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WHATNOW(1)		    General Commands Manual		    WHATNOW(1)

NAME
       whatnow - prompting front-end for writing nmh messages

SYNOPSIS

       whatnow [-help] [-version] [-draftfolder	+folder] [-draftmessage	msg]
	    [-nodraftfolder] [-editor editor] [-noedit]	[-prompt string]
	    [file]

DESCRIPTION
       whatnow is the default program that queries the user about the disposi-
       tion  of	a composed draft.  It is normally automatically	invoked	by one
       of the nmh commands comp, dist, forw, or	repl after the initial edit.

       When started, the editor	is started on the  draft  (unless  -noedit  is
       given,  in  which  case the initial edit	is suppressed).	 Then, whatnow
       repetitively prompts the	user with "What	now?"  and awaits a  response.
       The valid responses are:

	    edit   Re-edit  using the same editor that was used	on the preced-
		   ing round unless a profile entry "<lasteditor>-next:	 <edi-
		   tor>" names an alternate editor.

	    edit editor
		   Invoke editor for further editing.

	    refile +folder
		   Refile the draft into folder	.

	    mime   Process  the	 draft	as  a  MIME composition	file using the
		   buildmimeproc command which defaults	to mhbuild(1).

	    display
		   List	the message being replied to  or  distributed  on  the
		   terminal.

	    list   List	the draft on the terminal.

	    send   Send	the message.

	    send -watch
		   Send	the message and	monitor	the delivery process.

	    push   Send	the message in the background.

	    whom   List	the addresses to whom the message will go.

	    whom -check
		   List	 the  addresses	and verify that	they are acceptable to
		   the transport service.

	    quit   Preserve the	draft and exit.

	    quit -delete
		   Delete the draft and	exit.

	    delete Delete the draft and	exit.

	    cd directory
		   Use directory  when	interpreting  attachment  file	names.
		   This	 does  not  change whatnow's process's current working
		   directory so	it and child processes,	e.g.  edit's,  do  not
		   see the change.

	    pwd	   Print the working directory for attachment files.

	    ls [ls-options]
		   List	files in the attachment	working	directory using	ls(1).

	    attach [-v]	files
		   Add	the named files	to the message as MIME attachments; -v
		   displays the	mhbuild(1) directive that send(1) will use.

	    alist [-ln]
		   List	the MIME attachments'  filenames.   -l	gives  a  long
		   listing  showing  their full	path.  -n numbers them for use
		   with	detach .

	    detach [-n]	files-or-numbers
		   Remove MIME attachments, either by file name	or  by	number
		   with	-n.

       When  entering  your  response, you need	only type enough characters to
       uniquely	identify the response.

       For the edit response, any valid	switch to the editor is	valid.

       For the send and	push responses,	any valid switch to send(1)  is	 valid
       (as push	merely invokes send with the -push option).

       For the whom response, any valid	switch to whom(1) is valid.

       For the refile response,	any valid switch to the	fileproc is valid.

       For  the	display	and list responses, any	valid argument to the lproc is
       valid.  If any non-switch arguments are present,	then the  pathname  of
       the  draft  will	 be excluded from the argument list given to the lproc
       (this is	useful for listing another nmh message).

       See mh-profile(5) for further information about how editors are used by
       nmh.  It	also discusses how environment variables can be	used to	direct
       whatnow's actions in complex ways.

       The -prompt string switch sets the prompting string for whatnow.

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

       If your nmh was configured with readline	enabled, you'll	be able	to use
       filename	completion and other readline features at the  prompt.	 These
       are  particularly  useful  with the cd, ls, attach, and detach commands
       for managing MIME attachments.

FILES
       $HOME/.mh_profile		    The	user profile
       <mh-dir>/draft			    The	draft file

PROFILE	COMPONENTS
       Path:		    To determine the user's nmh	directory
       Draft-Folder:	    To specify the default draftfolder
       Editor:		    To override	the default editor
       <lasteditor>-next:   To name an editor to be used after exit
			    from <lasteditor>
       buildmimeproc:	    Program to translate MIME composition files
       fileproc:	    Program to refile the message
       lproc:		    Program to list the	contents of a message
       sendproc:	    Program to use to send the message
       whomproc:	    Program to determine who a message would go	to

SEE ALSO
       mh-draft(5), send(1), whom(1)

DEFAULTS
       `-prompt' defaults to "What Now?	"

BUGS
       If the initial edit fails, whatnow deletes your draft (by  renaming  it
       with a site-dependent prefix (usually a comma); failure of a later edit
       preserves the draft.

       If  the	buildmimeproc fails (returns a nonzero status),	whatnow	simply
       prints a	"What now?" prompt.  whatnow depends on	the  buildmimeproc  to
       tell the	user that something went wrong.

       If whatnowproc is whatnow, then comp, dist, forw, and repl use a	built-
       in whatnow, and do not actually run the whatnow program.	 Hence,	if you
       define  your  own  whatnowproc, don't call it whatnow since it won't be
       run.

       If sendproc is send, then whatnow uses a	built-in send, it does not ac-
       tually run the send program.  Hence, if you define your	own  sendproc,
       don't call it send since	whatnow	won't run it.

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

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