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REPL(1) 		     General Commands Manual			 REPL(1)

NAME
     repl - reply to an nmh message

SYNOPSIS
     repl [-help] [-version] [+folder] [msg] [-annotate | -noannotate] [-group |
	  -nogroup] [-cc all/to/cc/me] [-nocc all/to/cc/me] [-query | -noquery]
	  [-form formfile] [-format | -noformat] [-filter filterfile] [-inplace
	  | -noinplace] [-mime | -nomime] [-fcc +folder] [-width columns]
	  [-draftfolder +folder] [-draftmessage msg] [-nodraftfolder] [-editor
	  editor] [-noedit] [-convertargs type argstring] [-whatnowproc program]
	  [-nowhatnowproc] [-atfile] [-noatfile] [-fmtproc program] [-nofmtproc]
	  [-build] [-file msgfile]

DESCRIPTION
     repl may be used to reply to a message.

     In  its  simplest form (with no arguments), repl will set up a message-form
     skeleton in reply to the current message in the current folder, and  invoke
     the whatnow shell.

     repl  uses  a  reply template to construct the draft of the reply.  A reply
     template is simply an mhl format file (see mh-format(5) for details).

     If the switch -nogroup is given (it is on by default), then repl  will  use
     the  standard  forms file "replcomps".  This will construct a draft message
     that is intended to be sent only to the author of the message to which  you
     are  replying.  If a file named "replcomps" exists in the user's nmh direc-
     tory, it will be used instead of this default forms file.

     The default reply template "replcomps" will direct repl  to  construct  the
     reply message draft as follows:

	  To: <Mail-Reply-To> or <Reply-To> or <From>
	  cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
	  Fcc: {fcc switch} or +outbox
	  Subject: Re: <Subject>
	  In-Reply-To: <Message-Id>
	  References: <Message-Id>
	  Comments: In-Reply-To <From> or <apparently from> or <Sender>
	     message dated <date>
	  --------

     where field names enclosed in angle brackets (< >) indicate the contents of
     the named field from the message to which the reply is being made.

     By default, the "cc:" field is empty.  You may selectively add addresses to
     this  default  with  the  -cc  type  switch.  This switch takes an argument
     (all/to/cc/me) which specifies who gets added to the default "cc:" list  of
     the  reply.   You may give this switch multiple times (with different argu-
     ments) if you wish to add multiple types of address.

     If the switch -group is given, then repl will use the standard  forms  file
     "replgroupcomps".	 This will construct a draft message that is intended as
     a group or followup reply.  If a file named "replgroupcomps" exists in  the
     user's  nmh  directory, it will be used instead of this default forms file,
     unless you specify another forms file on the command line or in  your  pro-
     file.

     The  default group reply template "replgroupcomps" will direct repl to con-
     struct the reply message draft as follows:

	  To: <Mail-Followup-To>
	  Subject: Re: <Subject>
	  In-Reply-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
		       <Message-Id>
	  --------

     or if the field <Mail-Followup-To> is not available:

	  To: <Mail-Reply-To> or <Reply-To> or <From>
	  cc: <To> and <cc> and <personal address>
	  Subject: Re: <Subject>
	  In-Reply-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
		       <Message-Id>
	  --------

     By default, the "cc:" contains all the addresses  shown.	You  may  selec-
     tively remove addresses from this default with the -nocc type switch.  This
     switch  takes  an argument ( all/to/cc/me) which specifies who gets removed
     from the default "cc:" list of the reply.	You may give this switch  multi-
     ple  times  (with different arguments) if you wish to remove multiple types
     of address.

     In any case, you may specify an alternative  forms  file  with  the  switch
     -form formfile.

     The -query switch modifies the action of -nocc type switch by interactively
     asking  you  if each address that normally would be placed in the "To:" and
     "cc:" list should actually be sent a copy.  This is useful for special-pur-
     pose replies.  Note that the position of the -cc and -nocc  switches,  like
     all other switches which take a positive and negative form, is important.

     Lines  beginning with the fields "To:", "cc:", and "Bcc:" will be standard-
     ized and have duplicate addresses removed.  In addition, the -width columns
     switch will guide repl's formatting of these fields.

     If the draft already exists, repl will ask you as to the disposition of the
     draft.  A reply of quit will abort repl, leaving the draft intact;  replace
     will  replace  the existing draft with a blank skeleton; and list will dis-
     play the draft.

     See comp(1) for a description of the -editor and  -noedit	switches.   Note
     that  while  in  the  editor,  with -atfile and if the current directory is
     writable, the message being replied to is available through  a  link  named
     "@"  (assuming  the default whatnowproc).	In addition, the actual pathname
     of the message is stored in the  environment  variable  $editalt,	and  the
     pathname  of the folder containing the message is stored in the environment
     variable $mhfolder.  The creation of the "@" file	is  controlled	via  the
     -atfile and -noatfile options.

     The  -convertargs switch directs repl to pass the arguments for type to mh-
     build.  Both arguments are required; type must be non-empty while argstring
     can be empty, e.g., '' in a shell command line.   The  -convertargs  switch
     can  be  used  multiple  times.   See  the Convert Interface section of mh-
     build(1)  for  a  description  of	the  convert  mechanism,  and	/usr/lo-
     cal/share/doc/nmh/contrib/replaliases for examples of its use.

     Although repl uses a forms file to direct it how to construct the beginning
     of the draft, it uses a message filter file to direct it as to how the mes-
     sage  to  which  you  are replying should be filtered (re-formatted) in the
     body of the draft.  The filter file for repl should be a standard form file
     for mhl, as repl will invoke mhl to format the message to which you are re-
     plying.

     The switches -noformat, -format, and -filter filterfile specify which  mes-
     sage filter file to use.

     If the switch -noformat is given (it is the default) and the -filter switch
     is  not used, then the message to which you are replying is not included in
     the body of the draft.

     If the switch -format is given, then a default message filter file is used.
     This default message filter should be adequate for most  users.   This  de-
     fault filter "mhl.reply" is:

	  ; mhl.reply
	  ;
	  ; default message filter for `repl' (repl -format)
	  ;
	  from:nocomponent,formatfield="%(unquote(decode(friendly{text}))) writes:"
	  body:component="> ",overflowtext="> ",overflowoffset=0

     which  outputs  each  line of the body of the message prefaced with the ">"
     character and a space.

     If a file named "mhl.reply" exists in the user's nmh directory, it will  be
     used  instead  of	this  form.  You may specify an alternate message filter
     file with the switch -filter filterfile.

     Other reply filters are commonly used, such as:

	  :
	  body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9

     which says to output a blank line, and then the body of the  message  being
     replied to, indented by one tab stop.  Another popular format is:

	  message-id:nocomponent,nonewline,\
	  formatfield="In message %{text}, "
	  from:nocomponent,formatfield="%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:"
	  body:component=">",overflowtext=">",overflowoffset=0

     This message filter file cites the Message-ID and author of the message be-
     ing  replied  to,	and then outputs each line of the body prefaced with the
     ">" character.

     You can also use an external format program to  format  the  message  body.
     The format program is specified by the formatproc profile entry, and is en-
     abled by the "format" flag.  A message filter using an external format pro-
     gram would look like this:

	  body:component=">",nowrap,format

     See  the mhl(1) documentation for more information.  The format program can
     be changed by the -fmtproc program and -nofmtproc switches.

     To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the  -mime  switch.   This
     directs  repl  to generate an mhbuild composition file.  Note that nmh will
     not invoke mhbuild automatically; you must specifically give the command

	  What now? mime

     prior to sending the draft.

     If the -annotate switch is given, the message being replied to will be  an-
     notated with the lines

	  Replied: date Replied: addrs

     where  the  address list contains one line for each addressee.  The annota-
     tion will be done only if the message is sent directly from repl.	 If  the
     message  is  not sent immediately from repl, "comp -use" may be used to re-
     edit and send the constructed  message,  but  the	annotations  won't  take
     place.   Normally	annotations  are  done	inplace in order to preserve any
     links to the message.  You may use the -noinplace switch to change this.

     Although the default template specifies that a copy of the  reply	will  be
     put  in  the  folder  `outbox', if the -fcc +folder switch is given it will
     override the default value.  More than one folder, each  preceded	by  -fcc
     can be named.

     In  addition to the standard mh-format(5) escapes, repl also recognizes the
     following additional component escape:

	  Escape  Returns  Description
	  fcc	  string   Any folders specified with `-fcc folder'

     To avoid reiteration, repl strips any leading `Re: ' strings from the  sub-
     ject component.

     The  -draftfolder	+folder  and  -draftmessage  msg switches invoke the nmh
     draft folder facility.  This is an advanced (and  highly  useful)	feature.
     Consult mh-draft(5) for more information.

     Upon  exiting  from  the editor, repl will invoke the whatnow program.  See
     whatnow(1) for a discussion of available options.	The invocation	of  this
     program  can be inhibited by using the -nowhatnowproc switch.  (In fact, it
     is the whatnow program which starts the initial edit.   Hence,  -nowhatnow-
     proc will prevent any edit from occurring.)

     The  -build  switch  is  intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface to
     nmh.  It implies -nowhatnowproc.  It causes a  file  <mh-dir>/reply  to  be
     created,  containing  the draft message that would normally be presented to
     the user for editing.  No mail is actually sent.

     The -file msgfile switch specifies the message to be replied to as an exact
     filename rather than as an nmh folder and message number.	The same caveats
     apply to this option as to the -build switch.

FILES
     repl looks for all format, filter and template files in multiple locations:
     absolute pathnames are accessed directly, tilde expansion is done on  user-
     names, and files are searched for in the user's Mail directory as specified
     in  their	profile.  If not found there, the directory "/usr/local/etc/nmh"
     is checked.

     /usr/local/etc/nmh/replcomps	  The standard reply template
     or <mh-dir>/replcomps		  Rather than the standard template
     /usr/local/etc/nmh/replgroupcomps	  The standard `reply -group' template
     or <mh-dir>/replgroupcomps 	  Rather than the standard template
     /usr/local/etc/nmh/mhl.reply	  The standard message filter
     or <mh-dir>/mhl.reply		  Rather than the standard filter
     $HOME/.mh_profile			  The user profile
     <mh-dir>/draft			  The draft file

PROFILE COMPONENTS
     Path:		  To determine the user's nmh directory
     Alternate-Mailboxes: To determine the user's mailboxes
     Current-Folder:	  To find the default current folder
     Draft-Folder:	  To specify the default draftfolder
     Editor:		  To override the default editor
     Msg-Protect:	  To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
     fileproc:		  Program to refile the message
     mhlproc:		  Program to filter message being replied-to
     whatnowproc:	  Program to ask the "What now?" questions

SEE ALSO
     comp(1), forw(1), mh-draft(5),  mh-format(5),  mhbuild(1),  send(1),  what-
     now(1)

     /usr/local/share/doc/nmh/contrib/replaliases

DEFAULTS
     `+folder' defaults to the current folder
     `msg' defaults to cur
     `-nogroup'
     `-nocc all' with `-nogroup', `-cc all' with `-group'
     `-noannotate'
     `-nodraftfolder'
     `-noformat'
     `-inplace'
     `-nomime'
     `-noquery'
     `-noatfile'
     `-width 72'

CONTEXT
     If  a  folder  is	given,	it  will become the current folder.  The message
     replied to will become the current message.

BUGS
     If any addresses occur in the reply template,  addresses  in  the	template
     that  do not contain hosts are defaulted incorrectly.  Instead of using the
     localhost for the default, repl uses  the	sender's  host.   Moral  of  the
     story:  if  you're  going to include addresses in a reply template, include
     the host portion of the address.

     The -width columns switch is only used to do address-folding; other headers
     are not line-wrapped.

     If whatnowproc is whatnow, then repl uses a built-in whatnow, it  does  not
     actually  run  the whatnow program.  Hence, if you define your own whatnow-
     proc, don't call it whatnow since repl won't run it.

nmh-1.8+dev			   2022-12-22				 REPL(1)

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