1MH-DRAFT(5)                        [nmh-1.3]                       MH-DRAFT(5)
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NAME

6       mh-draft - draft folder facility for nmh message system
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SYNOPSIS

9       any nmh command
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DESCRIPTION

12       There  are a number of interesting advanced facilities for the composi‐
13       tion of outgoing mail.
14
15   The Draft Folder
16       The comp, dist, forw, and repl commands have two  additional  switches,
17       -draftfolder  +folder  and -draftmessage msg which allow you to manipu‐
18       late the various draft messages you are composing.
19
20       If -draftfolder +folder is used, these commands are  directed  to  con‐
21       struct  a  draft  message in the indicated folder.  (The “Draft-Folder
22       profile entry may be used to declare a default  draft  folder  for  use
23       with comp, dist, forw, and repl).
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25       If the swith -draftmessage msg is given, the specified draft is used to
26       compose the message.  If -draftmessage msg is not used, then the  draft
27       defaults  to  `new'  (create  a new draft) unless the user invokes comp
28       with -use, in which case the default is `cur'.
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30       Hence, the user may  have  several  message  compositions  in  progress
31       simultaneously.  Now, all of the nmh tools are available on each of the
32       user's message drafts (e.g.  show, scan, pick,  and  so  on).   If  the
33       folder  does not exist, the user is asked if it should be created (just
34       like with refile).  Also, the last draft message the user was composing
35       is known as `cur' in the draft folder.
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37       Furthermore,  the send command has these switches as well.  Hence, from
38       the shell, the user can send off  whatever  drafts  desired  using  the
39       standard  nmh  `msgs' convention with -draftmessage msgs.  If no `msgs'
40       are given, it defaults to `cur'.
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42       In addition, all five programs  have  a  -nodraftfolder  switch,  which
43       undoes the last occurrence of -draftfolder folder (useful if the latter
44       occurs in the user's nmh profile).
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46       If the user does not give the -draftfolder  +folder  switch,  then  all
47       these commands act “normally”.  Note that the -draft switch to send and
48       show still refers to the file called `draft' in the user's  nmh  direc‐
49       tory.   In  the  interests of economy of expression, when using comp or
50       send, the user needn't prefix the draft `msg' or `msgs' with -draftmes‐
51       sage.   Both of these commands accept a `file' or `files' argument, and
52       they will, if given -draftfolder +folder treat these arguments as `msg'
53       or  `msgs'. (This may appear to be inconsistent, at first, but it saves
54       a lot of typing) Hence,
55
56              send -draftfolder +drafts first
57
58       is the same as
59
60              send -draftfolder +drafts -draftmessage first
61
62       To make all this a bit more  clear,  here  are  some  examples.   Let's
63       assume that the following entries are in the nmh profile:
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65            Draft-Folder: +drafts
66            sendf: -draftfolder +drafts
67
68       Furthermore,  let's  assume that the program sendf is a (symbolic) link
69       in the user's $HOME/bin/ directory to send.  Then, any of the commands
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71            comp
72            dist
73            forw
74            repl
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76       constructs the message draft in the `draft' folder using the `new' mes‐
77       sage  number.  Furthermore, they each define `cur' in this folder to be
78       that message draft.  If the user were to use the quit option  at  `What
79       now?' level, then later on, if no other draft composition was done, the
80       draft could be sent with simply
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82            sendf
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84       Or, if more editing was required, the draft could be edited with
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86            comp -use
87
88       Instead, if other drafts had been composed in  the  meantime,  so  that
89       this  message draft was no longer known as `cur' in the `draft' folder,
90       then the user could scan the folder to see which message draft  in  the
91       folder  should be used for editing or sending.  Clever users could even
92       employ a back-quoted pick to do the work:
93
94            comp -use `pick +drafts -to nmh-workers`
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96       or
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98            sendf `pick +drafts -to nmh-workers`
99
100       Note that in the comp example, the output from pick must resolve  to  a
101       single  message draft (it makes no sense to talk about composing two or
102       more drafts with one invocation of comp).  In  contrast,  in  the  send
103       example,  as  many  message  drafts  as  desired can appear, since send
104       doesn't mind sending more than one draft at a time.
105
106       Note that the argument -draftfolder +folder is not included in the pro‐
107       file  entry  for  send, since when comp, et. al., invoke send directly,
108       they supply send with the UNIX pathname of the message draft, and not a
109       -draftmessage msg argument. As far as send is concerned, a draft folder
110       is not being used.
111
112       It is important to realize that nmh treats  the  draft  folder  like  a
113       standard nmh folder in nearly all respects.  There are two exceptions:
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115       First,  under no circumstancs will the -draftfolder folder switch cause
116       the named folder to become the current folder.
117
118       Obviously, if the folder appeared in the context of a standard  +folder
119       argument to an nmh program, as in
120
121            scan +drafts
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123       it might become the current folder, depending on the context changes of
124       the nmh program in question.
125
126       Second, although conceptually send deletes  the  `msgs'  named  in  the
127       draft folder, it does not call delete-prog to perform the deletion.
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129
130   What Happens if the Draft Exists
131       When  the comp, dist, forw, and repl commands are invoked and the draft
132       you indicated already exists, these programs will prompt the user for a
133       reponse directing the program's action.  The prompt is
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135            Draft ``/home/foobar/nmhbox/draft'' exists (xx bytes).
136            Disposition?
137
138       The appropriate responses and their meanings are:
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140            replace - deletes the draft and starts afresh
141            list    - lists the draft
142            refile  - files the draft into a folder and starts afresh
143            quit    - leaves the draft intact and exits
144
145       In  addition, if you specified -draftfolder folder to the command, then
146       one other response will be accepted:
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148            new     - finds a new draft
149
150       just as if -draftmessage new had been given.  Finally, the comp command
151       will accept one more response:
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153            use     - re-uses the draft
154
155       just as if -use had been given.
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CONTEXT

159       None
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163MH.6.8                            1 June 2008                      MH-DRAFT(5)
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