
- Confirmation
-
Some operations require confirmation, in which case an alert is
displayed.
You can then confirm or cancel the operation.
- Folders
-
When mailtool starts up, it normally reads your system mailbox.
However, you can select another ``folder'' (file containing mail
messages) from which to read.
- Committing Changes
-
Some operations change the state of your system mailbox or the current
folder. These changes are not finalized until you commit them.
For instance, you can ``undelete'' messages that were deleted,
provided that you have not yet done an operation that commits your
changes.
If the
mailtool
session is interrupted, pending changes to the mailbox or
folder do not take effect. The
Done
button commits changes, as does the
Quit
button, which also exits from
mailtool.
To deliberately exit without committing, use the pop-up menu behind the
Quit
button.
Control Panel
Except for the
Next
and
Undelete
buttons,
mailtool
commands operate on the selected message or the current message only.
You cannot specify a list or range of messages as with
mail.1
The control panel buttons and items are (in alphabetical order):
- Compose
-
Open a composition panel and window to compose a message.
- Delete
-
Delete the selected or current message.
- Done
-
Commit changes, close
mailtool,
and read new mail on next
Open.
- File:
-
This is a text item in which to enter the name of a folder for the
Save,
Copy,
and
Folder
commands.
This name can be a full pathname, a
pathname relative to the current directory (the directory
mailtool
was started from), or a filename prefixed with a
`+'
to refer to a file in the ``folder'' directory.
- Folder
-
Commit changes and switch to the file or folder specified in the
`File:'
text item.
- Misc
-
Display a pop-up panel to change the current directory of
mailtool.
Other miscellaneous operations are available on
the menu behind this button.
- New Mail
-
If you are examining your system mailbox, retrieve
new mail
without
committing changes.
If your are examining a folder, commit any changes to the folder,
switch back to system mailbox, and retrieve any new mail
in the process.
- Next
-
Display the message following the
current
message in the message window.
- Print
-
Print the corresponding message on a hardcopy printer.
- Reply
-
Open a composition window to reply to the selected or current message.
- Save
-
Save the current or selected message in the folder specified in the
`File:'
text field, and delete it from your system mailbox or current folder.
- Show
-
Display the chosen or current message in the message window.
The Composition Panel
This panel contains four buttons and a cycle-item.
The cycle-item
controls the behavior of the composition window when it becomes
inactive -- when the user delivers or cancels a message.
Items in the cycle are:
- Disappear
-
Remove the composition window and panel from display. This is
the default.
- Stay Up
-
Clear the window, but leave it displayed.
- Close
-
Close a pop-up composition frame.
The panel buttons are:
- Cancel
-
Abort the message being composed.
- Deliver
-
Send the message being composed to the indicated recipients.
- Include
-
Insert the corresponding message into the composition window at
the caret. This operation can be performed repeatedly, to
include various messages.
- Re-address
-
Insert the appropriate
`To:',
`Subject:'
and
`Cc:'
fields at the top
of the composition window.
Command Menus
All panel buttons have menus behind them. The first item on
the menu is the default command; choosing this item is the same as
clicking on the panel button.
Some menu items are pull-right to menus of related commands.
You can browse the button menus to discover what additional commands are
available, and what their accelerators are, if any.
The following commands are particularly useful.
- Change Directory
-
Display a pop-up panel to change the current directory.
- Commit Changes
-
Commit changes. This item is behind the
New Mail
button when viewing a folder.
- Commit Changes and Quit
-
Behind the
Done
button.
Commit changes and exit
mailtool.1
This is the same as choosing
Quit
from the frame menu.
- Commit Changes and Retrieve New Mail
-
Behind the
New Mail
button.
Commit changes and retrieve new mail, switching to the system mail box
if in a folder.
This is the default when viewing a folder.
- Copy
-
Behind the
Save
button.
Copy the selected message to the file or folder specified in the
`File:'
text item, without deleting it from the mailbox or folder.
- Deliver, Leave Window Intact
-
Behind the
Deliver
button.
Deliver the message, but do not undisplay, close, or clear the message
composition window.
- Include, Indented
-
Behind the
Include
button.
Include the indicated message, setting it off by indentation
rather than bracketing it with
`--- Begin Included Message ---'
and
`--- End Included Message ---'
lines.
- Previous
-
Behind the
Next
button.
Display the previous message in the message window.
- Quit without Committing Changes
-
Behind the
Done
button.
Exit
mailtool
without
committing changes.
- Show Full Header
-
Behind the
Show
button.
Display the complete message in the message window, including
header lines that are normally ignored.
- Source .mailrc
-
Behind the
Misc
button.
Read in your
.mailrc
file to acquire new variables and settings.
Note: this operation does not ``forget'' the
previous option settings; only changes to
boolean variables take effect.
- Undelete
-
Behind the
Delete
button.
Undelete the most recently deleted message(s) -- this may be
used repeatedly.
It is inactive when there are no deleted messages.
There are two special
menus for use with the
`File:'
text item.
Choosing a name from either of these menus replaces the contents of
this item.
The menu behind the
`File:'
item holds the most recently used folder names of the current
session.
It is be initialized by the
filemenu
variable.
The menu behind the
Folder
button displays all folders in the ``folder'' directory, which is
specified by the
folder
variable (described in
mail.1
Folders can be organized into subdirectories
within the folder directory.
Files in these subdirectories
appear in a hierarchy of pull-right menus.
To switch to a folder, choose it from one of the file menus, or
type it in directly, and click on the
Folder
button.
To return to your system mailbox, use the
New Mail
button.
Mailtool Variables
In addition to the variables recognized by
mail.1
mailtool
recognizes those listed below.
They can be set by using
defaultsedit.1
or by editing your
.mailrc
file directly.
Unless otherwise noted, the default for the
following variables is off.
- allowreversescan
-
When set, allows you to step through messages in latest-first
oldest-first order if you choose.
The next message depends on the order of travel.
- alwaysusepopup
-
Never split the message window to compose or reply; always use pop-up
composition windows.
- askbcc
-
Prompt for the
`Bcc:'
field when composing or replying.
- autoprint
-
Display the next message when the current message
is deleted or saved.
- bell
-
The number of times to ring the bell when new mail arrives.
The default is 0.
- disablefields
-
Do not use text fields in the composition window.
The default is to use text fields.
- editmessagewindow
-
Request confirmation before the first editing operation to a message in
the message window (as opposed to composing a reply).
The default is not to request confirmation of the first edit.
- expert
-
Set expert mode in which no confirmations are requested.
- filemenu
-
A list of files from which to initialize the
`File:'
menu.
These can be absolute pathnames, pathnames relative to the
working directory for
mailtool
(typically your home directory), or filenames prefixed with a
`+',
which are taken as relative to the directory specified in the
folder
variable (see
mail.1
- filemenusize
-
Specifies the maximum size of the
`File:'
menu.
The default is 10.
- flash
-
The number of times to flash the window or icon when new mail arrives.
The default is 0.
- headerlines
-
The number of lines in header window.
The default is 10.
- interval
-
The interval in seconds to check for new mail.
The default is 300.
- maillines
-
The number of lines in mail message window.
The default is 30.
- moveinputfocus
-
Move the input focus into the composition window for
Compose
and
Reply.
This only works for click-to-type.
- pop-uplines
-
The number of lines in pop-up message composition window.
The default is 30.
- msgpercent
-
The percent of the message window to remain visible during
Compose
or
Reply.
The default is 50.
- printmail
-
The command to use to print a message.
The default is
`lpr -p'.
- trash
-
The name of trash bin, which may be accessed just like any other folder.
If set, all deleted messages are moved to the trash bin.
The trash bin is emptied when you commit changes.
Conditional Settings
You can make your
.mailrc
set variables conditionally,
depending on whether it is running in the tty environment or the
window environment.
See
[a manual with the abbreviation GSBG]
for details.
ENVIRONMENT
The environment variables
LC_CTYPE,
LANG,
and
LC_default
control the character classification
throughout
mailtool.
On entry to
mailtool,
these environment variables are checked in the
following order:
LC_CTYPE,
LANG,
and
LC_default.
When a valid value is found,
remaining environment variables for character classification
are ignored.
For example, a new setting for
LANG
does not override the current valid character
classification rules of
LC_CTYPE.
When none of the values is valid,
the shell character
classification defaults to the
POSIX.1 ``C''
locale.
FILES
- /var/spool/mail/*
-
system mailboxes
- ~/.mailrc
-
startup file for
mail
and
mailtool
SEE ALSO
bin-mail.1
defaultsedit.1
mail.1
sunview.1
textedit.1
aliases.5
locale.5
newaliases(8),
sendmail.8
[a manual with the abbreviation GSBG]
[a manual with the abbreviation SVBG]
BUGS
If
mail.1
receives an error, then
mailtool
may hang, in which case you must kill it.
New mail status is only approximate, therefore the presence of new mail
is not always accurately reflected in the icon image or tool frame
header.
Mouse input may be lost while
mailtool
switches to iconic state.
When notifying you of new mail,
mailtool
will not flash the window or icon without beeping (ringing the
audible bell). Thus, the
number of flashes is limited by the number of beeps you set.
Unlike
mail.1
mailtool
retains unsaved messages in the system mailbox by default; that
is, the
hold
variable is initially set.
Created by unroff & hp-tools.
© somebody (See intro for details). All Rights Reserved.
Last modified 11/5/97