[ Bottom of Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Contents | Index | Library Home |
Legal |
Search ]
Commands Reference, Volume 6
whatnow Command
Purpose
Starts a prompting interface for draft disposition.
Syntax
whatnow [ { -draftfolder +Folder | -nodraftfolder | File } { -draftmessage Message | File } ] [ -editor Editor | -noedit ] [ -prompt String ]
Description
The whatnow command provides
an interface for the disposition of messages. By default, the interface operates
on the current draft message. When you enter the whatnow command, the system places you in the interface and returns the following
prompt:
What now?
Within the interface you can manipulate message drafts
using the whatnow subcommands.
To see a listing of the subcommands, press the Enter key at the What now? prompt. To exit the interface, press q.
If you do not specify the -draftfolder flag or if the Draft-Folder: entry in the $HOME/.mh_profile file is undefined, the whatnow command searches your MH directory for a draft file. Specifying a message after the -draftfolder +Folder flag is the same as specifying the -draftmessage flag.
To change the default editor for the whatnow command, use the -editor flag or define
the Editor: entry in the UserMhDirectory/.mh_profile file.
Note: The comp, dist, forw, or repl commands use the same interface as the whatnow command.
Flags
-draftfolder +Folder |
Specifies the folder containing the message. By default, the system
uses the UserMhdirectory/draft
file. Specifying a message after the -draftfolder +Folder is the same as using the -draftmessage flag. |
-draftmessage Message |
Specifies the draft message. |
-editor Editor |
Specifies that the value of the Editor variable
is the initial editor for composing or revising the message. |
-help |
Lists the command syntax, available switches (toggles), and version
information.
Note: For MH, the name of this
flag must be fully spelled out. |
File |
User selected draft file. |
Message |
Specifies the message. Use the following references to specify messages:
- Number
- Number of the message.
- cur or . (period)
- Current message. This is the default.
- first
- First message in a folder.
- last
- Last message in a folder.
- next
- Message following the current message.
- prev
- Message preceding the current message.
- -nodraftfolder
- Places the draft in the UserMhDirectory/draft file.
- -noedit
- Suppresses the initial edit.
- -prompt String
- Uses the specified string as the prompt. The default string is What now?.
|
whatnow Subcommands
The whatnow subcommands enable
you to edit the message, direct the disposition of the message, or end the
processing of the whatnow command.
display [Flags] |
Displays the message being redistributed or replied to. You can specify
any Flags parameter that is valid for the listing
program. (Use the lproc: entry in the $HOME/.mh_profile file to set a default listing program.) If you specify
flags that are invalid for the listing program, the whatnow command does not pass the path name of the draft. |
edit [CommandString] |
Specifies with the CommandString parameter
an editor for the message. You can specify the editor and any valid flags
to that editor. If you do not specify an editor, the whatnow command uses the editor specified by the Editor: entry in your UserMhDirectory/.mh_profile file. If your Editor: entry
is undefined, the whatnow command starts the editor
used in the previous editing session. |
list [Flags] |
Displays the draft. You can specify any Flags parameter that is valid for the listing program. (To specify a default
listing program, set a default lproc: entry in
the $HOME/.mh_profile file.) If you specify any flags
that are invalid for the listing program, the whatnow
command does not pass the path name of the draft. |
push [Flags] |
Sends the message in the background. You can specify any valid flag
for the send command. |
quit [-delete] |
Ends the whatnow session. If you specify the -delete flag, the whatnow command
deletes the draft. Otherwise, the whatnow command stores
the draft. |
refile [Flags] +Folder |
|
Files the draft in the specified folder and supplies a new draft
having the previously specified form. You can specify any Flags parameter that is valid for the command serving as the fileproc. (You can set a default fileproc:
entry in the $HOME/.mh_profile file.) |
send [Flags] |
Sends the message. You can specify any valid flags for the send command. |
whom [Flags] |
Displays the addresses to which the message would be sent. You can
specify any valid flags for the whom command. |
Profile Entries
The following entries are entered in the UserMhDirectory/.mh_profile file:
Draft-Folder: |
Sets the default folder for drafts. |
Editor: |
Sets the default editor. |
fileproc: |
Specifies the program used to refile messages. |
LastEditor-next: |
Specifies the editor used after exiting the editor specified by the LastEditor variable. |
lproc: |
Specifies the program used to list the contents of a message. |
Path: |
Specifies the UserMhDirectory. |
sendproc: |
Specifies the program used to send messages. |
whomproc: |
Specifies the program used to determine the users to whom a message
would be sent. |
Examples
- To display the original message when you are replying
to a message, enter the following at the What now? prompt:
display
The system displays the original message. If you
enter the display subcommand from a command other than
the dist or repl command, you
will receive a system message stating that there is no alternate message to
display.
- To edit the draft message with the vi editor, enter the following at the What now? prompt:
edit vi
- To edit the draft message with the default editor
specified in your .mh_profile file, enter the following
at the What now? prompt:
edit
- To list the contents of the draft message you
have composed, enter the following at the What now? prompt:
list
The draft message you are composing is displayed.
- To send the draft message in the background and
get a shell prompt immediately, enter the following at the What now? prompt:
push
The draft message is sent and you
immediately receive the shell prompt.
- To quit composing a draft message and save it
to a file so that you can later finish composing the message, enter the following
at the What now? prompt:
quit
The system
responds with a message similar to the following.
whatnow: draft left on /home/dale/Mail/draft
In this
example, user dale's draft message is saved to
the /home/dale/Mail/draft file.
- To quit composing a draft message and delete
the message, enter the following at the What now? prompt:
quit -delete
The shell prompt is displayed when the draft
message is deleted.
- To file the draft message you are composing
before you send it, enter the following at the What now? prompt:
refile +tmp
The system responds with a message similar
to the following:
Create folder "home/dale/Mail/tmp"?
In this example, if you answer yes, the
draft message is filed in user dale's folder tmp.
- To send the draft message you have composed,
enter the following at the What now? prompt:
send
The shell prompt is displayed when the message is sent.
- To verify that all addresses in the draft message
are recognized by the mail delivery system, enter the following at the What now? prompt:
whom
The system responds with a message
similar to the following:
jeanne... User unknown
dale@venus... deliverable
In this example, the mail delivery system
recognized dale@venus as a correct address, but
did not recognize jeanne as a correct address.
Files
$HOME/.mh_profile |
Specifies the MH user profile. |
UserMhDirectory/draft |
Contains the current message draft. |
/usr/bin/whatnow |
Contains the whatnow command. |
Related Information
The comp command, dist
command, forw command, prompter command, refile command, repl command, rmm
command, scan command, send command, whom command.
The mh_alias file format, mh_profile file format.
Mail Overview in AIX 5L Version 5.2 System User's Guide: Communications and Networks.
[ Top of Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Contents | Index | Library Home |
Legal |
Search ]