2 T
\bTh
\bhe
\be M
\bMu
\but
\btt
\bt N
\bNe
\bex
\bxt
\bt G
\bGe
\ben
\bne
\ber
\bra
\bat
\bti
\bio
\bon
\bn E
\bE-
\b-M
\bMa
\bai
\bil
\bl C
\bCl
\bli
\bie
\ben
\bnt
\bt
4 by Andreas Krennmair <ak@synflood.at> and others
5 originally based on _
\bm_
\bu_
\bt_
\bt by Michael Elkins <me@cs.hmc.edu> and others
9 A
\bAb
\bbs
\bst
\btr
\bra
\bac
\bct
\bt
11 Michael Elinks on mutt, circa 1995: ``All mail clients suck. This one just
12 sucks less.'' - Sven Guckes on mutt, ca. 2003: ``But it still sucks!''
14 _
\b1_
\b. _
\bI_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\bo_
\bd_
\bu_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
16 _
\b1_
\b._
\b1 _
\bO_
\bv_
\be_
\br_
\bv_
\bi_
\be_
\bw
18 M
\bMu
\but
\btt
\bt-
\b-n
\bng
\bg is a small but very powerful text-based MIME mail client. Mutt-ng is
19 highly configurable, and is well suited to the mail power user with advanced
20 features like key bindings, keyboard macros, mail threading, regular expression
21 searches and a powerful pattern matching language for selecting groups of mes-
24 This documentation additionally contains documentation to M
\bMu
\but
\btt
\bt-
\b-N
\bNG
\bG, a fork from
25 Mutt with the goal to fix all the little annoyances of Mutt, to integrate all
26 the Mutt patches that are floating around in the web, and to add other new fea-
27 tures. Features specific to Mutt-ng will be discussed in an extra section.
28 Don't be confused when most of the documentation talk about Mutt and not Mutt-
29 ng, Mutt-ng contains all Mutt features, plus many more.
31 _
\b1_
\b._
\b2 _
\bM_
\bu_
\bt_
\bt_
\b-_
\bn_
\bg _
\bH_
\bo_
\bm_
\be _
\bP_
\ba_
\bg_
\be
35 _
\b1_
\b._
\b3 _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bL_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\bs
37 +
\bo mutt-ng-users@lists.berlios.de -- This is where the mutt-ng user support
40 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 1
42 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 2
44 +
\bo mutt-ng-devel@lists.berlios.de -- The development mailing list for mutt-ng
46 _
\b1_
\b._
\b4 _
\bS_
\bo_
\bf_
\bt_
\bw_
\ba_
\br_
\be _
\bD_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\bu_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\bS_
\bi_
\bt_
\be_
\bs
48 So far, there are no official releases of Mutt-ng, but you can download daily
49 snapshots from http://mutt-ng.berlios.de/snapshots/
51 _
\b1_
\b._
\b5 _
\bI_
\bR_
\bC
53 Visit channel _
\b#_
\bm_
\bu_
\bt_
\bt_
\bn_
\bg on irc.freenode.net (www.freenode.net) to chat with other
54 people interested in Mutt-ng.
56 _
\b1_
\b._
\b6 _
\bW_
\be_
\bb_
\bl_
\bo_
\bg
58 If you want to read fresh news about the latest development in Mutt-ng, and get
59 informed about stuff like interesting, Mutt-ng-related articles and packages
60 for your favorite distribution, you can read and/or subscribe to our Mutt-ng
63 _
\b1_
\b._
\b7 _
\bC_
\bo_
\bp_
\by_
\br_
\bi_
\bg_
\bh_
\bt
65 Mutt is Copyright (C) 1996-2000 Michael R. Elkins <me@cs.hmc.edu> and others
67 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
68 the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
69 Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later ver-
72 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
73 WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
74 PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
76 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
77 this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple
78 Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
80 _
\b2_
\b. _
\bG_
\be_
\bt_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bS_
\bt_
\ba_
\br_
\bt_
\be_
\bd
82 _
\b2_
\b._
\b1 _
\bB_
\ba_
\bs_
\bi_
\bc _
\bC_
\bo_
\bn_
\bc_
\be_
\bp_
\bt_
\bs
84 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 3
86 _
\b2_
\b._
\b1_
\b._
\b1 _
\bS_
\bc_
\br_
\be_
\be_
\bn_
\bs _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bM_
\be_
\bn_
\bu_
\bs
88 mutt-ng offers different screens of which every has its special purpose:
90 +
\bo The _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx displays the contents of the currently opened mailbox.
92 +
\bo The _
\bp_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br is responsible for displaying messages, that is, the header, the
93 body and all attached parts.
95 +
\bo The _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be _
\bb_
\br_
\bo_
\bw_
\bs_
\be_
\br offers operations on and displays information of all
96 folders mutt-ng should watch for mail.
98 +
\bo The _
\bs_
\bi_
\bd_
\be_
\bb_
\ba_
\br offers a permanent view of which mailboxes contain how many
99 total, new and/or flagged mails.
101 +
\bo The _
\bh_
\be_
\bl_
\bp _
\bs_
\bc_
\br_
\be_
\be_
\bn lists for all currently available commands how to invoke
102 them as well as a short description.
104 +
\bo The _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\be menu is a comfortable interface take last actions before send-
105 ing mail: change subjects, attach files, remove attachements, etc.
107 +
\bo The _
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\ba_
\bc_
\bh_
\be_
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bt menu gives a summary and the tree structure of the
108 attachements of the current message.
110 +
\bo The _
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs menu lists all or a fraction of the aliases a user has defined.
112 +
\bo The _
\bk_
\be_
\by menu used in connection with encryption lets users choose the
113 right key to encrypt with.
115 When mutt-ng is started without any further options, it'll open the users
116 default mailbox and display the index.
118 _
\b2_
\b._
\b1_
\b._
\b2 _
\bC_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg_
\bu_
\br_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
120 Mutt-ng does _
\bn_
\bo_
\bt feature an internal configuration interface or menu due to the
121 simple fact that this would be too complex to handle (currently there are sev-
122 eral _
\bh_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd_
\br_
\be_
\bd variables which fine-tune the behaviour.)
124 Mutt-ng is configured using configuration files which allow users to add com-
125 ments or manage them via version control systems to ease maintenance.
127 Also, mutt-ng comes with a shell script named grml-muttng kindly contributed by
128 users which really helps and eases the creation of a user's configuration file.
129 When downloading the source code via a snapshot or via subversion, it can be
130 found in the contrib directory.
132 _
\b2_
\b._
\b1_
\b._
\b3 _
\bF_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\bs
134 Mutt-ng offers great flexibility due to the use of functions: internally, every
135 action a user can make mutt-ng perform is named ``function.'' Those functions
137 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 4
139 are assigned to keys (or even key sequences) and may be completely adjusted to
140 user's needs. The basic idea is that the impatient users get a very intuitive
141 interface to start off with and advanced users virtually get no limits to
144 _
\b2_
\b._
\b1_
\b._
\b4 _
\bI_
\bn_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\ba_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
146 Mutt-ng has two basic concepts of user interaction:
148 1. There is one dedicated line on the screen used to query the user for
149 input, issue any command, query variables and display error and informa-
150 tional messages. As for every type of user input, this requires manual
151 action leading to the need of input.
153 2. The automatized interface for interaction are the so called _
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs. Hooks
154 specify actions the user wants to be performed at well-defined situa-
155 tions: what to do when entering which folder, what to do when displaying
156 or replying to what kind of message, etc. These are optional, i.e. a user
157 doesn't need to specify them but can do so.
159 _
\b2_
\b._
\b1_
\b._
\b5 _
\bM_
\bo_
\bd_
\bu_
\bl_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\bz_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
161 Although mutt-ng has many functionality built-in, many features can be dele-
162 gated to external tools to increase flexibility: users can define programs to
163 filter a message through before displaying, users can use any program they want
164 for displaying a message, message types (such as PDF or PostScript) for which
165 mutt-ng doesn't have a built-in filter can be rendered by arbitrary tools and
166 so forth. Although mutt-ng has an alias mechanism built-in, it features using
167 external tools to query for nearly every type of addresses from sources like
168 LDAP, databases or just the list of locally known users.
170 _
\b2_
\b._
\b1_
\b._
\b6 _
\bP_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\bs
172 Mutt-ng has a built-in pattern matching ``language'' which is as widely used as
173 possible to present a consistent interface to users. The same ``pattern terms''
174 can be used for searching, scoring, message selection and much more.
176 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2 _
\bS_
\bc_
\br_
\be_
\be_
\bn_
\bs _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bM_
\be_
\bn_
\bu_
\bs
178 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b1 _
\bI_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx
180 The index is the screen that you usually see first when you start mutt-ng. It
181 gives an overview over your emails in the currently opened mailbox. By default,
182 this is your system mailbox. The information you see in the index is a list of
184 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 5
186 emails, each with its number on the left, its flags (new email, important
187 email, email that has been forwarded or replied to, tagged email, ...), the
188 date when email was sent, its sender, the email size, and the subject. Addi-
189 tionally, the index also shows thread hierarchies: when you reply to an email,
190 and the other person replies back, you can see the other's person email in a
191 "sub-tree" below. This is especially useful for personal email between a group
192 of people or when you've subscribed to mailing lists.
194 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b2 _
\bP_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br
196 The pager is responsible for showing the email content. On the top of the pager
197 you have an overview over the most important email headers like the sender, the
198 recipient, the subject, and much more information. How much information you
199 actually see depends on your configuration, which we'll describe below.
201 Below the headers, you see the email body which usually contains the message.
202 If the email contains any attachments, you will see more information about them
203 below the email body, or, if the attachments are text files, you can view them
204 directly in the pager.
206 To give the user a good overview, it is possible to configure mutt-ng to show
207 different things in the pager with different colors. Virtually everything that
208 can be described with a regular expression can be colored, e.g. URLs, email
209 addresses or smileys.
211 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b3 _
\bF_
\bi_
\bl_
\be _
\bB_
\br_
\bo_
\bw_
\bs_
\be_
\br
213 The file browser is the interface to the local or remote file system. When
214 selecting a mailbox to open, the browser allows custom sorting of items, limit-
215 ing the items shown by a regular expression and a freely adjustable format of
216 what to display in which way. It also allows for easy navigation through the
217 file system when selecting file(s) to attach to a message, select multiple
218 files to attach and many more.
220 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b4 _
\bS_
\bi_
\bd_
\be_
\bb_
\ba_
\br
222 The sidebar comes in handy to manage mails which are spread over different
223 folders. All folders users setup mutt-ng to watch for new mail will be listed.
224 The listing includes not only the name but also the number of total messages,
225 the number of new and flagged messages. Items with new mail may be colored dif-
226 ferent from those with flagged mail, items may be shortened or compress if
227 they're they to long to be printed in full form so that by abbreviated names,
228 user still now what the name stands for.
230 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b5 _
\bH_
\be_
\bl_
\bp
232 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 6
234 The help screen is meant to offer a quick help to the user. It lists the cur-
235 rent configuration of key bindings and their associated commands including a
236 short description, and currently unbound functions that still need to be asso-
237 ciated with a key binding (or alternatively, they can be called via the mutt-ng
240 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b6 _
\bC_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\be _
\bM_
\be_
\bn_
\bu
242 The compose menu features a split screen containing the information which
243 really matter before actually sending a message by mail or posting an article
244 to a newsgroup: who gets the message as what (recipient, newsgroup, who gets
245 what kind of copy). Additionally, users may set security options like deciding
246 whether to sign, encrypt or sign and encrypt a message with/for what keys.
248 Also, it's used to attach messages, news articles or files to a message, to re-
249 edit any attachment including the message itself.
251 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b7 _
\bA_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs _
\bM_
\be_
\bn_
\bu
253 The alias menu is used to help users finding the recipients of messages. For
254 users who need to contact many people, there's no need to remember addresses or
255 names completely because it allows for searching, too. The alias mechanism and
256 thus the alias menu also features grouping several addresses by a shorter nick-
257 name, the actual alias, so that users don't have to select each single recipi-
260 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b8 _
\bA_
\bt_
\bt_
\ba_
\bc_
\bh_
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bt _
\bM_
\be_
\bn_
\bu
262 As will be later discussed in detail, mutt-ng features a good and stable MIME
263 implementation, that is, is greatly supports sending and receiving messages of
264 arbitrary type. The attachment menu displays a message's structure in detail:
265 what content parts are attached to which parent part (which gives a true tree
266 structure), which type is of what type and what size. Single parts may saved,
267 deleted or modified to offer great and easy access to message's internals.
269 _
\b2_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b9 _
\bK_
\be_
\by _
\bM_
\be_
\bn_
\bu
273 _
\b2_
\b._
\b3 _
\bM_
\bo_
\bv_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bA_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd _
\bi_
\bn _
\bM_
\be_
\bn_
\bu_
\bs
275 Information is presented in menus, very similar to ELM. Here is a table
277 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 7
279 showing the common keys used to navigate menus in Mutt-ng.
281 j or Down next-entry move to the next entry
282 k or Up previous-entry move to the previous entry
283 z or PageDn page-down go to the next page
284 Z or PageUp page-up go to the previous page
285 = or Home first-entry jump to the first entry
286 * or End last-entry jump to the last entry
287 q quit exit the current menu
288 ? help list all key bindings for the current menu
290 _
\b2_
\b._
\b4 _
\bE_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bI_
\bn_
\bp_
\bu_
\bt _
\bF_
\bi_
\be_
\bl_
\bd_
\bs
292 Mutt-ng has a builtin line editor which is used as the primary way to input
293 textual data such as email addresses or filenames. The keys used to move
294 around while editing are very similar to those of Emacs.
296 ^A or <Home> bol move to the start of the line
297 ^B or <Left> backward-char move back one char
298 Esc B backward-word move back one word
299 ^D or <Delete> delete-char delete the char under the cursor
300 ^E or <End> eol move to the end of the line
301 ^F or <Right> forward-char move forward one char
302 Esc F forward-word move forward one word
303 <Tab> complete complete filename or alias
304 ^T complete-query complete address with query
305 ^K kill-eol delete to the end of the line
306 ESC d kill-eow delete to the end of the word
307 ^W kill-word kill the word in front of the cursor
308 ^U kill-line delete entire line
309 ^V quote-char quote the next typed key
310 <Up> history-up recall previous string from history
311 <Down> history-down recall next string from history
312 <BackSpace> backspace kill the char in front of the cursor
313 Esc u upcase-word convert word to upper case
314 Esc l downcase-word convert word to lower case
315 Esc c capitalize-word capitalize the word
317 <Return> n/a finish editing
319 You can remap the _
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\bo_
\br functions using the _
\bb_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd (section 3.4 , page 24) com-
320 mand. For example, to make the _
\bD_
\be_
\bl_
\be_
\bt_
\be key delete the character in front of the
321 cursor rather than under, you could use
323 bind editor <delete> backspace
325 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 8
327 _
\b2_
\b._
\b5 _
\bR_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl _
\b- _
\bT_
\bh_
\be _
\bI_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bP_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br
329 Similar to many other mail clients, there are two modes in which mail is read
330 in Mutt-ng. The first is the index of messages in the mailbox, which is called
331 the ``index'' in Mutt-ng. The second mode is the display of the message con-
332 tents. This is called the ``pager.''
334 The next few sections describe the functions provided in each of these modes.
336 _
\b2_
\b._
\b5_
\b._
\b1 _
\bT_
\bh_
\be _
\bM_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bI_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx
338 c change to a different mailbox
339 ESC c change to a folder in read-only mode
340 C copy the current message to another mailbox
341 ESC C decode a message and copy it to a folder
342 ESC s decode a message and save it to a folder
343 D delete messages matching a pattern
344 d delete the current message
346 l show messages matching a pattern
347 N mark message as new
348 o change the current sort method
349 O reverse sort the mailbox
350 q save changes and exit
352 T tag messages matching a pattern
353 t toggle the tag on a message
354 ESC t toggle tag on entire message thread
355 U undelete messages matching a pattern
358 x abort changes and exit
359 <Return> display-message
360 <Tab> jump to the next new message
361 @ show the author's full e-mail address
362 $ save changes to mailbox
365 ^L clear and redraw the screen
366 ^T untag messages matching a pattern
368 _
\b2_
\b._
\b5_
\b._
\b1_
\b._
\b1 _
\bS_
\bt_
\ba_
\bt_
\bu_
\bs _
\bF_
\bl_
\ba_
\bg_
\bs
370 In addition to who sent the message and the subject, a short summary of the
371 disposition of each message is printed beside the message number. Zero or more
372 of the following ``flags'' may appear, which mean:
375 message is deleted (is marked for deletion)
378 message have attachments marked for deletion
380 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 9
383 contains a PGP public key
392 message is PGP encrypted
395 message has been replied to
398 message is signed, and the signature is succesfully verified
409 Some of the status flags can be turned on or off using
411 +
\bo s
\bse
\bet
\bt-
\b-f
\bfl
\bla
\bag
\bg (default: w)
413 +
\bo c
\bcl
\ble
\bea
\bar
\br-
\b-f
\bfl
\bla
\bag
\bg (default: W)
415 Furthermore, the following flags reflect who the message is addressed to. They
416 can be customized with the _
\b$_
\bt_
\bo_
\b__
\bc_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\bs (section 7.4.325 , page 165) variable.
419 message is to you and you only
422 message is to you, but also to or cc'ed to others
425 message is cc'ed to you
431 message is sent to a subscribed mailing list
433 _
\b2_
\b._
\b5_
\b._
\b2 _
\bT_
\bh_
\be _
\bP_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br
435 By default, Mutt-ng uses its builtin pager to display the body of messages.
437 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 10
439 The pager is very similar to the Unix program _
\bl_
\be_
\bs_
\bs though not nearly as fea-
442 <Return> go down one line
443 <Space> display the next page (or next message if at the end of a message)
444 - go back to the previous page
445 n search for next match
446 S skip beyond quoted text
447 T toggle display of quoted text
449 / search for a regular expression (pattern)
450 ESC / search backwards for a regular expression
451 \ toggle search pattern coloring
452 ^ jump to the top of the message
454 In addition, many of the functions from the _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx are available in the pager,
455 such as _
\bd_
\be_
\bl_
\be_
\bt_
\be_
\b-_
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be or _
\bc_
\bo_
\bp_
\by_
\b-_
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be (this is one advantage over using an
456 external pager to view messages).
458 Also, the internal pager supports a couple other advanced features. For one, it
459 will accept and translate the ``standard'' nroff sequences for bold and under-
460 line. These sequences are a series of either the letter, backspace (^H), the
461 letter again for bold or the letter, backspace, ``_'' for denoting underline.
462 Mutt-ng will attempt to display these in bold and underline respectively if
463 your terminal supports them. If not, you can use the bold and underline _
\bc_
\bo_
\bl_
\bo_
\br
464 (section 3.8 , page 27) objects to specify a color or mono attribute for them.
466 Additionally, the internal pager supports the ANSI escape sequences for charac-
467 ter attributes. Mutt-ng translates them into the correct color and character
468 settings. The sequences Mutt-ng supports are:
470 ESC [ Ps;Ps;Ps;...;Ps m
477 3x Foreground color is x
478 4x Background color is x
490 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 11
492 Mutt-ng uses these attributes for handling text/enriched messages, and they can
493 also be used by an external _
\ba_
\bu_
\bt_
\bo_
\bv_
\bi_
\be_
\bw (section 5.4 , page 75) script for high-
494 lighting purposes. N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: If you change the colors for your display, for exam-
495 ple by changing the color associated with color2 for your xterm, then that
496 color will be used instead of green.
498 _
\b2_
\b._
\b5_
\b._
\b3 _
\bT_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\bd _
\bM_
\bo_
\bd_
\be
500 When the mailbox is _
\bs_
\bo_
\br_
\bt_
\be_
\bd (section 7.4.293 , page 156) by _
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bs, there are
501 a few additional functions available in the _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx and _
\bp_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br modes.
503 ^D delete-thread delete all messages in the current thread
504 ^U undelete-thread undelete all messages in the current thread
505 ^N next-thread jump to the start of the next thread
506 ^P previous-thread jump to the start of the previous thread
507 ^R read-thread mark the current thread as read
508 ESC d delete-subthread delete all messages in the current subthread
509 ESC u undelete-subthread undelete all messages in the current subthread
510 ESC n next-subthread jump to the start of the next subthread
511 ESC p previous-subthread jump to the start of the previous subthread
512 ESC r read-subthread mark the current subthread as read
513 ESC t tag-thread toggle the tag on the current thread
514 ESC v collapse-thread toggle collapse for the current thread
515 ESC V collapse-all toggle collapse for all threads
516 P parent-message jump to parent message in thread
518 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: Collapsing a thread displays only the first message in the thread and
519 hides the others. This is useful when threads contain so many messages that you
520 can only see a handful of threads on the screen. See %M in _
\b$_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (sec-
521 tion 7.4.111 , page 111). For example, you could use "%?M?(#%03M)&(%4l)?" in
522 _
\b$_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.111 , page 111) to optionally display the number of
523 hidden messages if the thread is collapsed.
525 See also: _
\b$_
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bc_
\bt_
\b__
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bs (section 7.4.314 , page 163).
527 _
\b2_
\b._
\b5_
\b._
\b4 _
\bM_
\bi_
\bs_
\bc_
\be_
\bl_
\bl_
\ba_
\bn_
\be_
\bo_
\bu_
\bs _
\bF_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\bs
529 c
\bcr
\bre
\bea
\bat
\bte
\be-
\b-a
\bal
\bli
\bia
\bas
\bs
532 Creates a new alias based upon the current message (or prompts for a new one).
533 Once editing is complete, an _
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs (section 3.3 , page 23) command is added to
534 the file specified by the _
\b$_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs_
\b__
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be (section 7.4.3 , page 86) variable for
535 future use. N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: Specifying an _
\b$_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs_
\b__
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be (section 7.4.3 , page 86) does not
536 add the aliases specified there-in, you must also _
\bs_
\bo_
\bu_
\br_
\bc_
\be (section 3.28 , page
539 c
\bch
\bhe
\bec
\bck
\bk-
\b-t
\btr
\bra
\bad
\bdi
\bit
\bti
\bio
\bon
\bna
\bal
\bl-
\b-p
\bpg
\bgp
\bp
542 This function will search the current message for content signed or encrypted
543 with PGP the "traditional" way, that is, without proper MIME tagging.
545 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 12
547 Technically, this function will temporarily change the MIME content types of
548 the body parts containing PGP data; this is similar to the _
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\b-_
\bt_
\by_
\bp_
\be (section
549 2.5.4 , page 12) function's effect.
551 d
\bdi
\bis
\bsp
\bpl
\bla
\bay
\by-
\b-t
\bto
\bog
\bgg
\bgl
\ble
\be-
\b-w
\bwe
\bee
\bed
\bd
554 Toggles the weeding of message header fields specified by _
\bi_
\bg_
\bn_
\bo_
\br_
\be (section
555 3.9 , page 30) commands.
560 This command (available in the ``index'' and ``pager'') allows you to edit the
561 raw current message as it's present in the mail folder. After you have fin-
562 ished editing, the changed message will be appended to the current folder, and
563 the original message will be marked for deletion.
565 e
\bed
\bdi
\bit
\bt-
\b-t
\bty
\byp
\bpe
\be
567 (default: ^E on the attachment menu, and in the pager and index menus; ^T on
570 This command is used to temporarily edit an attachment's content type to fix,
571 for instance, bogus character set parameters. When invoked from the index or
572 from the pager, you'll have the opportunity to edit the top-level attachment's
573 content type. On the _
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\ba_
\bc_
\bh_
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bt _
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bu (section 5.1.2 , page 68), you can
574 change any attachment's content type. These changes are not persistent, and get
575 lost upon changing folders.
577 Note that this command is also available on the _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\be _
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bu (section 5.1.3 ,
578 page 68). There, it's used to fine-tune the properties of attachments you are
581 e
\ben
\bnt
\bte
\ber
\br-
\b-c
\bco
\bom
\bmm
\bma
\ban
\bnd
\bd
584 This command is used to execute any command you would normally put in a config-
585 uration file. A common use is to check the settings of variables, or in con-
586 junction with _
\bm_
\ba_
\bc_
\br_
\bo_
\bs (section 3.7 , page 27) to change settings on the fly.
588 e
\bex
\bxt
\btr
\bra
\bac
\bct
\bt-
\b-k
\bke
\bey
\bys
\bs
591 This command extracts PGP public keys from the current or tagged message(s) and
592 adds them to your PGP public key ring.
594 f
\bfo
\bor
\brg
\bge
\bet
\bt-
\b-p
\bpa
\bas
\bss
\bsp
\bph
\bhr
\bra
\bas
\bse
\be
597 This command wipes the passphrase(s) from memory. It is useful, if you mis-
598 spelled the passphrase.
600 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 13
602 l
\bli
\bis
\bst
\bt-
\b-r
\bre
\bep
\bpl
\bly
\by
605 Reply to the current or tagged message(s) by extracting any addresses which
606 match the regular expressions given by the _
\bl_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\bs _
\bo_
\br _
\bs_
\bu_
\bb_
\bs_
\bc_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\be (section 3.12 ,
607 page 33) commands, but also honor any Mail-Followup-To header(s) if the
608 _
\b$_
\bh_
\bo_
\bn_
\bo_
\br_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw_
\bu_
\bp_
\b__
\bt_
\bo (section 7.4.89 , page 106) configuration variable is set.
609 Using this when replying to messages posted to mailing lists helps avoid dupli-
610 cate copies being sent to the author of the message you are replying to.
612 p
\bpi
\bip
\bpe
\be-
\b-m
\bme
\bes
\bss
\bsa
\bag
\bge
\be
615 Asks for an external Unix command and pipes the current or tagged message(s) to
616 it. The variables _
\b$_
\bp_
\bi_
\bp_
\be_
\b__
\bd_
\be_
\bc_
\bo_
\bd_
\be (section 7.4.202 , page 135), _
\b$_
\bp_
\bi_
\bp_
\be_
\b__
\bs_
\bp_
\bl_
\bi_
\bt
617 (section 7.4.204 , page 135), _
\b$_
\bp_
\bi_
\bp_
\be_
\b__
\bs_
\be_
\bp (section 7.4.203 , page 135) and
618 _
\b$_
\bw_
\ba_
\bi_
\bt_
\b__
\bk_
\be_
\by (section 7.4.337 , page 168) control the exact behavior of this
621 r
\bre
\bes
\bse
\ben
\bnd
\bd-
\b-m
\bme
\bes
\bss
\bsa
\bag
\bge
\be
624 With resend-message, mutt takes the current message as a template for a new
625 message. This function is best described as "recall from arbitrary folders".
626 It can conveniently be used to forward MIME messages while preserving the orig-
627 inal mail structure. Note that the amount of headers included here depends on
628 the value of the _
\b$_
\bw_
\be_
\be_
\bd (section 7.4.338 , page 168) variable.
630 This function is also available from the attachment menu. You can use this to
631 easily resend a message which was included with a bounce message as a mes-
632 sage/rfc822 body part.
634 s
\bsh
\bhe
\bel
\bll
\bl-
\b-e
\bes
\bsc
\bca
\bap
\bpe
\be
637 Asks for an external Unix command and executes it. The _
\b$_
\bw_
\ba_
\bi_
\bt_
\b__
\bk_
\be_
\by (section
638 7.4.337 , page 168) can be used to control whether Mutt-ng will wait for a key
639 to be pressed when the command returns (presumably to let the user read the
640 output of the command), based on the return status of the named command.
642 t
\bto
\bog
\bgg
\bgl
\ble
\be-
\b-q
\bqu
\buo
\bot
\bte
\bed
\bd
645 The _
\bp_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br uses the _
\b$_
\bq_
\bu_
\bo_
\bt_
\be_
\b__
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp (section 7.4.227 , page 140) variable to
646 detect quoted text when displaying the body of the message. This function tog-
647 gles the display of the quoted material in the message. It is particularly
648 useful when are interested in just the response and there is a large amount of
649 quoted text in the way.
651 s
\bsk
\bki
\bip
\bp-
\b-q
\bqu
\buo
\bot
\bte
\bed
\bd
654 This function will go to the next line of non-quoted text which come after a
655 line of quoted text in the internal pager.
657 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 14
659 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6 _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl
661 The following bindings are available in the _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx for sending messages.
663 m compose compose a new message
664 r reply reply to sender
665 g group-reply reply to all recipients
666 L list-reply reply to mailing list address
667 f forward forward message
668 b bounce bounce (remail) message
669 ESC k mail-key mail a PGP public key to someone
671 Bouncing a message sends the message as is to the recipient you specify. For-
672 warding a message allows you to add comments or modify the message you are for-
673 warding. These items are discussed in greater detail in the next chapter
674 _
\b`_
\b`_
\bF_
\bo_
\br_
\bw_
\ba_
\br_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bB_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\b'_
\b' (section 2.7 , page 20).
676 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b1 _
\bC_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bn_
\be_
\bw _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\bs
678 When you want to send an email using mutt-ng, simply press m on your keyboard.
679 Then, mutt-ng asks for the recipient via a prompt in the last line:
683 After you've finished entering the recipient(s), press return. If you want to
684 send an email to more than one recipient, separate the email addresses using
685 the comma ",". Mutt-ng then asks you for the email subject. Again, press return
686 after you've entered it. After that, mutt-ng got the most important information
687 from you, and starts up an editor where you can then enter your email.
689 The editor that is called is selected in the following way: you can e.g. set it
690 in the mutt-ng configuration:
692 set editor = "vim +/^$/ -c ':set tw=72'"
696 If you don't set your preferred editor in your configuration, mutt-ng first
697 looks whether the environment variable $VISUAL is set, and if so, it takes its
698 value as editor command. Otherwise, it has a look at $EDITOR and takes its
699 value if it is set. If no editor command can be found, mutt-ng simply assumes
700 vi to be the default editor, since it's the most widespread editor in the Unix
701 world and it's pretty safe to assume that it is installed and available.
703 When you've finished entering your message, save it and quit your editor. Mutt-
704 ng will then present you with a summary screen, the compose menu. On the top,
705 you see a summary of the most important available key commands. Below that,
706 you see the sender, the recipient(s), Cc and/or Bcc recipient(s), the subject,
708 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 15
710 the reply-to address, and optionally information where the sent email will be
711 stored and whether it should be digitally signed and/or encrypted.
713 Below that, you see a list of "attachments". The mail you've just entered
714 before is also an attachment, but due to its special type (it's plain text), it
715 will be displayed as the normal message on the receiver's side.
717 At this point, you can add more attachments, pressing a, you can edit the
718 recipient addresses, pressing t for the "To:" field, c for the "Cc:" field, and
719 b for the "Bcc: field. You can also edit the subject the subject by simply
720 pressing s or the email message that you've entered before by pressing e. You
721 will then again return to the editor. You can even edit the sender, by pressing
722 <esc>f, but this shall only be used with caution.
724 Alternatively, you can configure mutt-ng in a way that most of the above set-
725 tings can be edited using the editor. Therefore, you only need to add the fol-
726 lowing to your configuration:
730 Once you have finished editing the body of your mail message, you are returned
731 to the _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\be menu. The following options are available:
733 a attach-file attach a file
734 A attach-message attach message(s) to the message
735 ESC k attach-key attach a PGP public key
736 d edit-description edit description on attachment
737 D detach-file detach a file
738 t edit-to edit the To field
739 ESC f edit-from edit the From field
740 r edit-reply-to edit the Reply-To field
741 c edit-cc edit the Cc field
742 b edit-bcc edit the Bcc field
743 y send-message send the message
744 s edit-subject edit the Subject
745 S smime-menu select S/MIME options
746 f edit-fcc specify an ``Fcc'' mailbox
747 p pgp-menu select PGP options
748 P postpone-message postpone this message until later
749 q quit quit (abort) sending the message
750 w write-fcc write the message to a folder
751 i ispell check spelling (if available on your system)
752 ^F forget-passphrase wipe passphrase(s) from memory
754 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: The attach-message function will prompt you for a folder to attach mes-
755 sages from. You can now tag messages in that folder and they will be attached
756 to the message you are sending. Note that certain operations like composing a
757 new mail, replying, forwarding, etc. are not permitted when you are in that
758 folder. The %r in _
\b$_
\bs_
\bt_
\ba_
\bt_
\bu_
\bs_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.310 , page 160) will change to a
759 'A' to indicate that you are in attach-message mode.
761 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 16
763 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b2 _
\bR_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\by_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg
765 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b1 _
\bS_
\bi_
\bm_
\bp_
\bl_
\be _
\bR_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\bi_
\be_
\bs
767 When you want to reply to an email message, select it in the index menu and
768 then press r. Mutt-ng's behaviour is then similar to the behaviour when you
769 compose a message: first, you will be asked for the recipient, then for the
770 subject, and then, mutt-ng will start the editor with the quote attribution and
771 the quoted message. This can e.g. look like the example below.
773 On Mon, Mar 07, 2005 at 05:02:12PM +0100, Michael Svensson wrote:
774 > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr.
775 > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new
776 > production server that we want to set up before our customer's
777 > project will go live.
779 You can start editing the email message. It is strongly recommended to put your
780 answer _
\bb_
\be_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw the quoted text and to only quote what is really necessary and
781 that you refer to. Putting your answer on top of the quoted message, is,
782 although very widespread, very often not considered to be a polite way to
785 The quote attribution is configurable, by default it is set to
787 set attribution = "On %d, %n wrote:"
789 It can also be set to something more compact, e.g.
791 set attribution = "attribution="* %n <%a> [%(%y-%m-%d %H:%M)]:"
793 The example above results in the following attribution:
795 * Michael Svensson <svensson@foobar.com> [05-03-06 17:02]:
796 > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr.
797 > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new
798 > production server that we want to set up before our customer's
799 > project will go live.
801 Generally, try to keep your attribution short yet information-rich. It is _
\bn_
\bo_
\bt
802 the right place for witty quotes, long "attribution" novels or anything like
803 that: the right place for such things is - if at all - the email signature at
804 the very bottom of the message.
806 When you're done with writing your message, save and quit the editor. As
807 before, you will return to the compose menu, which is used in the same way as
809 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 17
813 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b2 _
\bG_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bp _
\bR_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\bi_
\be_
\bs
815 In the situation where a group of people uses email as a discussion, most of
816 the emails will have one or more recipients, and probably several "Cc:" recipi-
817 ents. The group reply functionality ensures that when you press g instead of r
818 to do a reply, each and every recipient that is contained in the original mes-
819 sage will receive a copy of the message, either as normal recipient or as "Cc:"
822 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b3 _
\bL_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt _
\bR_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\bi_
\be_
\bs
824 When you use mailing lists, it's generally better to send your reply to a mes-
825 sage only to the list instead of the list and the original author. To make this
826 easy to use, mutt-ng features list replies.
828 To do a list reply, simply press L. If the email contains a Mail-Followup-To:
829 header, its value will be used as reply address. Otherwise, mutt-ng searches
830 through all mail addresses in the original message and tries to match them a
831 list of regular expressions which can be specified using the lists command. If
832 any of the regular expression matches, a mailing list address has been found,
833 and it will be used as reply address.
835 lists linuxevent@luga\.at vuln-dev@ mutt-ng-users@
837 Nowadays, most mailing list software like GNU Mailman adds a Mail-Followup-To:
838 header to their emails anyway, so setting lists is hardly ever necessary in
841 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b3 _
\bE_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\be _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br
843 When editing the header of your outgoing message, there are a couple of special
848 Fcc: _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be
850 Mutt-ng will pick up _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be just as if you had used the _
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\b-_
\bf_
\bc_
\bc function in
851 the _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\be menu.
853 You can also attach files to your message by specifying
855 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 18
857 Attach: _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be [ _
\bd_
\be_
\bs_
\bc_
\br_
\bi_
\bp_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn ]
859 where _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be is the file to attach and _
\bd_
\be_
\bs_
\bc_
\br_
\bi_
\bp_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn is an optional string to
860 use as the description of the attached file.
862 When replying to messages, if you remove the _
\bI_
\bn_
\b-_
\bR_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\by_
\b-_
\bT_
\bo_
\b: field from the header
863 field, Mutt-ng will not generate a _
\bR_
\be_
\bf_
\be_
\br_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be_
\bs_
\b: field, which allows you to cre-
864 ate a new message thread.
866 Also see _
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\b__
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\bs (section 7.4.55 , page 98).
868 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b4 _
\bU_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\bu_
\bt_
\bt_
\b-_
\bn_
\bg _
\bw_
\bi_
\bt_
\bh _
\bP_
\bG_
\bP
870 If you want to use PGP, you can specify
872 Pgp: [ E | S | S_
\b<_
\bi_
\bd_
\b> ]
874 ``E'' encrypts, ``S'' signs and ``S<id>'' signs with the given key, setting
875 _
\b$_
\bp_
\bg_
\bp_
\b__
\bs_
\bi_
\bg_
\bn_
\b__
\ba_
\bs (section 7.4.194 , page 133) permanently.
877 If you have told mutt to PGP encrypt a message, it will guide you through a key
878 selection process when you try to send the message. Mutt-ng will not ask you
879 any questions about keys which have a certified user ID matching one of the
880 message recipients' mail addresses. However, there may be situations in which
881 there are several keys, weakly certified user ID fields, or where no matching
884 In these cases, you are dropped into a menu with a list of keys from which you
885 can select one. When you quit this menu, or mutt can't find any matching keys,
886 you are prompted for a user ID. You can, as usually, abort this prompt using
887 ^G. When you do so, mutt will return to the compose screen.
889 Once you have successfully finished the key selection, the message will be
890 encrypted using the selected public keys, and sent out.
892 Most fields of the entries in the key selection menu (see also _
\b$_
\bp_
\bg_
\bp_
\b__
\be_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\by_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\b-
893 _
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.181 , page 130)) have obvious meanings. But some explana-
894 tions on the capabilities, flags, and validity fields are in order.
896 The flags sequence (%f) will expand to one of the following flags:
898 R The key has been revoked and can't be used.
899 X The key is expired and can't be used.
900 d You have marked the key as disabled.
901 c There are unknown critical self-signature
904 The capabilities field (%c) expands to a two-character sequence representing a
905 key's capabilities. The first character gives the key's encryption capabili-
906 ties: A minus sign (-
\b-) means that the key cannot be used for encryption. A dot
907 (.
\b.) means that it's marked as a signature key in one of the user IDs, but may
909 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 19
911 also be used for encryption. The letter e
\be indicates that this key can be used
914 The second character indicates the key's signing capabilities. Once again, a
915 ``-
\b-'' implies ``not for signing'', ``.
\b.'' implies that the key is marked as an
916 encryption key in one of the user-ids, and ``s
\bs'' denotes a key which can be
919 Finally, the validity field (%t) indicates how well-certified a user-id is. A
920 question mark (?
\b?) indicates undefined validity, a minus character (-
\b-) marks an
921 untrusted association, a space character means a partially trusted association,
922 and a plus character (+
\b+) indicates complete validity.
924 _
\b2_
\b._
\b6_
\b._
\b5 _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\ba_
\bn_
\bo_
\bn_
\by_
\bm_
\bo_
\bu_
\bs _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\bs _
\bv_
\bi_
\ba _
\bm_
\bi_
\bx_
\bm_
\ba_
\bs_
\bt_
\be_
\br
926 You may also have configured mutt to co-operate with Mixmaster, an anonymous
927 remailer. Mixmaster permits you to send your messages anonymously using a
928 chain of remailers. Mixmaster support in mutt is for mixmaster version 2.04
929 (beta 45 appears to be the latest) and 2.03. It does not support earlier ver-
930 sions or the later so-called version 3 betas, of which the latest appears to be
933 To use it, you'll have to obey certain restrictions. Most important, you can-
934 not use the Cc and Bcc headers. To tell Mutt-ng to use mixmaster, you have to
935 select a remailer chain, using the mix function on the compose menu.
937 The chain selection screen is divided into two parts. In the (larger) upper
938 part, you get a list of remailers you may use. In the lower part, you see the
939 currently selected chain of remailers.
941 You can navigate in the chain using the chain-prev and chain-next functions,
942 which are by default bound to the left and right arrows and to the h and l keys
943 (think vi keyboard bindings). To insert a remailer at the current chain posi-
944 tion, use the insert function. To append a remailer behind the current chain
945 position, use select-entry or append. You can also delete entries from the
946 chain, using the corresponding function. Finally, to abandon your changes,
947 leave the menu, or accept them pressing (by default) the Return key.
949 Note that different remailers do have different capabilities, indicated in the
950 %c entry of the remailer menu lines (see _
\b$_
\bm_
\bi_
\bx_
\b__
\be_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\by_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.141 ,
951 page 119)). Most important is the ``middleman'' capability, indicated by a
952 capital ``M'': This means that the remailer in question cannot be used as the
953 final element of a chain, but will only forward messages to other mixmaster
954 remailers. For details on the other capabilities, please have a look at the
955 mixmaster documentation.
957 _
\b2_
\b._
\b7 _
\bF_
\bo_
\br_
\bw_
\ba_
\br_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bB_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl
959 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 20
961 Often, it is necessary to forward mails to other people. Therefore, mutt-ng
962 supports forwarding messages in two different ways.
964 The first one is regular forwarding, as you probably know it from other mail
965 clients. You simply press f, enter the recipient email address, the subject of
966 the forwarded email, and then you can edit the message to be forwarded in the
967 editor. The forwarded message is separated from the rest of the message via the
968 two following markers:
970 ----- Forwarded message from Lucas User <luser@example.com> -----
972 From: Lucas User <luser@example.com>
973 Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 03:08:34 +0100
974 To: Michael Random <mrandom@example.com>
975 Subject: Re: blackmail
977 Pay me EUR 50,000.- cash or your favorite stuffed animal will die
980 ----- End forwarded message -----
982 When you're done with editing the mail, save and quit the editor, and you will
983 return to the compose menu, the same menu you also encounter when composing or
986 The second mode of forwarding emails with mutt-ng is the so-called _
\bb_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg:
987 when you bounce an email to another address, it will be sent in practically the
988 same format you send it (except for headers that are created during transport-
989 ing the message). To bounce a message, press b and enter the recipient email
990 address. By default, you are then asked whether you really want to bounce the
991 message to the specified recipient. If you answer with yes, the message will
994 To the recipient, the bounced email will look as if he got it like a regular
995 email where he was Bcc: recipient. The only possibility to find out whether it
996 was a bounced email is to carefully study the email headers and to find out
997 which host really sent the email.
999 _
\b2_
\b._
\b8 _
\bP_
\bo_
\bs_
\bt_
\bp_
\bo_
\bn_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl
1001 At times it is desirable to delay sending a message that you have already begun
1002 to compose. When the _
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\bt_
\bp_
\bo_
\bn_
\be_
\b-_
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be function is used in the _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\be menu,
1003 the body of your message and attachments are stored in the mailbox specified by
1004 the _
\b$_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\bt_
\bp_
\bo_
\bn_
\be_
\bd (section 7.4.216 , page 138) variable. This means that you can
1005 recall the message even if you exit Mutt-ng and then restart it at a later
1008 Once a message is postponed, there are several ways to resume it. From the
1009 command line you can use the ``-p'' option, or if you _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\be a new message
1011 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 21
1013 from the _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx or _
\bp_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br you will be prompted if postponed messages exist. If
1014 multiple messages are currently postponed, the _
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\bt_
\bp_
\bo_
\bn_
\be_
\bd menu will pop up and
1015 you can select which message you would like to resume.
1017 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: If you postpone a reply to a message, the reply setting of the message is
1018 only updated when you actually finish the message and send it. Also, you must
1019 be in the same folder with the message you replied to for the status of the
1020 message to be updated.
1022 See also the _
\b$_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\bt_
\bp_
\bo_
\bn_
\be (section 7.4.215 , page 138) quad-option.
1024 _
\b3_
\b. _
\bC_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg_
\bu_
\br_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
1026 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1 _
\bL_
\bo_
\bc_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\bs _
\bo_
\bf _
\bC_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg_
\bu_
\br_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\bF_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bs
1028 While the default configuration (or ``preferences'') make Mutt-ng usable right
1029 out of the box, it is often desirable to tailor Mutt-ng to suit your own
1030 tastes. When Mutt-ng is first invoked, it will attempt to read the ``system''
1031 configuration file (defaults set by your local system administrator), unless
1032 the ``-n'' _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\be (section 7.1 , page 79) option is specified. This
1033 file is typically /usr/local/share/muttng/Muttngrc or /etc/Muttngrc, Mutt-ng
1034 users will find this file in /usr/local/share/muttng/Muttrc or /etc/Muttngrc.
1035 Mutt will next look for a file named .muttrc in your home directory, Mutt-ng
1036 will look for .muttngrc. If this file does not exist and your home directory
1037 has a subdirectory named .mutt, mutt try to load a file named .muttng/muttngrc.
1039 .muttrc (or .muttngrc for Mutt-ng) is the file where you will usually place
1040 your _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd_
\bs (section 7.3 , page 82) to configure Mutt-ng.
1042 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2 _
\bS_
\by_
\bn_
\bt_
\ba_
\bx _
\bo_
\bf _
\bI_
\bn_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\bz_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\bF_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bs
1044 An initialization file consists of a series of _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd_
\bs (section 7.3 , page
1045 82). Each line of the file may contain one or more commands. When multiple
1046 commands are used, they must be separated by a semicolon (;).
1048 set realname='Mutt-ng user' ; ignore x-
1050 The hash mark, or pound sign (``#''), is used as a ``comment'' character. You
1051 can use it to annotate your initialization file. All text after the comment
1052 character to the end of the line is ignored. For example,
1054 my_hdr X-Disclaimer: Why are you listening to me? # This is a comment
1056 Single quotes (') and double quotes (') can be used to quote strings which
1058 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 22
1060 contain spaces or other special characters. The difference between the two
1061 types of quotes is similar to that of many popular shell programs, namely that
1062 a single quote is used to specify a literal string (one that is not interpreted
1063 for shell variables or quoting with a backslash [see next paragraph]), while
1064 double quotes indicate a string for which should be evaluated. For example,
1065 backtics are evaluated inside of double quotes, but n
\bno
\bot
\bt for single quotes.
1067 \ quotes the next character, just as in shells such as bash and zsh. For exam-
1068 ple, if want to put quotes ``''' inside of a string, you can use ``\'' to force
1069 the next character to be a literal instead of interpreted character.
1071 set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins"
1073 ``\\'' means to insert a literal ``\'' into the line. ``\n'' and ``\r'' have
1074 their usual C meanings of linefeed and carriage-return, respectively.
1076 A \ at the end of a line can be used to split commands over multiple lines,
1077 provided that the split points don't appear in the middle of command names.
1079 Please note that, unlike the various shells, mutt-ng interprets a ``\'' at the
1080 end of a line also in comments. This allows you to disable a command split over
1081 multiple lines with only one ``#''.
1084 set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins"
1086 When testing your config files, beware the following caveat. The backslash at
1087 the end of the commented line extends the current line with the next line -
1088 then referred to as a ``continuation line''. As the first line is commented
1089 with a hash (#) all following continuation lines are also part of a comment and
1090 therefore are ignored, too. So take care of comments when continuation lines
1091 are involved within your setup files!
1101 line1 ``continues'' until line4. however, the part after the # is a comment
1102 which includes line3 and line4. line5 is a new line of its own and thus is
1105 It is also possible to substitute the output of a Unix command in an initial-
1106 ization file. This is accomplished by enclosing the command in backquotes
1109 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 23
1111 my_hdr X-Operating-System: `uname -a`
1113 The output of the Unix command ``uname -a'' will be substituted before the line
1114 is parsed. Note that since initialization files are line oriented, only the
1115 first line of output from the Unix command will be substituted.
1117 UNIX environments can be accessed like the way it is done in shells like sh and
1118 bash: Prepend the name of the environment by a ``$''. For example,
1120 set record=+sent_on_$HOSTNAME
1122 The commands understood by mutt are explained in the next paragraphs. For a
1123 complete list, see the _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\br_
\be_
\bf_
\be_
\br_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be (section 7.3 , page 82).
1125 _
\b3_
\b._
\b3 _
\bD_
\be_
\bf_
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\b/_
\bU_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs_
\be_
\bs
1127 Usage: alias _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\ba_
\bd_
\bd_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs [ , _
\ba_
\bd_
\bd_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs, ... ]
1129 It's usually very cumbersome to remember or type out the address of someone you
1130 are communicating with. Mutt-ng allows you to create ``aliases'' which map a
1131 short string to a full address.
1133 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: if you want to create an alias for a group (by specifying more than one
1134 address), you m
\bmu
\bus
\bst
\bt separate the addresses with a comma (``,'').
1136 To remove an alias or aliases (``*'' means all aliases):
1138 unalias [ * | _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\b._
\b._
\b. ]
1140 alias muttdude me@cs.hmc.edu (Michael Elkins)
1141 alias theguys manny, moe, jack
1143 Unlike other mailers, Mutt-ng doesn't require aliases to be defined in a spe-
1144 cial file. The alias command can appear anywhere in a configuration file, as
1145 long as this file is _
\bs_
\bo_
\bu_
\br_
\bc_
\be_
\bd (section 3.28 , page 42). Consequently, you can
1146 have multiple alias files, or you can have all aliases defined in your muttrc.
1148 On the other hand, the _
\bc_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bt_
\be_
\b-_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs (section 2.5.4 , page 11) function can use
1149 only one file, the one pointed to by the _
\b$_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs_
\b__
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be (section 7.4.3 , page 86)
1150 variable (which is ~/.muttrc by default). This file is not special either, in
1151 the sense that Mutt-ng will happily append aliases to any file, but in order
1152 for the new aliases to take effect you need to explicitly _
\bs_
\bo_
\bu_
\br_
\bc_
\be (section
1153 3.28 , page 42) this file too.
1157 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 24
1159 source /usr/local/share/Mutt-ng.aliases
1160 source ~/.mail_aliases
1161 set alias_file=~/.mail_aliases
1163 To use aliases, you merely use the alias at any place in mutt where mutt
1164 prompts for addresses, such as the _
\bT_
\bo_
\b: or _
\bC_
\bc_
\b: prompt. You can also enter
1165 aliases in your editor at the appropriate headers if you have the _
\b$_
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\b__
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\bs
1166 (section 7.4.55 , page 98) variable set.
1168 In addition, at the various address prompts, you can use the tab character to
1169 expand a partial alias to the full alias. If there are multiple matches, mutt
1170 will bring up a menu with the matching aliases. In order to be presented with
1171 the full list of aliases, you must hit tab with out a partial alias, such as at
1172 the beginning of the prompt or after a comma denoting multiple addresses.
1174 In the alias menu, you can select as many aliases as you want with the _
\bs_
\be_
\bl_
\be_
\bc_
\bt_
\b-
1175 _
\be_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\by key (default: RET), and use the _
\be_
\bx_
\bi_
\bt key (default: q) to return to the
1178 _
\b3_
\b._
\b4 _
\bC_
\bh_
\ba_
\bn_
\bg_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\be _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bb_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs
1180 Usage: bind _
\bm_
\ba_
\bp _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
1182 This command allows you to change the default key bindings (operation invoked
1183 when pressing a key).
1185 _
\bm_
\ba_
\bp specifies in which menu the binding belongs. Multiple maps may be speci-
1186 fied by separating them with commas (no additional whitespace is allowed). The
1187 currently defined maps are:
1190 This is not a real menu, but is used as a fallback for all of the
1191 other menus except for the pager and editor modes. If a key is not
1192 defined in another menu, Mutt-ng will look for a binding to use in
1193 this menu. This allows you to bind a key to a certain function in
1194 multiple menus instead of having multiple bind statements to accom-
1195 plish the same task.
1198 The alias menu is the list of your personal aliases as defined in
1199 your muttrc. It is the mapping from a short alias name to the full
1200 email address(es) of the recipient(s).
1203 The attachment menu is used to access the attachments on received
1207 The browser is used for both browsing the local directory
1209 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 25
1211 structure, and for listing all of your incoming mailboxes.
1214 The editor is the line-based editor the user enters text data.
1217 The index is the list of messages contained in a mailbox.
1220 The compose menu is the screen used when sending a new message.
1223 The pager is the mode used to display message/attachment data, and
1227 The pgp menu is used to select the OpenPGP keys used for encrypting
1231 The postpone menu is similar to the index menu, except is used when
1232 recalling a message the user was composing, but saved until later.
1234 _
\bk_
\be_
\by is the key (or key sequence) you wish to bind. To specify a control char-
1235 acter, use the sequence _
\b\_
\bC_
\bx, where _
\bx is the letter of the control character
1236 (for example, to specify control-A use ``\Ca''). Note that the case of _
\bx as
1237 well as _
\b\_
\bC is ignored, so that _
\b\_
\bC_
\bA, _
\b\_
\bC_
\ba, _
\b\_
\bc_
\bA and _
\b\_
\bc_
\ba are all equivalent. An
1238 alternative form is to specify the key as a three digit octal number prefixed
1239 with a ``\'' (for example _
\b\_
\b1_
\b7_
\b7 is equivalent to _
\b\_
\bc_
\b?).
1241 In addition, _
\bk_
\be_
\by may consist of:
1243 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 26
1247 <backtab> backtab / shift-tab
1257 <pagedown> Page Down
1258 <backspace> Backspace
1267 <f10> function key 10
1269 _
\bk_
\be_
\by does not need to be enclosed in quotes unless it contains a space (`` '').
1271 _
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn specifies which action to take when _
\bk_
\be_
\by is pressed. For a complete
1272 list of functions, see the _
\br_
\be_
\bf_
\be_
\br_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be (section 7.5 , page 170). The special
1273 function noop unbinds the specified key sequence.
1275 _
\b3_
\b._
\b5 _
\bD_
\be_
\bf_
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs_
\be_
\bs _
\bf_
\bo_
\br _
\bc_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\ba_
\bc_
\bt_
\be_
\br _
\bs_
\be_
\bt_
\bs
1277 Usage: charset-hook _
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs _
\bc_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\bs_
\be_
\bt
1279 Usage: iconv-hook _
\bc_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\bs_
\be_
\bt _
\bl_
\bo_
\bc_
\ba_
\bl_
\b-_
\bc_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\bs_
\be_
\bt
1281 The charset-hook command defines an alias for a character set. This is useful
1282 to properly display messages which are tagged with a character set name not
1285 The iconv-hook command defines a system-specific name for a character set.
1286 This is helpful when your systems character conversion library insists on using
1287 strange, system-specific names for character sets.
1289 _
\b3_
\b._
\b6 _
\bS_
\be_
\bt_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be_
\bs _
\bb_
\ba_
\bs_
\be_
\bd _
\bu_
\bp_
\bo_
\bn _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx
1291 Usage: folder-hook [!]_
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd
1293 It is often desirable to change settings based on which mailbox you are
1295 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 27
1297 reading. The folder-hook command provides a method by which you can execute
1298 any configuration command. _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp is a regular expression specifying in which
1299 mailboxes to execute _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd before loading. If a mailbox matches multiple
1300 folder-hook's, they are executed in the order given in the muttrc.
1302 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: if you use the ``!'' shortcut for _
\b$_
\bs_
\bp_
\bo_
\bo_
\bl_
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be (section 7.4.299 , page
1303 158) at the beginning of the pattern, you must place it inside of double or
1304 single quotes in order to distinguish it from the logical _
\bn_
\bo_
\bt operator for the
1307 Note that the settings are _
\bn_
\bo_
\bt restored when you leave the mailbox. For exam-
1308 ple, a command action to perform is to change the sorting method based upon the
1311 folder-hook mutt set sort=threads
1313 However, the sorting method is not restored to its previous value when reading
1314 a different mailbox. To specify a _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt command, use the pattern ``.'':
1316 folder-hook . set sort=date-sent
1318 _
\b3_
\b._
\b7 _
\bK_
\be_
\by_
\bb_
\bo_
\ba_
\br_
\bd _
\bm_
\ba_
\bc_
\br_
\bo_
\bs
1320 Usage: macro _
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bu _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bs_
\be_
\bq_
\bu_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be [ _
\bd_
\be_
\bs_
\bc_
\br_
\bi_
\bp_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn ]
1322 Macros are useful when you would like a single key to perform a series of
1323 actions. When you press _
\bk_
\be_
\by in menu _
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bu, Mutt-ng will behave as if you had
1324 typed _
\bs_
\be_
\bq_
\bu_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be. So if you have a common sequence of commands you type, you can
1325 create a macro to execute those commands with a single key.
1327 _
\bm_
\be_
\bn_
\bu is the _
\bm_
\ba_
\bp (section 3.4 , page 24) which the macro will be bound. Multi-
1328 ple maps may be specified by separating multiple menu arguments by commas.
1329 Whitespace may not be used in between the menu arguments and the commas sepa-
1332 _
\bk_
\be_
\by and _
\bs_
\be_
\bq_
\bu_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be are expanded by the same rules as the _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bb_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs (section
1333 3.4 , page 24). There are some additions however. The first is that control
1334 characters in _
\bs_
\be_
\bq_
\bu_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be can also be specified as _
\b^_
\bx. In order to get a caret
1335 (`^'') you need to use _
\b^_
\b^. Secondly, to specify a certain key such as _
\bu_
\bp or to
1336 invoke a function directly, you can use the format _
\b<_
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be_
\b> and _
\b<_
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
1337 _
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be_
\b>. For a listing of key names see the section on _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bb_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs (section
1338 3.4 , page 24). Functions are listed in the _
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\br_
\be_
\bf_
\be_
\br_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be (section
1341 The advantage with using function names directly is that the macros will work
1342 regardless of the current key bindings, so they are not dependent on the user
1343 having particular key definitions. This makes them more robust and portable,
1344 and also facilitates defining of macros in files used by more than one user
1346 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 28
1348 (eg. the system Muttngrc).
1350 Optionally you can specify a descriptive text after _
\bs_
\be_
\bq_
\bu_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be, which is shown in
1353 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: Macro definitions (if any) listed in the help screen(s), are silently
1354 truncated at the screen width, and are not wrapped.
1356 _
\b3_
\b._
\b8 _
\bU_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bc_
\bo_
\bl_
\bo_
\br _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bm_
\bo_
\bn_
\bo _
\bv_
\bi_
\bd_
\be_
\bo _
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\bu_
\bt_
\be_
\bs
1358 Usage: color _
\bo_
\bb_
\bj_
\be_
\bc_
\bt _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd _
\bb_
\ba_
\bc_
\bk_
\bg_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd [ _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp ]
1360 Usage: color index _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd _
\bb_
\ba_
\bc_
\bk_
\bg_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn
1362 Usage: uncolor index _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn [ _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn ... ]
1364 If your terminal supports color, you can spice up Mutt-ng by creating your own
1365 color scheme. To define the color of an object (type of information), you must
1366 specify both a foreground color a
\ban
\bnd
\bd a background color (it is not possible to
1367 only specify one or the other).
1369 _
\bo_
\bb_
\bj_
\be_
\bc_
\bt can be one of:
1373 +
\bo body (match _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp in the body of messages)
1375 +
\bo bold (highlighting bold patterns in the body of messages)
1377 +
\bo error (error messages printed by Mutt-ng)
1379 +
\bo header (match _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp in the message header)
1381 +
\bo hdrdefault (default color of the message header in the pager)
1383 +
\bo index (match _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn in the message index)
1385 +
\bo indicator (arrow or bar used to indicate the current item in a menu)
1387 +
\bo markers (the ``+'' markers at the beginning of wrapped lines in the pager)
1389 +
\bo message (informational messages)
1393 +
\bo quoted (text matching _
\b$_
\bq_
\bu_
\bo_
\bt_
\be_
\b__
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp (section 7.4.227 , page 140) in the
1396 +
\bo quoted1, quoted2, ..., quotedN
\bN (higher levels of quoting)
1398 +
\bo search (highlighting of words in the pager)
1400 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 29
1404 +
\bo status (mode lines used to display info about the mailbox or message)
1406 +
\bo tilde (the ``~'' used to pad blank lines in the pager)
1408 +
\bo tree (thread tree drawn in the message index and attachment menu)
1410 +
\bo underline (highlighting underlined patterns in the body of messages)
1412 _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd and _
\bb_
\ba_
\bc_
\bk_
\bg_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd can be one of the following:
1434 _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\br_
\bo_
\bu_
\bn_
\bd can optionally be prefixed with the keyword bright to make the fore-
1435 ground color boldfaced (e.g., brightred).
1437 If your terminal supports it, the special keyword _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt can be used as a
1438 transparent color. The value _
\bb_
\br_
\bi_
\bg_
\bh_
\bt_
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt is also valid. If Mutt-ng is
1439 linked against the _
\bS_
\b-_
\bL_
\ba_
\bn_
\bg library, you also need to set the _
\bC_
\bO_
\bL_
\bO_
\bR_
\bF_
\bG_
\bB_
\bG environ-
1440 ment variable to the default colors of your terminal for this to work; for
1441 example (for Bourne-like shells):
1443 set COLORFGBG="green;black"
1446 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: The _
\bS_
\b-_
\bL_
\ba_
\bn_
\bg library requires you to use the _
\bl_
\bi_
\bg_
\bh_
\bt_
\bg_
\br_
\ba_
\by and _
\bb_
\br_
\bo_
\bw_
\bn keywords
1447 instead of _
\bw_
\bh_
\bi_
\bt_
\be and _
\by_
\be_
\bl_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw when setting this variable.
1449 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: The uncolor command can be applied to the index object only. It removes
1450 entries from the list. You m
\bmu
\bus
\bst
\bt specify the same pattern specified in the color
1451 command for it to be removed. The pattern ``*'' is a special token which means
1452 to clear the color index list of all entries.
1454 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 30
1456 Mutt-ng also recognizes the keywords _
\bc_
\bo_
\bl_
\bo_
\br_
\b0, _
\bc_
\bo_
\bl_
\bo_
\br_
\b1, ..., _
\bc_
\bo_
\bl_
\bo_
\brN
\bN-
\b-1
\b1 (N
\bN being the
1457 number of colors supported by your terminal). This is useful when you remap
1458 the colors for your display (for example by changing the color associated with
1459 _
\bc_
\bo_
\bl_
\bo_
\br_
\b2 for your xterm), since color names may then lose their normal meaning.
1461 If your terminal does not support color, it is still possible change the video
1462 attributes through the use of the ``mono'' command:
1464 Usage: mono _
\b<_
\bo_
\bb_
\bj_
\be_
\bc_
\bt_
\b> _
\b<_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\bu_
\bt_
\be_
\b> [ _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp ]
1466 Usage: mono index _
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\bu_
\bt_
\be _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn
1468 Usage: unmono index _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn [ _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn ... ]
1470 where _
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\bu_
\bt_
\be is one of the following:
1482 _
\b3_
\b._
\b9 _
\bI_
\bg_
\bn_
\bo_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\b(_
\bw_
\be_
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\b) _
\bu_
\bn_
\bw_
\ba_
\bn_
\bt_
\be_
\bd _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\bs
1484 Usage: [un]ignore _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn [ _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn ... ]
1486 Messages often have many header fields added by automatic processing systems,
1487 or which may not seem useful to display on the screen. This command allows you
1488 to specify header fields which you don't normally want to see.
1490 You do not need to specify the full header field name. For example, ``ignore
1491 content-'' will ignore all header fields that begin with the pattern ``con-
1492 tent-''. ``ignore *'' will ignore all headers.
1494 To remove a previously added token from the list, use the ``unignore'' command.
1495 The ``unignore'' command will make Mutt-ng display headers with the given pat-
1496 tern. For example, if you do ``ignore x-'' it is possible to ``unignore x-
1499 ``unignore *'' will remove all tokens from the ignore list.
1503 # Sven's draconian header weeding
1505 unignore from date subject to cc
1506 unignore organization organisation x-mailer: x-newsreader: x-mailing-list:
1509 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 31
1511 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b0 _
\bA_
\bl_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bv_
\be _
\ba_
\bd_
\bd_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\be_
\bs
1513 Usage: [un]alternates _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp [ _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp ... ]
1515 With various functions, mutt will treat messages differently, depending on
1516 whether you sent them or whether you received them from someone else. For
1517 instance, when replying to a message that you sent to a different party, mutt
1518 will automatically suggest to send the response to the original message's
1519 recipients -- responding to yourself won't make much sense in many cases. (See
1520 _
\b$_
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\by_
\b__
\bt_
\bo (section 7.4.235 , page 142).)
1522 Many users receive e-mail under a number of different addresses. To fully use
1523 mutt's features here, the program must be able to recognize what e-mail
1524 addresses you receive mail under. That's the purpose of the alternates command:
1525 It takes a list of regular expressions, each of which can identify an address
1526 under which you receive e-mail.
1528 The unalternates command can be used to write exceptions to alternates pat-
1529 terns. If an address matches something in an alternates command, but you none-
1530 theless do not think it is from you, you can list a more precise pattern under
1531 an unalternates command.
1533 To remove a regular expression from the alternates list, use the unalternates
1534 command with exactly the same _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp. Likewise, if the _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp for a alternates
1535 command matches an entry on the unalternates list, that unalternates entry will
1536 be removed. If the _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp for unalternates is ``*'', _
\ba_
\bl_
\bl _
\be_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\be_
\bs on alternates
1539 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b1 _
\bF_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt _
\b= _
\bF_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw_
\be_
\bd
1541 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b1_
\b._
\b1 _
\bI_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\bo_
\bd_
\bu_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
1543 Mutt-ng contains support for so-called format=flowed messages. In the begin-
1544 ning of email, each message had a fixed line width, and it was enough for dis-
1545 playing them on fixed-size terminals. But times changed, and nowadays hardly
1546 anybody still uses fixed-size terminals: more people nowaydays use graphical
1547 user interfaces, with dynamically resizable windows. This led to the demand of
1548 a new email format that makes it possible for the email client to make the
1549 email look nice in a resizable window without breaking quoting levels and cre-
1550 ating an incompatible email format that can also be displayed nicely on old
1551 fixed-size terminals.
1553 For introductory information on format=flowed messages, see
1554 <http://www.joeclark.org/ffaq.html>.
1556 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b1_
\b._
\b2 _
\bR_
\be_
\bc_
\be_
\bi_
\bv_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\b: _
\bD_
\bi_
\bs_
\bp_
\bl_
\ba_
\by _
\bS_
\be_
\bt_
\bu_
\bp
1558 When you receive emails that are marked as format=flowed messages, and is for-
1559 matted correctly, mutt-ng will try to reformat the message to optimally fit on
1560 your terminal. If you want a fixed margin on the right side of your terminal,
1561 you can set the following:
1563 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 32
1567 The code above makes the line break 10 columns before the right side of the
1570 If your terminal is so wide that the lines are embarrassingly long, you can
1571 also set a maximum line length:
1573 set max_line_length = 120
1575 The example above will give you lines not longer than 120 characters.
1577 When you view at format=flowed messages, you will often see the quoting hierar-
1578 chy like in the following example:
1580 >Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr.
1581 >Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new
1582 >production server that we want to set up before our customer's
1583 >project will go live.
1585 This obviously doesn't look very nice, and it makes it very hard to differenti-
1586 ate between text and quoting character. The solution is to configure mutt-ng to
1587 "stuff" the quoting:
1591 This will lead to a nicer result that is easier to read:
1593 > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr.
1594 > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new
1595 > production server that we want to set up before our customer's
1596 > project will go live.
1598 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b1_
\b._
\b3 _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg
1600 If you want mutt-ng to send emails with format=flowed set, you need to explic-
1605 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 33
1607 Additionally, you have to use an editor which supports writing format=flowed-
1608 conforming emails. For vim, this is done by adding w to the formatoptions (see
1609 :h formatoptions and :h fo-table) when writing emails.
1611 Also note that _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt_
\b=_
\bf_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw_
\be_
\bd knows about ``space-stuffing'', that is, when
1612 sending messages, some kinds of lines have to be indented with a single space
1613 on the sending side. On the receiving side, the first space (if any) is
1614 removed. As a consequence and in addition to the above simple setting, please
1615 keep this in mind when making manual formattings within the editor. Also note
1616 that mutt-ng currently violates the standard (RfC 3676) as it does not space-
1617 stuff lines starting with:
1619 +
\bo > This is _
\bn_
\bo_
\bt the quote character but a right angle used for other reasons
1621 +
\bo From with a trailing space.
1623 +
\bo just a space for formatting reasons
1625 Please make sure that you manually prepend a space to each of them.
1627 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b1_
\b._
\b4 _
\bA_
\bd_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\ba_
\bl _
\bN_
\bo_
\bt_
\be_
\bs
1631 For completeness, the _
\b$_
\bd_
\be_
\bl_
\be_
\bt_
\be_
\b__
\bs_
\bp_
\ba_
\bc_
\be (section 7.4.47 , page 96) variable pro-
1632 vides the mechanism to generate a DelSp=yes parameter on _
\bo_
\bu_
\bt_
\bg_
\bo_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg messages.
1633 According to the standard, clients receiving a format=flowed messages should
1634 delete the last space of a flowed line but still interpret the line as flowed.
1635 Because flowed lines usually contain only one space at the end, this parameter
1636 would make the receiving client concatenate the last word of the previous with
1637 the first of the current line _
\bw_
\bi_
\bt_
\bh_
\bo_
\bu_
\bt a space. This makes ordinary text unread-
1638 able and is intended for languages rarely using spaces. So please use this set-
1639 ting only if you're sure what you're doing.
1641 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b2 _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bl_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\bs
1643 Usage: [un]lists _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp [ _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp ... ]
1645 Usage: [un]subscribe _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp [ _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp ... ]
1647 Mutt-ng has a few nice features for _
\bh_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd_
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bl_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\bs (section 4.10 ,
1648 page 58). In order to take advantage of them, you must specify which addresses
1649 belong to mailing lists, and which mailing lists you are subscribed to. Once
1650 you have done this, the _
\bl_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\b-_
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\by (section 2.5.4 , page 12) function will
1651 work for all known lists. Additionally, when you send a message to a sub-
1652 scribed list, mutt will add a Mail-Followup-To header to tell other users' mail
1653 user agents not to send copies of replies to your personal address. Note that
1654 the Mail-Followup-To header is a non-standard extension which is not supported
1655 by all mail user agents. Adding it is not bullet-proof against receiving per-
1656 sonal CCs of list messages. Also note that the generation of the Mail-Fol-
1657 lowup-To header is controlled by the _
\b$_
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw_
\bu_
\bp_
\b__
\bt_
\bo (section 7.4.67 , page 101)
1658 configuration variable.
1660 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 34
1662 More precisely, Mutt-ng maintains lists of patterns for the addresses of known
1663 and subscribed mailing lists. Every subscribed mailing list is known. To mark
1664 a mailing list as known, use the ``lists'' command. To mark it as subscribed,
1667 You can use regular expressions with both commands. To mark all messages sent
1668 to a specific bug report's address on mutt's bug tracking system as list mail,
1669 for instance, you could say ``subscribe [0-9]*@bugs.guug.de''. Often, it's
1670 sufficient to just give a portion of the list's e-mail address.
1672 Specify as much of the address as you need to to remove ambiguity. For exam-
1673 ple, if you've subscribed to the Mutt-ng mailing list, you will receive mail
1674 addressed to _
\bm_
\bu_
\bt_
\bt_
\b-_
\bu_
\bs_
\be_
\br_
\bs_
\b@_
\bm_
\bu_
\bt_
\bt_
\b._
\bo_
\br_
\bg. So, to tell Mutt-ng that this is a mailing
1675 list, you could add ``lists mutt-users'' to your initialization file. To tell
1676 mutt that you are subscribed to it, add ``subscribe mutt-users'' to your ini-
1677 tialization file instead. If you also happen to get mail from someone whose
1678 address is _
\bm_
\bu_
\bt_
\bt_
\b-_
\bu_
\bs_
\be_
\br_
\bs_
\b@_
\be_
\bx_
\ba_
\bm_
\bp_
\bl_
\be_
\b._
\bc_
\bo_
\bm, you could use ``lists mutt-
1679 users@mutt\\.org'' or ``subscribe mutt-users@mutt\\.org'' to match only mail
1680 from the actual list.
1682 The ``unlists'' command is used to remove a token from the list of known and
1683 subscribed mailing-lists. Use ``unlists *'' to remove all tokens.
1685 To remove a mailing list from the list of subscribed mailing lists, but keep it
1686 on the list of known mailing lists, use ``unsubscribe''.
1688 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b3 _
\bU_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt_
\bi_
\bp_
\bl_
\be _
\bs_
\bp_
\bo_
\bo_
\bl _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx_
\be_
\bs
1690 Usage: mbox-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx
1692 This command is used to move read messages from a specified mailbox to a dif-
1693 ferent mailbox automatically when you quit or change folders. _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn is a
1694 regular expression specifying the mailbox to treat as a ``spool'' mailbox and
1695 _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx specifies where mail should be saved when read.
1697 Unlike some of the other _
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk commands, only the _
\bf_
\bi_
\br_
\bs_
\bt matching pattern is used
1698 (it is not possible to save read mail in more than a single mailbox).
1700 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b4 _
\bD_
\be_
\bf_
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx_
\be_
\bs _
\bw_
\bh_
\bi_
\bc_
\bh _
\br_
\be_
\bc_
\be_
\bi_
\bv_
\be _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl
1702 Usage: [un]mailboxes [!]_
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be [ _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be ... ]
1704 This command specifies folders which can receive mail and which will be checked
1705 for new messages. By default, the main menu status bar displays how many of
1706 these folders have new messages.
1708 When changing folders, pressing _
\bs_
\bp_
\ba_
\bc_
\be will cycle through folders with new mail.
1710 Pressing TAB in the directory browser will bring up a menu showing the files
1711 specified by the mailboxes command, and indicate which contain new messages.
1713 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 35
1715 Mutt-ng will automatically enter this mode when invoked from the command line
1718 The ``unmailboxes'' command is used to remove a token from the list of folders
1719 which receive mail. Use ``unmailboxes *'' to remove all tokens.
1721 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: new mail is detected by comparing the last modification time to the last
1722 access time. Utilities like biff or frm or any other program which accesses
1723 the mailbox might cause Mutt-ng to never detect new mail for that mailbox if
1724 they do not properly reset the access time. Backup tools are another common
1725 reason for updated access times.
1727 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: the filenames in the mailboxes command are resolved when the command is
1728 executed, so if these names contain _
\bs_
\bh_
\bo_
\br_
\bt_
\bc_
\bu_
\bt _
\bc_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\ba_
\bc_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bs (section 4.9 , page
1729 57) (such as ``='' and ``!''), any variable definition that affect these char-
1730 acters (like _
\b$_
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\be_
\br (section 7.4.65 , page 100) and _
\b$_
\bs_
\bp_
\bo_
\bo_
\bl_
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be (section
1731 7.4.299 , page 158)) should be executed before the mailboxes command.
1733 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b5 _
\bU_
\bs_
\be_
\br _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\bi_
\bn_
\be_
\bd _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\bs
1737 my_hdr _
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg
1739 unmy_hdr _
\bf_
\bi_
\be_
\bl_
\bd [ _
\bf_
\bi_
\be_
\bl_
\bd ... ]
1741 The ``my_hdr'' command allows you to create your own header fields which will
1742 be added to every message you send.
1744 For example, if you would like to add an ``Organization:'' header field to all
1745 of your outgoing messages, you can put the command
1747 my_hdr Organization: A Really Big Company, Anytown, USA
1751 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: space characters are _
\bn_
\bo_
\bt allowed between the keyword and the colon
1752 (``:''). The standard for electronic mail (RFC822) says that space is illegal
1753 there, so Mutt-ng enforces the rule.
1755 If you would like to add a header field to a single message, you should either
1756 set the _
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\b__
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\bs (section 7.4.55 , page 98) variable, or use the _
\be_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\b-
1757 _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\bs function (default: ``E'') in the send-menu so that you can edit the
1758 header of your message along with the body.
1760 To remove user defined header fields, use the ``unmy_hdr'' command. You may
1761 specify an asterisk (``*'') to remove all header fields, or the fields to
1762 remove. For example, to remove all ``To'' and ``Cc'' header fields, you could
1765 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 36
1769 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b6 _
\bD_
\be_
\bf_
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\be _
\bo_
\br_
\bd_
\be_
\br _
\bo_
\bf _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\bs _
\bw_
\bh_
\be_
\bn _
\bv_
\bi_
\be_
\bw_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\bs
1771 Usage: hdr_order _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\b1 _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\b2 _
\bh_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\b3
1773 With this command, you can specify an order in which mutt will attempt to
1774 present headers to you when viewing messages.
1776 ``unhdr_order *'' will clear all previous headers from the order list, thus
1777 removing the header order effects set by the system-wide startup file.
1779 hdr_order From Date: From: To: Cc: Subject:
1781 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b7 _
\bS_
\bp_
\be_
\bc_
\bi_
\bf_
\by _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt _
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be
1783 Usage: save-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be
1785 This command is used to override the default filename used when saving mes-
1786 sages. _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be will be used as the default filename if the message is _
\bF_
\br_
\bo_
\bm_
\b:
1787 an address matching _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp or if you are the author and the message is
1788 addressed _
\bt_
\bo_
\b: something matching _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp.
1790 See _
\bM_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bM_
\ba_
\bt_
\bc_
\bh_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bi_
\bn _
\bH_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs (section 4.5.1 , page 54) for information on the
1791 exact format of _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn.
1795 save-hook me@(turing\\.)?cs\\.hmc\\.edu$ +elkins
1796 save-hook aol\\.com$ +spam
1798 Also see the _
\bf_
\bc_
\bc_
\b-_
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.19 , page 36) command.
1800 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b8 _
\bS_
\bp_
\be_
\bc_
\bi_
\bf_
\by _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt _
\bF_
\bc_
\bc_
\b: _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx _
\bw_
\bh_
\be_
\bn _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bo_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg
1802 Usage: fcc-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx
1804 This command is used to save outgoing mail in a mailbox other than _
\b$_
\br_
\be_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\bd
1805 (section 7.4.232 , page 142). Mutt-ng searches the initial list of message
1806 recipients for the first matching _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp and uses _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx as the default Fcc:
1807 mailbox. If no match is found the message will be saved to _
\b$_
\br_
\be_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\bd (section
1808 7.4.232 , page 142) mailbox.
1810 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 37
1812 See _
\bM_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bM_
\ba_
\bt_
\bc_
\bh_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bi_
\bn _
\bH_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs (section 4.5.1 , page 54) for information on the
1813 exact format of _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn.
1815 Example: fcc-hook [@.]aol\\.com$ +spammers
1817 The above will save a copy of all messages going to the aol.com domain to the
1818 `+spammers' mailbox by default. Also see the _
\bf_
\bc_
\bc_
\b-_
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.19 ,
1821 _
\b3_
\b._
\b1_
\b9 _
\bS_
\bp_
\be_
\bc_
\bi_
\bf_
\by _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt _
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt _
\bF_
\bc_
\bc_
\b: _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx _
\ba_
\bt _
\bo_
\bn_
\bc_
\be
1823 Usage: fcc-save-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx
1825 This command is a shortcut, equivalent to doing both a _
\bf_
\bc_
\bc_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section
1826 3.18 , page 36) and a _
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.17 , page 36) with its arguments.
1828 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b0 _
\bC_
\bh_
\ba_
\bn_
\bg_
\be _
\bs_
\be_
\bt_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs _
\bb_
\ba_
\bs_
\be_
\bd _
\bu_
\bp_
\bo_
\bn _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\br_
\be_
\bc_
\bi_
\bp_
\bi_
\be_
\bn_
\bt_
\bs
1830 Usage: reply-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd
1832 Usage: send-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd
1834 Usage: send2-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd
1836 These commands can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands based
1837 upon recipients of the message. _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn is a regular expression matching the
1838 desired address. _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd is executed when _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\be_
\bx_
\bp matches recipients of the
1841 reply-hook is matched against the message you are _
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\by_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg t
\bto
\bo, instead of the
1842 message you are _
\bs_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg. send-hook is matched against all messages, both _
\bn_
\be_
\bw
1843 and _
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\bi_
\be_
\bs. N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: reply-hooks are matched b
\bbe
\bef
\bfo
\bor
\bre
\be the send-hook, r
\bre
\beg
\bga
\bar
\brd
\bdl
\ble
\bes
\bss
\bs of
1844 the order specified in the users's configuration file.
1846 send2-hook is matched every time a message is changed, either by editing it, or
1847 by using the compose menu to change its recipients or subject. send2-hook is
1848 executed after send-hook, and can, e.g., be used to set parameters such as the
1849 _
\b$_
\bs_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl (section 7.4.249 , page 146) variable depending on the message's
1852 For each type of send-hook or reply-hook, when multiple matches occur, commands
1853 are executed in the order they are specified in the muttrc (for that type of
1856 See _
\bM_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bM_
\ba_
\bt_
\bc_
\bh_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bi_
\bn _
\bH_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs (section 4.5.1 , page 54) for information on the
1857 exact format of _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn.
1859 Example: send-hook mutt 'set mime_forward signature='''
1861 Another typical use for this command is to change the values of the
1863 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 38
1865 _
\b$_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\bu_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn (section 7.4.15 , page 89), _
\b$_
\bs_
\bi_
\bg_
\bn_
\ba_
\bt_
\bu_
\br_
\be (section 7.4.261 , page
1866 149) and _
\b$_
\bl_
\bo_
\bc_
\ba_
\bl_
\be (section 7.4.115 , page 114) variables in order to change the
1867 language of the attributions and signatures based upon the recipients.
1869 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: the send-hook's are only executed ONCE after getting the initial list of
1870 recipients. Adding a recipient after replying or editing the message will NOT
1871 cause any send-hook to be executed. Also note that my_hdr commands which mod-
1872 ify recipient headers, or the message's subject, don't have any effect on the
1873 current message when executed from a send-hook.
1875 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b1 _
\bC_
\bh_
\ba_
\bn_
\bg_
\be _
\bs_
\be_
\bt_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs _
\bb_
\be_
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\be _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\ba _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be
1877 Usage: message-hook [!]_
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd
1879 This command can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands before
1880 viewing or formatting a message based upon information about the message. _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\b-
1881 _
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd is executed if the _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn matches the message to be displayed. When mul-
1882 tiple matches occur, commands are executed in the order they are specified in
1885 See _
\bM_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bM_
\ba_
\bt_
\bc_
\bh_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bi_
\bn _
\bH_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs (section 4.5.1 , page 54) for information on the
1886 exact format of _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn.
1890 message-hook ~A 'set pager=builtin'
1891 message-hook '~f freshmeat-news' 'set pager="less \"+/^ subject: .*\""'
1893 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b2 _
\bC_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\be _
\bc_
\br_
\by_
\bp_
\bt_
\bo_
\bg_
\br_
\ba_
\bp_
\bh_
\bi_
\bc _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bo_
\bf _
\bt_
\bh_
\be _
\br_
\be_
\bc_
\bi_
\bp_
\bi_
\be_
\bn_
\bt
1895 Usage: crypt-hook _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bk_
\be_
\by_
\bi_
\bd
1897 When encrypting messages with PGP or OpenSSL, you may want to associate a cer-
1898 tain key with a given e-mail address automatically, either because the recipi-
1899 ent's public key can't be deduced from the destination address, or because, for
1900 some reasons, you need to override the key Mutt-ng would normally use. The
1901 crypt-hook command provides a method by which you can specify the ID of the
1902 public key to be used when encrypting messages to a certain recipient.
1904 The meaning of "key id" is to be taken broadly in this context: You can either
1905 put a numerical key ID here, an e-mail address, or even just a real name.
1907 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b3 _
\bA_
\bd_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bk_
\be_
\by _
\bs_
\be_
\bq_
\bu_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be_
\bs _
\bt_
\bo _
\bt_
\bh_
\be _
\bk_
\be_
\by_
\bb_
\bo_
\ba_
\br_
\bd _
\bb_
\bu_
\bf_
\bf_
\be_
\br
1909 Usage: push _
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg
1911 This command adds the named string to the keyboard buffer. The string may
1913 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 39
1915 contain control characters, key names and function names like the sequence
1916 string in the _
\bm_
\ba_
\bc_
\br_
\bo (section 3.7 , page 27) command. You may use it to auto-
1917 matically run a sequence of commands at startup, or when entering certain fold-
1920 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b4 _
\bE_
\bx_
\be_
\bc_
\bu_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\bs
1922 Usage: exec _
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn [ _
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn ... ]
1924 This command can be used to execute any function. Functions are listed in the
1925 _
\bf_
\bu_
\bn_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\br_
\be_
\bf_
\be_
\br_
\be_
\bn_
\bc_
\be (section 7.5 , page 170). ``exec function'' is equivalent
1926 to ``push <function>''.
1928 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b5 _
\bM_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bS_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg
1930 Usage: score _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bv_
\ba_
\bl_
\bu_
\be
1932 Usage: unscore _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn [ _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn ... ]
1934 In situations where you have to cope with a lot of emails, e.g. when you read
1935 many different mailing lists, and take part in discussions, it is always useful
1936 to have the important messages marked and the annoying messages or the ones
1937 that you aren't interested in deleted. For this purpose, mutt-ng features a
1938 mechanism called ``scoring''.
1940 When you use scoring, every message has a base score of 0. You can then use the
1941 score command to define patterns and a positive or negative value associated
1942 with it. When a pattern matches a message, the message's score will be raised
1943 or lowered by the amount of the value associated with the pattern.
1945 score "~f nion@muttng\.org" 50
1946 score "~f @sco\.com" -100
1948 If the pattern matches, it is also possible to set the score value of the cur-
1949 rent message to a certain value and then stop evaluation:
1951 score "~f santaclaus@northpole\.int" =666
1953 What is important to note is that negative score values will be rounded up to
1956 To make scoring actually useful, the score must be applied in some way. That's
1957 what the _
\bs_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\be _
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bh_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\bs are for. Currently, there are three score thresholds:
1959 +
\bo flag threshold: when a message has a score value equal or higher than the
1960 flag threshold, it will be flagged.
1962 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 40
1964 +
\bo read threshold: when a message has a score value equal or lower than the
1965 read threshold, it will be marked as read.
1967 +
\bo delete threshold: when a message has a score value equal or lower than the
1968 delete threshold, it will be marked as deleted.
1970 These three thresholds can be set via the variables _
\b$_
\bs_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\b__
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bh_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\b__
\bf_
\bl_
\ba_
\bg (sec-
1971 tion 7.4.246 , page 145), _
\b$_
\bs_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\b__
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bh_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\b__
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd (section 7.4.247 , page 145),
1972 _
\b$_
\bs_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\b__
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bh_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\b__
\bd_
\be_
\bl_
\be_
\bt_
\be (section 7.4.245 , page 145) and. By default,
1973 _
\b$_
\bs_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\b__
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bh_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\b__
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd (section 7.4.247 , page 145) and _
\b$_
\bs_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\be_
\b__
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bh_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\b__
\bd_
\be_
\bl_
\be_
\bt_
\be
1974 (section 7.4.245 , page 145) are set to -1, which means that in the default
1975 threshold configuration no message will ever get marked as read or deleted.
1977 Scoring gets especially interesting when combined with the color command and
1980 color black yellow "~n 10-"
1981 color red yellow "~n 100-"
1983 The rules above mark all messages with a score between 10 and 99 with black and
1984 yellow, and messages with a score greater or equal 100 with red and yellow.
1985 This might be unusual to you if you're used to e.g. slrn's scoring mechanism,
1986 but it is more flexible, as it visually marks different scores.
1988 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b6 _
\bS_
\bp_
\ba_
\bm _
\bd_
\be_
\bt_
\be_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
1990 Usage: spam _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt
1992 Usage: nospam _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn
1994 Mutt-ng has generalized support for external spam-scoring filters. By defining
1995 your spam patterns with the spam and nospam commands, you can _
\bl_
\bi_
\bm_
\bi_
\bt, _
\bs_
\be_
\ba_
\br_
\bc_
\bh,
1996 and _
\bs_
\bo_
\br_
\bt your mail based on its spam attributes, as determined by the external
1997 filter. You also can display the spam attributes in your index display using
1998 the %H selector in the _
\b$_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.111 , page 111) variable.
1999 (Tip: try %?H?[%H] ? to display spam tags only when they are defined for a
2002 Your first step is to define your external filter's spam patterns using the
2003 spam command. _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn should be a regular expression that matches a header in a
2004 mail message. If any message in the mailbox matches this regular expression, it
2005 will receive a ``spam tag'' or ``spam attribute'' (unless it also matches a
2006 nospam pattern -- see below.) The appearance of this attribute is entirely up
2007 to you, and is governed by the _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt parameter. _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt can be any static text,
2008 but it also can include back-references from the _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn expression. (A regular
2009 expression ``back-reference'' refers to a sub-expression contained within
2010 parentheses.) %1 is replaced with the first back-reference in the regex, %2
2011 with the second, etc.
2013 If you're using multiple spam filters, a message can have more than one spam-
2015 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 41
2017 related header. You can define spam patterns for each filter you use. If a mes-
2018 sage matches two or more of these patterns, and the $spam_separator variable is
2019 set to a string, then the message's spam tag will consist of all the _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt
2020 strings joined together, with the value of $spam_separator separating them.
2022 For example, suppose I use DCC, SpamAssassin, and PureMessage. I might define
2023 these spam settings:
2025 spam "X-DCC-.*-Metrics:.*(....)=many" "90+/DCC-%1"
2026 spam "X-Spam-Status: Yes" "90+/SA"
2027 spam "X-PerlMX-Spam: .*Probability=([0-9]+)%" "%1/PM"
2028 set spam_separator=", "
2030 If I then received a message that DCC registered with ``many'' hits under the
2031 ``Fuz2'' checksum, and that PureMessage registered with a 97% probability of
2032 being spam, that message's spam tag would read 90+/DCC-Fuz2, 97/PM. (The four
2033 characters before ``=many'' in a DCC report indicate the checksum used -- in
2034 this case, ``Fuz2''.)
2036 If the $spam_separator variable is unset, then each spam pattern match super-
2037 sedes the previous one. Instead of getting joined _
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt strings, you'll get
2038 only the last one to match.
2040 The spam tag is what will be displayed in the index when you use %H in the
2041 $index_format variable. It's also the string that the ~H pattern-matching
2042 expression matches against for _
\bs_
\be_
\ba_
\br_
\bc_
\bh and _
\bl_
\bi_
\bm_
\bi_
\bt functions. And it's what sort-
2043 ing by spam attribute will use as a sort key.
2045 That's a pretty complicated example, and most people's actual environments will
2046 have only one spam filter. The simpler your configuration, the more effective
2047 mutt can be, especially when it comes to sorting.
2049 Generally, when you sort by spam tag, mutt will sort _
\bl_
\be_
\bx_
\bi_
\bc_
\ba_
\bl_
\bl_
\by -- that is, by
2050 ordering strings alphnumerically. However, if a spam tag begins with a number,
2051 mutt will sort numerically first, and lexically only when two numbers are equal
2052 in value. (This is like UNIX's sort -n.) A message with no spam attributes at
2053 all -- that is, one that didn't match _
\ba_
\bn_
\by of your spam patterns -- is sorted at
2054 lowest priority. Numbers are sorted next, beginning with 0 and ranging upward.
2055 Finally, non-numeric strings are sorted, with ``a'' taking lower priority than
2056 ``z''. Clearly, in general, sorting by spam tags is most effective when you can
2057 coerce your filter to give you a raw number. But in case you can't, mutt can
2058 still do something useful.
2060 The nospam command can be used to write exceptions to spam patterns. If a
2061 header pattern matches something in a spam command, but you nonetheless do not
2062 want it to receive a spam tag, you can list a more precise pattern under a
2065 If the _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn given to nospam is exactly the same as the _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn on an exist-
2066 ing spam list entry, the effect will be to remove the entry from the spam list,
2067 instead of adding an exception. Likewise, if the _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn for a spam command
2068 matches an entry on the nospam list, that nospam entry will be removed. If the
2069 _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn for nospam is ``*'', _
\ba_
\bl_
\bl _
\be_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\be_
\bs _
\bo_
\bn _
\bb_
\bo_
\bt_
\bh _
\bl_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\bs will be removed. This
2071 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 42
2073 might be the default action if you use spam and nospam in conjunction with a
2076 You can have as many spam or nospam commands as you like. You can even do your
2077 own primitive spam detection within mutt -- for example, if you consider all
2078 mail from MAILER-DAEMON to be spam, you can use a spam command like this:
2080 spam "^From: .*MAILER-DAEMON" "999"
2082 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b7 _
\bS_
\be_
\bt_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be_
\bs
2084 Usage: set [no|inv]_
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be[=_
\bv_
\ba_
\bl_
\bu_
\be] [ _
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be ... ]
2086 Usage: toggle _
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be [_
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be ... ]
2088 Usage: unset _
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be [_
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be ... ]
2090 Usage: reset _
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be [_
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be ... ]
2092 This command is used to set (and unset) _
\bc_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg_
\bu_
\br_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\bv_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be_
\bs (section 7.4 ,
2093 page 84). There are four basic types of variables: boolean, number, string and
2094 quadoption. _
\bb_
\bo_
\bo_
\bl_
\be_
\ba_
\bn variables can be _
\bs_
\be_
\bt (true) or _
\bu_
\bn_
\bs_
\be_
\bt (false). _
\bn_
\bu_
\bm_
\bb_
\be_
\br
2095 variables can be assigned a positive integer value.
2097 _
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg variables consist of any number of printable characters. _
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs must
2098 be enclosed in quotes if they contain spaces or tabs. You may also use the
2099 ``C'' escape sequences \
\b\n
\bn and \
\b\t
\bt for newline and tab, respectively.
2101 _
\bq_
\bu_
\ba_
\bd_
\bo_
\bp_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn variables are used to control whether or not to be prompted for cer-
2102 tain actions, or to specify a default action. A value of _
\by_
\be_
\bs will cause the
2103 action to be carried out automatically as if you had answered yes to the ques-
2104 tion. Similarly, a value of _
\bn_
\bo will cause the the action to be carried out as
2105 if you had answered ``no.'' A value of _
\ba_
\bs_
\bk_
\b-_
\by_
\be_
\bs will cause a prompt with a
2106 default answer of ``yes'' and _
\ba_
\bs_
\bk_
\b-_
\bn_
\bo will provide a default answer of ``no.''
2108 Prefixing a variable with ``no'' will unset it. Example: set noaskbcc.
2110 For _
\bb_
\bo_
\bo_
\bl_
\be_
\ba_
\bn variables, you may optionally prefix the variable name with inv to
2111 toggle the value (on or off). This is useful when writing macros. Example:
2114 The toggle command automatically prepends the inv prefix to all specified vari-
2117 The unset command automatically prepends the no prefix to all specified vari-
2120 Using the enter-command function in the _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx menu, you can query the value of
2121 a variable by prefixing the name of the variable with a question mark:
2123 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 43
2127 The question mark is actually only required for boolean and quadoption vari-
2130 The reset command resets all given variables to the compile time defaults
2131 (hopefully mentioned in this manual). If you use the command set and prefix the
2132 variable with ``&'' this has the same behavior as the reset command.
2134 With the reset command there exists the special variable ``all'', which allows
2135 you to reset all variables to their system defaults.
2137 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b8 _
\bR_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\bz_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd_
\bs _
\bf_
\br_
\bo_
\bm _
\ba_
\bn_
\bo_
\bt_
\bh_
\be_
\br _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be
2139 Usage: source _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be [ _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be ... ]
2141 This command allows the inclusion of initialization commands from other files.
2142 For example, I place all of my aliases in ~/.mail_aliases so that I can make my
2143 ~/.muttrc readable and keep my aliases private.
2145 If the filename begins with a tilde (``~''), it will be expanded to the path of
2146 your home directory.
2148 If the filename ends with a vertical bar (|), then _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bm_
\be is considered to be
2149 an executable program from which to read input (eg. source ~/bin/myscript|).
2151 _
\b3_
\b._
\b2_
\b9 _
\bR_
\be_
\bm_
\bo_
\bv_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs
2153 Usage: unhook [ * | _
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\b-_
\bt_
\by_
\bp_
\be ]
2155 This command permits you to flush hooks you have previously defined. You can
2156 either remove all hooks by giving the ``*'' character as an argument, or you
2157 can remove all hooks of a specific type by saying something like unhook send-
2160 _
\b3_
\b._
\b3_
\b0 _
\bS_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bS_
\be_
\bt_
\bu_
\bp_
\bs
2162 _
\b3_
\b._
\b3_
\b0_
\b._
\b1 _
\bC_
\bh_
\ba_
\br_
\ba_
\bc_
\bt_
\be_
\br _
\bS_
\be_
\bt_
\bs
2164 As users may run mutt-ng on different systems, the configuration must be main-
2165 tained because it's likely that people want to use the setup everywhere they
2166 use mutt-ng. And mutt-ng tries to help where it can.
2168 To not produce conflicts with different character sets, mutt-ng allows users to
2169 specify in which character set their configuration files are encoded. Please
2170 note that while reading the configuration files, this is only respected after
2171 the corresponding declaration appears. It's advised to put the following at the
2173 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 44
2175 very beginning of a users muttngrc:
2177 set config_charset = "..."
2179 and replacing the dots with the actual character set. To avoid problems while
2180 maintaining the setup, vim user's may want to use modelines as show in:
2182 # vim:fileencoding=...:
2184 while, again, replacing the dots with the appropriate name. This tells vim as
2185 which character set to read and save the file.
2187 _
\b3_
\b._
\b3_
\b0_
\b._
\b2 _
\bM_
\bo_
\bd_
\bu_
\bl_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\bz_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
2189 ``Modularization'' means to divide the setup into several files while sorting
2190 the options or commands by topic. Especially for longer setups (e.g. with many
2191 hooks), this helps maintaining it and solving trouble.
2193 When using separation, setups may be, as a whole or in fractions, shared over
2196 _
\b3_
\b._
\b3_
\b0_
\b._
\b3 _
\bC_
\bo_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\ba_
\bl _
\bp_
\ba_
\br_
\bt_
\bs
2198 When using a configuration on different systems, the user may not always have
2199 influence on how mutt-ng is installed and which features it includes.
2201 To solve this, mutt-ng contain a feature based on the ``ifdef'' patch written
2202 for mutt. Its basic syntax is:
2204 ifdef <item> <command>
2205 ifndef <item> <command>
2207 ...whereby <item> can be one of:
2209 +
\bo a function name
2211 +
\bo a variable name
2217 All available functions, variables and menus are documented elsewhere in this
2218 manual but ``features'' is specific to these two commands. To test for one,
2220 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 45
2222 prefix one of the following keywords with feature_:
2224 ncurses, slang, iconv, idn, dotlock, standalone, pop, nntp, imap, ssl,
2225 gnutls, sasl, sasl2, libesmtp, compressed, color, classic_pgp,
2226 classic_smime, gpgme, header_cache
2228 As an example, one can use the following in ~/.muttngrc:
2230 ifdef feature_imap 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-imap'
2231 ifdef feature_pop 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-pop'
2232 ifdef feature_nntp 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-nntp'
2234 ...to only source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-imap if IMAP support is built in, only
2235 source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-pop if POP support is built in and only source ~/.mutt-
2236 ng/setup-nntp if NNTP support is built in.
2238 An example for testing for variable names can be used if users use different
2239 revisions of mutt-ng whereby the older one may not have a certain variable. To
2240 test for the availability of _
\b$_
\bi_
\bm_
\ba_
\bp_
\b__
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\b__
\bc_
\bh_
\be_
\bc_
\bk (section 7.4.100 , page 109),
2243 ifdef imap_mail_check 'set imap_mail_check = 300'
2245 Provided for completeness is the test for menu names. To set _
\b$_
\bp_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br_
\b__
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx_
\b__
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\be_
\bs
2246 (section 7.4.171 , page 128) only if the pager menu is available, use:
2248 ifdef pager 'set pager_index_lines = 10'
2250 For completeness, too, the opposite of ifdef is provided: ifndef which only
2251 executes the command if the test fails. For example, the following two examples
2254 ifdef feature_ncurses 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-ncurses'
2255 ifndef feature_ncurses 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-slang'
2259 ifdef feature_slang 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-slang'
2260 ifndef feature_slang 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-ncurses'
2262 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 46
2264 _
\b3_
\b._
\b3_
\b1 _
\bO_
\bb_
\bs_
\bo_
\bl_
\be_
\bt_
\be _
\bV_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be_
\bs
2266 In the process of ensuring and creating more consistency, many variables have
2267 been renamed and some of the old names were already removed. Please see _
\bO_
\bb_
\bs_
\bo_
\b-
2268 _
\bl_
\be_
\bt_
\be _
\bV_
\ba_
\br_
\bi_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be_
\bs (section 7.4 , page 84) for a complete list.
2270 _
\b4_
\b. _
\bA_
\bd_
\bv_
\ba_
\bn_
\bc_
\be_
\bd _
\bU_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be
2272 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1 _
\bR_
\be_
\bg_
\bu_
\bl_
\ba_
\br _
\bE_
\bx_
\bp_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\bs
2274 All string patterns in Mutt-ng including those in more complex _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\bs (sec-
2275 tion 7.2 , page 80) must be specified using regular expressions (regexp) in
2276 the ``POSIX extended'' syntax (which is more or less the syntax used by egrep
2277 and GNU awk). For your convenience, we have included below a brief description
2280 The search is case sensitive if the pattern contains at least one upper case
2281 letter, and case insensitive otherwise. Note that ``\'' must be quoted if used
2282 for a regular expression in an initialization command: ``\\''.
2284 A regular expression is a pattern that describes a set of strings. Regular
2285 expressions are constructed analogously to arithmetic expressions, by using
2286 various operators to combine smaller expressions.
2288 Note that the regular expression can be enclosed/delimited by either ' or '
2289 which is useful if the regular expression includes a white-space character.
2290 See _
\bS_
\by_
\bn_
\bt_
\ba_
\bx _
\bo_
\bf _
\bI_
\bn_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\bz_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\bF_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bs (section 3.2 , page 21) for more informa-
2291 tion on ' and ' delimiter processing. To match a literal ' or ' you must pref-
2292 ace it with \ (backslash).
2294 The fundamental building blocks are the regular expressions that match a single
2295 character. Most characters, including all letters and digits, are regular
2296 expressions that match themselves. Any metacharacter with special meaning may
2297 be quoted by preceding it with a backslash.
2299 The period ``.'' matches any single character. The caret ``^'' and the dollar
2300 sign ``$'' are metacharacters that respectively match the empty string at the
2301 beginning and end of a line.
2303 A list of characters enclosed by ``['' and ``]'' matches any single character
2304 in that list; if the first character of the list is a caret ``^'' then it
2305 matches any character n
\bno
\bot
\bt in the list. For example, the regular expression
2306 [
\b[0
\b01
\b12
\b23
\b34
\b45
\b56
\b67
\b78
\b89
\b9]
\b] matches any single digit. A range of ASCII characters may be
2307 specified by giving the first and last characters, separated by a hyphen ``-''.
2308 Most metacharacters lose their special meaning inside lists. To include a lit-
2309 eral ``]'' place it first in the list. Similarly, to include a literal ``^''
2310 place it anywhere but first. Finally, to include a literal hyphen ``-'' place
2313 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 47
2315 Certain named classes of characters are predefined. Character classes consist
2316 of ``[:'', a keyword denoting the class, and ``:]''. The following classes are
2317 defined by the POSIX standard:
2320 Alphanumeric characters.
2323 Alphabetic characters.
2326 Space or tab characters.
2335 Characters that are both printable and visible. (A space is print-
2336 able, but not visible, while an ``a'' is both.)
2339 Lower-case alphabetic characters.
2342 Printable characters (characters that are not control characters.)
2345 Punctuation characters (characters that are not letter, digits,
2346 control characters, or space characters).
2349 Space characters (such as space, tab and formfeed, to name a few).
2352 Upper-case alphabetic characters.
2355 Characters that are hexadecimal digits.
2357 A character class is only valid in a regular expression inside the brackets of
2358 a character list. Note that the brackets in these class names are part of the
2359 symbolic names, and must be included in addition to the brackets delimiting the
2360 bracket list. For example, [
\b[[
\b[:
\b:d
\bdi
\big
\bgi
\bit
\bt:
\b:]
\b]]
\b] is equivalent to [
\b[0
\b0-
\b-9
\b9]
\b].
2362 Two additional special sequences can appear in character lists. These apply to
2363 non-ASCII character sets, which can have single symbols (called collating ele-
2364 ments) that are represented with more than one character, as well as several
2365 characters that are equivalent for collating or sorting purposes:
2368 A collating symbol is a multi-character collating element enclosed
2370 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 48
2372 in ``[.'' and ``.]''. For example, if ``ch'' is a collating ele-
2373 ment, then [
\b[[
\b[.
\b.c
\bch
\bh.
\b.]
\b]]
\b] is a regexp that matches this collating ele-
2374 ment, while [
\b[c
\bch
\bh]
\b] is a regexp that matches either ``c'' or ``h''.
2377 An equivalence class is a locale-specific name for a list of char-
2378 acters that are equivalent. The name is enclosed in ``[='' and
2379 ``=]''. For example, the name ``e'' might be used to represent all
2380 of ``'' ``'' and ``e''. In this case, [
\b[[
\b[=
\b=e
\be=
\b=]
\b]]
\b] is a regexp that
2381 matches any of ``'', ``'' and ``e''.
2383 A regular expression matching a single character may be followed by one of sev-
2384 eral repetition operators:
2387 The preceding item is optional and matched at most once.
2390 The preceding item will be matched zero or more times.
2393 The preceding item will be matched one or more times.
2396 The preceding item is matched exactly _
\bn times.
2399 The preceding item is matched _
\bn or more times.
2402 The preceding item is matched at most _
\bm times.
2405 The preceding item is matched at least _
\bn times, but no more than _
\bm
2408 Two regular expressions may be concatenated; the resulting regular expression
2409 matches any string formed by concatenating two substrings that respectively
2410 match the concatenated subexpressions.
2412 Two regular expressions may be joined by the infix operator ``|''; the result-
2413 ing regular expression matches any string matching either subexpression.
2415 Repetition takes precedence over concatenation, which in turn takes precedence
2416 over alternation. A whole subexpression may be enclosed in parentheses to
2417 override these precedence rules.
2419 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: If you compile Mutt-ng with the GNU _
\br_
\bx package, the following operators
2420 may also be used in regular expressions:
2423 Matches the empty string at either the beginning or the end of a
2426 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 49
2429 Matches the empty string within a word.
2432 Matches the empty string at the beginning of a word.
2435 Matches the empty string at the end of a word.
2438 Matches any word-constituent character (letter, digit, or under-
2442 Matches any character that is not word-constituent.
2445 Matches the empty string at the beginning of a buffer (string).
2448 Matches the empty string at the end of a buffer.
2450 Please note however that these operators are not defined by POSIX, so they may
2451 or may not be available in stock libraries on various systems.
2453 _
\b4_
\b._
\b2 _
\bP_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\bs
2455 Mutt-ng's pattern language provides a simple yet effective way to set up rules
2456 to match messages, e.g. for operations like tagging and scoring. A pattern con-
2457 sists of one or more sub-pattern, which can be logically grouped, ORed, and
2458 negated. For a complete listing of these patterns, please refer to table _
\bP_
\ba_
\bt_
\b-
2459 _
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\bs (section 7.2 , page 80) in the Reference chapter.
2461 It must be noted that in this table, EXPR, USER, ID and SUBJECT are regular
2462 expressions. For ranges, the forms <[MAX], >>[MIN], [MIN]- and -[MAX] are also
2465 _
\b4_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b1 _
\bC_
\bo_
\bm_
\bp_
\bl_
\be_
\bx _
\bP_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\bs
2467 It is possible to combine several sub-patterns to a more complex pattern. The
2468 most simple possibility is to logically AND several patterns by stringing them
2473 The pattern above matches all messages that contain ``SPAM'' in the subject and
2476 To logical OR patterns, simply use the | operator. This one especially useful
2477 when using local groups:
2479 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 50
2481 ~f ("nion@muttng\.org"|"ak@muttng\.org"|"pdmef@muttng\.org")
2482 (~b mutt-ng|~s Mutt-ng)
2485 The first pattern matches all messages that were sent by one of the mutt-ng
2486 maintainers, while the seconds pattern matches all messages that contain
2487 ``mutt-ng'' in the message body or ``Mutt-ng'' in the subject. The third pat-
2488 tern matches all messages that do not contain ``@synflood\.at'' in the Refer-
2489 ences: header, i.e. messages that are not an (indirect) reply to one of my
2490 messages. A pattern can be logicall negated using the ! operator.
2492 _
\b4_
\b._
\b2_
\b._
\b2 _
\bP_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\bs _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bD_
\ba_
\bt_
\be_
\bs
2494 When using dates in patterns, the dates must be specified in a special format,
2495 i.e. DD/MM/YYYY. If you don't specify month or year, they default to the cur-
2496 rent month or year. When using date ranges, and you specify only the minimum or
2497 the maximum, the specified date will be excluded, e.g. 01/06/2005- matches
2498 against all messages _
\ba_
\bf_
\bt_
\be_
\br Juni 1st, 2005.
2500 It is also possible to use so-called ``error margins'' when specifying date
2501 ranges. You simply specify a date, and then the error margin. This margin
2502 needs to contain the information whether it goes ``forth'' or ``back'' in time,
2503 by using + and -. Then follows a number and a unit, i.e. y for years, m for
2504 months, w for weeks and d for days. If you use the special * sign, it means
2505 that the error margin goes to both ``directions'' in time.
2511 The first pattern matches all dates between January 1st, 2005 and January 1st
2512 2006. The second pattern matches all dates between October 18th, 2004 and
2513 October 4th 2004 (2 weeks before 18/10/2004), while the third pattern matches
2514 all dates 1 day around December 28th, 2004 (i.e. Dec 27th, 28th and 29th).
2516 Relative dates are also very important, as they make it possible to specify
2517 date ranges between a fixed number of units and the current date. How this
2518 works can be seen in the following example:
2520 ~d >2w # messages older than two weeks
2521 ~d <3d # messages newer than 3 days
2522 ~d =1m # messages that are exactly one month old
2524 _
\b4_
\b._
\b3 _
\bF_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt _
\bS_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs
2526 _
\b4_
\b._
\b3_
\b._
\b1 _
\bI_
\bn_
\bt_
\br_
\bo_
\bd_
\bu_
\bc_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
2528 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 51
2530 The so called _
\bF_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt _
\bS_
\bt_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg_
\bs offer great flexibility when configuring mutt-ng.
2531 In short, they describe what items to print out how in menus and status mes-
2534 Basically, they work as this: for different menus and bars, there's a variable
2535 specifying the layout. For every item available, there is a so called _
\be_
\bx_
\bp_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd_
\bo.
2537 For example, when running mutt-ng on different machines or different versions
2538 for testing purposes, it may be interesting to have the following information
2539 always printed on screen when one is in the index:
2541 +
\bo the current hostname
2543 +
\bo the current mutt-ng version number
2545 The setting for the status bar of the index is controlled via the _
\b$_
\bs_
\bt_
\ba_
\bt_
\bu_
\bs_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\b-
2546 _
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.310 , page 160) variable. For the hostname and version
2547 string, there's an expando for $status_format: %h expands to the hostname and
2548 %v to the version string. When just configuring:
2550 set status_format = "%v on %h: ..."
2552 mutt-ng will replace the sequence %v with the version string and %h with the
2553 host's name. When you are, for example, running mutt-ng version 1.5.9i on host
2554 mailhost, you'll see the following when you're in the index:
2556 Mutt-ng 1.5.9i on mailhost: ...
2558 In the index, there're more useful information one could want to see:
2560 +
\bo which mailbox is open
2562 +
\bo how man new, flagged or postponed messages
2566 To include the mailbox' name is as easy as:
2568 set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: ...
2570 When the currently opened mailbox is Inbox, this will be expanded to:
2572 Mutt-ng 1.5.9i on mailhost: Inbox: ...
2574 For the number of certain types of messages, one more feature of the format
2575 strings is extremely useful. If there aren't messages of a certain type, it may
2577 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 52
2579 not be desired to print just that there aren't any but instead only print some-
2580 thing if there are any.
2582 _
\b4_
\b._
\b3_
\b._
\b2 _
\bC_
\bo_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\ba_
\bl _
\bE_
\bx_
\bp_
\ba_
\bn_
\bs_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn
2584 To only print the number of messages if there are new messages in the current
2585 mailbox, further extend $status_format to:
2587 set status_format = "%v on %h: %B %?n?%n new? ...
2589 This feature is called _
\bn_
\bo_
\bn_
\bz_
\be_
\br_
\bo_
\b-_
\bp_
\br_
\bi_
\bn_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg and works as this: some expandos may be
2590 optionally printed nonzero, i.e. a portion of the format string is only evalu-
2591 ated if the value of the expando is different from zero. The basic syntax is:
2593 %?<item>?<string if nonzero>?
2595 which tells mutt-ng to only look at <string if nonzero> if the value of the
2596 %<item%gt; expando is different from zero. In our example, we used n as the
2597 expando to check for and %n new as the optional nonzero string.
2599 But this is not all: this feature only offers one alternative: ``print some-
2600 thing if not zero.'' Mutt-ng does, as you might guess, also provide a logically
2601 complete version: ``if zero, print something and else print something else.''
2602 This is achieved by the following syntax for those expandos which may be
2605 %?<item>?<string if nonzero>&<string if zero>?
2607 Using this we can make mutt-ng to do the following:
2609 +
\bo make it print ``_
\bn new messages'' whereby _
\bn is the count but only if there
2612 +
\bo and make it print ``no new messages'' if there aren't any
2614 The corresponding configuration is:
2616 set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n new messages&no new messages? ...
2618 This doubles the use of the ``new messages'' string because it'll get always
2619 printed. Thus, it can be shortened to:
2621 set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n&no? new messages ...
2623 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 53
2625 As you might see from this rather simple example, one can create very complex
2626 but fancy status messages. Please see the reference chapter for expandos and
2627 those which may be printed nonzero.
2629 _
\b4_
\b._
\b3_
\b._
\b3 _
\bM_
\bo_
\bd_
\bi_
\bf_
\bi_
\bc_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn_
\bs _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bP_
\ba_
\bd_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg
2631 Besides the information given so far, there're even more features of format
2634 +
\bo When specifying %_<item> instead of just %<item>, mutt-ng will convert all
2635 characters in the expansion of <item> to lowercase.
2637 +
\bo When specifying %:<item> instead of just %<item>, mutt-ng will convert all
2638 dots in the expansion of <item> to underscores (_).
2640 Also, there's a feature called _
\bP_
\ba_
\bd_
\bd_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg supplied by the following two expandos:
2644 When this occurs, mutt-ng will fill the rest of the line with the
2645 character X. In our example, filling the rest of the line with
2646 dashes is done by setting:
2648 set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n&no? new messages %|-"
2651 Since the previous expando stops at the end of line, there must be
2652 a way to fill the gap between two items via the %>X expando: it
2653 puts as many characters X in between two items so that the rest of
2654 the line will be right-justified. For example, to not put the ver-
2655 sion string and hostname of our example on the left but on the
2656 right and fill the gap with spaces, one might use (note the space
2659 set status_format = "%B: %?n?%n&no? new messages %> (%v on %h)"
2661 _
\b4_
\b._
\b4 _
\bU_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bT_
\ba_
\bg_
\bs
2663 Sometimes it is desirable to perform an operation on a group of messages all at
2664 once rather than one at a time. An example might be to save messages to a
2665 mailing list to a separate folder, or to delete all messages with a given sub-
2666 ject. To tag all messages matching a pattern, use the tag-pattern function,
2667 which is bound to ``shift-T'' by default. Or you can select individual mes-
2668 sages by hand using the ``tag-message'' function, which is bound to ``t'' by
2670 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 54
2672 default. See _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\bs (section 7.2 , page 80) for Mutt-ng's pattern matching
2675 Once you have tagged the desired messages, you can use the ``tag-prefix'' oper-
2676 ator, which is the ``;'' (semicolon) key by default. When the ``tag-prefix''
2677 operator is used, the n
\bne
\bex
\bxt
\bt operation will be applied to all tagged messages if
2678 that operation can be used in that manner. If the _
\b$_
\ba_
\bu_
\bt_
\bo_
\b__
\bt_
\ba_
\bg (section 7.4.16 ,
2679 page 90) variable is set, the next operation applies to the tagged messages
2680 automatically, without requiring the ``tag-prefix''.
2682 In _
\bm_
\ba_
\bc_
\br_
\bo_
\bs (section 3.7 , page 27) or _
\bp_
\bu_
\bs_
\bh (section 3.23 , page 38) commands,
2683 you can use the ``tag-prefix-cond'' operator. If there are no tagged messages,
2684 mutt will "eat" the rest of the macro to abort it's execution. Mutt-ng will
2685 stop "eating" the macro when it encounters the ``end-cond'' operator; after
2686 this operator the rest of the macro will be executed as normal.
2688 _
\b4_
\b._
\b5 _
\bU_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bH_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs
2690 A _
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk is a concept borrowed from the EMACS editor which allows you to execute
2691 arbitrary commands before performing some operation. For example, you may wish
2692 to tailor your configuration based upon which mailbox you are reading, or to
2693 whom you are sending mail. In the Mutt-ng world, a _
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk consists of a _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\bu_
\bl_
\ba_
\br
2694 _
\be_
\bx_
\bp_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn (section 4.1 , page 45) or _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn (section 7.2 , page 80) along
2695 with a configuration option/command. See
2697 +
\bo _
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\be_
\br_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.6 , page 26)
2699 +
\bo _
\bs_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.20 , page 37)
2701 +
\bo _
\bm_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.21 , page 37)
2703 +
\bo _
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.17 , page 36)
2705 +
\bo _
\bm_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.13 , page 34)
2707 +
\bo _
\bf_
\bc_
\bc_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.18 , page 36)
2709 +
\bo _
\bf_
\bc_
\bc_
\b-_
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be_
\b-_
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 3.19 , page 36)
2711 for specific details on each type of _
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk available.
2713 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: if a hook changes configuration settings, these changes remain effective
2714 until the end of the current mutt session. As this is generally not desired, a
2715 default hook needs to be added before all other hooks to restore configuration
2716 defaults. Here is an example with send-hook and the my_hdr directive:
2718 send-hook . 'unmy_hdr From:'
2719 send-hook ~C'^b@b\.b$' my_hdr from: c@c.c
2721 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 55
2723 _
\b4_
\b._
\b5_
\b._
\b1 _
\bM_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\ba_
\bg_
\be _
\bM_
\ba_
\bt_
\bc_
\bh_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bi_
\bn _
\bH_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk_
\bs
2725 Hooks that act upon messages (send-hook, save-hook, fcc-hook, message-hook) are
2726 evaluated in a slightly different manner. For the other types of hooks, a _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\b-
2727 _
\bu_
\bl_
\ba_
\br _
\be_
\bx_
\bp_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn (section 4.1 , page 45) is sufficient. But in dealing with
2728 messages a finer grain of control is needed for matching since for different
2729 purposes you want to match different criteria.
2731 Mutt-ng allows the use of the _
\bs_
\be_
\ba_
\br_
\bc_
\bh _
\bp_
\ba_
\bt_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn (section 7.2 , page 80) language
2732 for matching messages in hook commands. This works in exactly the same way as
2733 it would when _
\bl_
\bi_
\bm_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg or _
\bs_
\be_
\ba_
\br_
\bc_
\bh_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg the mailbox, except that you are restricted
2734 to those operators which match information mutt extracts from the header of the
2735 message (i.e. from, to, cc, date, subject, etc.).
2737 For example, if you wanted to set your return address based upon sending mail
2738 to a specific address, you could do something like:
2740 send-hook '~t ^me@cs\.hmc\.edu$' 'my_hdr From: Mutt-ng User <user@host>'
2742 which would execute the given command when sending mail to _
\bm_
\be_
\b@_
\bc_
\bs_
\b._
\bh_
\bm_
\bc_
\b._
\be_
\bd_
\bu.
2744 However, it is not required that you write the pattern to match using the full
2745 searching language. You can still specify a simple _
\br_
\be_
\bg_
\bu_
\bl_
\ba_
\br _
\be_
\bx_
\bp_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn like the
2746 other hooks, in which case Mutt-ng will translate your pattern into the full
2747 language, using the translation specified by the _
\b$_
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt_
\b__
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section
2748 7.4.45 , page 96) variable. The pattern is translated at the time the hook is
2749 declared, so the value of _
\b$_
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt_
\b__
\bh_
\bo_
\bo_
\bk (section 7.4.45 , page 96) that is in
2750 effect at that time will be used.
2752 _
\b4_
\b._
\b6 _
\bU_
\bs_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\be _
\bs_
\bi_
\bd_
\be_
\bb_
\ba_
\br
2754 The sidebar, a feature specific to Mutt-ng, allows you to use a mailbox listing
2755 which looks very similar to the ones you probably know from GUI mail clients.
2756 The sidebar lists all specified mailboxes, shows the number in each and high-
2757 lights the ones with new email Use the following configuration commands:
2759 set sidebar_visible="yes"
2760 set sidebar_width=25
2762 If you want to specify the mailboxes you can do so with:
2770 You can also specify the colors for mailboxes with new mails by using:
2772 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 56
2774 color sidebar_new red black
2775 color sidebar white black
2777 The available functions are:
2779 sidebar-scroll-up Scrolls the mailbox list up 1 page
2780 sidebar-scroll-down Scrolls the mailbox list down 1 page
2781 sidebar-next Highlights the next mailbox
2782 sidebar-next-new Highlights the next mailbox with new mail
2783 sidebar-previous Highlights the previous mailbox
2784 sidebar-open Opens the currently highlighted mailbox
2786 Reasonable key bindings look e.g. like this:
2788 bind index \Cp sidebar-prev
2789 bind index \Cn sidebar-next
2790 bind index \Cb sidebar-open
2791 bind pager \Cp sidebar-prev
2792 bind pager \Cn sidebar-next
2793 bind pager \Cb sidebar-open
2795 macro index B ':toggle sidebar_visible^M'
2796 macro pager B ':toggle sidebar_visible^M'
2798 You can then go up and down by pressing Ctrl-P and Ctrl-N, and switch on and
2799 off the sidebar simply by pressing 'B'.
2801 _
\b4_
\b._
\b7 _
\bE_
\bx_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bn_
\ba_
\bl _
\bA_
\bd_
\bd_
\br_
\be_
\bs_
\bs _
\bQ_
\bu_
\be_
\br_
\bi_
\be_
\bs
2803 Mutt-ng supports connecting to external directory databases such as LDAP,
2804 ph/qi, bbdb, or NIS through a wrapper script which connects to mutt using a
2805 simple interface. Using the _
\b$_
\bq_
\bu_
\be_
\br_
\by_
\b__
\bc_
\bo_
\bm_
\bm_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd (section 7.4.223 , page 140) vari-
2806 able, you specify the wrapper command to use. For example:
2808 set query_command = "mutt_ldap_query.pl '%s'"
2810 The wrapper script should accept the query on the command-line. It should
2811 return a one line message, then each matching response on a single line, each
2812 line containing a tab separated address then name then some other optional
2813 information. On error, or if there are no matching addresses, return a non-
2814 zero exit code and a one line error message.
2816 An example multiple response output:
2818 Searching database ... 20 entries ... 3 matching:
2819 me@cs.hmc.edu Michael Elkins mutt dude
2820 blong@fiction.net Brandon Long mutt and more
2822 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 57
2824 roessler@guug.de Thomas Roessler mutt pgp
2826 There are two mechanisms for accessing the query function of mutt. One is to
2827 do a query from the index menu using the query function (default: Q). This
2828 will prompt for a query, then bring up the query menu which will list the
2829 matching responses. From the query menu, you can select addresses to create
2830 aliases, or to mail. You can tag multiple addresses to mail, start a new
2831 query, or have a new query appended to the current responses.
2833 The other mechanism for accessing the query function is for address completion,
2834 similar to the alias completion. In any prompt for address entry, you can use
2835 the complete-query function (default: ^T) to run a query based on the current
2836 address you have typed. Like aliases, mutt will look for what you have typed
2837 back to the last space or comma. If there is a single response for that query,
2838 mutt will expand the address in place. If there are multiple responses, mutt
2839 will activate the query menu. At the query menu, you can select one or more
2840 addresses to be added to the prompt.
2842 _
\b4_
\b._
\b8 _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx _
\bF_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt_
\bs
2844 Mutt-ng supports reading and writing of four different mailbox formats: mbox,
2845 MMDF, MH and Maildir. The mailbox type is autodetected, so there is no need to
2846 use a flag for different mailbox types. When creating new mailboxes, Mutt-ng
2847 uses the default specified with the _
\b$_
\bm_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx_
\b__
\bt_
\by_
\bp_
\be (section 7.4.127 , page 117)
2850 m
\bmb
\bbo
\box
\bx. This is the most widely used mailbox format for UNIX. All messages are
2851 stored in a single file. Each message has a line of the form:
2853 From me@cs.hmc.edu Fri, 11 Apr 1997 11:44:56 PST
2855 to denote the start of a new message (this is often referred to as the
2858 M
\bMM
\bMD
\bDF
\bF. This is a variant of the _
\bm_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx format. Each message is surrounded by
2859 lines containing ``^A^A^A^A'' (four control-A's).
2861 M
\bMH
\bH. A radical departure from _
\bm_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx and _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF, a mailbox consists of a directory
2862 and each message is stored in a separate file. The filename indicates the mes-
2863 sage number (however, this is may not correspond to the message number Mutt-ng
2864 displays). Deleted messages are renamed with a comma (,) prepended to the file-
2865 name. N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: Mutt detects this type of mailbox by looking for either
2866 .mh_sequences or .xmhcache (needed to distinguish normal directories from MH
2869 M
\bMa
\bai
\bil
\bld
\bdi
\bir
\br. The newest of the mailbox formats, used by the Qmail MTA (a replace-
2870 ment for sendmail). Similar to _
\bM_
\bH, except that it adds three subdirectories of
2871 the mailbox: _
\bt_
\bm_
\bp, _
\bn_
\be_
\bw and _
\bc_
\bu_
\br. Filenames for the messages are chosen in such a
2872 way they are unique, even when two programs are writing the mailbox over NFS,
2874 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 58
2876 which means that no file locking is needed.
2878 _
\b4_
\b._
\b9 _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx _
\bS_
\bh_
\bo_
\br_
\bt_
\bc_
\bu_
\bt_
\bs
2880 There are a number of built in shortcuts which refer to specific mailboxes.
2881 These shortcuts can be used anywhere you are prompted for a file or mailbox
2884 +
\bo ! -- refers to your _
\b$_
\bs_
\bp_
\bo_
\bo_
\bl_
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be (section 7.4.299 , page 158) (incoming)
2887 +
\bo > -- refers to your _
\b$_
\bm_
\bb_
\bo_
\bx (section 7.4.126 , page 117) file
2889 +
\bo < -- refers to your _
\b$_
\br_
\be_
\bc_
\bo_
\br_
\bd (section 7.4.232 , page 142) file
2891 +
\bo ^ -- refers to the current mailbox
2893 +
\bo - or !! -- refers to the file you've last visited
2895 +
\bo ~ -- refers to your home directory
2897 +
\bo = or + -- refers to your _
\b$_
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\be_
\br (section 7.4.65 , page 100) directory
2899 +
\bo @_
\ba_
\bl_
\bi_
\ba_
\bs -- refers to the _
\bd_
\be_
\bf_
\ba_
\bu_
\bl_
\bt _
\bs_
\ba_
\bv_
\be _
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bd_
\be_
\br (section 3.17 , page 36) as
2900 determined by the address of the alias
2902 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1_
\b0 _
\bH_
\ba_
\bn_
\bd_
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bL_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\bs
2904 Mutt-ng has a few configuration options that make dealing with large amounts of
2905 mail easier. The first thing you must do is to let Mutt know what addresses
2906 you consider to be mailing lists (technically this does not have to be a mail-
2907 ing list, but that is what it is most often used for), and what lists you are
2908 subscribed to. This is accomplished through the use of the _
\bl_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\bs _
\ba_
\bn_
\bd _
\bs_
\bu_
\bb_
\bs_
\bc_
\br_
\bi_
\bb_
\be
2909 (section 3.12 , page 33) commands in your muttrc.
2911 Now that Mutt-ng knows what your mailing lists are, it can do several things,
2912 the first of which is the ability to show the name of a list through which you
2913 received a message (i.e., of a subscribed list) in the _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx menu display.
2914 This is useful to distinguish between personal and list mail in the same mail-
2915 box. In the _
\b$_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.111 , page 111) variable, the escape
2916 ``%L'' will return the string ``To <list>'' when ``list'' appears in the ``To''
2917 field, and ``Cc <list>'' when it appears in the ``Cc'' field (otherwise it
2918 returns the name of the author).
2920 Often times the ``To'' and ``Cc'' fields in mailing list messages tend to get
2921 quite large. Most people do not bother to remove the author of the message they
2922 are reply to from the list, resulting in two or more copies being sent to that
2923 person. The ``list-reply'' function, which by default is bound to ``L'' in the
2924 _
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx menu and _
\bp_
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\br, helps reduce the clutter by only replying to the known
2925 mailing list addresses instead of all recipients (except as specified by Mail-
2927 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 59
2929 Followup-To, see below).
2931 Mutt-ng also supports the Mail-Followup-To header. When you send a message to
2932 a list of recipients which includes one or several subscribed mailing lists,
2933 and if the _
\b$_
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw_
\bu_
\bp_
\b__
\bt_
\bo (section 7.4.67 , page 101) option is set, mutt will
2934 generate a Mail-Followup-To header which contains all the recipients to whom
2935 you send this message, but not your address. This indicates that group-replies
2936 or list-replies (also known as ``followups'') to this message should only be
2937 sent to the original recipients of the message, and not separately to you -
2938 you'll receive your copy through one of the mailing lists you are subscribed
2941 Conversely, when group-replying or list-replying to a message which has a Mail-
2942 Followup-To header, mutt will respect this header if the _
\b$_
\bh_
\bo_
\bn_
\bo_
\br_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\bl_
\bl_
\bo_
\bw_
\bu_
\bp_
\b__
\bt_
\bo
2943 (section 7.4.89 , page 106) configuration variable is set. Using list-reply
2944 will in this case also make sure that the reply goes to the mailing list, even
2945 if it's not specified in the list of recipients in the Mail-Followup-To.
2947 Note that, when header editing is enabled, you can create a Mail-Followup-To
2948 header manually. Mutt-ng will only auto-generate this header if it doesn't
2949 exist when you send the message.
2951 The other method some mailing list admins use is to generate a ``Reply-To''
2952 field which points back to the mailing list address rather than the author of
2953 the message. This can create problems when trying to reply directly to the
2954 author in private, since most mail clients will automatically reply to the
2955 address given in the ``Reply-To'' field. Mutt-ng uses the _
\b$_
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl_
\by_
\b__
\bt_
\bo (section
2956 7.4.235 , page 142) variable to help decide which address to use. If set to
2957 _
\ba_
\bs_
\bk_
\b-_
\by_
\be_
\bs or _
\ba_
\bs_
\bk_
\b-_
\bn_
\bo, you will be prompted as to whether or not you would like to
2958 use the address given in the ``Reply-To'' field, or reply directly to the
2959 address given in the ``From'' field. When set to _
\by_
\be_
\bs, the ``Reply-To'' field
2960 will be used when present.
2962 The ``X-Label:'' header field can be used to further identify mailing lists or
2963 list subject matter (or just to annotate messages individually). The
2964 _
\b$_
\bi_
\bn_
\bd_
\be_
\bx_
\b__
\bf_
\bo_
\br_
\bm_
\ba_
\bt (section 7.4.111 , page 111) variable's ``%y'' and ``%Y''
2965 escapes can be used to expand ``X-Label:'' fields in the index, and Mutt-ng's
2966 pattern-matcher can match regular expressions to ``X-Label:'' fields with the
2967 ``~y'' selector. ``X-Label:'' is not a standard message header field, but it
2968 can easily be inserted by procmail and other mail filtering agents.
2970 Lastly, Mutt-ng has the ability to _
\bs_
\bo_
\br_
\bt (section 7.4.293 , page 156) the mail-
2971 box into _
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bs (section 2.5.3 , page 11). A thread is a group of messages
2972 which all relate to the same subject. This is usually organized into a tree-
2973 like structure where a message and all of its replies are represented graphi-
2974 cally. If you've ever used a threaded news client, this is the same concept.
2975 It makes dealing with large volume mailing lists easier because you can easily
2976 delete uninteresting threads and quickly find topics of value.
2978 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1_
\b1 _
\bE_
\bd_
\bi_
\bt_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bs
2980 Mutt-ng has the ability to dynamically restructure threads that are broken
2982 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 60
2984 either by misconfigured software or bad behavior from some correspondents. This
2985 allows to clean your mailboxes formats) from these annoyances which make it
2986 hard to follow a discussion.
2988 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1_
\b1_
\b._
\b1 _
\bL_
\bi_
\bn_
\bk_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bs
2990 Some mailers tend to "forget" to correctly set the "In-Reply-To:" and "Refer-
2991 ences:" headers when replying to a message. This results in broken discussions
2992 because Mutt-ng has not enough information to guess the correct threading. You
2993 can fix this by tagging the reply, then moving to the parent message and using
2994 the ``link-threads'' function (bound to & by default). The reply will then be
2995 connected to this "parent" message.
2997 You can also connect multiple children at once, tagging them and using the tag-
2998 prefix command (';') or the auto_tag option.
3000 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1_
\b1_
\b._
\b2 _
\bB_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bk_
\bi_
\bn_
\bg _
\bt_
\bh_
\br_
\be_
\ba_
\bd_
\bs
3002 On mailing lists, some people are in the bad habit of starting a new discussion
3003 by hitting "reply" to any message from the list and changing the subject to a
3004 totally unrelated one. You can fix such threads by using the ``break-thread''
3005 function (bound by default to #), which will turn the subthread starting from
3006 the current message into a whole different thread.
3008 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1_
\b2 _
\bD_
\be_
\bl_
\bi_
\bv_
\be_
\br_
\by _
\bS_
\bt_
\ba_
\bt_
\bu_
\bs _
\bN_
\bo_
\bt_
\bi_
\bf_
\bi_
\bc_
\ba_
\bt_
\bi_
\bo_
\bn _
\b(_
\bD_
\bS_
\bN_
\b) _
\bS_
\bu_
\bp_
\bp_
\bo_
\br_
\bt
3010 RFC1894 defines a set of MIME content types for relaying information about the
3011 status of electronic mail messages. These can be thought of as ``return
3014 Users can make use of it in one of the following two ways:
3016 +
\bo Berkeley sendmail 8.8.x currently has some command line options in which
3017 the mail client can make requests as to what type of status messages
3020 +
\bo The SMTP support via libESMTP supports it, too.
3022 To support this, there are two variables:
3024 +
\bo _
\b$_
\bd_
\bs_
\bn_
\b__
\bn_
\bo_
\bt_
\bi_
\bf_
\by (section 7.4.52 , page 97) is used to request receipts for
3025 different results (such as failed message, message delivered, etc.).
3027 +
\bo _
\b$_
\bd_
\bs_
\bn_
\b__
\br_
\be_
\bt_
\bu_
\br_
\bn (section 7.4.53 , page 97) requests how much of your message
3028 should be returned with the receipt (headers or full message).
3030 Please see the reference chapter for possible values.
3032 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1_
\b3 _
\bP_
\bO_
\bP_
\b3 _
\bS_
\bu_
\bp_
\bp_
\bo_
\br_
\bt _
\b(_
\bO_
\bP_
\bT_
\bI_
\bO_
\bN_
\bA_
\bL_
\b)
3034 The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 61
3036 If Mutt-ng was compiled with POP3 support (by running the _
\bc_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg_
\bu_
\br_
\be script with
3037 the _
\b-_
\b-_
\be_
\bn_
\ba_
\bb_
\bl_
\be_
\b-_
\bp_
\bo_
\bp flag), it has the ability to work with mailboxes located on a
3038 remote POP3 server and fetch mail for local browsing.
3040 You can access the remote POP3 mailbox by selecting the folder
3043 You can select an alternative port by specifying it with the server, i.e.:
3044 pop://popserver:port/.
3046 You can also specify different username for each folder, i.e.: pop://user-
3047 name@popserver[:port]/.
3049 Polling for new mail is more expensive over POP3 than locally. For this reason
3050 the frequency at which Mutt-ng will check for mail remotely can be controlled
3051 by the _
\b$_
\bp_
\bo_
\bp_
\b__
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl_
\b__
\bc_
\bh_
\be_
\bc_
\bk (section 7.4.210 , page 137) variable, which defaults
3052 to every 60 seconds.
3054 If Mutt-ng was compiled with SSL support (by running the _
\bc_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg_
\bu_
\br_
\be script with
3055 the _
\b-_
\b-_
\bw_
\bi_
\bt_
\bh_
\b-_
\bs_
\bs_
\bl flag), connections to POP3 servers can be encrypted. This natu-
3056 rally requires that the server supports SSL encrypted connections. To access a
3057 folder with POP3/SSL, you should use pops: prefix, ie: pops://[user-
3058 name@]popserver[:port]/.
3060 Another way to access your POP3 mail is the _
\bf_
\be_
\bt_
\bc_
\bh_
\b-_
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl function (default: G).
3061 It allows to connect to _
\bp_
\bo_
\bp_
\b__
\bh_
\bo_
\bs_
\bt (section 7.4.208 , page 136), fetch all your
3062 new mail and place it in the local _
\bs_
\bp_
\bo_
\bo_
\bl_
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be (section 7.4.299 , page 158).
3063 After this point, Mutt-ng runs exactly as if the mail had always been local.
3065 N
\bNo
\bot
\bte
\be:
\b: If you only need to fetch all messages to local mailbox you should con-
3066 sider using a specialized program, such as fetchmail
3068 _
\b4_
\b._
\b1_
\b4 _
\bI_
\bM_
\bA_
\bP _
\bS_
\bu_
\bp_
\bp_
\bo_
\br_
\bt _
\b(_
\bO_
\bP_
\bT_
\bI_
\bO_
\bN_
\bA_
\bL_
\b)
3070 If Mutt-ng was compiled with IMAP support (by running the _