NAME¶
whatnow - prompting front-end for sending messages
SYNOPSIS¶
whatnow [-draftfolder +folder]
[-draftmessage msg] [-nodraftfolder] [-editor
editor] [-noedit] [-prompt string] [file]
[-version] [-help]
DESCRIPTION¶
Whatnow is the default program that queries the user about the
disposition 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 preceding round unless
a profile entry “<lasteditor>-next: <editor>”
names an alternate editor
- edit <editor>
- invoke <editor> for further editing
- refile +folder
- refile the draft into the given folder
- mime
- process the draft as MIME composition file using the buildmimeproc
command (mhbuild by default)
- display
- list the message being distributed/replied-to 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 that the message will go to
- 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 the directory when interpreting attachment file names
- pwd
- print the working directory for attachment files
- ls [ls-options]
- list files in the attachment working directory using the ls command
- attach [-v] files
- add the named files to the message as MIME attachments; -v displays the
mhbuild directive that send(1) will use
- alist [-ln]
- list the MIME attachments, either short, long [-l] or numbered [-n]
- 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) feature. Consult the
mh-draft(5) man page 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 find the default draft-folder
^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¶
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 actually run the
send program. Hence, if you
define your own
sendproc, don't call it
send since
whatnow won't run it.