X-Git-Url: http://git.madism.org/?p=apps%2Fmadmutt.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fmanual.txt;h=99c7317cc08c2ac7b51aa2e7ab401a3c105c0103;hp=ec54e0b8f96697d0c8dd59e28ab87383fcec7990;hb=b0811fbd6a0e218c9c310a6ef4170e81540e6c22;hpb=452ffdd4bbcd8f2dd9e4811c115824b556814ebb diff --git a/doc/manual.txt b/doc/manual.txt index ec54e0b..99c7317 100644 --- a/doc/manual.txt +++ b/doc/manual.txt @@ -1,10361 +1,10766 @@ + The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client - TThhee MMuutttt NNeexxtt GGeenneerraattiioonn EE--MMaaiill CClliieenntt + Andreas Krennmair - by Andreas Krennmair and others - originally based on _m_u_t_t by Michael Elkins and others + - version devel-r462 + Michael Elkins - AAbbssttrraacctt + - Michael Elinks on mutt, circa 1995: ``All mail clients suck. This one just - sucks less.'' - Sven Guckes on mutt, ca. 2003: ``But it still sucks!'' + version devel-r473 - _1_. _I_n_t_r_o_d_u_c_t_i_o_n + Abstract - _1_._1 _O_v_e_r_v_i_e_w + Michael Elinks on mutt, circa 1995: ``All mail clients suck. This one just + sucks less.'' - MMuutttt--nngg is a small but very powerful text-based MIME mail client. Mutt-ng is - highly configurable, and is well suited to the mail power user with advanced - features like key bindings, keyboard macros, mail threading, regular expression - searches and a powerful pattern matching language for selecting groups of mes- - sages. + Sven Guckes on mutt, ca. 2003: ``But it still sucks!'' - This documentation additionally contains documentation to MMuutttt--NNGG, a fork from - Mutt with the goal to fix all the little annoyances of Mutt, to integrate all - the Mutt patches that are floating around in the web, and to add other new fea- - tures. Features specific to Mutt-ng will be discussed in an extra section. - Don't be confused when most of the documentation talk about Mutt and not Mutt- - ng, Mutt-ng contains all Mutt features, plus many more. + -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - _1_._2 _M_u_t_t_-_n_g _H_o_m_e _P_a_g_e + Table of Contents - http://www.muttng.org + 1. Introduction - _1_._3 _M_a_i_l_i_n_g _L_i_s_t_s + 1. Overview - +o mutt-ng-users@lists.berlios.de -- This is where the mutt-ng user support - happens. + 2. Mutt-ng Home Page - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 1 + 3. Mailing Lists - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 2 + 4. Software Distribution Sites - +o mutt-ng-devel@lists.berlios.de -- The development mailing list for mutt-ng + 5. IRC - _1_._4 _S_o_f_t_w_a_r_e _D_i_s_t_r_i_b_u_t_i_o_n _S_i_t_e_s + 6. Weblog - So far, there are no official releases of Mutt-ng, but you can download daily - snapshots from http://mutt-ng.berlios.de/snapshots/ + 7. Copyright - _1_._5 _I_R_C + 2. Getting Started - Visit channel _#_m_u_t_t_n_g on irc.freenode.net (www.freenode.net) to chat with other - people interested in Mutt-ng. + 1. Basic Concepts - _1_._6 _W_e_b_l_o_g + 1.1. Screens and Menus - If you want to read fresh news about the latest development in Mutt-ng, and get - informed about stuff like interesting, Mutt-ng-related articles and packages - for your favorite distribution, you can read and/or subscribe to our Mutt-ng - development weblog. + 1.2. Configuration - _1_._7 _C_o_p_y_r_i_g_h_t + 1.3. Functions - Mutt is Copyright (C) 1996-2000 Michael R. Elkins and others + 1.4. Interaction - This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under - the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software - Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later ver- - sion. + 1.5. Modularization - This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY - WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A - PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. + 1.6. Patterns - You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with - this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple - Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA. + 2. Screens and Menus - _2_. _G_e_t_t_i_n_g _S_t_a_r_t_e_d + 2.1. Index - _2_._1 _B_a_s_i_c _C_o_n_c_e_p_t_s + 2.2. Pager - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 3 + 2.3. File Browser - _2_._1_._1 _S_c_r_e_e_n_s _a_n_d _M_e_n_u_s + 2.4. Sidebar - mutt-ng offers different screens of which every has its special purpose: + 2.5. Help - +o The _i_n_d_e_x displays the contents of the currently opened mailbox. + 2.6. Compose Menu - +o The _p_a_g_e_r is responsible for displaying messages, that is, the header, the - body and all attached parts. + 2.7. Alias Menu - +o The _f_i_l_e _b_r_o_w_s_e_r offers operations on and displays information of all - folders mutt-ng should watch for mail. + 2.8. Attachment Menu - +o The _s_i_d_e_b_a_r offers a permanent view of which mailboxes contain how many - total, new and/or flagged mails. + 2.9. Key Menu - +o The _h_e_l_p _s_c_r_e_e_n lists for all currently available commands how to invoke - them as well as a short description. + 3. Moving Around in Menus - +o The _c_o_m_p_o_s_e menu is a comfortable interface take last actions before send- - ing mail: change subjects, attach files, remove attachements, etc. + 4. Editing Input Fields - +o The _a_t_t_a_c_h_e_m_e_n_t menu gives a summary and the tree structure of the - attachements of the current message. + 5. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager - +o The _a_l_i_a_s menu lists all or a fraction of the aliases a user has defined. + 5.1. The Message Index - +o The _k_e_y menu used in connection with encryption lets users choose the - right key to encrypt with. + 5.2. The Pager - When mutt-ng is started without any further options, it'll open the users - default mailbox and display the index. + 5.3. Threaded Mode - _2_._1_._2 _C_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n + 5.4. Miscellaneous Functions - Mutt-ng does _n_o_t feature an internal configuration interface or menu due to the - simple fact that this would be too complex to handle (currently there are sev- - eral _h_u_n_d_r_e_d variables which fine-tune the behaviour.) + 6. Sending Mail - Mutt-ng is configured using configuration files which allow users to add com- - ments or manage them via version control systems to ease maintenance. + 6.1. Composing new messages - Also, mutt-ng comes with a shell script named grml-muttng kindly contributed by - users which really helps and eases the creation of a user's configuration file. - When downloading the source code via a snapshot or via subversion, it can be - found in the contrib directory. + 6.2. Replying - _2_._1_._3 _F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s + 6.3. Editing the message header - Mutt-ng offers great flexibility due to the use of functions: internally, every - action a user can make mutt-ng perform is named ``function.'' Those functions + 6.4. Using Mutt-ng with PGP - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 4 + 6.5. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster - are assigned to keys (or even key sequences) and may be completely adjusted to - user's needs. The basic idea is that the impatient users get a very intuitive - interface to start off with and advanced users virtually get no limits to - adjustments. + 7. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail - _2_._1_._4 _I_n_t_e_r_a_c_t_i_o_n + 8. Postponing Mail - Mutt-ng has two basic concepts of user interaction: + 3. Configuration - 1. There is one dedicated line on the screen used to query the user for - input, issue any command, query variables and display error and informa- - tional messages. As for every type of user input, this requires manual - action leading to the need of input. + 1. Locations of Configuration Files - 2. The automatized interface for interaction are the so called _h_o_o_k_s. Hooks - specify actions the user wants to be performed at well-defined situa- - tions: what to do when entering which folder, what to do when displaying - or replying to what kind of message, etc. These are optional, i.e. a user - doesn't need to specify them but can do so. + 2. Basic Syntax of Initialization Files - _2_._1_._5 _M_o_d_u_l_a_r_i_z_a_t_i_o_n + 3. Expansion within variables - Although mutt-ng has many functionality built-in, many features can be dele- - gated to external tools to increase flexibility: users can define programs to - filter a message through before displaying, users can use any program they want - for displaying a message, message types (such as PDF or PostScript) for which - mutt-ng doesn't have a built-in filter can be rendered by arbitrary tools and - so forth. Although mutt-ng has an alias mechanism built-in, it features using - external tools to query for nearly every type of addresses from sources like - LDAP, databases or just the list of locally known users. + 3.1. Commands' Output - _2_._1_._6 _P_a_t_t_e_r_n_s + 3.2. Environment Variables - Mutt-ng has a built-in pattern matching ``language'' which is as widely used as - possible to present a consistent interface to users. The same ``pattern terms'' - can be used for searching, scoring, message selection and much more. + 3.3. Configuration Variables - _2_._2 _S_c_r_e_e_n_s _a_n_d _M_e_n_u_s + 3.4. Self-Defined Variables - _2_._2_._1 _I_n_d_e_x + 3.5. Pre-Defined Variables - The index is the screen that you usually see first when you start mutt-ng. It - gives an overview over your emails in the currently opened mailbox. By default, - this is your system mailbox. The information you see in the index is a list of + 3.6. Type Conversions - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 5 + 4. Defining/Using aliases - emails, each with its number on the left, its flags (new email, important - email, email that has been forwarded or replied to, tagged email, ...), the - date when email was sent, its sender, the email size, and the subject. Addi- - tionally, the index also shows thread hierarchies: when you reply to an email, - and the other person replies back, you can see the other's person email in a - "sub-tree" below. This is especially useful for personal email between a group - of people or when you've subscribed to mailing lists. + 5. Changing the default key bindings - _2_._2_._2 _P_a_g_e_r + 6. Defining aliases for character sets - The pager is responsible for showing the email content. On the top of the pager - you have an overview over the most important email headers like the sender, the - recipient, the subject, and much more information. How much information you - actually see depends on your configuration, which we'll describe below. + 7. Setting variables based upon mailbox - Below the headers, you see the email body which usually contains the message. - If the email contains any attachments, you will see more information about them - below the email body, or, if the attachments are text files, you can view them - directly in the pager. + 8. Keyboard macros - To give the user a good overview, it is possible to configure mutt-ng to show - different things in the pager with different colors. Virtually everything that - can be described with a regular expression can be colored, e.g. URLs, email - addresses or smileys. + 9. Using color and mono video attributes - _2_._2_._3 _F_i_l_e _B_r_o_w_s_e_r + 10. Ignoring (weeding) unwanted message headers - The file browser is the interface to the local or remote file system. When - selecting a mailbox to open, the browser allows custom sorting of items, limit- - ing the items shown by a regular expression and a freely adjustable format of - what to display in which way. It also allows for easy navigation through the - file system when selecting file(s) to attach to a message, select multiple - files to attach and many more. - - _2_._2_._4 _S_i_d_e_b_a_r - - The sidebar comes in handy to manage mails which are spread over different - folders. All folders users setup mutt-ng to watch for new mail will be listed. - The listing includes not only the name but also the number of total messages, - the number of new and flagged messages. Items with new mail may be colored dif- - ferent from those with flagged mail, items may be shortened or compress if - they're they to long to be printed in full form so that by abbreviated names, - user still now what the name stands for. + 11. Alternative addresses - _2_._2_._5 _H_e_l_p + 12. Format = Flowed - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 6 + 12.1. Introduction - The help screen is meant to offer a quick help to the user. It lists the cur- - rent configuration of key bindings and their associated commands including a - short description, and currently unbound functions that still need to be asso- - ciated with a key binding (or alternatively, they can be called via the mutt-ng - command prompt). - - _2_._2_._6 _C_o_m_p_o_s_e _M_e_n_u - - The compose menu features a split screen containing the information which - really matter before actually sending a message by mail or posting an article - to a newsgroup: who gets the message as what (recipient, newsgroup, who gets - what kind of copy). Additionally, users may set security options like deciding - whether to sign, encrypt or sign and encrypt a message with/for what keys. - - Also, it's used to attach messages, news articles or files to a message, to re- - edit any attachment including the message itself. - - _2_._2_._7 _A_l_i_a_s _M_e_n_u - - The alias menu is used to help users finding the recipients of messages. For - users who need to contact many people, there's no need to remember addresses or - names completely because it allows for searching, too. The alias mechanism and - thus the alias menu also features grouping several addresses by a shorter nick- - name, the actual alias, so that users don't have to select each single recipi- - ent manually. - - _2_._2_._8 _A_t_t_a_c_h_m_e_n_t _M_e_n_u - - As will be later discussed in detail, mutt-ng features a good and stable MIME - implementation, that is, is greatly supports sending and receiving messages of - arbitrary type. The attachment menu displays a message's structure in detail: - what content parts are attached to which parent part (which gives a true tree - structure), which type is of what type and what size. Single parts may saved, - deleted or modified to offer great and easy access to message's internals. - - _2_._2_._9 _K_e_y _M_e_n_u - - FIXME - - _2_._3 _M_o_v_i_n_g _A_r_o_u_n_d _i_n _M_e_n_u_s - - Information is presented in menus, very similar to ELM. Here is a table - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 7 - - showing the common keys used to navigate menus in Mutt-ng. - - j or Down next-entry move to the next entry - k or Up previous-entry move to the previous entry - z or PageDn page-down go to the next page - Z or PageUp page-up go to the previous page - = or Home first-entry jump to the first entry - * or End last-entry jump to the last entry - q quit exit the current menu - ? help list all key bindings for the current menu - - _2_._4 _E_d_i_t_i_n_g _I_n_p_u_t _F_i_e_l_d_s - - Mutt-ng has a builtin line editor which is used as the primary way to input - textual data such as email addresses or filenames. The keys used to move - around while editing are very similar to those of Emacs. - - ^A or bol move to the start of the line - ^B or backward-char move back one char - Esc B backward-word move back one word - ^D or delete-char delete the char under the cursor - ^E or eol move to the end of the line - ^F or forward-char move forward one char - Esc F forward-word move forward one word - complete complete filename or alias - ^T complete-query complete address with query - ^K kill-eol delete to the end of the line - ESC d kill-eow delete to the end of the word - ^W kill-word kill the word in front of the cursor - ^U kill-line delete entire line - ^V quote-char quote the next typed key - history-up recall previous string from history - history-down recall next string from history - backspace kill the char in front of the cursor - Esc u upcase-word convert word to upper case - Esc l downcase-word convert word to lower case - Esc c capitalize-word capitalize the word - ^G n/a abort - n/a finish editing - - You can remap the _e_d_i_t_o_r functions using the _b_i_n_d (section 3.5 , page 27) com- - mand. For example, to make the _D_e_l_e_t_e key delete the character in front of the - cursor rather than under, you could use - - bind editor backspace - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 8 + 12.2. Receiving: Display Setup - _2_._5 _R_e_a_d_i_n_g _M_a_i_l _- _T_h_e _I_n_d_e_x _a_n_d _P_a_g_e_r + 12.3. Sending - Similar to many other mail clients, there are two modes in which mail is read - in Mutt-ng. The first is the index of messages in the mailbox, which is called - the ``index'' in Mutt-ng. The second mode is the display of the message con- - tents. This is called the ``pager.'' + 12.4. Additional Notes - The next few sections describe the functions provided in each of these modes. + 13. Mailing lists - _2_._5_._1 _T_h_e _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _I_n_d_e_x + 14. Using Multiple spool mailboxes - c change to a different mailbox - ESC c change to a folder in read-only mode - C copy the current message to another mailbox - ESC C decode a message and copy it to a folder - ESC s decode a message and save it to a folder - D delete messages matching a pattern - d delete the current message - F mark as important - l show messages matching a pattern - N mark message as new - o change the current sort method - O reverse sort the mailbox - q save changes and exit - s save-message - T tag messages matching a pattern - t toggle the tag on a message - ESC t toggle tag on entire message thread - U undelete messages matching a pattern - u undelete-message - v view-attachments - x abort changes and exit - display-message - jump to the next new message - @ show the author's full e-mail address - $ save changes to mailbox - / search - ESC / search-reverse - ^L clear and redraw the screen - ^T untag messages matching a pattern - - _2_._5_._1_._1 _S_t_a_t_u_s _F_l_a_g_s - - In addition to who sent the message and the subject, a short summary of the - disposition of each message is printed beside the message number. Zero or more - of the following ``flags'' may appear, which mean: - - D - message is deleted (is marked for deletion) - - d - message have attachments marked for deletion - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 9 - - K - contains a PGP public key - - N - message is new - - O - message is old - - P - message is PGP encrypted - - r - message has been replied to - - S - message is signed, and the signature is succesfully verified - - s - message is signed - - ! - message is flagged - - * - message is tagged - - Some of the status flags can be turned on or off using - - +o sseett--ffllaagg (default: w) - - +o cclleeaarr--ffllaagg (default: W) - - Furthermore, the following flags reflect who the message is addressed to. They - can be customized with the _$_t_o___c_h_a_r_s (section 7.4.336 , page 171) variable. - - + - message is to you and you only - - T - message is to you, but also to or cc'ed to others - - C - message is cc'ed to you - - F - message is from you - - L - message is sent to a subscribed mailing list - - _2_._5_._2 _T_h_e _P_a_g_e_r - - By default, Mutt-ng uses its builtin pager to display the body of messages. - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 10 - - The pager is very similar to the Unix program _l_e_s_s though not nearly as fea- - tureful. - - go down one line - display the next page (or next message if at the end of a message) - - go back to the previous page - n search for next match - S skip beyond quoted text - T toggle display of quoted text - ? show key bindings - / search for a regular expression (pattern) - ESC / search backwards for a regular expression - \ toggle search pattern coloring - ^ jump to the top of the message - - In addition, many of the functions from the _i_n_d_e_x are available in the pager, - such as _d_e_l_e_t_e_-_m_e_s_s_a_g_e or _c_o_p_y_-_m_e_s_s_a_g_e (this is one advantage over using an - external pager to view messages). + 15. Defining mailboxes which receive mail - Also, the internal pager supports a couple other advanced features. For one, it - will accept and translate the ``standard'' nroff sequences for bold and under- - line. These sequences are a series of either the letter, backspace (^H), the - letter again for bold or the letter, backspace, ``_'' for denoting underline. - Mutt-ng will attempt to display these in bold and underline respectively if - your terminal supports them. If not, you can use the bold and underline _c_o_l_o_r - (section 3.9 , page 30) objects to specify a color or mono attribute for them. + 16. User defined headers - Additionally, the internal pager supports the ANSI escape sequences for charac- - ter attributes. Mutt-ng translates them into the correct color and character - settings. The sequences Mutt-ng supports are: + 17. Defining the order of headers when viewing messages - ESC [ Ps;Ps;Ps;...;Ps m - where Ps = - 0 All Attributes Off - 1 Bold on - 4 Underline on - 5 Blink on - 7 Reverse video on - 3x Foreground color is x - 4x Background color is x + 18. Specify default save filename - Colors are - 0 black - 1 red - 2 green - 3 yellow - 4 blue - 5 magenta - 6 cyan - 7 white + 19. Specify default Fcc: mailbox when composing - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 11 + 20. Specify default save filename and default Fcc: mailbox at + once - Mutt-ng uses these attributes for handling text/enriched messages, and they can - also be used by an external _a_u_t_o_v_i_e_w (section 5.4 , page 78) script for high- - lighting purposes. NNoottee:: If you change the colors for your display, for exam- - ple by changing the color associated with color2 for your xterm, then that - color will be used instead of green. + 21. Change settings based upon message recipients - _2_._5_._3 _T_h_r_e_a_d_e_d _M_o_d_e + 22. Change settings before formatting a message - When the mailbox is _s_o_r_t_e_d (section 7.4.304 , page 161) by _t_h_r_e_a_d_s, there are - a few additional functions available in the _i_n_d_e_x and _p_a_g_e_r modes. + 23. Choosing the cryptographic key of the recipient - ^D delete-thread delete all messages in the current thread - ^U undelete-thread undelete all messages in the current thread - ^N next-thread jump to the start of the next thread - ^P previous-thread jump to the start of the previous thread - ^R read-thread mark the current thread as read - ESC d delete-subthread delete all messages in the current subthread - ESC u undelete-subthread undelete all messages in the current subthread - ESC n next-subthread jump to the start of the next subthread - ESC p previous-subthread jump to the start of the previous subthread - ESC r read-subthread mark the current subthread as read - ESC t tag-thread toggle the tag on the current thread - ESC v collapse-thread toggle collapse for the current thread - ESC V collapse-all toggle collapse for all threads - P parent-message jump to parent message in thread - - NNoottee:: Collapsing a thread displays only the first message in the thread and - hides the others. This is useful when threads contain so many messages that you - can only see a handful of threads on the screen. See %M in _$_i_n_d_e_x___f_o_r_m_a_t (sec- - tion 7.4.116 , page 115). For example, you could use "%?M?(#%03M)&(%4l)?" in - _$_i_n_d_e_x___f_o_r_m_a_t (section 7.4.116 , page 115) to optionally display the number of - hidden messages if the thread is collapsed. - - See also: _$_s_t_r_i_c_t___t_h_r_e_a_d_s (section 7.4.325 , page 168). - - _2_._5_._4 _M_i_s_c_e_l_l_a_n_e_o_u_s _F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s - - ccrreeaattee--aalliiaass - (default: a) - - Creates a new alias based upon the current message (or prompts for a new one). - Once editing is complete, an _a_l_i_a_s (section 3.4 , page 26) command is added to - the file specified by the _$_a_l_i_a_s___f_i_l_e (section 7.4.5 , page 89) variable for - future use. NNoottee:: Specifying an _$_a_l_i_a_s___f_i_l_e (section 7.4.5 , page 89) does not - add the aliases specified there-in, you must also _s_o_u_r_c_e (section 3.29 , page - 45) the file. - - cchheecckk--ttrraaddiittiioonnaall--ppggpp - (default: ESC P) - - This function will search the current message for content signed or encrypted - with PGP the "traditional" way, that is, without proper MIME tagging. - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 12 - - Technically, this function will temporarily change the MIME content types of - the body parts containing PGP data; this is similar to the _e_d_i_t_-_t_y_p_e (section - 2.5.4 , page 12) function's effect. - - ddiissppllaayy--ttooggggllee--wweeeedd - (default: h) - - Toggles the weeding of message header fields specified by _i_g_n_o_r_e (section - 3.10 , page 32) commands. - - eeddiitt - (default: e) - - This command (available in the ``index'' and ``pager'') allows you to edit the - raw current message as it's present in the mail folder. After you have fin- - ished editing, the changed message will be appended to the current folder, and - the original message will be marked for deletion. - - eeddiitt--ttyyppee - - (default: ^E on the attachment menu, and in the pager and index menus; ^T on - the compose menu) - - This command is used to temporarily edit an attachment's content type to fix, - for instance, bogus character set parameters. When invoked from the index or - from the pager, you'll have the opportunity to edit the top-level attachment's - content type. On the _a_t_t_a_c_h_m_e_n_t _m_e_n_u (section 5.1.2 , page 71), you can - change any attachment's content type. These changes are not persistent, and get - lost upon changing folders. - - Note that this command is also available on the _c_o_m_p_o_s_e _m_e_n_u (section 5.1.3 , - page 71). There, it's used to fine-tune the properties of attachments you are - going to send. + 24. Adding key sequences to the keyboard buffer - eenntteerr--ccoommmmaanndd - (default: ``:'') + 25. Executing functions - This command is used to execute any command you would normally put in a config- - uration file. A common use is to check the settings of variables, or in con- - junction with _m_a_c_r_o_s (section 3.8 , page 29) to change settings on the fly. + 26. Message Scoring - eexxttrraacctt--kkeeyyss - (default: ^K) + 27. Spam detection - This command extracts PGP public keys from the current or tagged message(s) and - adds them to your PGP public key ring. + 28. Setting variables - ffoorrggeett--ppaasssspphhrraassee - (default: ^F) + 29. Reading initialization commands from another file - This command wipes the passphrase(s) from memory. It is useful, if you mis- - spelled the passphrase. + 30. Removing hooks - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 13 + 31. Sharing Setups - lliisstt--rreeppllyy - (default: L) + 31.1. Character Sets - Reply to the current or tagged message(s) by extracting any addresses which - match the regular expressions given by the _l_i_s_t_s _o_r _s_u_b_s_c_r_i_b_e (section 3.13 , - page 36) commands, but also honor any Mail-Followup-To header(s) if the - _$_h_o_n_o_r___f_o_l_l_o_w_u_p___t_o (section 7.4.94 , page 110) configuration variable is set. - Using this when replying to messages posted to mailing lists helps avoid dupli- - cate copies being sent to the author of the message you are replying to. + 31.2. Modularization - ppiippee--mmeessssaaggee - (default: |) + 31.3. Conditional parts - Asks for an external Unix command and pipes the current or tagged message(s) to - it. The variables _$_p_i_p_e___d_e_c_o_d_e (section 7.4.213 , page 140), _$_p_i_p_e___s_p_l_i_t - (section 7.4.215 , page 141), _$_p_i_p_e___s_e_p (section 7.4.214 , page 140) and - _$_w_a_i_t___k_e_y (section 7.4.347 , page 173) control the exact behavior of this - function. + 32. Obsolete Variables - rreesseenndd--mmeessssaaggee - (default: ESC e) + 4. Advanced Usage - With resend-message, mutt takes the current message as a template for a new - message. This function is best described as "recall from arbitrary folders". - It can conveniently be used to forward MIME messages while preserving the orig- - inal mail structure. Note that the amount of headers included here depends on - the value of the _$_w_e_e_d (section 7.4.348 , page 173) variable. + 1. Regular Expressions - This function is also available from the attachment menu. You can use this to - easily resend a message which was included with a bounce message as a mes- - sage/rfc822 body part. + 2. Patterns - sshheellll--eessccaappee - (default: !) + 2.1. Complex Patterns - Asks for an external Unix command and executes it. The _$_w_a_i_t___k_e_y (section - 7.4.347 , page 173) can be used to control whether Mutt-ng will wait for a key - to be pressed when the command returns (presumably to let the user read the - output of the command), based on the return status of the named command. + 2.2. Patterns and Dates - ttooggggllee--qquuootteedd - (default: T) + 3. Format Strings - The _p_a_g_e_r uses the _$_q_u_o_t_e___r_e_g_e_x_p (section 7.4.238 , page 146) variable to - detect quoted text when displaying the body of the message. This function tog- - gles the display of the quoted material in the message. It is particularly - useful when are interested in just the response and there is a large amount of - quoted text in the way. - - sskkiipp--qquuootteedd - (default: S) - - This function will go to the next line of non-quoted text which come after a - line of quoted text in the internal pager. - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 14 - - _2_._6 _S_e_n_d_i_n_g _M_a_i_l - - The following bindings are available in the _i_n_d_e_x for sending messages. - - m compose compose a new message - r reply reply to sender - g group-reply reply to all recipients - L list-reply reply to mailing list address - f forward forward message - b bounce bounce (remail) message - ESC k mail-key mail a PGP public key to someone - - Bouncing a message sends the message as is to the recipient you specify. For- - warding a message allows you to add comments or modify the message you are for- - warding. These items are discussed in greater detail in the next chapter - _`_`_F_o_r_w_a_r_d_i_n_g _a_n_d _B_o_u_n_c_i_n_g _M_a_i_l_'_' (section 2.7 , page 20). - - _2_._6_._1 _C_o_m_p_o_s_i_n_g _n_e_w _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s - - When you want to send an email using mutt-ng, simply press m on your keyboard. - Then, mutt-ng asks for the recipient via a prompt in the last line: - - To: - - After you've finished entering the recipient(s), press return. If you want to - send an email to more than one recipient, separate the email addresses using - the comma ",". Mutt-ng then asks you for the email subject. Again, press return - after you've entered it. After that, mutt-ng got the most important information - from you, and starts up an editor where you can then enter your email. - - The editor that is called is selected in the following way: you can e.g. set it - in the mutt-ng configuration: - - set editor = "vim +/^$/ -c ':set tw=72'" - set editor = "nano" - set editor = "emacs" - - If you don't set your preferred editor in your configuration, mutt-ng first - looks whether the environment variable $VISUAL is set, and if so, it takes its - value as editor command. Otherwise, it has a look at $EDITOR and takes its - value if it is set. If no editor command can be found, mutt-ng simply assumes - vi to be the default editor, since it's the most widespread editor in the Unix - world and it's pretty safe to assume that it is installed and available. - - When you've finished entering your message, save it and quit your editor. Mutt- - ng will then present you with a summary screen, the compose menu. On the top, - you see a summary of the most important available key commands. Below that, - you see the sender, the recipient(s), Cc and/or Bcc recipient(s), the subject, - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 15 - - the reply-to address, and optionally information where the sent email will be - stored and whether it should be digitally signed and/or encrypted. - - Below that, you see a list of "attachments". The mail you've just entered - before is also an attachment, but due to its special type (it's plain text), it - will be displayed as the normal message on the receiver's side. - - At this point, you can add more attachments, pressing a, you can edit the - recipient addresses, pressing t for the "To:" field, c for the "Cc:" field, and - b for the "Bcc: field. You can also edit the subject the subject by simply - pressing s or the email message that you've entered before by pressing e. You - will then again return to the editor. You can even edit the sender, by pressing - f, but this shall only be used with caution. + 3.1. Introduction - Alternatively, you can configure mutt-ng in a way that most of the above set- - tings can be edited using the editor. Therefore, you only need to add the fol- - lowing to your configuration: + 3.2. Conditional Expansion - set edit_headers + 3.3. Modifications and Padding - Once you have finished editing the body of your mail message, you are returned - to the _c_o_m_p_o_s_e menu. The following options are available: - - a attach-file attach a file - A attach-message attach message(s) to the message - ESC k attach-key attach a PGP public key - d edit-description edit description on attachment - D detach-file detach a file - t edit-to edit the To field - ESC f edit-from edit the From field - r edit-reply-to edit the Reply-To field - c edit-cc edit the Cc field - b edit-bcc edit the Bcc field - y send-message send the message - s edit-subject edit the Subject - S smime-menu select S/MIME options - f edit-fcc specify an ``Fcc'' mailbox - p pgp-menu select PGP options - P postpone-message postpone this message until later - q quit quit (abort) sending the message - w write-fcc write the message to a folder - i ispell check spelling (if available on your system) - ^F forget-passphrase wipe passphrase(s) from memory + 4. Using Tags - NNoottee:: The attach-message function will prompt you for a folder to attach mes- - sages from. You can now tag messages in that folder and they will be attached - to the message you are sending. Note that certain operations like composing a - new mail, replying, forwarding, etc. are not permitted when you are in that - folder. The %r in _$_s_t_a_t_u_s___f_o_r_m_a_t (section 7.4.321 , page 165) will change to a - 'A' to indicate that you are in attach-message mode. + 5. Using Hooks - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 16 + 5.1. Message Matching in Hooks - _2_._6_._2 _R_e_p_l_y_i_n_g + 6. Using the sidebar - _2_._6_._2_._1 _S_i_m_p_l_e _R_e_p_l_i_e_s + 7. External Address Queries - When you want to reply to an email message, select it in the index menu and - then press r. Mutt-ng's behaviour is then similar to the behaviour when you - compose a message: first, you will be asked for the recipient, then for the - subject, and then, mutt-ng will start the editor with the quote attribution and - the quoted message. This can e.g. look like the example below. + 8. Mailbox Formats - On Mon, Mar 07, 2005 at 05:02:12PM +0100, Michael Svensson wrote: - > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. - > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new - > production server that we want to set up before our customer's - > project will go live. + 9. Mailbox Shortcuts - You can start editing the email message. It is strongly recommended to put your - answer _b_e_l_o_w the quoted text and to only quote what is really necessary and - that you refer to. Putting your answer on top of the quoted message, is, - although very widespread, very often not considered to be a polite way to - answer emails. + 10. Handling Mailing Lists - The quote attribution is configurable, by default it is set to + 11. Editing threads - set attribution = "On %d, %n wrote:" + 11.1. Linking threads - It can also be set to something more compact, e.g. + 11.2. Breaking threads - set attribution = "attribution="* %n <%a> [%(%y-%m-%d %H:%M)]:" + 12. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support - The example above results in the following attribution: + 13. POP3 Support (OPTIONAL) - * Michael Svensson [05-03-06 17:02]: - > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. - > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new - > production server that we want to set up before our customer's - > project will go live. + 14. IMAP Support (OPTIONAL) - Generally, try to keep your attribution short yet information-rich. It is _n_o_t - the right place for witty quotes, long "attribution" novels or anything like - that: the right place for such things is - if at all - the email signature at - the very bottom of the message. + 14.1. The Folder Browser - When you're done with writing your message, save and quit the editor. As - before, you will return to the compose menu, which is used in the same way as + 14.2. Authentication - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 17 + 15. NNTP Support (OPTIONAL) - before. + 15.1. Again: Scoring - _2_._6_._2_._2 _G_r_o_u_p _R_e_p_l_i_e_s + 16. SMTP Support (OPTIONAL) - In the situation where a group of people uses email as a discussion, most of - the emails will have one or more recipients, and probably several "Cc:" recipi- - ents. The group reply functionality ensures that when you press g instead of r - to do a reply, each and every recipient that is contained in the original mes- - sage will receive a copy of the message, either as normal recipient or as "Cc:" - recipient. + 17. Managing multiple IMAP/POP/NNTP accounts (OPTIONAL) - _2_._6_._2_._3 _L_i_s_t _R_e_p_l_i_e_s + 18. Start a WWW Browser on URLs (EXTERNAL) - When you use mailing lists, it's generally better to send your reply to a mes- - sage only to the list instead of the list and the original author. To make this - easy to use, mutt-ng features list replies. + 19. Compressed folders Support (OPTIONAL) - To do a list reply, simply press L. If the email contains a Mail-Followup-To: - header, its value will be used as reply address. Otherwise, mutt-ng searches - through all mail addresses in the original message and tries to match them a - list of regular expressions which can be specified using the lists command. If - any of the regular expression matches, a mailing list address has been found, - and it will be used as reply address. + 19.1. Open a compressed mailbox for reading - lists linuxevent@luga\.at vuln-dev@ mutt-ng-users@ + 19.2. Write a compressed mailbox - Nowadays, most mailing list software like GNU Mailman adds a Mail-Followup-To: - header to their emails anyway, so setting lists is hardly ever necessary in - practice. + 19.3. Append a message to a compressed mailbox - _2_._6_._3 _E_d_i_t_i_n_g _t_h_e _m_e_s_s_a_g_e _h_e_a_d_e_r + 19.4. Encrypted folders - When editing the header of your outgoing message, there are a couple of special - features available. + 5. Mutt-ng's MIME Support - If you specify + 1. Using MIME in Mutt - Fcc: _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e + 1.1. Viewing MIME messages in the pager - Mutt-ng will pick up _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e just as if you had used the _e_d_i_t_-_f_c_c function in - the _c_o_m_p_o_s_e menu. + 1.2. The Attachment Menu - You can also attach files to your message by specifying + 1.3. The Compose Menu - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 18 + 2. MIME Type configuration with mime.types - Attach: _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e [ _d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n ] + 3. MIME Viewer configuration with mailcap - where _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e is the file to attach and _d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n is an optional string to - use as the description of the attached file. + 3.1. The Basics of the mailcap file - When replying to messages, if you remove the _I_n_-_R_e_p_l_y_-_T_o_: field from the header - field, Mutt-ng will not generate a _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e_s_: field, which allows you to cre- - ate a new message thread. + 3.2. Secure use of mailcap - Also see _e_d_i_t___h_e_a_d_e_r_s (section 7.4.59 , page 102). + 3.3. Advanced mailcap Usage - _2_._6_._4 _U_s_i_n_g _M_u_t_t_-_n_g _w_i_t_h _P_G_P + 3.4. Example mailcap files - If you want to use PGP, you can specify + 4. MIME Autoview - Pgp: [ E | S | S_<_i_d_> ] + 5. MIME Multipart/Alternative - ``E'' encrypts, ``S'' signs and ``S'' signs with the given key, setting - _$_p_g_p___s_i_g_n___a_s (section 7.4.205 , page 139) permanently. + 6. MIME Lookup - If you have told mutt to PGP encrypt a message, it will guide you through a key - selection process when you try to send the message. Mutt-ng will not ask you - any questions about keys which have a certified user ID matching one of the - message recipients' mail addresses. However, there may be situations in which - there are several keys, weakly certified user ID fields, or where no matching - keys can be found. + 6. Security Considerations - In these cases, you are dropped into a menu with a list of keys from which you - can select one. When you quit this menu, or mutt can't find any matching keys, - you are prompted for a user ID. You can, as usually, abort this prompt using - ^G. When you do so, mutt will return to the compose screen. + 1. Passwords - Once you have successfully finished the key selection, the message will be - encrypted using the selected public keys, and sent out. + 2. Temporary Files - Most fields of the entries in the key selection menu (see also _$_p_g_p___e_n_t_r_y___f_o_r_- - _m_a_t (section 7.4.192 , page 135)) have obvious meanings. But some explana- - tions on the capabilities, flags, and validity fields are in order. + 3. Information Leaks - The flags sequence (%f) will expand to one of the following flags: + 3.1. Message-ID: headers - R The key has been revoked and can't be used. - X The key is expired and can't be used. - d You have marked the key as disabled. - c There are unknown critical self-signature - packets. + 3.2. mailto:-style links - The capabilities field (%c) expands to a two-character sequence representing a - key's capabilities. The first character gives the key's encryption capabili- - ties: A minus sign (--) means that the key cannot be used for encryption. A dot - (..) means that it's marked as a signature key in one of the user IDs, but may + 4. External applications - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 19 + 4.1. mailcap - also be used for encryption. The letter ee indicates that this key can be used - for encryption. + 4.2. Other - The second character indicates the key's signing capabilities. Once again, a - ``--'' implies ``not for signing'', ``..'' implies that the key is marked as an - encryption key in one of the user-ids, and ``ss'' denotes a key which can be - used for signing. + 7. Reference - Finally, the validity field (%t) indicates how well-certified a user-id is. A - question mark (??) indicates undefined validity, a minus character (--) marks an - untrusted association, a space character means a partially trusted association, - and a plus character (++) indicates complete validity. + 1. Command line options - _2_._6_._5 _S_e_n_d_i_n_g _a_n_o_n_y_m_o_u_s _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s _v_i_a _m_i_x_m_a_s_t_e_r + 2. Patterns - You may also have configured mutt to co-operate with Mixmaster, an anonymous - remailer. Mixmaster permits you to send your messages anonymously using a - chain of remailers. Mixmaster support in mutt is for mixmaster version 2.04 - (beta 45 appears to be the latest) and 2.03. It does not support earlier ver- - sions or the later so-called version 3 betas, of which the latest appears to be - called 2.9b23. + 3. Configuration Commands - To use it, you'll have to obey certain restrictions. Most important, you can- - not use the Cc and Bcc headers. To tell Mutt-ng to use mixmaster, you have to - select a remailer chain, using the mix function on the compose menu. + 4. Configuration variables - The chain selection screen is divided into two parts. In the (larger) upper - part, you get a list of remailers you may use. In the lower part, you see the - currently selected chain of remailers. + 5. Functions - You can navigate in the chain using the chain-prev and chain-next functions, - which are by default bound to the left and right arrows and to the h and l keys - (think vi keyboard bindings). To insert a remailer at the current chain posi- - tion, use the insert function. To append a remailer behind the current chain - position, use select-entry or append. You can also delete entries from the - chain, using the corresponding function. Finally, to abandon your changes, - leave the menu, or accept them pressing (by default) the Return key. + 5.1. generic - Note that different remailers do have different capabilities, indicated in the - %c entry of the remailer menu lines (see _$_m_i_x___e_n_t_r_y___f_o_r_m_a_t (section 7.4.146 , - page 124)). Most important is the ``middleman'' capability, indicated by a - capital ``M'': This means that the remailer in question cannot be used as the - final element of a chain, but will only forward messages to other mixmaster - remailers. For details on the other capabilities, please have a look at the - mixmaster documentation. + 5.2. index - _2_._7 _F_o_r_w_a_r_d_i_n_g _a_n_d _B_o_u_n_c_i_n_g _M_a_i_l + 5.3. pager - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 20 + 5.4. alias - Often, it is necessary to forward mails to other people. Therefore, mutt-ng - supports forwarding messages in two different ways. + 5.5. query - The first one is regular forwarding, as you probably know it from other mail - clients. You simply press f, enter the recipient email address, the subject of - the forwarded email, and then you can edit the message to be forwarded in the - editor. The forwarded message is separated from the rest of the message via the - two following markers: + 5.6. attach - ----- Forwarded message from Lucas User ----- + 5.7. compose - From: Lucas User - Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 03:08:34 +0100 - To: Michael Random - Subject: Re: blackmail + 5.8. postpone - Pay me EUR 50,000.- cash or your favorite stuffed animal will die - a horrible death. + 5.9. browser - ----- End forwarded message ----- + 5.10. pgp - When you're done with editing the mail, save and quit the editor, and you will - return to the compose menu, the same menu you also encounter when composing or - replying to mails. + 5.11. editor - The second mode of forwarding emails with mutt-ng is the so-called _b_o_u_n_c_i_n_g: - when you bounce an email to another address, it will be sent in practically the - same format you send it (except for headers that are created during transport- - ing the message). To bounce a message, press b and enter the recipient email - address. By default, you are then asked whether you really want to bounce the - message to the specified recipient. If you answer with yes, the message will - then be bounced. + 8. Miscellany - To the recipient, the bounced email will look as if he got it like a regular - email where he was Bcc: recipient. The only possibility to find out whether it - was a bounced email is to carefully study the email headers and to find out - which host really sent the email. + 1. Acknowledgments - _2_._8 _P_o_s_t_p_o_n_i_n_g _M_a_i_l + List of Tables - At times it is desirable to delay sending a message that you have already begun - to compose. When the _p_o_s_t_p_o_n_e_-_m_e_s_s_a_g_e function is used in the _c_o_m_p_o_s_e menu, - the body of your message and attachments are stored in the mailbox specified by - the _$_p_o_s_t_p_o_n_e_d (section 7.4.227 , page 143) variable. This means that you can - recall the message even if you exit Mutt-ng and then restart it at a later - time. + 2.1. Default Menu Movement Keys - Once a message is postponed, there are several ways to resume it. From the - command line you can use the ``-p'' option, or if you _c_o_m_p_o_s_e a new message + 2.2. Built-In Editor Functions - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 21 + 2.3. Default Index Menu Bindings - from the _i_n_d_e_x or _p_a_g_e_r you will be prompted if postponed messages exist. If - multiple messages are currently postponed, the _p_o_s_t_p_o_n_e_d menu will pop up and - you can select which message you would like to resume. + 2.4. Default Pager Menu Bindings - NNoottee:: If you postpone a reply to a message, the reply setting of the message is - only updated when you actually finish the message and send it. Also, you must - be in the same folder with the message you replied to for the status of the - message to be updated. + 2.5. ANSI Escape Sequences - See also the _$_p_o_s_t_p_o_n_e (section 7.4.226 , page 143) quad-option. + 2.6. ANSI Colors - _3_. _C_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n + 2.7. Default Thread Function Bindings - _3_._1 _L_o_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _o_f _C_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e_s + 2.8. Default Mail Composition Bindings - While the default configuration (or ``preferences'') make Mutt-ng usable right - out of the box, it is often desirable to tailor Mutt-ng to suit your own - tastes. When Mutt-ng is first invoked, it will attempt to read the ``system'' - configuration file (defaults set by your local system administrator), unless - the ``-n'' _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_n_e (section 7.1 , page 82) option is specified. This - file is typically /usr/local/share/muttng/Muttngrc or /etc/Muttngrc, Mutt-ng - users will find this file in /usr/local/share/muttng/Muttrc or /etc/Muttngrc. - Mutt will next look for a file named .muttrc in your home directory, Mutt-ng - will look for .muttngrc. If this file does not exist and your home directory - has a subdirectory named .mutt, mutt try to load a file named .muttng/muttngrc. + 2.9. Default Compose Menu Bindings - .muttrc (or .muttngrc for Mutt-ng) is the file where you will usually place - your _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s (section 7.3 , page 85) to configure Mutt-ng. + 2.10. PGP Key Menu Flags - _3_._2 _B_a_s_i_c _S_y_n_t_a_x _o_f _I_n_i_t_i_a_l_i_z_a_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e_s + 3.1. Alternative Key Names - An initialization file consists of a series of _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s (section 7.3 , page - 85). Each line of the file may contain one or more commands. When multiple - commands are used, they must be separated by a semicolon (;). + 4.1. Default Sidebar Function Bindings - set realname='Mutt-ng user' ; ignore x- + 7.1. Mutt-NG Command Line Options - The hash mark, or pound sign (``#''), is used as a ``comment'' character. You - can use it to annotate your initialization file. All text after the comment - character to the end of the line is ignored. For example, + 7.2. Patterns - my_hdr X-Disclaimer: Why are you listening to me? # This is a comment + 7.3. Obsolete Variables - Single quotes (') and double quotes (') can be used to quote strings which +Chapter 1. Introduction - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 22 + Table of Contents - contain spaces or other special characters. The difference between the two - types of quotes is similar to that of many popular shell programs, namely that - a single quote is used to specify a literal string (one that is not interpreted - for shell variables or quoting with a backslash [see next paragraph]), while - double quotes indicate a string for which should be evaluated. For example, - backtics are evaluated inside of double quotes, but nnoott for single quotes. + 1. Overview - \ quotes the next character, just as in shells such as bash and zsh. For exam- - ple, if want to put quotes ``''' inside of a string, you can use ``\'' to force - the next character to be a literal instead of interpreted character. + 2. Mutt-ng Home Page - set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins" + 3. Mailing Lists - ``\\'' means to insert a literal ``\'' into the line. ``\n'' and ``\r'' have - their usual C meanings of linefeed and carriage-return, respectively. + 4. Software Distribution Sites - A \ at the end of a line can be used to split commands over multiple lines, - provided that the split points don't appear in the middle of command names. + 5. IRC - Please note that, unlike the various shells, mutt-ng interprets a ``\'' at the - end of a line also in comments. This allows you to disable a command split over - multiple lines with only one ``#''. + 6. Weblog - # folder-hook . \ - set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins" + 7. Copyright - When testing your config files, beware the following caveat. The backslash at - the end of the commented line extends the current line with the next line - - then referred to as a ``continuation line''. As the first line is commented - with a hash (#) all following continuation lines are also part of a comment and - therefore are ignored, too. So take care of comments when continuation lines - are involved within your setup files! +1. Overview - Abstract example: + Mutt-ng is a small but very powerful text-based MIME mail client. Mutt-ng + is highly configurable, and is well suited to the mail power user with + advanced features like key bindings, keyboard macros, mail threading, + regular expression searches and a powerful pattern matching language for + selecting groups of messages. - line1\ - line2a # line2b\ - line3\ - line4 - line5 + This documentation additionally contains documentation to Mutt-NG ,a fork + from Mutt with the goal to fix all the little annoyances of Mutt, to + integrate all the Mutt patches that are floating around in the web, and to + add other new features. Features specific to Mutt-ng will be discussed in + an extra section. Don't be confused when most of the documentation talk + about Mutt and not Mutt-ng, Mutt-ng contains all Mutt features, plus many + more. - line1 ``continues'' until line4. however, the part after the # is a comment - which includes line3 and line4. line5 is a new line of its own and thus is - interpreted again. +2. Mutt-ng Home Page - The commands understood by mutt are explained in the next paragraphs. For a - complete list, see the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e (section 7.3 , page 85). + http://www.muttng.org - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 23 +3. Mailing Lists - _3_._3 _E_x_p_a_n_s_i_o_n _w_i_t_h_i_n _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s + o : This is where the mutt-ng user + support happens. - Besides just assign static content to variables, there's plenty of ways of - adding external and more or less dynamic content. + o : The development mailing list for + mutt-ng - _3_._3_._1 _C_o_m_m_a_n_d_s_' _O_u_t_p_u_t +4. Software Distribution Sites - It is possible to substitute the output of a Unix command in an initialization - file. This is accomplished by enclosing the command in backquotes (``) as in, - for example: + So far, there are no official releases of Mutt-ng, but you can download + daily snapshots from http://mutt-ng.berlios.de/snapshots/ - my_hdr X-Operating-System: `uname -a` +5. IRC - The output of the Unix command ``uname -a'' will be substituted before the line - is parsed. Note that since initialization files are line oriented, only the - first line of output from the Unix command will be substituted. + Visit channel #muttng on irc.freenode.net (www.freenode.net) to chat with + other people interested in Mutt-ng. - _3_._3_._2 _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t _V_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s +6. Weblog - UNIX environments can be accessed like the way it is done in shells like sh and - bash: Prepend the name of the environment by a ``$'' sign. For example, + If you want to read fresh news about the latest development in Mutt-ng, + and get informed about stuff like interesting, Mutt-ng-related articles + and packages for your favorite distribution, you can read and/or subscribe + to our Mutt-ng development weblog. - set record=+sent_on_$HOSTNAME +7. Copyright - sets the _$_r_e_c_o_r_d (section 7.4.243 , page 147) variable to the string _+_s_e_n_t___o_n__ - and appends the value of the evironment variable $HOSTNAME. + Mutt is Copyright (C) 1996-2000 Michael R. Elkins and + others - NNoottee:: There will be no warning if an environment variable is not defined. The - result will of the expansion will then be empty. + This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it + under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free + Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) + any later version. - _3_._3_._3 _C_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n _V_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s + This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but + WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY + or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License + for more details. - As for environment variables, the values of all configuration variables as - string can be used in the same way, too. For example, + You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along + with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 + Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA. - set imap_home_namespace = $folder +Chapter 2. Getting Started - would set the value of _$_i_m_a_p___h_o_m_e___n_a_m_e_s_p_a_c_e (section 7.4.101 , page 112) to - the value to which _$_f_o_l_d_e_r (section 7.4.70 , page 104) is _c_u_r_r_e_n_t_l_y set to. + Table of Contents - NNoottee:: There're no logical links established in such cases so that the the value - for _$_i_m_a_p___h_o_m_e___n_a_m_e_s_p_a_c_e (section 7.4.101 , page 112) won't change even if - _$_f_o_l_d_e_r (section 7.4.70 , page 104) gets changed. + 1. Basic Concepts - NNoottee:: There will be no warning if a configuration variable is not defined or is - empty. The result will of the expansion will then be empty. + 1.1. Screens and Menus - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 24 + 1.2. Configuration - _3_._3_._4 _S_e_l_f_-_D_e_f_i_n_e_d _V_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s + 1.3. Functions - Mutt-ng flexibly allows users to define their own variables. To avoid conflicts - with the standard set and to prevent misleading error messages, there's a - reserved namespace for them: all user-defined variables must be prefixed with - user_ and can be used just like any ordinary configuration or environment vari- - able. + 1.4. Interaction - For example, to view the manual, users can either define two macros like the - following + 1.5. Modularization - macro generic "!less -r /path/to/manual" "Show manual" - macro pager "!less -r /path/to/manual" "Show manual" + 1.6. Patterns - for generic, pager and index. The alternative is to define a custom variable - like so: + 2. Screens and Menus - set user_manualcmd = "!less -r /path/to_manual" - macro generic "$user_manualcmd" "Show manual" - macro pager "$user_manualcmd" "Show manual" - macro index "$user_manualcmd" "Show manual" + 2.1. Index - to re-use the command sequence as in: + 2.2. Pager - macro index "$user_manualcmd | grep '\^[ ]\\+~. '" "Show Patterns" + 2.3. File Browser - Using this feature, arbitrary sequences can be defined once and recalled and - reused where necessary. More advanced scenarios could include to save a vari- - able's value at the beginning of macro sequence and restore it at end. + 2.4. Sidebar - When the variable is first defined, the first value it gets assigned is also - the initial value to which it can be reset using the reset command. + 2.5. Help - The complete removal is done via the unset keyword. + 2.6. Compose Menu - After the following sequence: + 2.7. Alias Menu - set user_foo = 42 - set user_foo = 666 + 2.8. Attachment Menu - the variable $user_foo has a current value of 666 and an initial of 42. The - query + 2.9. Key Menu - set ?user_foo + 3. Moving Around in Menus - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 25 + 4. Editing Input Fields - will show 666. After doing the reset via + 5. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager - reset user_foo + 5.1. The Message Index - a following query will give 42 as the result. After unsetting it via + 5.2. The Pager - unset user_foo + 5.3. Threaded Mode - any query or operation (except the noted expansion within other statements) - will lead to an error message. + 5.4. Miscellaneous Functions - _3_._3_._5 _P_r_e_-_D_e_f_i_n_e_d _V_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s + 6. Sending Mail - In order to allow users to share one setup over a number of different machines - without having to change its contents, there's a number of pre-defined vari- - ables. These are prefixed with muttng_ and are read-only, i.e. they cannot be - set, unset or reset. The reference chapter lists all available variables. + 6.1. Composing new messages - _P_l_e_a_s_e _c_o_n_s_u_l_t _t_h_e _l_o_c_a_l _c_o_p_y _o_f _y_o_u_r _m_a_n_u_a_l _f_o_r _t_h_e_i_r _v_a_l_u_e_s _a_s _t_h_e_y _m_a_y _d_i_f_- - _f_e_r _f_r_o_m _d_i_f_f_e_r_e_n_t _m_a_n_u_a_l _s_o_u_r_c_e_s_. Where the manual is installed in can be - queried (already using such a variable) by running: + 6.2. Replying - muttng -Q muttng_docdir + 6.3. Editing the message header - To extend the example for viewing the manual via self-defined variables, it can - be made more readable and more portable by changing the real path in: + 6.4. Using Mutt-ng with PGP - set user_manualcmd = '!less -r /path/to_manual' + 6.5. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster - to: + 7. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail - set user_manualcmd = "!less -r $muttng_docdir/manual.txt" + 8. Postponing Mail - which works everywhere if a manual is installed. +1. Basic Concepts - _N_o_t_e_: _t_h_i_s _i_s _a _d_r_a_f_t _f_e_a_t_u_r_e _a_n_d _m_a_y_b_e _s_u_b_j_e_c_t _t_o _c_h_a_n_g_e _i_n _t_h_e _n_e_a_r _f_u_t_u_r_e_. + 1.1. Screens and Menus - _3_._3_._6 _T_y_p_e _C_o_n_v_e_r_s_i_o_n_s + mutt-ng offers different screens of which every has its special purpose: - A note about variable's types during conversion: internally values are stored - in internal types but for any dump/query or set operation they're converted to - and from string. That means that there's no need to worry about types when ref- - erencing any variable. As an example, the following can be used without harm - (besides makeing muttng very likely behave strange): + o The index displays the contents of the currently opened mailbox. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 26 + o The pager is responsible for displaying messages, that is, the header, + the body and all attached parts. - set read_inc = 100 - set folder = $read_inc - set read_inc = $folder - set user_magic_number = 42 - set folder = $user_magic_number + o The file browser offers operations on and displays information of all + folders mutt-ng should watch for mail. - _3_._4 _D_e_f_i_n_i_n_g_/_U_s_i_n_g _a_l_i_a_s_e_s + o The sidebar offers a permanent view of which mailboxes contain how + many total, new and/or flagged mails. - Usage: alias _k_e_y _a_d_d_r_e_s_s [ , _a_d_d_r_e_s_s, ... ] + o The help screen lists for all currently available commands how to + invoke them as well as a short description. - It's usually very cumbersome to remember or type out the address of someone you - are communicating with. Mutt-ng allows you to create ``aliases'' which map a - short string to a full address. + o The compose menu is a comfortable interface take last actions before + sending mail: change subjects, attach files, remove attachements, etc. - NNoottee:: if you want to create an alias for a group (by specifying more than one - address), you mmuusstt separate the addresses with a comma (``,''). + o The attachement menu gives a summary and the tree structure of the + attachements of the current message. - To remove an alias or aliases (``*'' means all aliases): + o The alias menu lists all or a fraction of the aliases a user has + defined. - unalias [ * | _k_e_y _._._. ] + o The key menu used in connection with encryption lets users choose the + right key to encrypt with. - alias muttdude me@cs.hmc.edu (Michael Elkins) - alias theguys manny, moe, jack + When mutt-ng is started without any further options, it'll open the users + default mailbox and display the index. - Unlike other mailers, Mutt-ng doesn't require aliases to be defined in a spe- - cial file. The alias command can appear anywhere in a configuration file, as - long as this file is _s_o_u_r_c_e_d (section 3.29 , page 45). Consequently, you can - have multiple alias files, or you can have all aliases defined in your muttrc. + 1.2. Configuration - On the other hand, the _c_r_e_a_t_e_-_a_l_i_a_s (section 2.5.4 , page 11) function can use - only one file, the one pointed to by the _$_a_l_i_a_s___f_i_l_e (section 7.4.5 , page 89) - variable (which is ~/.muttrc by default). This file is not special either, in - the sense that Mutt-ng will happily append aliases to any file, but in order - for the new aliases to take effect you need to explicitly _s_o_u_r_c_e (section - 3.29 , page 45) this file too. + Mutt-ng does not feature an internal configuration interface or menu due + to the simple fact that this would be too complex to handle (currently + there are several hundred variables which fine-tune the behaviour.) - For example: + Mutt-ng is configured using configuration files which allow users to add + comments or manage them via version control systems to ease maintenance. - source /usr/local/share/Mutt-ng.aliases - source ~/.mail_aliases - set alias_file=~/.mail_aliases + Also, mutt-ng comes with a shell script named grml-muttng kindly + contributed by users which really helps and eases the creation of a user's + configuration file. When downloading the source code via a snapshot or via + subversion, it can be found in the contrib directory. - To use aliases, you merely use the alias at any place in mutt where mutt - prompts for addresses, such as the _T_o_: or _C_c_: prompt. You can also enter - aliases in your editor at the appropriate headers if you have the _$_e_d_i_t___h_e_a_d_e_r_s - (section 7.4.59 , page 102) variable set. + 1.3. Functions - In addition, at the various address prompts, you can use the tab character to - expand a partial alias to the full alias. If there are multiple matches, mutt + Mutt-ng offers great flexibility due to the use of functions: internally, + every action a user can make mutt-ng perform is named ``function.'' Those + functions are assigned to keys (or even key sequences) and may be + completely adjusted to user's needs. The basic idea is that the impatient + users get a very intuitive interface to start off with and advanced users + virtually get no limits to adjustments. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 27 + 1.4. Interaction - will bring up a menu with the matching aliases. In order to be presented with - the full list of aliases, you must hit tab with out a partial alias, such as at - the beginning of the prompt or after a comma denoting multiple addresses. + Mutt-ng has two basic concepts of user interaction: - In the alias menu, you can select as many aliases as you want with the _s_e_l_e_c_t_- - _e_n_t_r_y key (default: RET), and use the _e_x_i_t key (default: q) to return to the - address prompt. + 1. There is one dedicated line on the screen used to query the user for + input, issue any command, query variables and display error and + informational messages. As for every type of user input, this requires + manual action leading to the need of input. - _3_._5 _C_h_a_n_g_i_n_g _t_h_e _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _k_e_y _b_i_n_d_i_n_g_s + 2. The automatized interface for interaction are the so called hooks. + Hooks specify actions the user wants to be performed at well-defined + situations: what to do when entering which folder, what to do when + displaying or replying to what kind of message, etc. These are + optional, i.e. a user doesn't need to specify them but can do so. - Usage: bind _m_a_p _k_e_y _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n + 1.5. Modularization - This command allows you to change the default key bindings (operation invoked - when pressing a key). + Although mutt-ng has many functionality built-in, many features can be + delegated to external tools to increase flexibility: users can define + programs to filter a message through before displaying, users can use any + program they want for displaying a message, message types (such as PDF or + PostScript) for which mutt-ng doesn't have a built-in filter can be + rendered by arbitrary tools and so forth. Although mutt-ng has an alias + mechanism built-in, it features using external tools to query for nearly + every type of addresses from sources like LDAP, databases or just the list + of locally known users. - _m_a_p specifies in which menu the binding belongs. Multiple maps may be speci- - fied by separating them with commas (no additional whitespace is allowed). The - currently defined maps are: + 1.6. Patterns - generic - This is not a real menu, but is used as a fallback for all of the - other menus except for the pager and editor modes. If a key is not - defined in another menu, Mutt-ng will look for a binding to use in - this menu. This allows you to bind a key to a certain function in - multiple menus instead of having multiple bind statements to accom- - plish the same task. + Mutt-ng has a built-in pattern matching ``language'' which is as widely + used as possible to present a consistent interface to users. The same + ``pattern terms'' can be used for searching, scoring, message selection + and much more. - alias - The alias menu is the list of your personal aliases as defined in - your muttrc. It is the mapping from a short alias name to the full - email address(es) of the recipient(s). +2. Screens and Menus - attach - The attachment menu is used to access the attachments on received - messages. + 2.1. Index - browser - The browser is used for both browsing the local directory struc- - ture, and for listing all of your incoming mailboxes. + The index is the screen that you usually see first when you start mutt-ng. + It gives an overview over your emails in the currently opened mailbox. By + default, this is your system mailbox. The information you see in the index + is a list of emails, each with its number on the left, its flags (new + email, important email, email that has been forwarded or replied to, + tagged email, ...), the date when email was sent, its sender, the email + size, and the subject. Additionally, the index also shows thread + hierarchies: when you reply to an email, and the other person replies + back, you can see the other's person email in a "sub-tree" below. This is + especially useful for personal email between a group of people or when + you've subscribed to mailing lists. + + 2.2. Pager + + The pager is responsible for showing the email content. On the top of the + pager you have an overview over the most important email headers like the + sender, the recipient, the subject, and much more information. How much + information you actually see depends on your configuration, which we'll + describe below. + + Below the headers, you see the email body which usually contains the + message. If the email contains any attachments, you will see more + information about them below the email body, or, if the attachments are + text files, you can view them directly in the pager. + + To give the user a good overview, it is possible to configure mutt-ng to + show different things in the pager with different colors. Virtually + everything that can be described with a regular expression can be colored, + e.g. URLs, email addresses or smileys. + + 2.3. File Browser + + The file browser is the interface to the local or remote file system. When + selecting a mailbox to open, the browser allows custom sorting of items, + limiting the items shown by a regular expression and a freely adjustable + format of what to display in which way. It also allows for easy navigation + through the file system when selecting file(s) to attach to a message, + select multiple files to attach and many more. + + 2.4. Sidebar + + The sidebar comes in handy to manage mails which are spread over different + folders. All folders users setup mutt-ng to watch for new mail will be + listed. The listing includes not only the name but also the number of + total messages, the number of new and flagged messages. Items with new + mail may be colored different from those with flagged mail, items may be + shortened or compress if they're they to long to be printed in full form + so that by abbreviated names, user still now what the name stands for. + + 2.5. Help + + The help screen is meant to offer a quick help to the user. It lists the + current configuration of key bindings and their associated commands + including a short description, and currently unbound functions that still + need to be associated with a key binding (or alternatively, they can be + called via the mutt-ng command prompt). + + 2.6. Compose Menu + + The compose menu features a split screen containing the information which + really matter before actually sending a message by mail or posting an + article to a newsgroup: who gets the message as what (recipient, + newsgroup, who gets what kind of copy). Additionally, users may set + security options like deciding whether to sign, encrypt or sign and + encrypt a message with/for what keys. + + Also, it's used to attach messages, news articles or files to a message, + to re-edit any attachment including the message itself. + + 2.7. Alias Menu + + The alias menu is used to help users finding the recipients of messages. + For users who need to contact many people, there's no need to remember + addresses or names completely because it allows for searching, too. The + alias mechanism and thus the alias menu also features grouping several + addresses by a shorter nickname, the actual alias, so that users don't + have to select each single recipient manually. + + 2.8. Attachment Menu + + As will be later discussed in detail, mutt-ng features a good and stable + MIME implementation, that is, is greatly supports sending and receiving + messages of arbitrary type. The attachment menu displays a message's + structure in detail: what content parts are attached to which parent part + (which gives a true tree structure), which type is of what type and what + size. Single parts may saved, deleted or modified to offer great and easy + access to message's internals. + + 2.9. Key Menu + + FIXME + +3. Moving Around in Menus + + Information is presented in menus, very similar to ELM. Here is a + tableshowing the common keys used to navigate menus in Mutt-ng. + + Table 2.1. Default Menu Movement Keys + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | j or Down | next-entry | move to the next entry | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | k or Up | previous-entry | move to the previous entry | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | z or PageDn | page-down | go to the next page | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | Z or PageUp | page-up | go to the previous page | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | = or Home | first-entry | jump to the first entry | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | * or End | last-entry | jump to the last entry | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | q | quit | exit the current menu | + |-------------+----------------+-----------------------------------------| + | ? | help | list all key bindings for the current | + | | | menu | + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + +4. Editing Input Fields + + Mutt-ng has a builtin line editor which is used as the primary way to + input textual data such as email addresses or filenames. The keys used to + move around while editing are very similar to those of Emacs. + + Table 2.2. Built-In Editor Functions + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^A or | bol | move to the start of the line | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^B or | backward-char | move back one char | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | Esc B | backward-word | move back one word | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^D or | delete-char | delete the char under the cursor | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^E or | eol | move to the end of the line | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^F or | forward-char | move forward one char | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | Esc F | forward-word | move forward one word | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | | complete | complete filename or alias | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^T | complete-query | complete address with query | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^K | kill-eol | delete to the end of the line | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ESC d | kill-eow | delete to the end of the word | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^W | kill-word | kill the word in front of the | + | | | cursor | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^U | kill-line | delete entire line | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^V | quote-char | quote the next typed key | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | | history-up | recall previous string from history | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | | history-down | recall next string from history | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | | backspace | kill the char in front of the | + | | | cursor | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | Esc u | upcase-word | convert word to upper case | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | Esc l | downcase-word | convert word to lower case | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | Esc c | capitalize-word | capitalize the word | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | ^G | n/a | abort | + |----------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------| + | | n/a | finish editing | + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + You can remap the editor functions using the bind command. For example, to + make the Delete key delete the character in front of the cursor rather + than under, you could use + + bind editor backspace + +5. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager + + Similar to many other mail clients, there are two modes in which mail + isread in Mutt-ng. The first is the index of messages in the mailbox, + which is called the ``index'' in Mutt-ng. The second mode is the display + of the message contents. This is called the ``pager.'' + + The next few sections describe the functions provided in each of these + modes. + + 5.1. The Message Index + + Table 2.3. Default Index Menu Bindings + + +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | c | | change to a different mailbox | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | ESC c | | change to a folder in read-only mode | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | C | | copy the current message to another mailbox | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | ESC C | | decode a message and copy it to a folder | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | ESC s | | decode a message and save it to a folder | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | D | | delete messages matching a pattern | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | d | | delete the current message | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | F | | mark as important | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | l | | show messages matching a pattern | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | N | | mark message as new | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | o | | change the current sort method | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | O | | reverse sort the mailbox | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | q | | save changes and exit | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | s | | save-message | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | T | | tag messages matching a pattern | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | t | | toggle the tag on a message | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | ESC t | | toggle tag on entire message thread | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | U | | undelete messages matching a pattern | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | u | | undelete-message | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | v | | view-attachments | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | x | | abort changes and exit | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | | | display-message | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | | | jump to the next new or unread message | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | @ | | show the author's full e-mail address | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | $ | | save changes to mailbox | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | / | | search | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | ESC / | | search-reverse | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | ^L | | clear and redraw the screen | + |----------+----------+---------------------------------------------| + | ^T | | untag messages matching a pattern | + +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ - editor - The editor is the line-based editor the user enters text data. + 5.1.1. Status Flags - index - The index is the list of messages contained in a mailbox. + In addition to who sent the message and the subject, a short summary of + the disposition of each message is printed beside the message number. Zero + or more of the following ``flags'' may appear, which mean: - compose - The compose menu is the screen used when sending a new message. + D - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 28 + message is deleted (is marked for deletion) - pager - The pager is the mode used to display message/attachment data, and - help listings. + d - pgp - The pgp menu is used to select the OpenPGP keys used for encrypting - outgoing messages. + message have attachments marked for deletion - postpone - The postpone menu is similar to the index menu, except is used when - recalling a message the user was composing, but saved until later. + K - _k_e_y is the key (or key sequence) you wish to bind. To specify a control char- - acter, use the sequence _\_C_x, where _x is the letter of the control character - (for example, to specify control-A use ``\Ca''). Note that the case of _x as - well as _\_C is ignored, so that _\_C_A, _\_C_a, _\_c_A and _\_c_a are all equivalent. An - alternative form is to specify the key as a three digit octal number prefixed - with a ``\'' (for example _\_1_7_7 is equivalent to _\_c_?). + contains a PGP public key - In addition, _k_e_y may consist of: + N - \t tab - tab - backtab / shift-tab - \r carriage return - \n newline - \e escape - escape - up arrow - down arrow - left arrow - right arrow - Page Up - Page Down - Backspace - Delete - Insert - Enter - Return - Home - End - Space bar - function key 1 - function key 10 + message is new - _k_e_y does not need to be enclosed in quotes unless it contains a space (`` ''). + O - _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n specifies which action to take when _k_e_y is pressed. For a complete - list of functions, see the _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e (section 7.5 , page 175). The special - function noop unbinds the specified key sequence. + message is old + + P + + message is PGP encrypted + + r + + message has been replied to - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 29 + S + + message is signed, and the signature is succesfully verified + + s + + message is signed + + ! + + message is flagged + + * + + message is tagged + + Some of the status flags can be turned on or off using + + o set-flag (default: w) + + o clear-flag (default: W) + + Furthermore, the following flags reflect who the message is addressed to. + They can be customized with the $to_chars variable. + + + + + message is to you and you only + + T + + message is to you, but also to or cc'ed to others + + C + + message is cc'ed to you + + F + + message is from you - _3_._6 _D_e_f_i_n_i_n_g _a_l_i_a_s_e_s _f_o_r _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _s_e_t_s + L - Usage: charset-hook _a_l_i_a_s _c_h_a_r_s_e_t + message is sent to a subscribed mailing list - Usage: iconv-hook _c_h_a_r_s_e_t _l_o_c_a_l_-_c_h_a_r_s_e_t + 5.2. The Pager - The charset-hook command defines an alias for a character set. This is useful - to properly display messages which are tagged with a character set name not - known to mutt. + By default, Mutt-ng uses its builtin pager to display the body of + messages. The pager is very similar to the Unix program less though not + nearly as featureful. - The iconv-hook command defines a system-specific name for a character set. - This is helpful when your systems character conversion library insists on using - strange, system-specific names for character sets. + Table 2.4. Default Pager Menu Bindings - _3_._7 _S_e_t_t_i_n_g _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s _b_a_s_e_d _u_p_o_n _m_a_i_l_b_o_x + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | | | go down one line | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | | | display the next page (or next message if at the | + | | | end of a message) | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | - | | go back to the previous page | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | n | | search for next match | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | S | | skip beyond quoted text | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | T | | toggle display of quoted text | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | ? | | show key bindings | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | / | | search for a regular expression (pattern) | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | ESC / | | search backwards for a regular expression | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | \ | | toggle search pattern coloring | + |----------+----------+--------------------------------------------------| + | ^ | | jump to the top of the message | + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + In addition, many of the functions from the index are available in the + pager, such as delete-message or copy-message (this is one advantage over + using an external pager to view messages). + + Also, the internal pager supports a couple other advanced features. For + one, it will accept and translate the ``standard'' nroff sequences forbold + and underline. These sequences are a series of either the letter, + backspace (^H), the letter again for bold or the letter, backspace, ``_'' + for denoting underline. Mutt-ng will attempt to display these in bold and + underline respectively if your terminal supports them. If not, you can use + the bold and underline color objects to specify a color or mono attribute + for them. + + Additionally, the internal pager supports the ANSI escape sequences for + character attributes. Mutt-ng translates them into the correct color and + character settings. The sequences Mutt-ng supports are: ESC [ + Ps;Ps;Ps;...;Ps m (see table below for possible values for Ps). + + Table 2.5. ANSI Escape Sequences + + +-------------------------------------------------+ + | Value | Attribute | + |-------+-----------------------------------------| + | 0 | All Attributes Off | + |-------+-----------------------------------------| + | 1 | Bold on | + |-------+-----------------------------------------| + | 4 | Underline on | + |-------+-----------------------------------------| + | 5 | Blink on | + |-------+-----------------------------------------| + | 7 | Reverse video on | + |-------+-----------------------------------------| + | 3x | Foreground color is x (see table below) | + |-------+-----------------------------------------| + | 4x | Background color is x (see table below) | + +-------------------------------------------------+ + + Table 2.6. ANSI Colors + + +------------------+ + | Number | Color | + |--------+---------| + | 0 | black | + |--------+---------| + | 1 | red | + |--------+---------| + | 2 | green | + |--------+---------| + | 3 | yellow | + |--------+---------| + | 4 | blue | + |--------+---------| + | 5 | magenta | + |--------+---------| + | 6 | cyan | + |--------+---------| + | 7 | white | + +------------------+ + + Mutt-ng uses these attributes for handling text/enriched messages, and + they can also be used by an external autoview script for highlighting + purposes. Note: If you change the colors for your display, for example by + changing the color associated with color2 for your xterm, then that color + will be used instead of green. + + 5.3. Threaded Mode + + When the mailbox is sorted by threads ,there are a few additional + functions available in the index and pager modes. + + Table 2.7. Default Thread Function Bindings + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ^D | delete-thread | delete all messages in the current thread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ^U | undelete-thread | undelete all messages in the current | + | | | thread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ^N | next-thread | jump to the start of the next thread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ^P | previous-thread | jump to the start of the previous thread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ^R | read-thread | mark the current thread as read | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC d | delete-subthread | delete all messages in the current | + | | | subthread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC u | undelete-subthread | undelete all messages in the current | + | | | subthread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC n | next-subthread | jump to the start of the next subthread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC p | previous-subthread | jump to the start of the previous | + | | | subthread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC r | read-subthread | mark the current subthread as read | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC t | tag-thread | toggle the tag on the current thread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC v | collapse-thread | toggle collapse for the current thread | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | ESC V | collapse-all | toggle collapse for all threads | + |-------+--------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | P | parent-message | jump to parent message in thread | + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + Note: Collapsing a thread displays only the first message in the thread + and hides the others. This is useful when threads contain so many messages + that you can only see a handful of threads onthe screen. See %M in + index-format . For example, you could use "%?M?(#%03M)&(%4l)?" in + index-format to optionally display the number of hidden messages if the + thread is collapsed. + + See also: strict-threads. + + 5.4. Miscellaneous Functions + + create-alias (default: a) + + Creates a new alias based upon the current message (or prompts for a new + one). Once editing is complete, an alias command is added to the file + specified by the alias-file variable for future use. Note: Specifying an + alias-file does not add the aliases specified there-in, you must also + source the file. + + check-traditional-pgp (default: ESC P) + + This function will search the current message for content signed or + encrypted with PGP the "traditional" way, that is, without proper MIME + tagging. Technically, this function will temporarily change the MIME + content types of the body parts containing PGP data; this is similar to + the edit-type function's effect. + + display-toggle-weed (default: h) + + Toggles the weeding of message header fields specified by ignore commands. + + edit (default: e) + + This command (available in the ``index'' and ``pager'') allows you to edit + the raw current message as it's present in the mail folder. After you have + finished editing, the changed message will be appended to the current + folder, and the original message will be marked for deletion. + + edit-type (default: ^E on the attachment menu, and in the pager and index + menus; ^T on the compose menu) + + This command is used to temporarily edit an attachment's content type to + fix, for instance, bogus character set parameters. When invoked from the + index or from the pager, you'll have the opportunity to edit the top-level + attachment's content type. On the attach-menu, you can change any + attachment's content type. These changes are not persistent, and get lost + upon changing folders. + + Note that this command is also available on the compose-menu .There, it's + used to fine-tune the properties of attachments you are going to send. + + enter-command (default: ``:'') + + This command is used to execute any command you would normally put in a + configuration file. A common use is to check the settings of variables, or + in conjunction with macro to change settings on the fly. + + extract-keys (default: ^K) + + This command extracts PGP public keys from the current or tagged + message(s) and adds them to your PGP public key ring. + + forget-passphrase (default: ^F) + + This command wipes the passphrase(s) from memory. It is useful, if you + misspelled the passphrase. + + list-reply (default: L) + + Reply to the current or tagged message(s) by extracting any addresses + which match the regular expressions given by the lists commands, but also + honor any Mail-Followup-To header(s) if the honor-followup-to + configuration variable is set. Using this when replying to messages posted + to mailing lists helps avoid duplicate copies being sent to the author of + the message you are replying to. + + pipe-message (default: |) + + Asks for an external Unix command and pipes the current or tagged + message(s) to it. The variables pipe-decode ,pipe-split, pipe-sep and + wait-key control the exact behavior of this function. + + resend-message (default: ESC e) + + With resend-message, mutt takes the current message as a template for a + new message. This function is best described as "recall from arbitrary + folders". It can conveniently be used to forward MIME messages while + preserving the original mail structure. Note that the amount of headers + included here depends on the value of the weed variable. + + This function is also available from the attachment menu. You can use this + to easily resend a message which was included with a bounce message as a + message/rfc822 body part. + + shell-escape (default: !) + + Asks for an external Unix command and executes it. The wait-key can be + used to control whether Mutt-ng will wait for a key to be pressed when the + command returns (presumably to let the user read the output of the + command), based on the return status of the named command. - Usage: folder-hook [!]_r_e_g_e_x_p _c_o_m_m_a_n_d + toggle-quoted (default: T) - It is often desirable to change settings based on which mailbox you are read- - ing. The folder-hook command provides a method by which you can execute any - configuration command. _r_e_g_e_x_p is a regular expression specifying in which - mailboxes to execute _c_o_m_m_a_n_d before loading. If a mailbox matches multiple - folder-hook's, they are executed in the order given in the muttrc. + The pager uses the quote-regexp variable to detect quoted text when + displaying the body of the message. This function toggles the displayof + the quoted material in the message. It is particularly useful when are + interested in just the response and there is a large amount of quoted text + in the way. - NNoottee:: if you use the ``!'' shortcut for _$_s_p_o_o_l_f_i_l_e (section 7.4.310 , page - 163) at the beginning of the pattern, you must place it inside of double or - single quotes in order to distinguish it from the logical _n_o_t operator for the - expression. + skip-quoted (default: S) - Note that the settings are _n_o_t restored when you leave the mailbox. For exam- - ple, a command action to perform is to change the sorting method based upon the - mailbox being read: + This function will go to the next line of non-quoted text which come after + a line of quoted text in the internal pager. + +6. Sending Mail + + The following bindings are available in the index for sending messages. + + Table 2.8. Default Mail Composition Bindings + + +--------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |-------+-------------+----------------------------------| + | m | compose | compose a new message | + |-------+-------------+----------------------------------| + | r | reply | reply to sender | + |-------+-------------+----------------------------------| + | g | group-reply | reply to all recipients | + |-------+-------------+----------------------------------| + | L | list-reply | reply to mailing list address | + |-------+-------------+----------------------------------| + | f | forward | forward message | + |-------+-------------+----------------------------------| + | b | bounce | bounce (remail) message | + |-------+-------------+----------------------------------| + | ESC k | mail-key | mail a PGP public key to someone | + +--------------------------------------------------------+ + + Bouncing a message sends the message as is to the recipient you specify. + Forwarding a message allows you to add comments or modify the message you + are forwarding. These items are discussed in greater detail in the next + chapter forwarding-mail . + + 6.1. Composing new messages + + When you want to send an email using mutt-ng, simply press m on your + keyboard. Then, mutt-ng asks for the recipient via a prompt in the last + line: + + To: + + After you've finished entering the recipient(s), press return. If you want + to send an email to more than one recipient, separate the email addresses + using the comma ",". Mutt-ng then asks you for the email subject. Again, + press return after you've entered it. After that, mutt-ng got the most + important information from you, and starts up an editor where you can then + enter your email. + + The editor that is called is selected in the following way: you can e.g. + set it in the mutt-ng configuration: + + set editor = "vim +/^$/ -c ':set tw=72'" + set editor = "nano" + set editor = "emacs" + + If you don't set your preferred editor in your configuration, mutt-ng + first looks whether the environment variable $VISUAL is set, and if so, it + takes its value as editor command. Otherwise, it has a look at $EDITOR and + takes its value if it is set. If no editor command can be found, mutt-ng + simply assumes vi to be the default editor, since it's the most widespread + editor in the Unix world and it's pretty safe to assume that it is + installed and available. + + When you've finished entering your message, save it and quit your editor. + Mutt-ng will then present you with a summary screen, the compose menu. On + the top, you see a summary of the most important available key commands. + Below that, you see the sender, the recipient(s), Cc and/or Bcc + recipient(s), the subject, the reply-to address, and optionally + information where the sent email will be stored and whether it should be + digitally signed and/or encrypted. + + Below that, you see a list of "attachments". The mail you've just entered + before is also an attachment, but due to its special type (it's plain + text), it will be displayed as the normal message on the receiver's side. + + At this point, you can add more attachments, pressing a, you can edit the + recipient addresses, pressing t for the "To:" field, c for the "Cc:" + field, and b for the "Bcc: field. You can also edit the subject the + subject by simply pressing s or the email message that you've entered + before by pressing e. You will then again return to the editor. You can + even edit the sender, by pressing f, but this shall only be used with + caution. + + Alternatively, you can configure mutt-ng in a way that most of the above + settings can be edited using the editor. Therefore, you only need to add + the following to your configuration: + + set edit_headers + + Once you have finished editing the body of your mail message, you are + returned to the compose menu. The following options are available: + + Table 2.9. Default Compose Menu Bindings + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | a | attach-file | attach a file | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | A | attach-message | attach message(s) to the message | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | ESC k | attach-key | attach a PGP public key | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | d | edit-description | edit description on attachment | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | D | detach-file | detach a file | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | t | edit-to | edit the To field | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | ESC f | edit-from | edit the From field | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | r | edit-reply-to | edit the Reply-To field | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | c | edit-cc | edit the Cc field | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | b | edit-bcc | edit the Bcc field | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | y | send-message | send the message | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | s | edit-subject | edit the Subject | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | S | smime-menu | select S/MIME options | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | f | edit-fcc | specify an ``Fcc'' mailbox | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | p | pgp-menu | select PGP options | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | P | postpone-message | postpone this message until later | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | q | quit | quit (abort) sending the message | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | w | write-fcc | write the message to a folder | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | i | ispell | check spelling (if available on your | + | | | system) | + |-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------------| + | ^F | forget-passphrase | wipe passphrase(s) from memory | + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + + Note: The attach-message function will prompt you for a folder to attach + messages from. You can now tag messages in that folder and theywill be + attached to the message you are sending. Note that certainoperations like + composing a new mail, replying, forwarding, etc. are not permitted when + you are in that folder. The %r in status-format will change to a 'A' to + indicate that you are in attach-message mode. + + 6.2. Replying + + 6.2.1. Simple Replies + + When you want to reply to an email message, select it in the index menu + and then press r. Mutt-ng's behaviour is then similar to the behaviour + when you compose a message: first, you will be asked for the recipient, + then for the subject, and then, mutt-ng will start the editor with the + quote attribution and the quoted message. This can e.g. look like the + example below. + + On Mon, Mar 07, 2005 at 05:02:12PM +0100, Michael Svensson wrote: + > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. + > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new + > production server that we want to set up before our customer's + > project will go live. + + You can start editing the email message. It is strongly recommended to put + your answer below the quoted text and to only quote what is really + necessary and that you refer to. Putting your answer on top of the quoted + message, is, although very widespread, very often not considered to be a + polite way to answer emails. + + The quote attribution is configurable, by default it is set to + + set attribution = "On %d, %n wrote:" + + It can also be set to something more compact, e.g. + + set attribution = "attribution="* %n <%a> [%(%y-%m-%d %H:%M)]:" + + The example above results in the following attribution: + + * Michael Svensson [05-03-06 17:02]: + > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. + > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new + > production server that we want to set up before our customer's + > project will go live. + + Generally, try to keep your attribution short yet information-rich. It is + not the right place for witty quotes, long "attribution" novels or + anything like that: the right place for such things is - if at all - the + email signature at the very bottom of the message. + + When you're done with writing your message, save and quit the editor. As + before, you will return to the compose menu, which is used in the same way + as before. + + 6.2.2. Group Replies + + In the situation where a group of people uses email as a discussion, most + of the emails will have one or more recipients, and probably several "Cc:" + recipients. The group reply functionalityensures that when you press g + instead of r to do a reply, each and every recipient that is contained in + the original message will receive a copy of the message, either as normal + recipient or as "Cc:" recipient. + + 6.2.3. List Replies + + When you use mailing lists, it's generally better to send your reply to a + message only to the list instead of the list and the original author. To + make this easy to use, mutt-ng features list replies. + + To do a list reply, simply press L. If the email contains a + Mail-Followup-To: header, its value will be used as reply address. + Otherwise, mutt-ng searches through all mail addresses in the original + message and tries to match them a list of regular expressions which can be + specified using the lists command. If any of the regular expression + matches, a mailing list address has been found, and it will be used as + reply address. + + lists linuxevent@luga\.at vuln-dev@ mutt-ng-users@ + + Nowadays, most mailing list software like GNU Mailman adds a + Mail-Followup-To: header to their emails anyway, so setting lists is + hardly ever necessary in practice. + + 6.3. Editing the message header + + When editing the header of your outgoing message, there are a couple of + special features available. + + If you specify Fcc: filename Mutt-ng will pick up filename just as if you + had used the edit-fcc function in the compose menu. + + You can also attach files to your message by specifying Attach: filename [ + description ] where filename is the file to attach and description is an + optional string to use as the description of the attached file. + + When replying to messages, if you remove the In-Reply-To: field from the + header field, Mutt-ng will not generate a References: field, which allows + you to create a new message thread. + + Also see edit-headers. + + 6.4. Using Mutt-ng with PGP + + If you want to use PGP, you can specify + + Pgp: [ E | S | S ] + + ``E'' encrypts, ``S'' signs and ``S'' signs with the given key, + setting pgp-sign-as permanently. + + If you have told mutt to PGP encrypt a message, it will guide you through + a key selection process when you try to send the message. Mutt-ng will not + ask you any questions about keys which have a certified user ID matching + one of the message recipients' mail addresses. However, there may be + situations in which there are several keys, weakly certified user ID + fields, or where no matching keys can be found. + + In these cases, you are dropped into a menu with a list of keys from which + you can select one. When you quit this menu, or mutt can't find any + matching keys, you are prompted for a user ID. You can, as usually, abort + this prompt using ^G. When you do so, mutt will return to the compose + screen. - folder-hook mutt set sort=threads + Once you have successfully finished the key selection, the message will be + encrypted using the selected public keys, and sent out. - However, the sorting method is not restored to its previous value when reading - a different mailbox. To specify a _d_e_f_a_u_l_t command, use the pattern ``.'': + Most fields of the entries in the key selection menu (see also + pgp-entry-format ) have obvious meanings. But some explanations on the + capabilities, flags, and validity fields are in order. + + The flags sequence (%f) will expand to one of the following flags: + + Table 2.10. PGP Key Menu Flags + + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + | Flag | Description | + |------+----------------------------------------------------| + | R | The key has been revoked and can't be used. | + |------+----------------------------------------------------| + | X | The key is expired and can't be used. | + |------+----------------------------------------------------| + | d | You have marked the key as disabled. | + |------+----------------------------------------------------| + | c | There are unknown critical self-signature packets. | + +-----------------------------------------------------------+ + + The capabilities field (%c) expands to a two-character + sequencerepresenting a key's capabilities. The first character gives the + key's encryption capabilities: A minus sign (- )means that the key cannot + be used for encryption. A dot (. )means that it's marked as a signature + key in one of the user IDs, but may also be used for encryption. The + letter e indicates that this key can be used for encryption. + + The second character indicates the key's signing capabilities. Once again, + a ``-'' implies ``not for signing'', ``.'' implies that the key is marked + as an encryption key in one of the user-ids, and ``s'' denotes a key which + can be used for signing. + + Finally, the validity field (%t) indicates how well-certified a user-id + is. A question mark (?) indicates undefined validity, a minus character + (-) marks an untrusted association, a space character means a partially + trusted association, and a plus character (+ ) indicates complete + validity. + + 6.5. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster + + You may also have configured mutt to co-operate with Mixmaster, an + anonymous remailer. Mixmaster permits you to send your messages + anonymously using a chain of remailers. Mixmaster support in mutt is for + mixmaster version 2.04 (beta 45 appears to be the latest) and 2.03. It + does not support earlier versions or the later so-called version 3 betas, + of which the latest appears to be called 2.9b23. - folder-hook . set sort=date-sent + To use it, you'll have to obey certain restrictions. Most important, you + cannot use the Cc and Bcc headers. To tell Mutt-ng to use mixmaster, you + have to select a remailer chain, using the mix function on the compose + menu. - _3_._8 _K_e_y_b_o_a_r_d _m_a_c_r_o_s + The chain selection screen is divided into two parts. In the (larger) + upper part, you get a list of remailers you may use. In the lower part, + you see the currently selected chain of remailers. - Usage: macro _m_e_n_u _k_e_y _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e [ _d_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n ] + You can navigate in the chain using the chain-prev and chain-next + functions, which are by default bound to the left and right arrows and to + the h and l keys (think vi keyboard bindings). To insert a remailer at the + current chain position, use the insert function. To append a remailer + behind the current chain position, use select-entry or append . You can + also delete entries from the chain, using the corresponding function. + Finally, to abandon your changes, leave the menu, or accept them pressing + (by default) the Return key. - Macros are useful when you would like a single key to perform a series of - actions. When you press _k_e_y in menu _m_e_n_u, Mutt-ng will behave as if you had + Note that different remailers do have different capabilities, indicated in + the %c entry of the remailer menu lines (see mix-entry-format). Most + important is the ``middleman'' capability, indicated by a capital ``M'': + This means that the remailer in question cannot be used as the final + element of a chain, but will only forward messages to other mixmaster + remailers. For details on the other capabilities, please have a look at + the mixmaster documentation. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 30 +7. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail - typed _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e. So if you have a common sequence of commands you type, you can - create a macro to execute those commands with a single key. + Often, it is necessary to forward mails to other people. Therefore, + mutt-ng supports forwarding messages in two different ways. - _m_e_n_u is the _m_a_p (section 3.5 , page 27) which the macro will be bound. Multi- - ple maps may be specified by separating multiple menu arguments by commas. - Whitespace may not be used in between the menu arguments and the commas sepa- - rating them. + The first one is regular forwarding, as you probably know it from other + mail clients. You simply press f, enter the recipient email address, the + subject of the forwarded email, and then you can edit the message to be + forwarded in the editor. The forwarded message is separated from the rest + of the message via the two following markers: - _k_e_y and _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e are expanded by the same rules as the _k_e_y _b_i_n_d_i_n_g_s (section - 3.5 , page 27). There are some additions however. The first is that control - characters in _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e can also be specified as _^_x. In order to get a caret - (`^'') you need to use _^_^. Secondly, to specify a certain key such as _u_p or to - invoke a function directly, you can use the format _<_k_e_y _n_a_m_e_> and _<_f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n - _n_a_m_e_>. For a listing of key names see the section on _k_e_y _b_i_n_d_i_n_g_s (section - 3.5 , page 27). Functions are listed in the _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e (section - 7.5 , page 175). + ----- Forwarded message from Lucas User ----- - The advantage with using function names directly is that the macros will work - regardless of the current key bindings, so they are not dependent on the user - having particular key definitions. This makes them more robust and portable, - and also facilitates defining of macros in files used by more than one user - (eg. the system Muttngrc). + From: Lucas User + Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 03:08:34 +0100 + To: Michael Random + Subject: Re: blackmail - Optionally you can specify a descriptive text after _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e, which is shown in - the help screens. + Pay me EUR 50,000.- cash or your favorite stuffed animal will die + a horrible death. - NNoottee:: Macro definitions (if any) listed in the help screen(s), are silently - truncated at the screen width, and are not wrapped. + ----- End forwarded message ----- - _3_._9 _U_s_i_n_g _c_o_l_o_r _a_n_d _m_o_n_o _v_i_d_e_o _a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e_s + When you're done with editing the mail, save and quit the editor, and you + will return to the compose menu, the same menu you also encounter when + composing or replying to mails. - Usage: color _o_b_j_e_c_t _f_o_r_e_g_r_o_u_n_d _b_a_c_k_g_r_o_u_n_d [ _r_e_g_e_x_p ] + The second mode of forwarding emails with mutt-ng is the so-called + bouncing: when you bounce an email to another address, it will be sent in + practically the same format you send it (except for headers that are + created during transporting the message). To bounce a message, press b and + enter the recipient email address. By default, you are then asked whether + you really want to bounce the message to the specified recipient. If you + answer with yes, the message will then be bounced. - Usage: color index _f_o_r_e_g_r_o_u_n_d _b_a_c_k_g_r_o_u_n_d _p_a_t_t_e_r_n + To the recipient, the bounced email will look as if he got it like a + regular email where he was Bcc: recipient. The only possibility to find + out whether it was a bounced email is to carefully study the email headers + and to find out which host really sent the email. - Usage: uncolor index _p_a_t_t_e_r_n [ _p_a_t_t_e_r_n ... ] +8. Postponing Mail - If your terminal supports color, you can spice up Mutt-ng by creating your own - color scheme. To define the color of an object (type of information), you must - specify both a foreground color aanndd a background color (it is not possible to - only specify one or the other). + At times it is desirable to delay sending a message that you have already + begun to compose. When the postpone-message function is used in the + compose menu, the body of your message and attachments are stored in the + mailbox specified by the postponed variable. This means that you can + recall the message even if you exit Mutt-ng and then restart it at a later + time. - _o_b_j_e_c_t can be one of: + Once a message is postponed, there are several ways to resume it. From the + command line you can use the ``-p'' option, or if you compose a new + message from the index or pager you will be prompted if postponed messages + exist. If multiple messages are currently postponed, the postponed menu + will pop up and you can select which message you would like to resume. - +o attachment + Note: If you postpone a reply to a message, the reply setting of the + message is only updated when you actually finish the message and send it. + Also, you must be in the same folder with the message you replied to for + the status of the message to be updated. - +o body (match _r_e_g_e_x_p in the body of messages) + See also the postpone quad-option. - +o bold (highlighting bold patterns in the body of messages) +Chapter 3. Configuration - +o error (error messages printed by Mutt-ng) + Table of Contents - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 31 + 1. Locations of Configuration Files - +o header (match _r_e_g_e_x_p in the message header) + 2. Basic Syntax of Initialization Files - +o hdrdefault (default color of the message header in the pager) + 3. Expansion within variables - +o index (match _p_a_t_t_e_r_n in the message index) + 3.1. Commands' Output - +o indicator (arrow or bar used to indicate the current item in a menu) + 3.2. Environment Variables - +o markers (the ``+'' markers at the beginning of wrapped lines in the pager) + 3.3. Configuration Variables - +o message (informational messages) + 3.4. Self-Defined Variables - +o normal + 3.5. Pre-Defined Variables - +o quoted (text matching _$_q_u_o_t_e___r_e_g_e_x_p (section 7.4.238 , page 146) in the - body of a message) + 3.6. Type Conversions - +o quoted1, quoted2, ..., quotedNN (higher levels of quoting) + 4. Defining/Using aliases - +o search (highlighting of words in the pager) + 5. Changing the default key bindings - +o signature + 6. Defining aliases for character sets - +o status (mode lines used to display info about the mailbox or message) + 7. Setting variables based upon mailbox - +o tilde (the ``~'' used to pad blank lines in the pager) + 8. Keyboard macros - +o tree (thread tree drawn in the message index and attachment menu) + 9. Using color and mono video attributes - +o underline (highlighting underlined patterns in the body of messages) + 10. Ignoring (weeding) unwanted message headers - _f_o_r_e_g_r_o_u_n_d and _b_a_c_k_g_r_o_u_n_d can be one of the following: + 11. Alternative addresses - +o white + 12. Format = Flowed - +o black + 12.1. Introduction - +o green + 12.2. Receiving: Display Setup - +o magenta + 12.3. Sending - +o blue + 12.4. Additional Notes - +o cyan + 13. Mailing lists - +o yellow + 14. Using Multiple spool mailboxes - +o red + 15. Defining mailboxes which receive mail - +o default + 16. User defined headers - +o color_x + 17. Defining the order of headers when viewing messages - _f_o_r_e_g_r_o_u_n_d can optionally be prefixed with the keyword bright to make the + 18. Specify default save filename - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 32 + 19. Specify default Fcc: mailbox when composing - foreground color boldfaced (e.g., brightred). + 20. Specify default save filename and default Fcc: mailbox at once - If your terminal supports it, the special keyword _d_e_f_a_u_l_t can be used as a - transparent color. The value _b_r_i_g_h_t_d_e_f_a_u_l_t is also valid. If Mutt-ng is - linked against the _S_-_L_a_n_g library, you also need to set the _C_O_L_O_R_F_G_B_G environ- - ment variable to the default colors of your terminal for this to work; for - example (for Bourne-like shells): + 21. Change settings based upon message recipients - set COLORFGBG="green;black" - export COLORFGBG + 22. Change settings before formatting a message - NNoottee:: The _S_-_L_a_n_g library requires you to use the _l_i_g_h_t_g_r_a_y and _b_r_o_w_n keywords - instead of _w_h_i_t_e and _y_e_l_l_o_w when setting this variable. + 23. Choosing the cryptographic key of the recipient - NNoottee:: The uncolor command can be applied to the index object only. It removes - entries from the list. You mmuusstt specify the same pattern specified in the color - command for it to be removed. The pattern ``*'' is a special token which means - to clear the color index list of all entries. + 24. Adding key sequences to the keyboard buffer - Mutt-ng also recognizes the keywords _c_o_l_o_r_0, _c_o_l_o_r_1, ..., _c_o_l_o_rNN--11 (NN being the - number of colors supported by your terminal). This is useful when you remap - the colors for your display (for example by changing the color associated with - _c_o_l_o_r_2 for your xterm), since color names may then lose their normal meaning. + 25. Executing functions - If your terminal does not support color, it is still possible change the video - attributes through the use of the ``mono'' command: + 26. Message Scoring - Usage: mono _<_o_b_j_e_c_t_> _<_a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e_> [ _r_e_g_e_x_p ] + 27. Spam detection - Usage: mono index _a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e _p_a_t_t_e_r_n + 28. Setting variables - Usage: unmono index _p_a_t_t_e_r_n [ _p_a_t_t_e_r_n ... ] + 29. Reading initialization commands from another file - where _a_t_t_r_i_b_u_t_e is one of the following: + 30. Removing hooks - +o none + 31. Sharing Setups - +o bold + 31.1. Character Sets - +o underline + 31.2. Modularization - +o reverse + 31.3. Conditional parts - +o standout + 32. Obsolete Variables - _3_._1_0 _I_g_n_o_r_i_n_g _(_w_e_e_d_i_n_g_) _u_n_w_a_n_t_e_d _m_e_s_s_a_g_e _h_e_a_d_e_r_s +1. Locations of Configuration Files - Usage: [un]ignore _p_a_t_t_e_r_n [ _p_a_t_t_e_r_n ... ] + While the default configuration (or ``preferences'') make Mutt-ng usable + right out of the box, it is often desirable to tailor Mutt-ng to suit your + own tastes. When Mutt-ng is first invoked, it will attempt to read the + ``system'' configuration file (defaults set by your local system + administrator), unless the ``-n'' commandline option is specified. This + file is typically /usr/local/share/muttng/Muttngrc or /etc/Muttngrc , + Mutt-ng users will find this file in /usr/local/share/muttng/Muttrc or + /etc/Muttngrc. Mutt will next look for a file named .muttrc in your home + directory, Mutt-ng will look for .muttngrc. If this file does not exist + and your home directory has a subdirectory named .mutt , mutt try to load + a file named .muttng/muttngrc. - Messages often have many header fields added by automatic processing systems, + .muttrc (or .muttngrc for Mutt-ng) is the file where you will usually + place your commands to configure Mutt-ng. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 33 +2. Basic Syntax of Initialization Files - or which may not seem useful to display on the screen. This command allows you - to specify header fields which you don't normally want to see. + An initialization file consists of a series of commands .Each line of the + file may contain one or more commands. When multiple commands are used, + they must be separated by a semicolon (;). - You do not need to specify the full header field name. For example, ``ignore - content-'' will ignore all header fields that begin with the pattern ``con- - tent-''. ``ignore *'' will ignore all headers. + set realname='Mutt-ng user' ; ignore x- - To remove a previously added token from the list, use the ``unignore'' command. - The ``unignore'' command will make Mutt-ng display headers with the given pat- - tern. For example, if you do ``ignore x-'' it is possible to ``unignore x- - mailer''. + The hash mark, or pound sign (``#''), is used as a ``comment'' character. + You can use it to annotate your initialization file. All text after the + comment character to the end of the line is ignored. For example, - ``unignore *'' will remove all tokens from the ignore list. + my_hdr X-Disclaimer: Why are you listening to me? # This is a comment - For example: + Single quotes (') and double quotes (") can be used to quote strings which + contain spaces or other special characters. The difference between the two + types of quotes is similar to that of many popular shell programs, namely + that a single quote is used to specify a literal string (one that is not + interpreted for shell variables or quoting with a backslash [see next + paragraph]), while double quotes indicate a string for which should be + evaluated. For example, backtics are evaluated inside of double quotes, + but not for single quotes. - # Sven's draconian header weeding - ignore * - unignore from date subject to cc - unignore organization organisation x-mailer: x-newsreader: x-mailing-list: - unignore posted-to: + \ quotes the next character, just as in shells such as bash and zsh. For + example, if want to put quotes ``"'' inside of a string, you can use ``\'' + to force the next character to be a literal instead of interpreted + character. - _3_._1_1 _A_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_i_v_e _a_d_d_r_e_s_s_e_s + set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins" - Usage: [un]alternates _r_e_g_e_x_p [ _r_e_g_e_x_p ... ] + ``\\'' means to insert a literal ``\'' into the line. ``\n'' and ``\r'' + have their usual C meanings of linefeed and carriage-return, respectively. - With various functions, mutt will treat messages differently, depending on - whether you sent them or whether you received them from someone else. For - instance, when replying to a message that you sent to a different party, mutt - will automatically suggest to send the response to the original message's - recipients -- responding to yourself won't make much sense in many cases. (See - _$_r_e_p_l_y___t_o (section 7.4.246 , page 148).) + A \ at the end of a line can be used to split commands over multiple + lines, provided that the split points don't appear in the middle of + command names. - Many users receive e-mail under a number of different addresses. To fully use - mutt's features here, the program must be able to recognize what e-mail - addresses you receive mail under. That's the purpose of the alternates command: - It takes a list of regular expressions, each of which can identify an address - under which you receive e-mail. + Please note that, unlike the various shells, mutt-ng interprets a ``\'' at + the end of a line also in comments. This allows you to disable a command + split over multiple lines with only one ``#''. - The unalternates command can be used to write exceptions to alternates pat- - terns. If an address matches something in an alternates command, but you none- - theless do not think it is from you, you can list a more precise pattern under - an unalternates command. + # folder-hook . \ + set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins" - To remove a regular expression from the alternates list, use the unalternates - command with exactly the same _r_e_g_e_x_p. Likewise, if the _r_e_g_e_x_p for a alternates - command matches an entry on the unalternates list, that unalternates entry will - be removed. If the _r_e_g_e_x_p for unalternates is ``*'', _a_l_l _e_n_t_r_i_e_s on alternates - will be removed. + When testing your config files, beware the following caveat. The backslash + at the end of the commented line extends the current line with the next + line - then referred to as a ``continuation line''. As the first line is + commented with a hash (#) all following continuation lines are also part + of a comment and therefore are ignored, too. So take care of comments when + continuation lines are involved within your setup files! - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 34 + Abstract example: - _3_._1_2 _F_o_r_m_a_t _= _F_l_o_w_e_d + line1\ + line2a # line2b\ + line3\ + line4 + line5 - _3_._1_2_._1 _I_n_t_r_o_d_u_c_t_i_o_n + line1 ``continues'' until line4. however, the part after the # is a + comment which includes line3 and line4. line5 is a new line of its own and + thus is interpreted again. - Mutt-ng contains support for so-called format=flowed messages. In the begin- - ning of email, each message had a fixed line width, and it was enough for dis- - playing them on fixed-size terminals. But times changed, and nowadays hardly - anybody still uses fixed-size terminals: more people nowaydays use graphical - user interfaces, with dynamically resizable windows. This led to the demand of - a new email format that makes it possible for the email client to make the - email look nice in a resizable window without breaking quoting levels and cre- - ating an incompatible email format that can also be displayed nicely on old - fixed-size terminals. + The commands understood by mutt are explained in the next paragraphs. For + a complete list, see the commands. - For introductory information on format=flowed messages, see - . +3. Expansion within variables - _3_._1_2_._2 _R_e_c_e_i_v_i_n_g_: _D_i_s_p_l_a_y _S_e_t_u_p + Besides just assign static content to variables, there's plenty of ways of + adding external and more or less dynamic content. - When you receive emails that are marked as format=flowed messages, and is for- - matted correctly, mutt-ng will try to reformat the message to optimally fit on - your terminal. If you want a fixed margin on the right side of your terminal, - you can set the following: + 3.1. Commands' Output - set wrapmargin = 10 + It is possible to substitute the output of a Unix command in an + initialization file. This is accomplished by enclosing the command in + backquotes (``) as in, for example: - The code above makes the line break 10 columns before the right side of the - terminal. + my_hdr X-Operating-System: `uname -a` - If your terminal is so wide that the lines are embarrassingly long, you can - also set a maximum line length: + The output of the Unix command ``uname -a'' will be substituted before the + line is parsed. Note that since initialization files are line oriented, + only the first line of output from the Unix command will be substituted. - set max_line_length = 120 + 3.2. Environment Variables - The example above will give you lines not longer than 120 characters. + UNIX environments can be accessed like the way it is done in shells like + sh and bash: Prepend the name of the environment by a ``$'' sign. For + example, - When you view at format=flowed messages, you will often see the quoting hierar- - chy like in the following example: + set record=+sent_on_$HOSTNAME - >Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. - >Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new - >production server that we want to set up before our customer's - >project will go live. + sets the record variable to the string +sent_on_ and appends the value of + the evironment variable $HOSTNAME. - This obviously doesn't look very nice, and it makes it very hard to + Note: There will be no warning if an environment variable is not defined. + The result will of the expansion will then be empty. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 35 + 3.3. Configuration Variables - differentiate between text and quoting character. The solution is to configure - mutt-ng to "stuff" the quoting: + As for environment variables, the values of all configuration variables as + string can be used in the same way, too. For example, - set stuff_quoted + set imap_home_namespace = $folder - This will lead to a nicer result that is easier to read: + would set the value of imap-home-namespace to the value to which folder is + currently set to. - > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. - > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new - > production server that we want to set up before our customer's - > project will go live. + Note: There're no logical links established in such cases so that the the + value for imap-home-namespace won't change even if folder gets changed. - _3_._1_2_._3 _S_e_n_d_i_n_g + Note: There will be no warning if a configuration variable is not defined + or is empty. The result will of the expansion will then be empty. - If you want mutt-ng to send emails with format=flowed set, you need to explic- - itly set it: + 3.4. Self-Defined Variables - set text_flowed + Mutt-ng flexibly allows users to define their own variables. To avoid + conflicts with the standard set and to prevent misleading error messages, + there's a reserved namespace for them: all user-defined variables must be + prefixed with user_ and can be used just like any ordinary configuration + or environment variable. - Additionally, you have to use an editor which supports writing format=flowed- - conforming emails. For vim, this is done by adding w to the formatoptions (see - :h formatoptions and :h fo-table) when writing emails. + For example, to view the manual, users can either define two macros like + the following - Also note that _f_o_r_m_a_t_=_f_l_o_w_e_d knows about ``space-stuffing'', that is, when - sending messages, some kinds of lines have to be indented with a single space - on the sending side. On the receiving side, the first space (if any) is - removed. As a consequence and in addition to the above simple setting, please - keep this in mind when making manual formattings within the editor. Also note - that mutt-ng currently violates the standard (RfC 3676) as it does not space- - stuff lines starting with: + macro generic "!less -r /path/to/manual" "Show manual" + macro pager "!less -r /path/to/manual" "Show manual" - +o > This is _n_o_t the quote character but a right angle used for other reasons + for generic, pager and index .The alternative is to define a custom + variable like so: - +o From with a trailing space. + set user_manualcmd = "!less -r /path/to_manual" + macro generic "$user_manualcmd" "Show manual" + macro pager "$user_manualcmd" "Show manual" + macro index "$user_manualcmd" "Show manual" - +o just a space for formatting reasons + to re-use the command sequence as in: - Please make sure that you manually prepend a space to each of them. + macro index "$user_manualcmd | grep '\^[ ]\\+~. '" "Show Patterns" - _3_._1_2_._4 _A_d_d_i_t_i_o_n_a_l _N_o_t_e_s + Using this feature, arbitrary sequences can be defined once and recalled + and reused where necessary. More advanced scenarios could include to save + a variable's value at the beginning of macro sequence and restore it at + end. - " + When the variable is first defined, the first value it gets assigned is + also the initial value to which it can be reset using the reset command. - For completeness, the _$_d_e_l_e_t_e___s_p_a_c_e (section 7.4.51 , page 100) variable pro- - vides the mechanism to generate a DelSp=yes parameter on _o_u_t_g_o_i_n_g messages. + The complete removal is done via the unset keyword. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 36 + After the following sequence: - According to the standard, clients receiving a format=flowed messages should - delete the last space of a flowed line but still interpret the line as flowed. - Because flowed lines usually contain only one space at the end, this parameter - would make the receiving client concatenate the last word of the previous with - the first of the current line _w_i_t_h_o_u_t a space. This makes ordinary text unread- - able and is intended for languages rarely using spaces. So please use this set- - ting only if you're sure what you're doing. + set user_foo = 42 + set user_foo = 666 - _3_._1_3 _M_a_i_l_i_n_g _l_i_s_t_s + the variable $user_foo has a current value of 666 and an initial of 42. + The query - Usage: [un]lists _r_e_g_e_x_p [ _r_e_g_e_x_p ... ] + set ?user_foo - Usage: [un]subscribe _r_e_g_e_x_p [ _r_e_g_e_x_p ... ] + will show 666. After doing the reset via - Mutt-ng has a few nice features for _h_a_n_d_l_i_n_g _m_a_i_l_i_n_g _l_i_s_t_s (section 4.10 , - page 60). In order to take advantage of them, you must specify which addresses - belong to mailing lists, and which mailing lists you are subscribed to. Once - you have done this, the _l_i_s_t_-_r_e_p_l_y (section 2.5.4 , page 12) function will - work for all known lists. Additionally, when you send a message to a sub- - scribed list, mutt will add a Mail-Followup-To header to tell other users' mail - user agents not to send copies of replies to your personal address. Note that - the Mail-Followup-To header is a non-standard extension which is not supported - by all mail user agents. Adding it is not bullet-proof against receiving per- - sonal CCs of list messages. Also note that the generation of the Mail-Fol- - lowup-To header is controlled by the _$_f_o_l_l_o_w_u_p___t_o (section 7.4.72 , page 105) - configuration variable. + reset user_foo - More precisely, Mutt-ng maintains lists of patterns for the addresses of known - and subscribed mailing lists. Every subscribed mailing list is known. To mark - a mailing list as known, use the ``lists'' command. To mark it as subscribed, - use ``subscribe''. + a following query will give 42 as the result. After unsetting it via - You can use regular expressions with both commands. To mark all messages sent - to a specific bug report's address on mutt's bug tracking system as list mail, - for instance, you could say ``subscribe [0-9]*@bugs.guug.de''. Often, it's - sufficient to just give a portion of the list's e-mail address. + unset user_foo - Specify as much of the address as you need to to remove ambiguity. For exam- - ple, if you've subscribed to the Mutt-ng mailing list, you will receive mail - addressed to _m_u_t_t_-_u_s_e_r_s_@_m_u_t_t_._o_r_g. So, to tell Mutt-ng that this is a mailing - list, you could add ``lists mutt-users'' to your initialization file. To tell - mutt that you are subscribed to it, add ``subscribe mutt-users'' to your ini- - tialization file instead. If you also happen to get mail from someone whose - address is _m_u_t_t_-_u_s_e_r_s_@_e_x_a_m_p_l_e_._c_o_m, you could use ``lists mutt- - users@mutt\\.org'' or ``subscribe mutt-users@mutt\\.org'' to match only mail - from the actual list. + any query or operation (except the noted expansion within other + statements) will lead to an error message. - The ``unlists'' command is used to remove a token from the list of known and - subscribed mailing-lists. Use ``unlists *'' to remove all tokens. + 3.5. Pre-Defined Variables - To remove a mailing list from the list of subscribed mailing lists, but keep it - on the list of known mailing lists, use ``unsubscribe''. + In order to allow users to share one setup over a number of different + machines without having to change its contents, there's a number of + pre-defined variables. These are prefixed with muttng_ and are read-only, + i.e. they cannot be set, unset or reset. The reference chapter lists all + available variables. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 37 + Please consult the local copy of your manual for their values as they may + differ from different manual sources. Where the manual is installed in can + be queried (already using such a variable) by running: - _3_._1_4 _U_s_i_n_g _M_u_l_t_i_p_l_e _s_p_o_o_l _m_a_i_l_b_o_x_e_s + muttng -Q muttng_docdir - Usage: mbox-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _m_a_i_l_b_o_x + To extend the example for viewing the manual via self-defined variables, + it can be made more readable and more portable by changing the real path + in: - This command is used to move read messages from a specified mailbox to a dif- - ferent mailbox automatically when you quit or change folders. _p_a_t_t_e_r_n is a - regular expression specifying the mailbox to treat as a ``spool'' mailbox and - _m_a_i_l_b_o_x specifies where mail should be saved when read. + set user_manualcmd = '!less -r /path/to_manual' - Unlike some of the other _h_o_o_k commands, only the _f_i_r_s_t matching pattern is used - (it is not possible to save read mail in more than a single mailbox). + to: - _3_._1_5 _D_e_f_i_n_i_n_g _m_a_i_l_b_o_x_e_s _w_h_i_c_h _r_e_c_e_i_v_e _m_a_i_l + set user_manualcmd = "!less -r $muttng_docdir/manual.txt" - Usage: [un]mailboxes [!]_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e [ _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e ... ] + which works everywhere if a manual is installed. - This command specifies folders which can receive mail and which will be checked - for new messages. By default, the main menu status bar displays how many of - these folders have new messages. + Please note that by the type of quoting, muttng determines when to expand + these values: when it finds double quotes, the value will be expanded + during reading the setup files but when it finds single quotes, it'll + expand it at runtime as needed. - When changing folders, pressing _s_p_a_c_e will cycle through folders with new mail. + For example, the statement - Pressing TAB in the directory browser will bring up a menu showing the files - specified by the mailboxes command, and indicate which contain new messages. - Mutt-ng will automatically enter this mode when invoked from the command line - with the -y option. + folder-hook . "set user_current_folder = $muttng_folder_name" - The ``unmailboxes'' command is used to remove a token from the list of folders - which receive mail. Use ``unmailboxes *'' to remove all tokens. + will be already be translated to the following when reading the startup + files: - NNoottee:: new mail is detected by comparing the last modification time to the last - access time. Utilities like biff or frm or any other program which accesses - the mailbox might cause Mutt-ng to never detect new mail for that mailbox if - they do not properly reset the access time. Backup tools are another common - reason for updated access times. + folder-hook . "set user_current_folder = some_folder" - NNoottee:: the filenames in the mailboxes command are resolved when the command is - executed, so if these names contain _s_h_o_r_t_c_u_t _c_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r_s (section 4.9 , page - 60) (such as ``='' and ``!''), any variable definition that affect these char- - acters (like _$_f_o_l_d_e_r (section 7.4.70 , page 104) and _$_s_p_o_o_l_f_i_l_e (section - 7.4.310 , page 163)) should be executed before the mailboxes command. + with some_folder being the name of the first folder muttng opens. On the + contrary, - _3_._1_6 _U_s_e_r _d_e_f_i_n_e_d _h_e_a_d_e_r_s + folder-hook . 'set user_current_folder = $muttng_folder_name' - Usage: + will be executed at runtime because of the single quotes so that + user_current_folder will always have the value of the currently opened + folder. - my_hdr _s_t_r_i_n_g + A more practical example is: - unmy_hdr _f_i_e_l_d [ _f_i_e_l_d ... ] + folder-hook . 'source ~/.mutt/score-$muttng_folder_name' - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 38 + which can be used to source files containing score commands depending on + the folder the user enters. - The ``my_hdr'' command allows you to create your own header fields which will - be added to every message you send. + 3.6. Type Conversions - For example, if you would like to add an ``Organization:'' header field to all - of your outgoing messages, you can put the command + A note about variable's types during conversion: internally values are + stored in internal types but for any dump/query or set operation they're + converted to and from string. That means that there's no need to worry + about types when referencing any variable. As an example, the following + can be used without harm (besides makeing muttng very likely behave + strange): - my_hdr Organization: A Really Big Company, Anytown, USA + set read_inc = 100 + set folder = $read_inc + set read_inc = $folder + set user_magic_number = 42 + set folder = $user_magic_number - in your .muttrc. +4. Defining/Using aliases - NNoottee:: space characters are _n_o_t allowed between the keyword and the colon - (``:''). The standard for electronic mail (RFC822) says that space is illegal - there, so Mutt-ng enforces the rule. + Usage: alias key address [ , address, ... ] - If you would like to add a header field to a single message, you should either - set the _e_d_i_t___h_e_a_d_e_r_s (section 7.4.59 , page 102) variable, or use the _e_d_i_t_- - _h_e_a_d_e_r_s function (default: ``E'') in the send-menu so that you can edit the - header of your message along with the body. + It's usually very cumbersome to remember or type out the address of + someone you are communicating with. Mutt-ng allows you to create + ``aliases'' which map a short string to a full address. - To remove user defined header fields, use the ``unmy_hdr'' command. You may - specify an asterisk (``*'') to remove all header fields, or the fields to - remove. For example, to remove all ``To'' and ``Cc'' header fields, you could - use: + Note: if you want to create an alias for a group (by specifying more than + one address), you must separate the addresses with a comma (``,''). - unmy_hdr to cc + To remove an alias or aliases (``*'' means all aliases): - _3_._1_7 _D_e_f_i_n_i_n_g _t_h_e _o_r_d_e_r _o_f _h_e_a_d_e_r_s _w_h_e_n _v_i_e_w_i_n_g _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s + unalias [ * | key ... ] - Usage: hdr_order _h_e_a_d_e_r_1 _h_e_a_d_e_r_2 _h_e_a_d_e_r_3 + alias muttdude me@cs.hmc.edu (Michael Elkins) + alias theguys manny, moe, jack - With this command, you can specify an order in which mutt will attempt to - present headers to you when viewing messages. + Unlike other mailers, Mutt-ng doesn't require aliases to be defined in a + special file. The alias command can appear anywhere in a configuration + file, as long as this file is source .Consequently, you can have multiple + alias files, or you can have all aliases defined in your muttrc. - ``unhdr_order *'' will clear all previous headers from the order list, thus - removing the header order effects set by the system-wide startup file. + On the other hand, the create-alias function can use only one file, the + one pointed to by the alias-file variable (which is ˜/.muttrc by + default). This file is not special either, in the sense that Mutt-ng will + happily append aliases to any file, but in order for the new aliases to + take effect you need to explicitly source this file too. - hdr_order From Date: From: To: Cc: Subject: + For example: - _3_._1_8 _S_p_e_c_i_f_y _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _s_a_v_e _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e + source /usr/local/share/Mutt-ng.aliases + source ~/.mail_aliases + set alias_file=~/.mail_aliases - Usage: save-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e + To use aliases, you merely use the alias at any place in mutt where + muttprompts for addresses, such as the To: or Cc: prompt. You can also + enter aliases in your editor at the appropriate headers if you have the + edit-headers variable set. - This command is used to override the default filename used when saving mes- - sages. _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e will be used as the default filename if the message is _F_r_o_m_: + In addition, at the various address prompts, you can use the tab character + to expand a partial alias to the full alias. If there are multiple + matches, mutt will bring up a menu with the matching aliases. In order to + be presented with the full list of aliases, you must hit tab with out a + partial alias, such as at the beginning of the prompt or after a comma + denoting multiple addresses. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 39 + In the alias menu, you can select as many aliases as you want with the + select-entry key (default: RET), and use the exit key (default: q) to + return to the address prompt. - an address matching _r_e_g_e_x_p or if you are the author and the message is - addressed _t_o_: something matching _r_e_g_e_x_p. +5. Changing the default key bindings - See _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _M_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _i_n _H_o_o_k_s (section 4.5.1 , page 57) for information on the - exact format of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. + Usage: bind map key function - Examples: + This command allows you to change the default key bindings (operation + invoked when pressing a key). - save-hook me@(turing\\.)?cs\\.hmc\\.edu$ +elkins - save-hook aol\\.com$ +spam + map specifies in which menu the binding belongs. Multiple maps may be + specified by separating them with commas (no additional whitespace + isallowed). The currently defined maps are: - Also see the _f_c_c_-_s_a_v_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.20 , page 39) command. + generic - _3_._1_9 _S_p_e_c_i_f_y _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _F_c_c_: _m_a_i_l_b_o_x _w_h_e_n _c_o_m_p_o_s_i_n_g + This is not a real menu, but is used as a fallback for all of the + other menus except for the pager and editor modes. If a key is not + defined in another menu, Mutt-ng will look for a binding to use in + this menu. This allows you to bind a key to a certain function in + multiple menus instead of having multiple bind statements to + accomplish the same task. - Usage: fcc-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _m_a_i_l_b_o_x + alias + + The alias menu is the list of your personal aliases as defined in + your muttrc. It is the mapping from a short alias name to the full + email address(es) of the recipient(s). + + attach + + The attachment menu is used to access the attachments on received + messages. + + browser + + The browser is used for both browsing the local directory + structure, and for listing all of your incoming mailboxes. + + editor + + The editor is the line-based editor the user enters text data. + + index + + The index is the list of messages contained in a mailbox. + + compose + + The compose menu is the screen used when sending a new message. - This command is used to save outgoing mail in a mailbox other than _$_r_e_c_o_r_d - (section 7.4.243 , page 147). Mutt-ng searches the initial list of message - recipients for the first matching _r_e_g_e_x_p and uses _m_a_i_l_b_o_x as the default Fcc: - mailbox. If no match is found the message will be saved to _$_r_e_c_o_r_d (section - 7.4.243 , page 147) mailbox. + pager - See _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _M_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _i_n _H_o_o_k_s (section 4.5.1 , page 57) for information on the - exact format of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. + The pager is the mode used to display message/attachment data, and + help listings. + + pgp + + The pgp menu is used to select the OpenPGP keys used for + encrypting outgoing messages. + + postpone + + The postpone menu is similar to the index menu, except is used + when recalling a message the user was composing, but saved until + later. + + key is the key (or key sequence) you wish to bind. To specify a control + character, use the sequence \Cx, where x is the letter of the control + character (for example, to specify control-A use ``\Ca''). Note that the + case of x as well as \C is ignored, so that \CA, \Ca, \cA and \ca are all + equivalent. An alternative form is to specify the key as a three digit + octal number prefixed with a ``\'' (for example \177 is equivalent to + \c?). + + In addition, key may consist of: + + Table 3.1. Alternative Key Names - Example: fcc-hook [@.]aol\\.com$ +spammers + +-----------------------------------+ + | Sequence | Description | + |-------------+---------------------| + | \t | tab | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | tab | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | backtab / shift-tab | + |-------------+---------------------| + | \r | carriage return | + |-------------+---------------------| + | \n | newline | + |-------------+---------------------| + | \e | escape | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | escape | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | up arrow | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | down arrow | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | left arrow | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | right arrow | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Page Up | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Page Down | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Backspace | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Delete | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Insert | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Enter | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Return | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Home | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | End | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | Space bar | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | function key 1 | + |-------------+---------------------| + | | function key 10 | + +-----------------------------------+ - The above will save a copy of all messages going to the aol.com domain to the - `+spammers' mailbox by default. Also see the _f_c_c_-_s_a_v_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.20 , - page 39) command. + key does not need to be enclosed in quotes unless it contains a space (`` + ''). - _3_._2_0 _S_p_e_c_i_f_y _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _s_a_v_e _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e _a_n_d _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _F_c_c_: _m_a_i_l_b_o_x _a_t _o_n_c_e + function specifies which action to take when key is pressed. For a + complete list of functions, see the functions .The special function noop + unbinds the specified key sequence. - Usage: fcc-save-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _m_a_i_l_b_o_x +6. Defining aliases for character sets - This command is a shortcut, equivalent to doing both a _f_c_c_-_h_o_o_k (section - 3.19 , page 39) and a _s_a_v_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.18 , page 38) with its arguments. + Usage: charset-hook alias charset Usage: iconv-hook charset local-charset - _3_._2_1 _C_h_a_n_g_e _s_e_t_t_i_n_g_s _b_a_s_e_d _u_p_o_n _m_e_s_s_a_g_e _r_e_c_i_p_i_e_n_t_s + The charset-hook command defines an alias for a character set. This is + useful to properly display messages which are tagged with a character set + name not known to mutt. - Usage: reply-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _c_o_m_m_a_n_d + The iconv-hook command defines a system-specific name for a character set. + This is helpful when your systems character conversion library insists on + using strange, system-specific names for character sets. - Usage: send-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _c_o_m_m_a_n_d +7. Setting variables based upon mailbox - Usage: send2-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _c_o_m_m_a_n_d + Usage: folder-hook [!]regexp command - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 40 + It is often desirable to change settings based on which mailbox you are + reading. The folder-hook command provides a method by which you can + execute any configuration command. regexp is a regular expression + specifying in which mailboxes to execute command before loading. If a + mailbox matches multiple folder-hook's, they are executed in the order + given in the muttrc. - These commands can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands based - upon recipients of the message. _p_a_t_t_e_r_n is a regular expression matching the - desired address. _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is executed when _r_e_g_e_x_p matches recipients of the - message. + Note: if you use the ``!'' shortcut for spoolfile at the beginning of the + pattern, you must place it inside of double or single quotes in order to + distinguish it from the logical not operator for the expression. - reply-hook is matched against the message you are _r_e_p_l_y_i_n_g ttoo, instead of the - message you are _s_e_n_d_i_n_g. send-hook is matched against all messages, both _n_e_w - and _r_e_p_l_i_e_s. NNoottee:: reply-hooks are matched bbeeffoorree the send-hook, rreeggaarrddlleessss of - the order specified in the users's configuration file. + Note that the settings are not restored when you leave the mailbox. For + example, a command action to perform is to change the sorting methodbased + upon the mailbox being read: - send2-hook is matched every time a message is changed, either by editing it, or - by using the compose menu to change its recipients or subject. send2-hook is - executed after send-hook, and can, e.g., be used to set parameters such as the - _$_s_e_n_d_m_a_i_l (section 7.4.260 , page 151) variable depending on the message's - sender address. + folder-hook mutt set sort=threads - For each type of send-hook or reply-hook, when multiple matches occur, commands - are executed in the order they are specified in the muttrc (for that type of - hook). + However, the sorting method is not restored to its previous value when + reading a different mailbox. To specify a default command, use the pattern + ``.'': - See _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _M_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _i_n _H_o_o_k_s (section 4.5.1 , page 57) for information on the - exact format of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. + folder-hook . set sort=date-sent - Example: send-hook mutt 'set mime_forward signature=''' +8. Keyboard macros - Another typical use for this command is to change the values of the _$_a_t_t_r_i_b_u_- - _t_i_o_n (section 7.4.18 , page 93), _$_s_i_g_n_a_t_u_r_e (section 7.4.272 , page 154) and - _$_l_o_c_a_l_e (section 7.4.120 , page 119) variables in order to change the language - of the attributions and signatures based upon the recipients. + Usage: macro menu key sequence [ description ] - NNoottee:: the send-hook's are only executed ONCE after getting the initial list of - recipients. Adding a recipient after replying or editing the message will NOT - cause any send-hook to be executed. Also note that my_hdr commands which mod- - ify recipient headers, or the message's subject, don't have any effect on the - current message when executed from a send-hook. + Macros are useful when you would like a single key to perform a series of + actions. When you press key in menu menu ,Mutt-ng will behave as if you + had typed sequence. So if you have a common sequence of commands you type, + you can create a macro to execute those commands with a singlekey. - _3_._2_2 _C_h_a_n_g_e _s_e_t_t_i_n_g_s _b_e_f_o_r_e _f_o_r_m_a_t_t_i_n_g _a _m_e_s_s_a_g_e + menu is the maps which the macro will be bound. Multiple maps may be + specified by separating multiple menu arguments by commas. Whitespace may + not be used in between the menu arguments and thecommas separating them. - Usage: message-hook [!]_p_a_t_t_e_r_n _c_o_m_m_a_n_d + key and sequence are expanded by the same rules as the bind. There are + some additions however. The first is that control characters in sequence + can also be specified as ^x. In order to get a caret (`^'') you need to + use ^^. Secondly, to specify a certain key such as up or to invoke a + function directly, you can use the format and + .For a listing of key names see the section on bind. Functions are listed + in the functions. - This command can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands before - viewing or formatting a message based upon information about the message. _c_o_m_- - _m_a_n_d is executed if the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n matches the message to be displayed. When mul- - tiple matches occur, commands are executed in the order they are specified in - the muttrc. + The advantage with using function names directly is that the macros + willwork regardless of the current key bindings, so they are not dependent + on the user having particular key definitions. This makes them more + robustand portable, and also facilitates defining of macros in files used + by more than one user (eg. the system Muttngrc). - See _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _M_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _i_n _H_o_o_k_s (section 4.5.1 , page 57) for information on the - exact format of _p_a_t_t_e_r_n. + Optionally you can specify a descriptive text after sequence, which is + shown in the help screens. - Example: + Note: Macro definitions (if any) listed in the help screen(s), are + silently truncated at the screen width, and are not wrapped. - message-hook ~A 'set pager=builtin' +9. Using color and mono video attributes - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 41 + Usage: color object foreground background [ regexp ] Usage: color index + foreground background pattern Usage: uncolor index pattern [ pattern ... ] - message-hook '~f freshmeat-news' 'set pager="less \"+/^ subject: .*\""' + If your terminal supports color, you can spice up Mutt-ng by creating your + own color scheme. To define the color of an object (type of information), + you must specify both a foreground color and a background color (it is not + possible to only specify one or the other). - _3_._2_3 _C_h_o_o_s_i_n_g _t_h_e _c_r_y_p_t_o_g_r_a_p_h_i_c _k_e_y _o_f _t_h_e _r_e_c_i_p_i_e_n_t + object can be one of: - Usage: crypt-hook _p_a_t_t_e_r_n _k_e_y_i_d + o attachment - When encrypting messages with PGP or OpenSSL, you may want to associate a cer- - tain key with a given e-mail address automatically, either because the recipi- - ent's public key can't be deduced from the destination address, or because, for - some reasons, you need to override the key Mutt-ng would normally use. The - crypt-hook command provides a method by which you can specify the ID of the - public key to be used when encrypting messages to a certain recipient. + o body (match regexp in the body of messages) - The meaning of "key id" is to be taken broadly in this context: You can either - put a numerical key ID here, an e-mail address, or even just a real name. + o bold (highlighting bold patterns in the body of messages) - _3_._2_4 _A_d_d_i_n_g _k_e_y _s_e_q_u_e_n_c_e_s _t_o _t_h_e _k_e_y_b_o_a_r_d _b_u_f_f_e_r + o error (error messages printed by Mutt-ng) - Usage: push _s_t_r_i_n_g + o header (match regexp in the message header) - This command adds the named string to the keyboard buffer. The string may con- - tain control characters, key names and function names like the sequence string - in the _m_a_c_r_o (section 3.8 , page 29) command. You may use it to automatically - run a sequence of commands at startup, or when entering certain folders. + o hdrdefault (default color of the message header in the pager) - _3_._2_5 _E_x_e_c_u_t_i_n_g _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_s + o index (match pattern in the message index) - Usage: exec _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n [ _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n ... ] + o indicator (arrow or bar used to indicate the current item in a menu) - This command can be used to execute any function. Functions are listed in the - _f_u_n_c_t_i_o_n _r_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e (section 7.5 , page 175). ``exec function'' is equivalent - to ``push ''. + o markers (the ``+'' markers at the beginning of wrapped lines in the + pager) - _3_._2_6 _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _S_c_o_r_i_n_g + o message (informational messages) - Usage: score _p_a_t_t_e_r_n _v_a_l_u_e + o normal - Usage: unscore _p_a_t_t_e_r_n [ _p_a_t_t_e_r_n ... ] + o quoted (text matching quote-regexp in the body of a message) - In situations where you have to cope with a lot of emails, e.g. when you read - many different mailing lists, and take part in discussions, it is always useful - to have the important messages marked and the annoying messages or the ones - that you aren't interested in deleted. For this purpose, mutt-ng features a - mechanism called ``scoring''. + o quoted1, quoted2, ..., quotedN (higher levels of quoting) - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 42 + o search (highlighting of words in the pager) - When you use scoring, every message has a base score of 0. You can then use the - score command to define patterns and a positive or negative value associated - with it. When a pattern matches a message, the message's score will be raised - or lowered by the amount of the value associated with the pattern. + o signature - score "~f nion@muttng\.org" 50 - score "~f @sco\.com" -100 + o status (mode lines used to display info about the mailbox or message) - If the pattern matches, it is also possible to set the score value of the cur- - rent message to a certain value and then stop evaluation: + o tilde (the ``˜'' used to pad blank lines in the pager) - score "~f santaclaus@northpole\.int" =666 + o tree (thread tree drawn in the message index and attachment menu) - What is important to note is that negative score values will be rounded up to - 0. + o underline (highlighting underlined patterns in the body of messages) - To make scoring actually useful, the score must be applied in some way. That's - what the _s_c_o_r_e _t_h_r_e_s_h_o_l_d_s are for. Currently, there are three score thresholds: + foreground and background can be one of the following: - +o flag threshold: when a message has a score value equal or higher than the - flag threshold, it will be flagged. + o white - +o read threshold: when a message has a score value equal or lower than the - read threshold, it will be marked as read. + o black - +o delete threshold: when a message has a score value equal or lower than the - delete threshold, it will be marked as deleted. + o green - These three thresholds can be set via the variables _$_s_c_o_r_e___t_h_r_e_s_h_o_l_d___f_l_a_g (sec- - tion 7.4.257 , page 150), _$_s_c_o_r_e___t_h_r_e_s_h_o_l_d___r_e_a_d (section 7.4.258 , page 151), - _$_s_c_o_r_e___t_h_r_e_s_h_o_l_d___d_e_l_e_t_e (section 7.4.256 , page 150) and. By default, - _$_s_c_o_r_e___t_h_r_e_s_h_o_l_d___r_e_a_d (section 7.4.258 , page 151) and _$_s_c_o_r_e___t_h_r_e_s_h_o_l_d___d_e_l_e_t_e - (section 7.4.256 , page 150) are set to -1, which means that in the default - threshold configuration no message will ever get marked as read or deleted. + o magenta - Scoring gets especially interesting when combined with the color command and - the ~n pattern: + o blue - color index black yellow "~n 10-" - color index red yellow "~n 100-" + o cyan - The rules above mark all messages with a score between 10 and 99 with black and - yellow, and messages with a score greater or equal 100 with red and yellow. - This might be unusual to you if you're used to e.g. slrn's scoring mechanism, - but it is more flexible, as it visually marks different scores. + o yellow - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 43 + o red - _3_._2_7 _S_p_a_m _d_e_t_e_c_t_i_o_n + o default - Usage: spam _p_a_t_t_e_r_n _f_o_r_m_a_t + o colorx - Usage: nospam _p_a_t_t_e_r_n + foreground can optionally be prefixed with the keyword bright to make the + foreground color boldfaced (e.g., brightred). - Mutt-ng has generalized support for external spam-scoring filters. By defining - your spam patterns with the spam and nospam commands, you can _l_i_m_i_t, _s_e_a_r_c_h, - and _s_o_r_t your mail based on its spam attributes, as determined by the external - filter. You also can display the spam attributes in your index display using - the %H selector in the _$_i_n_d_e_x___f_o_r_m_a_t (section 7.4.116 , page 115) variable. - (Tip: try %?H?[%H] ? to display spam tags only when they are defined for a - given message.) + If your terminal supports it, the special keyword default can be used as a + transparent color. The value brightdefault is also valid. If Mutt-ng is + linked against the S-Lang library, you also need to set the COLORFGBG + environment variable to the default colors of your terminal for this to + work; for example (for Bourne-like shells): - Your first step is to define your external filter's spam patterns using the - spam command. _p_a_t_t_e_r_n should be a regular expression that matches a header in a - mail message. If any message in the mailbox matches this regular expression, it - will receive a ``spam tag'' or ``spam attribute'' (unless it also matches a - nospam pattern -- see below.) The appearance of this attribute is entirely up - to you, and is governed by the _f_o_r_m_a_t parameter. _f_o_r_m_a_t can be any static text, - but it also can include back-references from the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n expression. (A regular - expression ``back-reference'' refers to a sub-expression contained within - parentheses.) %1 is replaced with the first back-reference in the regex, %2 - with the second, etc. + set COLORFGBG="green;black" + export COLORFGBG - If you're using multiple spam filters, a message can have more than one spam- - related header. You can define spam patterns for each filter you use. If a mes- - sage matches two or more of these patterns, and the $spam_separator variable is - set to a string, then the message's spam tag will consist of all the _f_o_r_m_a_t - strings joined together, with the value of $spam_separator separating them. + Note: The S-Lang library requires you to use the lightgray and brown + keywords instead of white and yellow when setting this variable. - For example, suppose I use DCC, SpamAssassin, and PureMessage. I might define - these spam settings: + Note: The uncolor command can be applied to the index object only. It + removes entries from the list. You must specify the same pattern specified + in the color command for it to be removed. The pattern ``*'' is a special + token which means to clear the color index list of all entries. - spam "X-DCC-.*-Metrics:.*(....)=many" "90+/DCC-%1" - spam "X-Spam-Status: Yes" "90+/SA" - spam "X-PerlMX-Spam: .*Probability=([0-9]+)%" "%1/PM" - set spam_separator=", " + Mutt-ng also recognizes the keywords color0, color1 ,…, colorN-1 (N + being the number of colors supported by your terminal). This is useful + when you remap the colors for your display (for example by changing the + color associated with color2 for your xterm), since color names may then + lose their normal meaning. - If I then received a message that DCC registered with ``many'' hits under the - ``Fuz2'' checksum, and that PureMessage registered with a 97% probability of - being spam, that message's spam tag would read 90+/DCC-Fuz2, 97/PM. (The four - characters before ``=many'' in a DCC report indicate the checksum used -- in - this case, ``Fuz2''.) + If your terminal does not support color, it is still possible change the + video attributes through the use of the ``mono'' command: - If the $spam_separator variable is unset, then each spam pattern match super- - sedes the previous one. Instead of getting joined _f_o_r_m_a_t strings, you'll get - only the last one to match. + Usage: mono [ regexp ] Usage: mono index attribute + pattern Usage: unmono index pattern [ pattern ... ] - The spam tag is what will be displayed in the index when you use %H in the - $index_format variable. It's also the string that the ~H pattern-matching - expression matches against for _s_e_a_r_c_h and _l_i_m_i_t functions. And it's what sort- - ing by spam attribute will use as a sort key. + where attribute is one of the following: - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 44 + o none - That's a pretty complicated example, and most people's actual environments will - have only one spam filter. The simpler your configuration, the more effective - mutt can be, especially when it comes to sorting. + o bold - Generally, when you sort by spam tag, mutt will sort _l_e_x_i_c_a_l_l_y -- that is, by - ordering strings alphnumerically. However, if a spam tag begins with a number, - mutt will sort numerically first, and lexically only when two numbers are equal - in value. (This is like UNIX's sort -n.) A message with no spam attributes at - all -- that is, one that didn't match _a_n_y of your spam patterns -- is sorted at - lowest priority. Numbers are sorted next, beginning with 0 and ranging upward. - Finally, non-numeric strings are sorted, with ``a'' taking lower priority than - ``z''. Clearly, in general, sorting by spam tags is most effective when you can - coerce your filter to give you a raw number. But in case you can't, mutt can - still do something useful. + o underline - The nospam command can be used to write exceptions to spam patterns. If a - header pattern matches something in a spam command, but you nonetheless do not - want it to receive a spam tag, you can list a more precise pattern under a - nospam command. + o reverse - If the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n given to nospam is exactly the same as the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n on an exist- - ing spam list entry, the effect will be to remove the entry from the spam list, - instead of adding an exception. Likewise, if the _p_a_t_t_e_r_n for a spam command - matches an entry on the nospam list, that nospam entry will be removed. If the - _p_a_t_t_e_r_n for nospam is ``*'', _a_l_l _e_n_t_r_i_e_s _o_n _b_o_t_h _l_i_s_t_s will be removed. This - might be the default action if you use spam and nospam in conjunction with a - folder-hook. + o standout - You can have as many spam or nospam commands as you like. You can even do your - own primitive spam detection within mutt -- for example, if you consider all - mail from MAILER-DAEMON to be spam, you can use a spam command like this: +10. Ignoring (weeding) unwanted message headers - spam "^From: .*MAILER-DAEMON" "999" + Usage: [un]ignore pattern [ pattern ... ] - _3_._2_8 _S_e_t_t_i_n_g _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s + Messages often have many header fields added by automatic processing + systems, or which may not seem useful to display on the screen. This + command allows you to specify header fields which you don't normally want + to see. - Usage: set [no|inv]_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e[=_v_a_l_u_e] [ _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e ... ] + You do not need to specify the full header field name. For example, + ``ignore content-'' will ignore all header fields that begin with the + pattern ``content-''. ``ignore *'' will ignore all headers. - Usage: toggle _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e [_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e ... ] + To remove a previously added token from the list, use the ``unignore'' + command. The ``unignore'' command will make Mutt-ng display headers with + the given pattern. For example, if you do ``ignore x-'' it is possible to + ``unignore x-mailer''. - Usage: unset _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e [_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e ... ] + ``unignore *'' will remove all tokens from the ignore list. - Usage: reset _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e [_v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e ... ] + For example: - This command is used to set (and unset) _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n _v_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s (section 7.4 , - page 87). There are four basic types of variables: boolean, number, string and - quadoption. _b_o_o_l_e_a_n variables can be _s_e_t (true) or _u_n_s_e_t (false). _n_u_m_b_e_r - variables can be assigned a positive integer value. + # Sven's draconian header weeding + ignore * + unignore from date subject to cc + unignore organization organisation x-mailer: x-newsreader: x-mailing-list: + unignore posted-to: - _s_t_r_i_n_g variables consist of any number of printable characters. _s_t_r_i_n_g_s must +11. Alternative addresses - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 45 + Usage: [un]alternates regexp [ regexp ... ] - be enclosed in quotes if they contain spaces or tabs. You may also use the - ``C'' escape sequences \\nn and \\tt for newline and tab, respectively. + With various functions, mutt will treat messages differently, depending on + whether you sent them or whether you received them from someone else. For + instance, when replying to a message that you sent to a different party, + mutt will automatically suggest to send the response to the original + message's recipients -- responding to yourself won't make much sense in + many cases. (See reply-to .) - _q_u_a_d_o_p_t_i_o_n variables are used to control whether or not to be prompted for cer- - tain actions, or to specify a default action. A value of _y_e_s will cause the - action to be carried out automatically as if you had answered yes to the ques- - tion. Similarly, a value of _n_o will cause the the action to be carried out as - if you had answered ``no.'' A value of _a_s_k_-_y_e_s will cause a prompt with a - default answer of ``yes'' and _a_s_k_-_n_o will provide a default answer of ``no.'' + Many users receive e-mail under a number of different addresses. To fully + use mutt's features here, the program must be able to recognize what + e-mail addresses you receive mail under. That's the purpose of the + alternates command: It takes a list of regular expressions, each of which + can identify an address under which you receive e-mail. - Prefixing a variable with ``no'' will unset it. Example: set noaskbcc. + The unalternates command can be used to write exceptions to alternates + patterns. If an address matches something in an alternates command, but + you nonetheless do not think it is from you, you can list a more precise + pattern under an unalternates command. - For _b_o_o_l_e_a_n variables, you may optionally prefix the variable name with inv to - toggle the value (on or off). This is useful when writing macros. Example: - set invsmart_wrap. + To remove a regular expression from the alternates list, use the + unalternates command with exactly the same regexp . Likewise, if the + regexp for a alternates command matches an entry on the unalternates list, + that unalternates entry will be removed. If the regexp for unalternates is + ``*'', all entries on alternates will be removed. - The toggle command automatically prepends the inv prefix to all specified vari- - ables. +12. Format = Flowed - The unset command automatically prepends the no prefix to all specified vari- - ables. + 12.1. Introduction - Using the enter-command function in the _i_n_d_e_x menu, you can query the value of - a variable by prefixing the name of the variable with a question mark: + Mutt-ng contains support for so-called format=flowed messages. In the + beginning of email, each message had a fixed line width, and it was enough + for displaying them on fixed-size terminals. But times changed, and + nowadays hardly anybody still uses fixed-size terminals: more people + nowaydays use graphical user interfaces, with dynamically resizable + windows. This led to the demand of a new email format that makes it + possible for the email client to make the email look nice in a resizable + window without breaking quoting levels and creating an incompatible email + format that can also be displayed nicely on old fixed-size terminals. - set ?allow_8bit + For introductory information on format=flowed messages, see + . - The question mark is actually only required for boolean and quadoption vari- - ables. + 12.2. Receiving: Display Setup - The reset command resets all given variables to the compile time defaults - (hopefully mentioned in this manual). If you use the command set and prefix the - variable with ``&'' this has the same behavior as the reset command. + When you receive emails that are marked as format=flowed messages, and is + formatted correctly, mutt-ng will try to reformat the message to optimally + fit on your terminal. If you want a fixed margin on the right side of your + terminal, you can set the following: - With the reset command there exists the special variable ``all'', which allows - you to reset all variables to their system defaults. + set wrapmargin = 10 - _3_._2_9 _R_e_a_d_i_n_g _i_n_i_t_i_a_l_i_z_a_t_i_o_n _c_o_m_m_a_n_d_s _f_r_o_m _a_n_o_t_h_e_r _f_i_l_e + The code above makes the line break 10 columns before the right side of + the terminal. - Usage: source _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e [ _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e ... ] + If your terminal is so wide that the lines are embarrassingly long, you + can also set a maximum line length: - This command allows the inclusion of initialization commands from other files. - For example, I place all of my aliases in ~/.mail_aliases so that I can make my - ~/.muttrc readable and keep my aliases private. + set max_line_length = 120 - If the filename begins with a tilde (``~''), it will be expanded to the path of - your home directory. + The example above will give you lines not longer than 120 characters. - If the filename ends with a vertical bar (|), then _f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e is considered to be - an executable program from which to read input (eg. source ~/bin/myscript|). + When you view at format=flowed messages, you will often see the quoting + hierarchy like in the following example: - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 46 + >Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. + >Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new + >production server that we want to set up before our customer's + >project will go live. - _3_._3_0 _R_e_m_o_v_i_n_g _h_o_o_k_s + This obviously doesn't look very nice, and it makes it very hard to + differentiate between text and quoting character. The solution is to + configure mutt-ng to "stuff" the quoting: - Usage: unhook [ * | _h_o_o_k_-_t_y_p_e ] + set stuff_quoted - This command permits you to flush hooks you have previously defined. You can - either remove all hooks by giving the ``*'' character as an argument, or you - can remove all hooks of a specific type by saying something like unhook send- - hook. + This will lead to a nicer result that is easier to read: - _3_._3_1 _S_h_a_r_i_n_g _S_e_t_u_p_s + > Bill, can you please send last month's progress report to Mr. + > Morgan? We also urgently need the cost estimation for the new + > production server that we want to set up before our customer's + > project will go live. - _3_._3_1_._1 _C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _S_e_t_s + 12.3. Sending - As users may run mutt-ng on different systems, the configuration must be main- - tained because it's likely that people want to use the setup everywhere they - use mutt-ng. And mutt-ng tries to help where it can. + If you want mutt-ng to send emails with format=flowed set, you need to + explicitly set it: - To not produce conflicts with different character sets, mutt-ng allows users to - specify in which character set their configuration files are encoded. Please - note that while reading the configuration files, this is only respected after - the corresponding declaration appears. It's advised to put the following at the - very beginning of a users muttngrc: + set text_flowed - set config_charset = "..." + Additionally, you have to use an editor which supports writing + format=flowed-conforming emails. For vim, this is done by adding w to the + formatoptions (see :h formatoptions and :h fo-table) when writing emails. - and replacing the dots with the actual character set. To avoid problems while - maintaining the setup, vim user's may want to use modelines as show in: + Also note that format=flowed knows about ``space-stuffing'', that is, when + sending messages, some kinds of lines have to be indented with a single + space on the sending side. On the receiving side, the first space (if any) + is removed. As a consequence and in addition to the above simple setting, + please keep this in mind when making manual formattings within the editor. + Also note that mutt-ng currently violates the standard (RfC 3676) as it + does not space-stuff lines starting with: - # vim:fileencoding=...: + o > This is not the quote character but a right angle used for other + reasons - while, again, replacing the dots with the appropriate name. This tells vim as - which character set to read and save the file. + o From with a trailing space. - _3_._3_1_._2 _M_o_d_u_l_a_r_i_z_a_t_i_o_n + o just a space for formatting reasons - ``Modularization'' means to divide the setup into several files while sorting - the options or commands by topic. Especially for longer setups (e.g. with many - hooks), this helps maintaining it and solving trouble. + Please make sure that you manually prepend a space to each of them. - When using separation, setups may be, as a whole or in fractions, shared over - different systems. + 12.4. Additional Notes - _3_._3_1_._3 _C_o_n_d_i_t_i_o_n_a_l _p_a_r_t_s + For completeness, the delete-space variable provides the mechanism to + generate a DelSp=yes parameter on outgoing messages. According to the + standard, clients receiving a format=flowed messages should delete the + last space of a flowed line but still interpret the line as flowed. + Because flowed lines usually contain only one space at the end, this + parameter would make the receiving client concatenate the last word of the + previous with the first of the current line without a space. This makes + ordinary text unreadable and is intended for languages rarely using + spaces. So please use this setting only if you're sure what you're doing. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 47 +13. Mailing lists - When using a configuration on different systems, the user may not always have - influence on how mutt-ng is installed and which features it includes. + Usage: [un]lists regexp [ regexp ... ] Usage: [un]subscribe regexp [ + regexp ... ] - To solve this, mutt-ng contain a feature based on the ``ifdef'' patch written - for mutt. Its basic syntax is: + Mutt-ng has a few nice features for using-lists .In order to take + advantage of them, you must specify which addresses belong to mailing + lists, and which mailing lists you are subscribed to. Once you have done + this, the list-reply function will work for all known lists. Additionally, + when you send a message to a subscribed list, mutt will add a + Mail-Followup-To header to tell other users' mail user agents not to send + copies of replies to your personal address. Note that the Mail-Followup-To + header is a non-standard extension which is not supported by all mail user + agents. Adding it is not bullet-proof against receiving personal CCs of + list messages. Also note that the generation of the Mail-Followup-To + header is controlled by the followup-to configuration variable. - ifdef - ifndef + More precisely, Mutt-ng maintains lists of patterns for the addresses of + known and subscribed mailing lists. Every subscribed mailing list is + known. To mark a mailing list as known, use the ``lists'' command. To mark + it as subscribed, use ``subscribe''. - ...whereby can be one of: + You can use regular expressions with both commands. To mark all messages + sent to a specific bug report's address on mutt's bug tracking system as + list mail, for instance, you could say ``subscribe [0-9]*@bugs.guug.de''. + Often, it's sufficient to just give a portion of the list's e-mail + address. - +o a function name + Specify as much of the address as you need to to remove ambiguity. For + example, if you've subscribed to the Mutt-ng mailing list, you will + receive mail addressed to mutt-users@mutt.org. So, to tell Mutt-ng that + this is a mailing list, you could add ``lists mutt-users'' to your + initialization file. To tell mutt that you are subscribed to it, add + ``subscribe mutt-users'' to your initialization file instead. If you also + happen to get mail from someone whose address is mutt-users@example.com, + you could use ``lists mutt-users@mutt\\.org'' or ``subscribe + mutt-users@mutt\\.org'' to match only mail from the actual list. - +o a variable name + The ``unlists'' command is used to remove a token from the list of known + and subscribed mailing-lists. Use ``unlists *'' to remove all tokens. - +o a menu name + To remove a mailing list from the list of subscribed mailing lists, but + keep it on the list of known mailing lists, use ``unsubscribe''. - +o a feature name +14. Using Multiple spool mailboxes - All available functions, variables and menus are documented elsewhere in this - manual but ``features'' is specific to these two commands. To test for one, - prefix one of the following keywords with feature_: + Usage: mbox-hook [!]pattern mailbox - ncurses, slang, iconv, idn, dotlock, standalone, pop, nntp, imap, ssl, - gnutls, sasl, sasl2, libesmtp, compressed, color, classic_pgp, - classic_smime, gpgme, header_cache + This command is used to move read messages from a specified mailbox to + adifferent mailbox automatically when you quit or change folders. pattern + is a regular expression specifying the mailbox to treat as a ``spool'' + mailbox and mailbox specifies where mail should be saved when read. - As an example, one can use the following in ~/.muttngrc: + Unlike some of the other hook commands, only the first matching pattern is + used (it is not possible to save read mail in more than a single mailbox). - ifdef feature_imap 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-imap' - ifdef feature_pop 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-pop' - ifdef feature_nntp 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-nntp' +15. Defining mailboxes which receive mail - ...to only source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-imap if IMAP support is built in, only - source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-pop if POP support is built in and only source ~/.mutt- - ng/setup-nntp if NNTP support is built in. + Usage: [un]mailboxes [!]filename [ filename ... ] - An example for testing for variable names can be used if users use different - revisions of mutt-ng whereby the older one may not have a certain variable. To - test for the availability of _$_i_m_a_p___m_a_i_l___c_h_e_c_k (section 7.4.105 , page 113), - use: + This command specifies folders which can receive mail and which will be + checked for new messages. By default, the main menu status bar displays + how many of these folders have new messages. - ifdef imap_mail_check 'set imap_mail_check = 300' + When changing folders, pressing space will cycle through folders with new + mail. - Provided for completeness is the test for menu names. To set _$_p_a_g_e_r___i_n_d_e_x___l_i_n_e_s - (section 7.4.182 , page 133) only if the pager menu is available, use: + Pressing TAB in the directory browser will bring up a menu showing the + files specified by the mailboxes command, and indicate which contain new + messages. Mutt-ng will automatically enter this mode when invoked from the + command line with the -y option. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 48 + The ``unmailboxes'' command is used to remove a token from the list of + folders which receive mail. Use ``unmailboxes *'' to remove all tokens. - ifdef pager 'set pager_index_lines = 10' + Note: new mail is detected by comparing the last modification time to the + last access time. Utilities like biff or frm or any other program which + accesses the mailbox might cause Mutt-ng to never detect new mail for that + mailbox if they do not properly reset the access time. Backup tools are + another common reason for updated access times. - For completeness, too, the opposite of ifdef is provided: ifndef which only - executes the command if the test fails. For example, the following two examples - are equivalent: + Note: the filenames in the mailboxes command are resolved when the command + is executed, so if these names contain shortcuts (such as ``='' and + ``!''), any variable definition that affect these characters (like folder + and spoolfile) should be executed before the mailboxes command. - ifdef feature_ncurses 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-ncurses' - ifndef feature_ncurses 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-slang' +16. User defined headers - ...and... + Usage: my_hdr string unmy_hdr field [ field ... ] - ifdef feature_slang 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-slang' - ifndef feature_slang 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-ncurses' + The ``my_hdr'' command allows you to create your own header fields which + will be added to every message you send. - _3_._3_2 _O_b_s_o_l_e_t_e _V_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s + For example, if you would like to add an ``Organization:'' header field to + all of your outgoing messages, you can put the command - In the process of ensuring and creating more consistency, many variables have - been renamed and some of the old names were already removed. Please see _O_b_s_o_- - _l_e_t_e _V_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s (section 7.4 , page 87) for a complete list. + my_hdr Organization: A Really Big Company, Anytown, USA - _4_. _A_d_v_a_n_c_e_d _U_s_a_g_e + in your .muttrc. - _4_._1 _R_e_g_u_l_a_r _E_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n_s + Note: space characters are not allowed between the keyword and the colon + (``:''). The standard for electronic mail (RFC822) says that space is + illegal there, so Mutt-ng enforces the rule. - All string patterns in Mutt-ng including those in more complex _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s (sec- - tion 7.2 , page 83) must be specified using regular expressions (regexp) in - the ``POSIX extended'' syntax (which is more or less the syntax used by egrep - and GNU awk). For your convenience, we have included below a brief description - of this syntax. + If you would like to add a header field to a single message, you should + either set the edit-headers variable, or use the edit-headers function + (default: ``E'') in the send-menu so that you can edit the header of your + message along with the body. - The search is case sensitive if the pattern contains at least one upper case - letter, and case insensitive otherwise. Note that ``\'' must be quoted if used - for a regular expression in an initialization command: ``\\''. + To remove user defined header fields, use the ``unmy_hdr'' command. You + may specify an asterisk (``*'') to remove all header fields, or the fields + to remove. For example, to remove all ``To'' and ``Cc'' header fields, you + could use: - A regular expression is a pattern that describes a set of strings. Regular - expressions are constructed analogously to arithmetic expressions, by using - various operators to combine smaller expressions. + unmy_hdr to cc - Note that the regular expression can be enclosed/delimited by either ' or ' - which is useful if the regular expression includes a white-space character. +17. Defining the order of headers when viewing messages - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 49 + Usage: hdr_order header1 header2 header3 - See _S_y_n_t_a_x _o_f _I_n_i_t_i_a_l_i_z_a_t_i_o_n _F_i_l_e_s (section 3.2 , page 21) for more informa- - tion on ' and ' delimiter processing. To match a literal ' or ' you must pref- - ace it with \ (backslash). + With this command, you can specify an order in which mutt will attempt to + present headers to you when viewing messages. - The fundamental building blocks are the regular expressions that match a single - character. Most characters, including all letters and digits, are regular - expressions that match themselves. Any metacharacter with special meaning may - be quoted by preceding it with a backslash. + ``unhdr_order *'' will clear all previous headers from the order list, + thus removing the header order effects set by the system-wide startup + file. - The period ``.'' matches any single character. The caret ``^'' and the dollar - sign ``$'' are metacharacters that respectively match the empty string at the - beginning and end of a line. + hdr_order From Date: From: To: Cc: Subject: - A list of characters enclosed by ``['' and ``]'' matches any single character - in that list; if the first character of the list is a caret ``^'' then it - matches any character nnoott in the list. For example, the regular expression - [[00112233445566778899]] matches any single digit. A range of ASCII characters may be - specified by giving the first and last characters, separated by a hyphen ``-''. - Most metacharacters lose their special meaning inside lists. To include a lit- - eral ``]'' place it first in the list. Similarly, to include a literal ``^'' - place it anywhere but first. Finally, to include a literal hyphen ``-'' place - it last. +18. Specify default save filename - Certain named classes of characters are predefined. Character classes consist - of ``[:'', a keyword denoting the class, and ``:]''. The following classes are - defined by the POSIX standard: + Usage: save-hook [!]pattern filename - [:alnum:] - Alphanumeric characters. + This command is used to override the default filename used when saving + messages. filename will be used as the default filename if the message is + From: an address matching regexp or if you are the author and the message + is addressed to: something matching regexp . - [:alpha:] - Alphabetic characters. + See pattern-hook for information on the exact format of pattern. - [:blank:] - Space or tab characters. + Examples: - [:cntrl:] - Control characters. + save-hook me@(turing\\.)?cs\\.hmc\\.edu$ +elkins + save-hook aol\\.com$ +spam - [:digit:] - Numeric characters. + Also see the fcc-save-hook command. - [:graph:] - Characters that are both printable and visible. (A space is print- - able, but not visible, while an ``a'' is both.) +19. Specify default Fcc: mailbox when composing - [:lower:] - Lower-case alphabetic characters. + Usage: fcc-hook [!]pattern mailbox - [:print:] - Printable characters (characters that are not control characters.) + This command is used to save outgoing mail in a mailbox other than record. + Mutt-ng searches the initial list of message recipients for the first + matching regexp and uses mailbox as the default Fcc: mailbox. If no match + is found the message will be saved to record mailbox. - [:punct:] - Punctuation characters (characters that are not letter, digits, + See pattern-hook for information on the exact format of pattern. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 50 + Example: fcc-hook [@.]aol\\.com$ +spammers - control characters, or space characters). + The above will save a copy of all messages going to the aol.com domain to + the `+spammers' mailbox by default. Also see the fcc-save-hook command. - [:space:] - Space characters (such as space, tab and formfeed, to name a few). +20. Specify default save filename and default Fcc: mailbox at once - [:upper:] - Upper-case alphabetic characters. + Usage: fcc-save-hook [!]pattern mailbox - [:xdigit:] - Characters that are hexadecimal digits. + This command is a shortcut, equivalent to doing both a fcc-hook and a + save-hook with its arguments. - A character class is only valid in a regular expression inside the brackets of - a character list. Note that the brackets in these class names are part of the - symbolic names, and must be included in addition to the brackets delimiting the - bracket list. For example, [[[[::ddiiggiitt::]]]] is equivalent to [[00--99]]. +21. Change settings based upon message recipients - Two additional special sequences can appear in character lists. These apply to - non-ASCII character sets, which can have single symbols (called collating ele- - ments) that are represented with more than one character, as well as several - characters that are equivalent for collating or sorting purposes: + Usage: reply-hook [!]pattern command Usage: send-hook [!]pattern command + Usage: send2-hook [!]pattern command - Collating Symbols - A collating symbol is a multi-character collating element enclosed - in ``[.'' and ``.]''. For example, if ``ch'' is a collating ele- - ment, then [[[[..cchh..]]]] is a regexp that matches this collating ele- - ment, while [[cchh]] is a regexp that matches either ``c'' or ``h''. + These commands can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands + based upon recipients of the message. pattern is a regular expression + matching the desired address. command is executed when regexp matches + recipients of the message. - Equivalence Classes - An equivalence class is a locale-specific name for a list of char- - acters that are equivalent. The name is enclosed in ``[='' and - ``=]''. For example, the name ``e'' might be used to represent all - of ``'' ``'' and ``e''. In this case, [[[[==ee==]]]] is a regexp that - matches any of ``'', ``'' and ``e''. + reply-hook is matched against the message you are replying to, instead of + the message you are sending .send-hook is matched against all messages, + both new and replies .Note: reply-hooks are matched before the send-hook + ,regardless of the order specified in the users's configuration file. - A regular expression matching a single character may be followed by one of sev- - eral repetition operators: + send2-hook is matched every time a message is changed, either by editing + it, or by using the compose menu to change its recipients or subject. + send2-hook is executed after send-hook ,and can, e.g., be used to set + parameters such as the sendmail variable depending on the message's sender + address. - ? - The preceding item is optional and matched at most once. + For each type of send-hook or reply-hook, when multiple matches occur, + commands are executed in the order they are specified in the muttrc (for + that type of hook). - * - The preceding item will be matched zero or more times. + See pattern-hook for information on the exact format of pattern. - + - The preceding item will be matched one or more times. + Example: send-hook mutt "set mime_forward signature=''" - {n} - The preceding item is matched exactly _n times. + Another typical use for this command is to change the values of the + attribution, signature and locale variables in order to change the + language of the attributions and signatures based upon the recipients. - {n,} - The preceding item is matched _n or more times. + Note: the send-hook's are only executed ONCE after getting the initial + list of recipients. Adding a recipient after replying or editing the + message will NOT cause any send-hook to be executed. Also note that my_hdr + commands which modify recipient headers, or the message's subject, don't + have any effect on the current message when executed from a send-hook. - {,m} - The preceding item is matched at most _m times. +22. Change settings before formatting a message - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 51 + Usage: message-hook [!]pattern command - {n,m} - The preceding item is matched at least _n times, but no more than _m - times. + This command can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands + before viewing or formatting a message based upon information about the + message. command is executed if the pattern matches the message to be + displayed. When multiple matches occur, commands are executed in the order + they are specified in the muttrc. - Two regular expressions may be concatenated; the resulting regular expression - matches any string formed by concatenating two substrings that respectively - match the concatenated subexpressions. + See pattern-hook for information on the exact format of pattern. - Two regular expressions may be joined by the infix operator ``|''; the result- - ing regular expression matches any string matching either subexpression. + Example: - Repetition takes precedence over concatenation, which in turn takes precedence - over alternation. A whole subexpression may be enclosed in parentheses to - override these precedence rules. + message-hook ~A 'set pager=builtin' + message-hook '~f freshmeat-news' 'set pager="less \"+/^ subject:.*\""' - NNoottee:: If you compile Mutt-ng with the GNU _r_x package, the following operators - may also be used in regular expressions: +23. Choosing the cryptographic key of the recipient - \\y - Matches the empty string at either the beginning or the end of a - word. + Usage: crypt-hook pattern keyid - \\B - Matches the empty string within a word. + When encrypting messages with PGP or OpenSSL, you may want to associate a + certain key with a given e-mail address automatically, either because the + recipient's public key can't be deduced from the destination address, or + because, for some reasons, you need to override the key Mutt-ng + wouldnormally use. The crypt-hook command provides a method by which you + can specify the ID of the public key to be used when encrypting messages + to a certain recipient. - \\< - Matches the empty string at the beginning of a word. + The meaning of "key id" is to be taken broadly in this context: You can + either put a numerical key ID here, an e-mail address, or even just a real + name. - \\> - Matches the empty string at the end of a word. +24. Adding key sequences to the keyboard buffer - \\w - Matches any word-constituent character (letter, digit, or under- - score). + Usage: push string - \\W - Matches any character that is not word-constituent. + This command adds the named string to the keyboard buffer. The string may + contain control characters, key names and function names like the sequence + string in the macro command. You may use it to automatically run a + sequence of commands at startup, or when entering certain folders. - \\` - Matches the empty string at the beginning of a buffer (string). +25. Executing functions - \\' - Matches the empty string at the end of a buffer. + Usage: exec function [ function ... ] - Please note however that these operators are not defined by POSIX, so they may - or may not be available in stock libraries on various systems. + This command can be used to execute any function. Functions are listed in + the functions. ``exec function'' is equivalent to ``push ''. - _4_._2 _P_a_t_t_e_r_n_s +26. Message Scoring - Mutt-ng's pattern language provides a simple yet effective way to set up rules - to match messages, e.g. for operations like tagging and scoring. A pattern con- - sists of one or more sub-pattern, which can be logically grouped, ORed, and + Usage: score pattern value Usage: unscore pattern [ pattern ... ] - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 52 + In situations where you have to cope with a lot of emails, e.g. when you + read many different mailing lists, and take part in discussions, it is + always useful to have the important messages marked and the annoying + messages or the ones that you aren't interested in deleted. For this + purpose, mutt-ng features a mechanism called ``scoring''. - negated. For a complete listing of these patterns, please refer to table _P_a_t_- - _t_e_r_n_s (section 7.2 , page 83) in the Reference chapter. + When you use scoring, every message has a base score of 0. You can then + use the score command to define patterns and a positive or negative value + associated with it. When a pattern matches a message, the message's score + will be raised or lowered by the amount of the value associated with the + pattern. - It must be noted that in this table, EXPR, USER, ID and SUBJECT are regular - expressions. For ranges, the forms <[MAX], >>[MIN], [MIN]- and -[MAX] are also - possible. + score "~f nion@muttng\.org" 50 + score "~f @sco\.com" -100 - _4_._2_._1 _C_o_m_p_l_e_x _P_a_t_t_e_r_n_s + If the pattern matches, it is also possible to set the score value of the + current message to a certain value and then stop evaluation: - It is possible to combine several sub-patterns to a more complex pattern. The - most simple possibility is to logically AND several patterns by stringing them - together: + score "~f santaclaus@northpole\.int" =666 - ~s 'SPAM' ~U + What is important to note is that negative score values will be rounded up + to 0. - The pattern above matches all messages that contain ``SPAM'' in the subject and - are unread. + To make scoring actually useful, the score must be applied in some way. + That's what the score thresholds are for. Currently, there are three score + thresholds: - To logical OR patterns, simply use the | operator. This one especially useful - when using local groups: + o flag threshold: when a message has a score value equal or higher than + the flag threshold, it will be flagged. - ~f ("nion@muttng\.org"|"ak@muttng\.org"|"pdmef@muttng\.org") - (~b mutt-ng|~s Mutt-ng) - !~x '@synflood\.at' + o read threshold: when a message has a score value equal or lower than + the read threshold, it will be marked as read. - The first pattern matches all messages that were sent by one of the mutt-ng - maintainers, while the seconds pattern matches all messages that contain - ``mutt-ng'' in the message body or ``Mutt-ng'' in the subject. The third pat- - tern matches all messages that do not contain ``@synflood\.at'' in the Refer- - ences: header, i.e. messages that are not an (indirect) reply to one of my - messages. A pattern can be logicall negated using the ! operator. + o delete threshold: when a message has a score value equal or lower than + the delete threshold, it will be marked as deleted. + + These three thresholds can be set via the variables score-threshold-flag + ,score-threshold-read, score-threshold-delete and. By default, + score-threshold-read and score-threshold-delete are set to -1, which means + that in the default threshold configuration no message will ever get + marked as read or deleted. + + Scoring gets especially interesting when combined with the color command + and the ˜n pattern: + + color index black yellow "~n 10-" + color index red yellow "~n 100-" + + The rules above mark all messages with a score between 10 and 99 with + black and yellow, and messages with a score greater or equal 100 with red + and yellow. This might be unusual to you if you're used to e.g. slrn's + scoring mechanism, but it is more flexible, as it visually marks different + scores. + +27. Spam detection + + Usage: spam pattern format Usage: nospam pattern + + Mutt-ng has generalized support for external spam-scoring filters. By + defining your spam patterns with the spam and nospam commands, you can + limit, search, and sort your mail based on its spam attributes, as + determined by the external filter. You also can display the spam + attributes in your index display using the %H selector in the index-format + variable. (Tip: try %?H?[%H] ? to display spam tags only when they are + defined for a given message.) + + Your first step is to define your external filter's spam patterns using + the spam command. pattern should be a regular expression that matches a + header in a mail message. If any message in the mailbox matches this + regular expression, it will receive a ``spam tag'' or ``spam attribute'' + (unless it also matches a nospam pattern -- see below.) The appearance of + this attribute is entirely up to you, and is governed by the format + parameter. format can be any static text, but it also can include + back-references from the pattern expression. (A regular expression + ``back-reference'' refers to a sub-expression contained within + parentheses.) %1 is replaced with the first back-reference in the regex, + %2 with the second, etc. + + If you're using multiple spam filters, a message can have more than one + spam-related header. You can define spam patterns for each filter you use. + If a message matches two or more of these patterns, and the + $spam_separator variable is set to a string, then the message's spam tag + will consist of all the format strings joined together, with the value of + $spam_separator separating them. + + For example, suppose I use DCC, SpamAssassin, and PureMessage. I might + define these spam settings: + + spam "X-DCC-.*-Metrics:.*(....)=many" "90+/DCC-%1" + spam "X-Spam-Status: Yes" "90+/SA" + spam "X-PerlMX-Spam: .*Probability=([0-9]+)%" "%1/PM" + set spam_separator=", " + + If I then received a message that DCC registered with ``many'' hits under + the ``Fuz2'' checksum, and that PureMessage registered with a 97% + probability of being spam, that message's spam tag would read90+/DCC-Fuz2, + 97/PM. (The four characters before ``=many'' in a DCC report indicate the + checksum used -- in this case, ``Fuz2''.) + + If the $spam_separator variable is unset, then each spam pattern match + supersedes the previous one. Instead of getting joined format strings, + you'll get only the last one to match. + + The spam tag is what will be displayed in the index when you use %H in the + $index_format variable. It's also the string that the ˜H pattern-matching + expression matches against for search and limit functions. And it's what + sorting by spam attribute will use as a sort key. + + That's a pretty complicated example, and most people's actual environments + will have only one spam filter. The simpler your configuration, the more + effective mutt can be, especially when it comes to sorting. + + Generally, when you sort by spam tag, mutt will sort lexically -- that is, + by ordering strings alphnumerically. However, if a spam tag begins with a + number, mutt will sort numerically first, and lexically only when two + numbers are equal in value. (This is like UNIX's sort -n.) A message with + no spam attributes at all -- that is, one that didn't match any of your + spam patterns -- is sorted at lowest priority. Numbers are sorted next, + beginning with 0 and ranging upward. Finally, non-numeric strings are + sorted, with ``a'' taking lowerpriority than ``z''. Clearly, in general, + sorting by spam tags is most effective when you can coerce your filter to + give you a raw number. But in case you can't, mutt can still do something + useful. + + The nospam command can be used to write exceptions to spam patterns. If a + header pattern matches something in a spam command, but you nonetheless do + not want it to receive a spam tag, you can list amore precise pattern + under a nospam command. + + If the pattern given to nospam is exactly the same as the pattern on an + existing spam list entry, the effect will be to remove the entry from the + spam list, instead of adding an exception. Likewise, if the pattern for a + spam command matches an entry on the nospam list, that nospam entry will + be removed. If the pattern for nospam is ``*'', all entries on both lists + will be removed. This might be the default action if you use spam and + nospam in conjunction with a folder-hook . + + You can have as many spam or nospam commands as you like. You can even do + your own primitive spam detection within mutt -- for example, if you + consider all mail from MAILER-DAEMON to be spam, you can use a spam + command like this: + + spam "^From: .*MAILER-DAEMON" "999" + +28. Setting variables + + Usage: set [no|inv]variable [=value] [ variable ... ] Usage: toggle + variable [variable ... ] Usage: unset variable [variable ... ] Usage: + reset variable [variable ... ] + + This command is used to set (and unset) variables .There are four basic + types of variables: boolean, number, string and quadoption. boolean + variables can be set (true) or unset (false). number variables can be + assigned a positive integer value. + + string variables consist of any number of printable characters. strings + must be enclosed in quotes if they contain spaces or tabs. You may also + use the ``C'' escape sequences \n and \t for newline and tab, + respectively. + + quadoption variables are used to control whether or not to be prompted for + certain actions, or to specify a default action. A value of yes will cause + the action to be carried out automatically as if you had answered yes to + the question. Similarly, a value of no will cause the the action to be + carried out as if you had answered ``no.'' A value of ask-yes will cause a + prompt with a default answer of ``yes'' and ask-no will provide a default + answer of ``no.'' - _4_._2_._2 _P_a_t_t_e_r_n_s _a_n_d _D_a_t_e_s + Prefixing a variable with ``no'' will unset it. Example: set noaskbcc . - When using dates in patterns, the dates must be specified in a special format, - i.e. DD/MM/YYYY. If you don't specify month or year, they default to the cur- - rent month or year. When using date ranges, and you specify only the minimum or - the maximum, the specified date will be excluded, e.g. 01/06/2005- matches - against all messages _a_f_t_e_r Juni 1st, 2005. + For boolean variables, you may optionally prefix the variable name with + inv to toggle the value (on or off). This is useful when writing macros. + Example: set invsmart_wrap. - It is also possible to use so-called ``error margins'' when specifying date - ranges. You simply specify a date, and then the error margin. This margin - needs to contain the information whether it goes ``forth'' or ``back'' in time, - by using + and -. Then follows a number and a unit, i.e. y for years, m for - months, w for weeks and d for days. If you use the special * sign, it means - that the error margin goes to both ``directions'' in time. + The toggle command automatically prepends the inv prefix to all specified + variables. - ~d 01/01/2005+1y - ~d 18/10/2004-2w + The unset command automatically prepends the no prefix to all specified + variables. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 53 + Using the enter-command function in the index menu, you can query the + value of a variable by prefixing the name of the variable with a question + mark: - ~d 28/12/2004*1d + set ?allow_8bit - The first pattern matches all dates between January 1st, 2005 and January 1st - 2006. The second pattern matches all dates between October 18th, 2004 and - October 4th 2004 (2 weeks before 18/10/2004), while the third pattern matches - all dates 1 day around December 28th, 2004 (i.e. Dec 27th, 28th and 29th). + The question mark is actually only required for boolean and quadoption + variables. - Relative dates are also very important, as they make it possible to specify - date ranges between a fixed number of units and the current date. How this - works can be seen in the following example: + The reset command resets all given variables to the compile time defaults + (hopefully mentioned in this manual). If you use the command set and + prefix the variable with ``&'' this has the same behavior as the reset + command. - ~d >2w # messages older than two weeks - ~d <3d # messages newer than 3 days - ~d =1m # messages that are exactly one month old + With the reset command there exists the special variable ``all'', which + allows you to reset all variables to their system defaults. - _4_._3 _F_o_r_m_a_t _S_t_r_i_n_g_s +29. Reading initialization commands from another file - _4_._3_._1 _I_n_t_r_o_d_u_c_t_i_o_n + Usage: source filename [ filename ... ] - The so called _F_o_r_m_a_t _S_t_r_i_n_g_s offer great flexibility when configuring mutt-ng. - In short, they describe what items to print out how in menus and status mes- - sages. + This command allows the inclusion of initialization commands from other + files. For example, I place all of my aliases in ˜/.mail_aliases so that + I can make my ˜/.muttrc readable and keep my aliases private. - Basically, they work as this: for different menus and bars, there's a variable - specifying the layout. For every item available, there is a so called _e_x_p_a_n_d_o. + If the filename begins with a tilde (``˜''), it will be expanded to the + path of your home directory. - For example, when running mutt-ng on different machines or different versions - for testing purposes, it may be interesting to have the following information - always printed on screen when one is in the index: + If the filename ends with a vertical bar (|), then filename is considered + to be an executable program from which to read input (eg. source + ˜/bin/myscript|). - +o the current hostname +30. Removing hooks - +o the current mutt-ng version number + Usage: unhook [ * | hook-type ] - The setting for the status bar of the index is controlled via the _$_s_t_a_t_u_s___f_o_r_- - _m_a_t (section 7.4.321 , page 165) variable. For the hostname and version - string, there's an expando for $status_format: %h expands to the hostname and - %v to the version string. When just configuring: + This command permits you to flush hooks you have previously defined. You + can either remove all hooks by giving the ``*'' character as an argument, + or you can remove all hooks of a specific type by saying something like + unhook send-hook. - set status_format = "%v on %h: ..." +31. Sharing Setups - mutt-ng will replace the sequence %v with the version string and %h with the - host's name. When you are, for example, running mutt-ng version 1.5.9i on host - mailhost, you'll see the following when you're in the index: + 31.1. Character Sets - Mutt-ng 1.5.9i on mailhost: ... + As users may run mutt-ng on different systems, the configuration must be + maintained because it's likely that people want to use the setup + everywhere they use mutt-ng. And mutt-ng tries to help where it can. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 54 + To not produce conflicts with different character sets, mutt-ng allows + users to specify in which character set their configuration files are + encoded. Please note that while reading the configuration files, this is + only respected after the corresponding declaration appears. It's advised + to put the following at the very beginning of a users muttngrc: - In the index, there're more useful information one could want to see: + set config_charset = "..." - +o which mailbox is open + and replacing the dots with the actual character set. To avoid problems + while maintaining the setup, vim user's may want to use modelines as show + in: - +o how man new, flagged or postponed messages + # vim:fileencoding=...: - +o ... + while, again, replacing the dots with the appropriate name. This tells vim + as which character set to read and save the file. - To include the mailbox' name is as easy as: + 31.2. Modularization - set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: ... + ``Modularization'' means to divide the setup into several files while + sorting the options or commands by topic. Especially for longer setups + (e.g. with many hooks), this helps maintaining it and solving trouble. - When the currently opened mailbox is Inbox, this will be expanded to: + When using separation, setups may be, as a whole or in fractions, shared + over different systems. - Mutt-ng 1.5.9i on mailhost: Inbox: ... + 31.3. Conditional parts - For the number of certain types of messages, one more feature of the format - strings is extremely useful. If there aren't messages of a certain type, it may - not be desired to print just that there aren't any but instead only print some- - thing if there are any. + When using a configuration on different systems, the user may not always + have influence on how mutt-ng is installed and which features it includes. - _4_._3_._2 _C_o_n_d_i_t_i_o_n_a_l _E_x_p_a_n_s_i_o_n + To solve this, mutt-ng contain a feature based on the ``ifdef'' patch + written for mutt. Its basic syntax is: - To only print the number of messages if there are new messages in the current - mailbox, further extend $status_format to: + ifdef + ifndef - set status_format = "%v on %h: %B %?n?%n new? ... + ...whereby can be one of: - This feature is called _n_o_n_z_e_r_o_-_p_r_i_n_t_i_n_g and works as this: some expandos may be - optionally printed nonzero, i.e. a portion of the format string is only evalu- - ated if the value of the expando is different from zero. The basic syntax is: + o a function name - %??? + o a variable name - which tells mutt-ng to only look at if the value of the - %?&? + As an example, one can use the following in ˜/.muttngrc: - Using this we can make mutt-ng to do the following: + ifdef feature_imap 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-imap' + ifdef feature_pop 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-pop' + ifdef feature_nntp 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-nntp' - +o make it print ``_n new messages'' whereby _n is the count but only if there - new ones + ...to only source ˜/.mutt-ng/setup-imap if IMAP support is built in, only + source ˜/.mutt-ng/setup-pop if POP support is built in and only source + ˜/.mutt-ng/setup-nntp if NNTP support is built in. - +o and make it print ``no new messages'' if there aren't any + An example for testing for variable names can be used if users use + different revisions of mutt-ng whereby the older one may not have a + certain variable. To test for the availability of imap-mail-check , use: - The corresponding configuration is: + ifdef imap_mail_check 'set imap_mail_check = 300' - set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n new messages&no new messages? ... + Provided for completeness is the test for menu names. To set + pager-index-lines only if the pager menu is available, use: - This doubles the use of the ``new messages'' string because it'll get always - printed. Thus, it can be shortened to: + ifdef pager 'set pager_index_lines = 10' - set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n&no? new messages ... + For completeness, too, the opposite of ifdef is provided: ifndef which + only executes the command if the test fails. For example, the following + two examples are equivalent: - As you might see from this rather simple example, one can create very complex - but fancy status messages. Please see the reference chapter for expandos and - those which may be printed nonzero. + ifdef feature_ncurses 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-ncurses' + ifndef feature_ncurses 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-slang' - _4_._3_._3 _M_o_d_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _a_n_d _P_a_d_d_i_n_g + ...and... - Besides the information given so far, there're even more features of format - strings: + ifdef feature_slang 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-slang' + ifndef feature_slang 'source ~/.mutt-ng/setup-ncurses' - +o When specifying %_ instead of just %, mutt-ng will convert all - characters in the expansion of to lowercase. +32. Obsolete Variables - +o When specifying %: instead of just %, mutt-ng will convert all - dots in the expansion of to underscores (_). + In the process of ensuring and creating more consistency, many variables + have been renamed and some of the old names were already removed. Please + see sect-obsolete for a complete list. - Also, there's a feature called _P_a_d_d_i_n_g supplied by the following two expandos: - %|X and %>X. +Chapter 4. Advanced Usage - %|X - When this occurs, mutt-ng will fill the rest of the line with the - character X. In our example, filling the rest of the line with - dashes is done by setting: + Table of Contents - set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n&no? new messages %|-" + 1. Regular Expressions - %>X - Since the previous expando stops at the end of line, there must be + 2. Patterns - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 56 + 2.1. Complex Patterns - a way to fill the gap between two items via the %>X expando: it - puts as many characters X in between two items so that the rest of - the line will be right-justified. For example, to not put the ver- - sion string and hostname of our example on the left but on the - right and fill the gap with spaces, one might use (note the space - after %>): + 2.2. Patterns and Dates - set status_format = "%B: %?n?%n&no? new messages %> (%v on %h)" + 3. Format Strings - _4_._4 _U_s_i_n_g _T_a_g_s + 3.1. Introduction - Sometimes it is desirable to perform an operation on a group of messages all at - once rather than one at a time. An example might be to save messages to a - mailing list to a separate folder, or to delete all messages with a given sub- - ject. To tag all messages matching a pattern, use the tag-pattern function, - which is bound to ``shift-T'' by default. Or you can select individual mes- - sages by hand using the ``tag-message'' function, which is bound to ``t'' by - default. See _p_a_t_t_e_r_n_s (section 7.2 , page 83) for Mutt-ng's pattern matching - syntax. + 3.2. Conditional Expansion - Once you have tagged the desired messages, you can use the ``tag-prefix'' oper- - ator, which is the ``;'' (semicolon) key by default. When the ``tag-prefix'' - operator is used, the nneexxtt operation will be applied to all tagged messages if - that operation can be used in that manner. If the _$_a_u_t_o___t_a_g (section 7.4.19 , - page 93) variable is set, the next operation applies to the tagged messages - automatically, without requiring the ``tag-prefix''. + 3.3. Modifications and Padding - In _m_a_c_r_o_s (section 3.8 , page 29) or _p_u_s_h (section 3.24 , page 41) commands, - you can use the ``tag-prefix-cond'' operator. If there are no tagged messages, - mutt will "eat" the rest of the macro to abort it's execution. Mutt-ng will - stop "eating" the macro when it encounters the ``end-cond'' operator; after - this operator the rest of the macro will be executed as normal. + 4. Using Tags - _4_._5 _U_s_i_n_g _H_o_o_k_s + 5. Using Hooks - A _h_o_o_k is a concept borrowed from the EMACS editor which allows you to execute - arbitrary commands before performing some operation. For example, you may wish - to tailor your configuration based upon which mailbox you are reading, or to - whom you are sending mail. In the Mutt-ng world, a _h_o_o_k consists of a _r_e_g_u_l_a_r - _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n (section 4.1 , page 48) or _p_a_t_t_e_r_n (section 7.2 , page 83) along - with a configuration option/command. See + 5.1. Message Matching in Hooks - +o _f_o_l_d_e_r_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.7 , page 29) + 6. Using the sidebar - +o _s_e_n_d_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.21 , page 39) + 7. External Address Queries - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 57 + 8. Mailbox Formats - +o _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.22 , page 40) + 9. Mailbox Shortcuts - +o _s_a_v_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.18 , page 38) + 10. Handling Mailing Lists - +o _m_b_o_x_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.14 , page 37) + 11. Editing threads - +o _f_c_c_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.19 , page 39) + 11.1. Linking threads - +o _f_c_c_-_s_a_v_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 3.20 , page 39) + 11.2. Breaking threads - for specific details on each type of _h_o_o_k available. + 12. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support - NNoottee:: if a hook changes configuration settings, these changes remain effective - until the end of the current mutt session. As this is generally not desired, a - default hook needs to be added before all other hooks to restore configuration - defaults. Here is an example with send-hook and the my_hdr directive: + 13. POP3 Support (OPTIONAL) - send-hook . 'unmy_hdr From:' - send-hook ~C'^b@b\.b$' my_hdr from: c@c.c + 14. IMAP Support (OPTIONAL) - _4_._5_._1 _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _M_a_t_c_h_i_n_g _i_n _H_o_o_k_s + 14.1. The Folder Browser - Hooks that act upon messages (send-hook, save-hook, fcc-hook, message-hook) are - evaluated in a slightly different manner. For the other types of hooks, a _r_e_g_- - _u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n (section 4.1 , page 48) is sufficient. But in dealing with - messages a finer grain of control is needed for matching since for different - purposes you want to match different criteria. + 14.2. Authentication - Mutt-ng allows the use of the _s_e_a_r_c_h _p_a_t_t_e_r_n (section 7.2 , page 83) language - for matching messages in hook commands. This works in exactly the same way as - it would when _l_i_m_i_t_i_n_g or _s_e_a_r_c_h_i_n_g the mailbox, except that you are restricted - to those operators which match information mutt extracts from the header of the - message (i.e. from, to, cc, date, subject, etc.). + 15. NNTP Support (OPTIONAL) - For example, if you wanted to set your return address based upon sending mail - to a specific address, you could do something like: + 15.1. Again: Scoring - send-hook '~t ^me@cs\.hmc\.edu$' 'my_hdr From: Mutt-ng User ' + 16. SMTP Support (OPTIONAL) - which would execute the given command when sending mail to _m_e_@_c_s_._h_m_c_._e_d_u. + 17. Managing multiple IMAP/POP/NNTP accounts (OPTIONAL) - However, it is not required that you write the pattern to match using the full - searching language. You can still specify a simple _r_e_g_u_l_a_r _e_x_p_r_e_s_s_i_o_n like the - other hooks, in which case Mutt-ng will translate your pattern into the full - language, using the translation specified by the _$_d_e_f_a_u_l_t___h_o_o_k (section - 7.4.49 , page 100) variable. The pattern is translated at the time the hook - is declared, so the value of _$_d_e_f_a_u_l_t___h_o_o_k (section 7.4.49 , page 100) that is - in effect at that time will be used. + 18. Start a WWW Browser on URLs (EXTERNAL) - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 58 + 19. Compressed folders Support (OPTIONAL) - _4_._6 _U_s_i_n_g _t_h_e _s_i_d_e_b_a_r + 19.1. Open a compressed mailbox for reading - The sidebar, a feature specific to Mutt-ng, allows you to use a mailbox listing - which looks very similar to the ones you probably know from GUI mail clients. - The sidebar lists all specified mailboxes, shows the number in each and high- - lights the ones with new email Use the following configuration commands: + 19.2. Write a compressed mailbox - set sidebar_visible="yes" - set sidebar_width=25 + 19.3. Append a message to a compressed mailbox - If you want to specify the mailboxes you can do so with: + 19.4. Encrypted folders - set mbox='=INBOX' - mailboxes INBOX \ - MBOX1 \ - MBOX2 \ - ... +1. Regular Expressions - You can also specify the colors for mailboxes with new mails by using: + All string patterns in Mutt-ng including those in more complex patterns + must be specified using regular expressions (regexp) in the ``POSIX + extended'' syntax (which is more or less the syntax used by egrep and GNU + awk). For your convenience, we have included below a brief description of + this syntax. - color sidebar_new red black - color sidebar white black + The search is case sensitive if the pattern contains at least one upper + case letter, and case insensitive otherwise. Note that ``\'' must be + quoted if used for a regular expression in an initialization command: + ``\\''. - The available functions are: + A regular expression is a pattern that describes a set of strings. Regular + expressions are constructed analogously to arithmetic expressions, by + using various operators to combine smaller expressions. - sidebar-scroll-up Scrolls the mailbox list up 1 page - sidebar-scroll-down Scrolls the mailbox list down 1 page - sidebar-next Highlights the next mailbox - sidebar-next-new Highlights the next mailbox with new mail - sidebar-previous Highlights the previous mailbox - sidebar-open Opens the currently highlighted mailbox + Note that the regular expression can be enclosed/delimited by either " or + ' which is useful if the regular expression includes a white-space + character. See muttrc-syntax for more information on " and ' delimiter + processing. To match a literal " or ' you must preface it with \ + (backslash). - Reasonable key bindings look e.g. like this: + The fundamental building blocks are the regular expressions that match a + single character. Most characters, including all letters and digits, are + regular expressions that match themselves. Any metacharacter with special + meaning may be quoted by preceding it with a backslash. - bind index \Cp sidebar-prev - bind index \Cn sidebar-next - bind index \Cb sidebar-open - bind pager \Cp sidebar-prev - bind pager \Cn sidebar-next - bind pager \Cb sidebar-open + The period ``.'' matches any single character. The caret ``^'' andthe + dollar sign ``$'' are metacharacters that respectively match the empty + string at the beginning and end of a line. - macro index B ':toggle sidebar_visible^M' - macro pager B ':toggle sidebar_visible^M' + A list of characters enclosed by ``['' and ``]'' matches any single + character in that list; if the first character of the list is a caret + ``^'' then it matches any character not in the list. For example, the + regular expression [0123456789] matches any single digit. A range of ASCII + characters may be specified by giving the first and last characters, + separated by a hyphen ``-''. Most metacharacters lose their special + meaning inside lists. To include a literal ``]'' place it first in the + list. Similarly, to include a literal ``^'' place it anywhere but first. + Finally, to include a literal hyphen ``-'' place it last. - You can then go up and down by pressing Ctrl-P and Ctrl-N, and switch on and - off the sidebar simply by pressing 'B'. + Certain named classes of characters are predefined. Character classes + consist of ``[:'', a keyword denoting the class, and ``:]''. The following + classes are defined by the POSIX standard: - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 59 + [:alnum:] - _4_._7 _E_x_t_e_r_n_a_l _A_d_d_r_e_s_s _Q_u_e_r_i_e_s + Alphanumeric characters. - Mutt-ng supports connecting to external directory databases such as LDAP, - ph/qi, bbdb, or NIS through a wrapper script which connects to mutt using a - simple interface. Using the _$_q_u_e_r_y___c_o_m_m_a_n_d (section 7.4.234 , page 145) vari- - able, you specify the wrapper command to use. For example: + [:alpha:] - set query_command = "mutt_ldap_query.pl '%s'" + Alphabetic characters. - The wrapper script should accept the query on the command-line. It should - return a one line message, then each matching response on a single line, each - line containing a tab separated address then name then some other optional - information. On error, or if there are no matching addresses, return a non- - zero exit code and a one line error message. + [:blank:] - An example multiple response output: + Space or tab characters. - Searching database ... 20 entries ... 3 matching: - me@cs.hmc.edu Michael Elkins mutt dude - blong@fiction.net Brandon Long mutt and more - roessler@guug.de Thomas Roessler mutt pgp + [:cntrl:] - There are two mechanisms for accessing the query function of mutt. One is to - do a query from the index menu using the query function (default: Q). This - will prompt for a query, then bring up the query menu which will list the - matching responses. From the query menu, you can select addresses to create - aliases, or to mail. You can tag multiple addresses to mail, start a new - query, or have a new query appended to the current responses. + Control characters. - The other mechanism for accessing the query function is for address completion, - similar to the alias completion. In any prompt for address entry, you can use - the complete-query function (default: ^T) to run a query based on the current - address you have typed. Like aliases, mutt will look for what you have typed - back to the last space or comma. If there is a single response for that query, - mutt will expand the address in place. If there are multiple responses, mutt - will activate the query menu. At the query menu, you can select one or more - addresses to be added to the prompt. + [:digit:] - _4_._8 _M_a_i_l_b_o_x _F_o_r_m_a_t_s + Numeric characters. - Mutt-ng supports reading and writing of four different mailbox formats: mbox, - MMDF, MH and Maildir. The mailbox type is autodetected, so there is no need to - use a flag for different mailbox types. When creating new mailboxes, Mutt-ng - uses the default specified with the _$_m_b_o_x___t_y_p_e (section 7.4.132 , page 121) - variable. + [:graph:] - mmbbooxx. This is the most widely used mailbox format for UNIX. All messages are - stored in a single file. Each message has a line of the form: + Characters that are both printable and visible. (A space is + printable, but not visible, while an ``a'' is both.) - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 60 + [:lower:] - From me@cs.hmc.edu Fri, 11 Apr 1997 11:44:56 PST + Lower-case alphabetic characters. - to denote the start of a new message (this is often referred to as the - ``From_'' line). - - MMMMDDFF. This is a variant of the _m_b_o_x format. Each message is surrounded by - lines containing ``^A^A^A^A'' (four control-A's). + [:print:] - MMHH. A radical departure from _m_b_o_x and _M_M_D_F, a mailbox consists of a directory - and each message is stored in a separate file. The filename indicates the mes- - sage number (however, this is may not correspond to the message number Mutt-ng - displays). Deleted messages are renamed with a comma (,) prepended to the file- - name. NNoottee:: Mutt detects this type of mailbox by looking for either - .mh_sequences or .xmhcache (needed to distinguish normal directories from MH - mailboxes). - - MMaaiillddiirr. The newest of the mailbox formats, used by the Qmail MTA (a replace- - ment for sendmail). Similar to _M_H, except that it adds three subdirectories of - the mailbox: _t_m_p, _n_e_w and _c_u_r. Filenames for the messages are chosen in such a - way they are unique, even when two programs are writing the mailbox over NFS, - which means that no file locking is needed. - - _4_._9 _M_a_i_l_b_o_x _S_h_o_r_t_c_u_t_s - - There are a number of built in shortcuts which refer to specific mailboxes. - These shortcuts can be used anywhere you are prompted for a file or mailbox - path. - - +o ! -- refers to your _$_s_p_o_o_l_f_i_l_e (section 7.4.310 , page 163) (incoming) - mailbox - - +o > -- refers to your _$_m_b_o_x (section 7.4.131 , page 121) file - - +o < -- refers to your _$_r_e_c_o_r_d (section 7.4.243 , page 147) file - - +o ^ -- refers to the current mailbox - - +o - or !! -- refers to the file you've last visited - - +o ~ -- refers to your home directory - - +o = or + -- refers to your _$_f_o_l_d_e_r (section 7.4.70 , page 104) directory - - +o @_a_l_i_a_s -- refers to the _d_e_f_a_u_l_t _s_a_v_e _f_o_l_d_e_r (section 3.18 , page 38) as - determined by the address of the alias - - _4_._1_0 _H_a_n_d_l_i_n_g _M_a_i_l_i_n_g _L_i_s_t_s - - Mutt-ng has a few configuration options that make dealing with large amounts of - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 61 - - mail easier. The first thing you must do is to let Mutt know what addresses - you consider to be mailing lists (technically this does not have to be a mail- - ing list, but that is what it is most often used for), and what lists you are - subscribed to. This is accomplished through the use of the _l_i_s_t_s _a_n_d _s_u_b_s_c_r_i_b_e - (section 3.13 , page 36) commands in your muttrc. - - Now that Mutt-ng knows what your mailing lists are, it can do several things, - the first of which is the ability to show the name of a list through which you - received a message (i.e., of a subscribed list) in the _i_n_d_e_x menu display. - This is useful to distinguish between personal and list mail in the same mail- - box. In the _$_i_n_d_e_x___f_o_r_m_a_t (section 7.4.116 , page 115) variable, the escape - ``%L'' will return the string ``To '' when ``list'' appears in the ``To'' - field, and ``Cc '' when it appears in the ``Cc'' field (otherwise it - returns the name of the author). - - Often times the ``To'' and ``Cc'' fields in mailing list messages tend to get - quite large. Most people do not bother to remove the author of the message they - are reply to from the list, resulting in two or more copies being sent to that - person. The ``list-reply'' function, which by default is bound to ``L'' in the - _i_n_d_e_x menu and _p_a_g_e_r, helps reduce the clutter by only replying to the known - mailing list addresses instead of all recipients (except as specified by Mail- - Followup-To, see below). + Printable characters (characters that are not control characters.) - Mutt-ng also supports the Mail-Followup-To header. When you send a message to - a list of recipients which includes one or several subscribed mailing lists, - and if the _$_f_o_l_l_o_w_u_p___t_o (section 7.4.72 , page 105) option is set, mutt will - generate a Mail-Followup-To header which contains all the recipients to whom - you send this message, but not your address. This indicates that group-replies - or list-replies (also known as ``followups'') to this message should only be - sent to the original recipients of the message, and not separately to you - - you'll receive your copy through one of the mailing lists you are subscribed - to. + [:punct:] - Conversely, when group-replying or list-replying to a message which has a Mail- - Followup-To header, mutt will respect this header if the _$_h_o_n_o_r___f_o_l_l_o_w_u_p___t_o - (section 7.4.94 , page 110) configuration variable is set. Using list-reply - will in this case also make sure that the reply goes to the mailing list, even - if it's not specified in the list of recipients in the Mail-Followup-To. + Punctuation characters (characters that are not letter, digits, + control characters, or space characters). - Note that, when header editing is enabled, you can create a Mail-Followup-To - header manually. Mutt-ng will only auto-generate this header if it doesn't - exist when you send the message. + [:space:] - The other method some mailing list admins use is to generate a ``Reply-To'' - field which points back to the mailing list address rather than the author of - the message. This can create problems when trying to reply directly to the - author in private, since most mail clients will automatically reply to the - address given in the ``Reply-To'' field. Mutt-ng uses the _$_r_e_p_l_y___t_o (section - 7.4.246 , page 148) variable to help decide which address to use. If set to - _a_s_k_-_y_e_s or _a_s_k_-_n_o, you will be prompted as to whether or not you would like to - use the address given in the ``Reply-To'' field, or reply directly to the - address given in the ``From'' field. When set to _y_e_s, the ``Reply-To'' field - will be used when present. + Space characters (such as space, tab and formfeed, to name a few). - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 62 + [:upper:] - The ``X-Label:'' header field can be used to further identify mailing lists or - list subject matter (or just to annotate messages individually). The - _$_i_n_d_e_x___f_o_r_m_a_t (section 7.4.116 , page 115) variable's ``%y'' and ``%Y'' - escapes can be used to expand ``X-Label:'' fields in the index, and Mutt-ng's - pattern-matcher can match regular expressions to ``X-Label:'' fields with the - ``~y'' selector. ``X-Label:'' is not a standard message header field, but it - can easily be inserted by procmail and other mail filtering agents. + Upper-case alphabetic characters. - Lastly, Mutt-ng has the ability to _s_o_r_t (section 7.4.304 , page 161) the mail- - box into _t_h_r_e_a_d_s (section 2.5.3 , page 11). A thread is a group of messages - which all relate to the same subject. This is usually organized into a tree- - like structure where a message and all of its replies are represented graphi- - cally. If you've ever used a threaded news client, this is the same concept. - It makes dealing with large volume mailing lists easier because you can easily - delete uninteresting threads and quickly find topics of value. + [:xdigit:] - _4_._1_1 _E_d_i_t_i_n_g _t_h_r_e_a_d_s + Characters that are hexadecimal digits. - Mutt-ng has the ability to dynamically restructure threads that are broken - either by misconfigured software or bad behavior from some correspondents. This - allows to clean your mailboxes formats) from these annoyances which make it - hard to follow a discussion. + A character class is only valid in a regular expression inside the + brackets of a character list. Note that the brackets in these class names + are part of the symbolic names, and must be included in addition to the + brackets delimiting the bracket list. For example, [[:digit:]] is + equivalent to [0-9]. - _4_._1_1_._1 _L_i_n_k_i_n_g _t_h_r_e_a_d_s + Two additional special sequences can appear in character lists. These + apply to non-ASCII character sets, which can have single symbols + (calledcollating elements) that are represented with more than one + character, as well as several characters that are equivalent for collating + or sorting purposes: - Some mailers tend to "forget" to correctly set the "In-Reply-To:" and "Refer- - ences:" headers when replying to a message. This results in broken discussions - because Mutt-ng has not enough information to guess the correct threading. You - can fix this by tagging the reply, then moving to the parent message and using - the ``link-threads'' function (bound to & by default). The reply will then be - connected to this "parent" message. - - You can also connect multiple children at once, tagging them and using the tag- - prefix command (';') or the auto_tag option. - - _4_._1_1_._2 _B_r_e_a_k_i_n_g _t_h_r_e_a_d_s - - On mailing lists, some people are in the bad habit of starting a new discussion - by hitting "reply" to any message from the list and changing the subject to a - totally unrelated one. You can fix such threads by using the ``break-thread'' - function (bound by default to #), which will turn the subthread starting from - the current message into a whole different thread. - - _4_._1_2 _D_e_l_i_v_e_r_y _S_t_a_t_u_s _N_o_t_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _(_D_S_N_) _S_u_p_p_o_r_t - - RFC1894 defines a set of MIME content types for relaying information about the - status of electronic mail messages. These can be thought of as ``return - receipts.'' - - Users can make use of it in one of the following two ways: - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 63 - - +o Berkeley sendmail 8.8.x currently has some command line options in which - the mail client can make requests as to what type of status messages - should be returned. - - +o The SMTP support via libESMTP supports it, too. - - To support this, there are two variables: - - +o _$_d_s_n___n_o_t_i_f_y (section 7.4.56 , page 101) is used to request receipts for - different results (such as failed message, message delivered, etc.). + Collating Symbols - +o _$_d_s_n___r_e_t_u_r_n (section 7.4.57 , page 102) requests how much of your message - should be returned with the receipt (headers or full message). + A collating symbol is a multi-character collating element enclosed + in ``[.'' and ``.]''. For example, if ``ch'' is a collating + element, then [[.ch.]] is a regexp that matches this collating + element, while [ch] is a regexp that matches either ``c'' or + ``h''. - Please see the reference chapter for possible values. + Equivalence Classes - _4_._1_3 _P_O_P_3 _S_u_p_p_o_r_t _(_O_P_T_I_O_N_A_L_) + An equivalence class is a locale-specific name for a list of + characters that are equivalent. The name is enclosed in ``[='' and + ``=]''. For example, the name ``e'' might be used to represent all + of ``è'' ``é'' and ``e''. In this case, [[=e=]] is a regexp that + matches any of ``è'', ``é'' and ``e''. - If Mutt-ng was compiled with POP3 support (by running the _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_e script with - the _-_-_e_n_a_b_l_e_-_p_o_p flag), it has the ability to work with mailboxes located on a - remote POP3 server and fetch mail for local browsing. + A regular expression matching a single character may be followed by one of + several repetition operators: - You can access the remote POP3 mailbox by selecting the folder - pop://popserver/. + ? - You can select an alternative port by specifying it with the server, i.e.: - pop://popserver:port/. + The preceding item is optional and matched at most once. - You can also specify different username for each folder, i.e.: pop://user- - name@popserver[:port]/. + * - Polling for new mail is more expensive over POP3 than locally. For this reason - the frequency at which Mutt-ng will check for mail remotely can be controlled - by the _$_p_o_p___m_a_i_l___c_h_e_c_k (section 7.4.221 , page 142) variable, which defaults - to every 60 seconds. + The preceding item will be matched zero or more times. - If Mutt-ng was compiled with SSL support (by running the _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_e script with - the _-_-_w_i_t_h_-_s_s_l flag), connections to POP3 servers can be encrypted. This natu- - rally requires that the server supports SSL encrypted connections. To access a - folder with POP3/SSL, you should use pops: prefix, ie: pops://[user- - name@]popserver[:port]/. + + - Another way to access your POP3 mail is the _f_e_t_c_h_-_m_a_i_l function (default: G). - It allows to connect to _p_o_p___h_o_s_t (section 7.4.219 , page 142), fetch all your - new mail and place it in the local _s_p_o_o_l_f_i_l_e (section 7.4.310 , page 163). - After this point, Mutt-ng runs exactly as if the mail had always been local. + The preceding item will be matched one or more times. - NNoottee:: If you only need to fetch all messages to local mailbox you should con- - sider using a specialized program, such as fetchmail + {n} - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 64 + The preceding item is matched exactly n times. - _4_._1_4 _I_M_A_P _S_u_p_p_o_r_t _(_O_P_T_I_O_N_A_L_) + {n,} - If Mutt-ng was compiled with IMAP support (by running the _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_e script with - the _-_-_e_n_a_b_l_e_-_i_m_a_p flag), it has the ability to work with folders located on a - remote IMAP server. + The preceding item is matched n or more times. - You can access the remote inbox by selecting the folder - imap://imapserver/INBOX, where imapserver is the name of the IMAP server and - INBOX is the special name for your spool mailbox on the IMAP server. If you - want to access another mail folder at the IMAP server, you should use - imap://imapserver/path/to/folder where path/to/folder is the path of the folder - you want to access. + {,m} - You can select an alternative port by specifying it with the server, i.e.: - imap://imapserver:port/INBOX. + The preceding item is matched at most m times. - You can also specify different username for each folder, i.e.: imap://user- - name@imapserver[:port]/INBOX. + {n,m} - If Mutt-ng was compiled with SSL support (by running the _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_e script with - the _-_-_w_i_t_h_-_s_s_l flag), connections to IMAP servers can be encrypted. This natu- - rally requires that the server supports SSL encrypted connections. To access a - folder with IMAP/SSL, you should use imaps://[user- - name@]imapserver[:port]/path/to/folder as your folder path. + The preceding item is matched at least n times, but no more than m + times. - Pine-compatible notation is also supported, i.e. {[user- - name@]imapserver[:port][/ssl]}path/to/folder + Two regular expressions may be concatenated; the resulting regular + expression matches any string formed by concatenating two substrings that + respectively match the concatenated subexpressions. - Note that not all servers use / as the hierarchy separator. Mutt-ng should - correctly notice which separator is being used by the server and convert paths - accordingly. + Two regular expressions may be joined by the infix operator ``|''; the + resulting regular expression matches any string matching either + subexpression. - When browsing folders on an IMAP server, you can toggle whether to look at only - the folders you are subscribed to, or all folders with the _t_o_g_g_l_e_-_s_u_b_s_c_r_i_b_e_d - command. See also the _$_i_m_a_p___l_i_s_t___s_u_b_s_c_r_i_b_e_d (section 7.4.103 , page 113) - variable. + Repetition takes precedence over concatenation, which in turn takes + precedence over alternation. A whole subexpression may be enclosed in + parentheses to override these precedence rules. - Polling for new mail on an IMAP server can cause noticeable delays. So, you'll - want to carefully tune the _$_i_m_a_p___m_a_i_l___c_h_e_c_k (section 7.4.105 , page 113) and - _$_t_i_m_e_o_u_t (section 7.4.334 , page 170) variables. + Note: If you compile Mutt-ng with the GNU rx package, the following + operators may also be used in regular expressions: - Note that if you are using mbox as the mail store on UW servers prior to - v12.250, the server has been reported to disconnect a client if another client - selects the same folder. + \\y - _4_._1_4_._1 _T_h_e _F_o_l_d_e_r _B_r_o_w_s_e_r + Matches the empty string at either the beginning or the end of a + word. - As of version 1.2, mutt supports browsing mailboxes on an IMAP server. This is - mostly the same as the local file browser, with the following differences: + \\B - +o Instead of file permissions, mutt displays the string "IMAP", possibly - followed by the symbol "+", indicating that the entry contains both mes- - sages and subfolders. On Cyrus-like servers folders will often contain - both messages and subfolders. + Matches the empty string within a word. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 65 + \\< - +o For the case where an entry can contain both messages and subfolders, the - selection key (bound to enter by default) will choose to descend into the - subfolder view. If you wish to view the messages in that folder, you must - use view-file instead (bound to space by default). + Matches the empty string at the beginning of a word. - +o You can create, delete and rename mailboxes with the create-mailbox, - delete-mailbox, and rename-mailbox commands (default bindings: C, d and r, - respectively). You may also subscribe and unsubscribe to mailboxes (nor- - mally these are bound to s and u, respectively). + \\> - _4_._1_4_._2 _A_u_t_h_e_n_t_i_c_a_t_i_o_n + Matches the empty string at the end of a word. - Mutt-ng supports four authentication methods with IMAP servers: SASL, GSSAPI, - CRAM-MD5, and LOGIN (there is a patch by Grant Edwards to add NTLM authentica- - tion for you poor exchange users out there, but it has yet to be integrated - into the main tree). There is also support for the pseudo-protocol ANONYMOUS, - which allows you to log in to a public IMAP server without having an account. - To use ANONYMOUS, simply make your username blank or "anonymous". + \\w - SASL is a special super-authenticator, which selects among several protocols - (including GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, ANONYMOUS, and DIGEST-MD5) the most secure method - available on your host and the server. Using some of these methods (including - DIGEST-MD5 and possibly GSSAPI), your entire session will be encrypted and - invisible to those teeming network snoops. It is the best option if you have - it. To use it, you must have the Cyrus SASL library installed on your system - and compile mutt with the _-_-_w_i_t_h_-_s_a_s_l flag. + Matches any word-constituent character (letter, digit, or + underscore). - Mutt-ng will try whichever methods are compiled in and available on the server, - in the following order: SASL, ANONYMOUS, GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, LOGIN. + \\W - There are a few variables which control authentication: + Matches any character that is not word-constituent. - +o _$_i_m_a_p___u_s_e_r (section 7.4.111 , page 114) - controls the username under - which you request authentication on the IMAP server, for all authentica- - tors. This is overridden by an explicit username in the mailbox path (i.e. - by using a mailbox name of the form {user@host}). + \\` - +o _$_i_m_a_p___p_a_s_s (section 7.4.106 , page 113) - a password which you may pre- - set, used by all authentication methods where a password is needed. + Matches the empty string at the beginning of a buffer (string). - +o _$_i_m_a_p___a_u_t_h_e_n_t_i_c_a_t_o_r_s (section 7.4.97 , page 111) - a colon-delimited list - of IMAP authentication methods to try, in the order you wish to try them. - If specified, this overrides mutt's default (attempt everything, in the - order listed above). + \\' - _4_._1_5 _N_N_T_P _S_u_p_p_o_r_t _(_O_P_T_I_O_N_A_L_) + Matches the empty string at the end of a buffer. - If compiled with ``--enable-nntp'' option, Mutt-ng can read news from a - newsserver via NNTP. You can open a newsgroup with the ``change-newsgroup'' - function from the index/pager which is by default bound to i. + Please note however that these operators are not defined by POSIX, so they + may or may not be available in stock libraries on various systems. - The Default newsserver can be obtained from the $NNTPSERVER environment +2. Patterns - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 66 + Mutt-ng's pattern language provides a simple yet effective way to set up + rules to match messages, e.g. for operations like tagging and scoring. A + pattern consists of one or more sub-pattern, which can be logically + grouped, ORed, and negated. For a complete listing of these patterns, + please refer to table patterns in the Reference chapter. - variable. Like other news readers, info about subscribed newsgroups is saved in - a file as specified by the _$_n_n_t_p___n_e_w_s_r_c (section 7.4.169 , page 130) variable. - Article headers are cached and can be loaded from a file when a newsgroup is - entered instead loading from newsserver; currently, this caching mechanism - still is different from the header caching for maildir/IMAP. + It must be noted that in this table, EXPR is a regular expression. For + ranges, the forms <[MAX], >>[MIN], [MIN]- and -[MAX] are also possible. - _4_._1_5_._1 _A_g_a_i_n_: _S_c_o_r_i_n_g + 2.1. Complex Patterns - Especially for Usenet, people often ask for advanced filtering and scoring - functionality. Of course, mutt-ng has scoring and allows a killfile, too. How - to use a killfile has been discussed in _M_e_s_s_a_g_e _s_c_o_r_i_n_g (section 3.26 , page - 41). + It is possible to combine several sub-patterns to a more complex pattern. + The most simple possibility is to logically AND several patterns by + stringing them together: - What has not been discusses in detail is mutt-ng's built-in realname filter. - For may newsreaders including those for ``advanced users'' like _s_l_r_n or _t_i_n, - there are frequent request for such functionality. The solutions offered often - are complicated regular expressions. + ~s 'SPAM' ~U - In mutt-ng this is as easy as + The pattern above matches all messages that contain ``SPAM'' in the + subject and are unread. - score ~* =42 + To logical OR patterns, simply use the | operator. This one especially + useful when using local groups: - This tells mutt-ng to apply a score of 42 to all messages whose sender speci- - fied a valid realname and a valid email address. Using + ~f ("nion@muttng\.org"|"ak@muttng\.org"|"pdmef@muttng\.org") + (~b mutt-ng|~s Mutt-ng) + !~x '@synflood\.at' - score !~* =42 + The first pattern matches all messages that were sent by one of the + mutt-ng maintainers, while the seconds pattern matches all messages that + contain ``mutt-ng'' in the message body or ``Mutt-ng'' in the subject. The + third pattern matches all messages that do not contain ``@synflood\.at'' + in the References: header, i.e. messages that are not an (indirect) reply + to one of my messages. A pattern can be logicall negated using the ! + operator. - on the contrary applies a score of 42 to all messages _n_o_t matching those crite- - ria which are very strict: + 2.2. Patterns and Dates - +o Email addresses must be valid according to RFC 2822, see + When using dates in patterns, the dates must be specified in a special + format, i.e. DD/MM/YYYY. If you don't specify month or year, they default + to the current month or year. When using date ranges, and you specify only + the minimum or the maximum, the specified date will be excluded, e.g. + 01/06/2005- matches against all messages after Juni 1st, 2005. - +o the name must consist of at least 2 fields whereby a field must not end in - a dot. This means that ``Joe User'' and ``Joe A. User'' are valid while - ``J. User'' and ``J. A. User'' aren't. + It is also possible to use so-called ``error margins'' when specifying + date ranges. You simply specify a date, and then the error margin. This + margin needs to contain the information whether it goes ``forth'' or + ``back'' in time, by using + and -. Then follows a number and a unit, i.e. + y for years, m for months, w for weeks and d for days. If you use the + special * sign, it means that the error margin goes to both``directions'' + in time. - +o it's assumed that users are interested in reading their own mail and mail - from people who they have defined an alias for so that those 2 groups of - messages are excluded from the strict rules. + ~d 01/01/2005+1y + ~d 18/10/2004-2w + ~d 28/12/2004*1d - _4_._1_6 _S_M_T_P _S_u_p_p_o_r_t _(_O_P_T_I_O_N_A_L_) + The first pattern matches all dates between January 1st, 2005 and January + 1st 2006. The second pattern matches all dates between October 18th, 2004 + and October 4th 2004 (2 weeks before 18/10/2004), while the third pattern + matches all dates 1 day around December 28th, 2004 (i.e. Dec 27th, 28th + and 29th). - Mutt-ng can be built using a library called ``libESMTP'' which provides SMTP + Relative dates are also very important, as they make it possible to + specify date ranges between a fixed number of units and the current date. + How this works can be seen in the following example: - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 67 + ~d >2w # messages older than two weeks + ~d <3d # messages newer than 3 days + ~d =1m # messages that are exactly one month old - functionality. When configure was called with --with-libesmtp or the output - muttng -v contains +USE_LIBESMTP, this will be or is the case already. The SMTP - support includes support for Delivery Status Notification (see _D_e_l_i_v_e_r_y _S_t_a_t_u_s - _N_o_t_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n (section 4.12 , page 62) section) as well as handling the 8BIT- - MIME flag controlled via _$_u_s_e___8_b_i_t_m_i_m_e (section 7.4.341 , page 172). +3. Format Strings - To enable sending mail directly via SMTP without an MTA such as Postfix or - SSMTP and the like, simply set the _$_s_m_t_p___h_o_s_t (section 7.4.299 , page 160) - variable pointing to your SMTP server. + 3.1. Introduction - Authentication mechanisms are available via the _$_s_m_t_p___u_s_e_r (section 7.4.303 , - page 161) and _$_s_m_t_p___p_a_s_s (section 7.4.300 , page 160) variables. + The so called Format Strings offer great flexibility when configuring + mutt-ng. In short, they describe what items to print out how in menus and + status messages. - Transport Encryption via the StartTLS command is also available. For this to - work, first of all Mutt-ng must be built with SSL or GNUTLS. Secondly, the - _$_s_m_t_p___u_s_e___t_l_s (section 7.4.302 , page 161) variable must be either set to - ``enabled'' or ``required.'' In both cases, StartTLS will be used if the server - supports it: for the second case, the connection will fail if it doesn't while - switching back to unencrypted communication for the first one. + Basically, they work as this: for different menus and bars, there's a + variable specifying the layout. For every item available, there is a so + called expando. - Some mail providers require user's to set a particular envelope sender, i.e. - they allow for only one value which may not be what the user wants to send as - the From: header. In this case, the variable _$_s_m_t_p___e_n_v_e_l_o_p_e (section 7.4.298 , - page 160) may be used to set the envelope different from the From: header. + For example, when running mutt-ng on different machines or different + versions for testing purposes, it may be interesting to have the following + information always printed on screen when one is in the index: - _4_._1_7 _M_a_n_a_g_i_n_g _m_u_l_t_i_p_l_e _I_M_A_P_/_P_O_P_/_N_N_T_P _a_c_c_o_u_n_t_s _(_O_P_T_I_O_N_A_L_) + o the current hostname - If you happen to have accounts on multiple IMAP and/or POP servers, you may - find managing all the authentication settings inconvenient and error-prone. - The account-hook command may help. This hook works like folder-hook but is - invoked whenever you access a remote mailbox (including inside the folder - browser), not just when you open the mailbox. + o the current mutt-ng version number - Some examples: + The setting for the status bar of the index is controlled via the + status-format variable. For the hostname and version string, there's an + expando for $status_format: %h expands to the hostname and %v to the + version string. When just configuring: - account-hook . 'unset imap_user; unset imap_pass; unset tunnel' - account-hook imap://host1/ 'set imap_user=me1 imap_pass=foo' - account-hook imap://host2/ 'set tunnel="ssh host2 /usr/libexec/imapd"' + set status_format = "%v on %h: ..." - _4_._1_8 _S_t_a_r_t _a _W_W_W _B_r_o_w_s_e_r _o_n _U_R_L_s _(_E_X_T_E_R_N_A_L_) + mutt-ng will replace the sequence %v with the version string and %h with + the host's name. When you are, for example, running mutt-ng version 1.5.9i + on host mailhost, you'll see the following when you're in the index: - If a message contains URLs (_u_n_i_f_i_e_d _r_e_s_o_u_r_c_e _l_o_c_a_t_o_r = address in the WWW space - like _h_t_t_p_:_/_/_w_w_w_._m_u_t_t_._o_r_g_/), it is efficient to get a menu with all the URLs and - start a WWW browser on one of them. This functionality is provided by the - external urlview program which can be retrieved at ftp://ftp.mutt.org/mutt/con- - trib/ and the configuration commands: + Mutt-ng 1.5.9i on mailhost: ... - macro index \cb |urlview\n - macro pager \cb |urlview\n + In the index, there're more useful information one could want to see: - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 68 + o which mailbox is open - _4_._1_9 _C_o_m_p_r_e_s_s_e_d _f_o_l_d_e_r_s _S_u_p_p_o_r_t _(_O_P_T_I_O_N_A_L_) + o how man new, flagged or postponed messages - If Mutt-ng was compiled with compressed folders support (by running the _c_o_n_f_i_g_- - _u_r_e script with the _-_-_e_n_a_b_l_e_-_c_o_m_p_r_e_s_s_e_d flag), Mutt can open folders stored in - an arbitrary format, provided that the user has a script to convert from/to - this format to one of the accepted. + o ... - The most common use is to open compressed archived folders e.g. with gzip. + To include the mailbox' name is as easy as: - In addition, the user can provide a script that gets a folder in an accepted - format and appends its context to the folder in the user-defined format, which - may be faster than converting the entire folder to the accepted format, append- - ing to it and converting back to the user-defined format. + set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: ... - There are three hooks defined (_o_p_e_n_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.1 , page 68), _c_l_o_s_e_- - _h_o_o_k (section 4.19.2 , page 69) and _a_p_p_e_n_d_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.3 , page 69)) - which define commands to uncompress and compress a folder and to append mes- - sages to an existing compressed folder respectively. + When the currently opened mailbox is Inbox, this will be expanded to: - For example: + Mutt-ng 1.5.9i on mailhost: Inbox: ... - open-hook \\.gz$ "gzip -cd %f > %t" - close-hook \\.gz$ "gzip -c %t > %f" - append-hook \\.gz$ "gzip -c %t >> %f" + For the number of certain types of messages, one more feature of the + format strings is extremely useful. If there aren't messages of a certain + type, it may not be desired to print just that there aren't any but + instead only print something if there are any. - You do not have to specify all of the commands. If you omit _a_p_p_e_n_d_-_h_o_o_k (sec- - tion 4.19.3 , page 69), the folder will be open and closed again each time you - will add to it. If you omit _c_l_o_s_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.2 , page 69) (or give - empty command) , the folder will be open in the mode. If you specify _a_p_p_e_n_d_- - _h_o_o_k (section 4.19.3 , page 69) though you'll be able to append to the folder. + 3.2. Conditional Expansion - Note that Mutt-ng will only try to use hooks if the file is not in one of the - accepted formats. In particular, if the file is empty, mutt supposes it is not - compressed. This is important because it allows the use of programs that do not - have well defined extensions. Just use '.' as a regexp. But this may be sur- - prising if your compressing script produces empty files. In this situation, - unset _$_s_a_v_e___e_m_p_t_y (section 7.4.253 , page 149), so that the compressed file - will be removed if you delete all of the messages. + To only print the number of messages if there are new messages in the + current mailbox, further extend $status_format to: - _4_._1_9_._1 _O_p_e_n _a _c_o_m_p_r_e_s_s_e_d _m_a_i_l_b_o_x _f_o_r _r_e_a_d_i_n_g + set status_format = "%v on %h: %B %?n?%n new? ... - Usage: open-hook _r_e_g_e_x_p '_c_o_m_m_a_n_d' + This feature is called nonzero-printing and works as this: some expandos + may be optionally printed nonzero, i.e. a portion of the format string is + only evaluated if the value of the expando is different from zero. The + basic syntax is: - The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is the command that can be used for opening the folders whose names - match _r_e_g_e_x_p. + %??? - The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d string is the printf-like format string, and it should accept two - parameters: %f, which is replaced with the (compressed) folder name, and %t - which is replaced with the name of the temporary folder to which to write. + which tells mutt-ng to only look at if the value of + the %?&? - replaced by %, as in printf, and any other %anything is left as is. + Using this we can make mutt-ng to do the following: - The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d should nnoott remove the original compressed file. The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d should - return non-zero exit status if it fails, so mutt knows something's wrong. + o make it print ``n new messages'' whereby n is the count but only if + there new ones - Example: + o and make it print ``no new messages'' if there aren't any - open-hook \\.gz$ "gzip -cd %f > %t" + The corresponding configuration is: - If the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is empty, this operation is disabled for this file type. + set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n new messages&no new messages? ... - _4_._1_9_._2 _W_r_i_t_e _a _c_o_m_p_r_e_s_s_e_d _m_a_i_l_b_o_x + This doubles the use of the ``new messages'' string because it'll get + always printed. Thus, it can be shortened to: - Usage: close-hook _r_e_g_e_x_p '_c_o_m_m_a_n_d' + set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n&no? new messages ... - This is used to close the folder that was open with the _o_p_e_n_-_h_o_o_k (section - 4.19.1 , page 68) command after some changes were made to it. + As you might see from this rather simple example, one can create very + complex but fancy status messages. Please see the reference chapter for + expandos and those which may be printed nonzero. - The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d string is the command that can be used for closing the folders - whose names match _r_e_g_e_x_p. It has the same format as in the _o_p_e_n_-_h_o_o_k (section - 4.19.1 , page 68) command. Temporary folder in this case is the folder previ- - ously produced by the <_o_p_e_n_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.1 , page 68) command. + 3.3. Modifications and Padding - The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d should nnoott remove the decompressed file. The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d should return - non-zero exit status if it fails, so mutt knows something's wrong. + Besides the information given so far, there're even more features of + format strings: - Example: + o When specifying %_ instead of just %, mutt-ng will convert + all characters in the expansion of to lowercase. - close-hook \\.gz$ "gzip -c %t > %f" + o When specifying %: instead of just %, mutt-ng will convert + all dots in the expansion of to underscores (_). - If the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is empty, this operation is disabled for this file type, and the - file can only be open in the readonly mode. + Also, there's a feature called Padding supplied by the following two + expandos: %|X and %>X . - _c_l_o_s_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.2 , page 69) is not called when you exit from the - folder if the folder was not changed. + %|X - _4_._1_9_._3 _A_p_p_e_n_d _a _m_e_s_s_a_g_e _t_o _a _c_o_m_p_r_e_s_s_e_d _m_a_i_l_b_o_x + When this occurs, mutt-ng will fill the rest of the line with the + character X. In our example, filling the rest of the line with + dashes is done by setting: - Usage: append-hook _r_e_g_e_x_p '_c_o_m_m_a_n_d' + set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n&no? new messages %|-" - This command is used for saving to an existing compressed folder. The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d - is the command that can be used for appending to the folders whose names match - _r_e_g_e_x_p. It has the same format as in the _o_p_e_n_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.1 , page 68) - command. The temporary folder in this case contains the messages that are - being appended. + %>X - The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d should nnoott remove the decompressed file. The _c_o_m_m_a_n_d should return - non-zero exit status if it fails, so mutt knows something's wrong. + Since the previous expando stops at the end of line, there must be + a way to fill the gap between two items via the %>X expando: it + puts as many characters X in between two items so that the rest of + the line will be right-justified. For example, to not put the + version string and hostname of our example on the left but on the + right and fill the gap with spaces, one might use (note the space + after %>): - Example: + set status_format = "%B: %?n?%n&no? new messages %> (%v on %h)" - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 70 +4. Using Tags - append-hook \\.gz$ "gzip -c %t >> %f" + Sometimes it is desirable to perform an operation on a group of messages + all at once rather than one at a time. An example might be to save + messages to a mailing list to a separate folder, or to delete all messages + with a given subject. To tag all messages matching a pattern, use the + tag-pattern function, which is bound to ``shift-T'' by default. Or you can + select individual messages by hand using the ``tag-message'' function, + which is bound to ``t'' by default. See patterns for Mutt-ng's pattern + matching syntax. - When _a_p_p_e_n_d_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.3 , page 69) is used, the folder is not opened, - which saves time, but this means that we can not find out what the folder type - is. Thus the default (_$_m_b_o_x___t_y_p_e (section 7.4.132 , page 121)) type is always - supposed (i.e. this is the format used for the temporary folder). + Once you have tagged the desired messages, you can use the ``tag-prefix'' + operator, which is the ``;'' (semicolon) key by default. When the + ``tag-prefix'' operator is used, the next operation will be applied to all + tagged messages if that operation can be used in that manner. If the + auto-tag variable is set, the next operation applies to the tagged + messages automatically, without requiring the ``tag-prefix''. - If the file does not exist when you save to it, _c_l_o_s_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.2 , - page 69) is called, and not _a_p_p_e_n_d_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.3 , page 69). _a_p_p_e_n_d_- - _h_o_o_k (section 4.19.3 , page 69) is only for appending to existing folders. + In macro or push commands, you can use the ``tag-prefix-cond'' operator. + If there are no tagged messages, mutt will "eat" the rest of the macro to + abort it's execution.Mutt-ng will stop "eating" the macro when it + encounters the ``end-cond'' operator; after this operator the rest of the + macro will be executed asnormal. - If the _c_o_m_m_a_n_d is empty, this operation is disabled for this file type. In this - case, the folder will be open and closed again (using _o_p_e_n_-_h_o_o_k (section - 4.19.1 , page 68) and _c_l_o_s_e_-_h_o_o_k (section 4.19.2 , page 69)respectively) each - time you will add to it. +5. Using Hooks - _4_._1_9_._4 _E_n_c_r_y_p_t_e_d _f_o_l_d_e_r_s + A hook is a concept borrowed from the EMACS editor which allows you to + execute arbitrary commands before performing some operation. For example, + you may wish to tailor your configuration based upon which mailbox you are + reading, or to whom you are sending mail. In the Mutt-ng world, a hook + consists of a regexp or patterns along with a configuration + option/command. See - The compressed folders support can also be used to handle encrypted folders. If - you want to encrypt a folder with PGP, you may want to use the following hooks: + o folder-hook - open-hook \\.pgp$ "pgp -f < %f > %t" - close-hook \\.pgp$ "pgp -fe YourPgpUserIdOrKeyId < %t > %f" + o send-hook - Please note, that PGP does not support appending to an encrypted folder, so - there is no append-hook defined. + o message-hook - NNoottee:: the folder is temporary stored decrypted in the /tmp directory, where it - can be read by your system administrator. So think about the security aspects - of this. + o save-hook - _5_. _M_u_t_t_-_n_g_'_s _M_I_M_E _S_u_p_p_o_r_t + o mbox-hook - Quite a bit of effort has been made to make Mutt-ng the premier text-mode MIME - MUA. Every effort has been made to provide the functionality that the discern- - ing MIME user requires, and the conformance to the standards wherever possible. - When configuring Mutt-ng for MIME, there are two extra types of configuration - files which Mutt-ng uses. One is the mime.types file, which contains the map- - ping of file extensions to IANA MIME types. The other is the mailcap file, - which specifies the external commands to use for handling specific MIME types. + o fcc-hook - _5_._1 _U_s_i_n_g _M_I_M_E _i_n _M_u_t_t + o fcc-save-hook - There are three areas/menus in Mutt-ng which deal with MIME, they are the pager - (while viewing a message), the attachment menu and the compose menu. + for specific details on each type of hook available. - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 71 + Note: if a hook changes configuration settings, these changes remain + effective until the end of the current mutt session. As this is generally + not desired, a default hook needs to be added before all other hooks to + restore configuration defaults. Here is an example with send-hook and the + my_hdr directive: - _5_._1_._1 _V_i_e_w_i_n_g _M_I_M_E _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s _i_n _t_h_e _p_a_g_e_r + send-hook . 'unmy_hdr From:' + send-hook ~C'^b@b\.b$' my_hdr from: c@c.c - When you select a message from the index and view it in the pager, Mutt decodes - the message to a text representation. Mutt-ng internally supports a number of - MIME types, including text/plain, text/enriched, message/rfc822, and mes- - sage/news. In addition, the export controlled version of Mutt-ng recognizes a - variety of PGP MIME types, including PGP/MIME and application/pgp. + 5.1. Message Matching in Hooks - Mutt-ng will denote attachments with a couple lines describing them. These - lines are of the form: + Hooks that act upon messages (send-hook, save-hook, fcc-hook,message-hook + )are evaluated in a slightly different manner. For the other types of + hooks, a regexp is sufficient. But in dealing with messages a finer grain + of control is needed for matching since for different purposes you want to + match different criteria. - [-- Attachment #1: Description --] - [-- Type: text/plain, Encoding: 7bit, Size: 10000 --] + Mutt-ng allows the use of the patterns language for matching messages in + hook commands. This works in exactly the same way as it would when + limiting orsearching the mailbox, except that you are restricted to those + operators which match information mutt extracts from the header of the + message (i.e. from, to, cc, date, subject, etc.). - Where the Description is the description or filename given for the attachment, - and the Encoding is one of 7bit/8bit/quoted-printable/base64/binary. + For example, if you wanted to set your return address based upon sending + mail to a specific address, you could do something like: - If Mutt-ng cannot deal with a MIME type, it will display a message like: + send-hook '~t ^me@cs\.hmc\.edu$' 'my_hdr From: Mutt-ng User ' - [-- image/gif is unsupported (use 'v' to view this part) --] + which would execute the given command when sending mail to me@cs.hmc.edu. - _5_._1_._2 _T_h_e _A_t_t_a_c_h_m_e_n_t _M_e_n_u + However, it is not required that you write the pattern to match using the + full searching language. You can still specify a simple regular expression + like the other hooks, in which case Mutt-ng will translate your pattern + into the full language, using the translation specified by the + default-hook variable. The pattern is translated at the time the hook is + declared, so the value of default-hook that is in effect at that time will + be used. - The default binding for view-attachments is `v', which displays the attachment - menu for a message. The attachment menu displays a list of the attachments in - a message. From the attachment menu, you can save, print, pipe, delete, and - view attachments. You can apply these operations to a group of attachments at - once, by tagging the attachments and by using the ``tag-prefix'' operator. You - can also reply to the current message from this menu, and only the current - attachment (or the attachments tagged) will be quoted in your reply. You can - view attachments as text, or view them using the mailcap viewer definition. +6. Using the sidebar + + The sidebar, a feature specific to Mutt-ng, allows you to use a mailbox + listing which looks very similar to the ones you probably know from GUI + mail clients. The sidebar lists all specified mailboxes, shows the number + in each and highlights the ones with new email Use the following + configuration commands: + + set sidebar_visible="yes" + set sidebar_width=25 - Finally, you can apply the usual message-related functions (like _r_e_s_e_n_d_-_m_e_s_s_a_g_e - (section 2.5.4 , page 13), and the reply and forward functions) to attachments - of type message/rfc822. + If you want to specify the mailboxes you can do so with: - See the help on the attachment menu for more information. + set mbox='=INBOX' + mailboxes INBOX \ + MBOX1 \ + MBOX2 \ + ... - _5_._1_._3 _T_h_e _C_o_m_p_o_s_e _M_e_n_u + You can also specify the colors for mailboxes with new mails by using: - The compose menu is the menu you see before you send a message. It allows you - to edit the recipient list, the subject, and other aspects of your message. It - also contains a list of the attachments of your message, including the main - body. From this menu, you can print, copy, filter, pipe, edit, compose, - review, and rename an attachment or a list of tagged attachments. You can also - modifying the attachment information, notably the type, encoding and descrip- - tion. + color sidebar_new red black + color sidebar white black - Attachments appear as follows: + The available functions are: - - 1 [text/plain, 7bit, 1K] /tmp/mutt-euler-8082-0 - 2 [applica/x-gunzip, base64, 422K] ~/src/mutt-0.85.tar.gz + Table 4.1. Default Sidebar Function Bindings - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 72 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Key | Function | Description | + |------+---------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | none | sidebar-scroll-up | Scrolls the mailbox list up 1 page | + |------+---------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | none | sidebar-scroll-down | Scrolls the mailbox list down 1 page | + |------+---------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | none | sidebar-next | Highlights the next mailbox | + |------+---------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | none | sidebar-next-new | Highlights the next mailbox with new mail | + |------+---------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | none | sidebar-previous | Highlights the previous mailbox | + |------+---------------------+-------------------------------------------| + | none | sidebar-open | Opens the currently highlighted mailbox | + +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ - The '-' denotes that Mutt-ng will delete the file after sending (or postponing, - or canceling) the message. It can be toggled with the toggle-unlink command - (default: u). The next field is the MIME content-type, and can be changed with - the edit-type command (default: ^T). The next field is the encoding for the - attachment, which allows a binary message to be encoded for transmission on - 7bit links. It can be changed with the edit-encoding command (default: ^E). - The next field is the size of the attachment, rounded to kilobytes or - megabytes. The next field is the filename, which can be changed with the - rename-file command (default: R). The final field is the description of the - attachment, and can be changed with the edit-description command (default: d). + Reasonable key bindings look e.g. like this: - _5_._2 _M_I_M_E _T_y_p_e _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n _w_i_t_h _m_i_m_e_._t_y_p_e_s + bind index \Cp sidebar-prev + bind index \Cn sidebar-next + bind index \Cb sidebar-open + bind pager \Cp sidebar-prev + bind pager \Cn sidebar-next + bind pager \Cb sidebar-open - When you add an attachment to your mail message, Mutt-ng searches your personal - mime.types file at ${HOME}/.mime.types, and then the system mime.types file at - /usr/local/share/mutt/mime.types or /etc/mime.types + macro index B ':toggle sidebar_visible^M' + macro pager B ':toggle sidebar_visible^M' - The mime.types file consist of lines containing a MIME type and a space sepa- - rated list of extensions. For example: + You can then go up and down by pressing Ctrl-P and Ctrl-N, and switch on + and off the sidebar simply by pressing 'B'. - application/postscript ps eps - application/pgp pgp - audio/x-aiff aif aifc aiff +7. External Address Queries - A sample mime.types file comes with the Mutt-ng distribution, and should con- - tain most of the MIME types you are likely to use. + Mutt-ng supports connecting to external directory databases such as LDAP, + ph/qi, bbdb, or NIS through a wrapper script which connects to mutt using + a simple interface. Using the query-command variable, you specify the + wrapper command to use. For example: - If Mutt-ng can not determine the mime type by the extension of the file you - attach, it will look at the file. If the file is free of binary information, - Mutt-ng will assume that the file is plain text, and mark it as text/plain. If - the file contains binary information, then Mutt-ng will mark it as applica- - tion/octet-stream. You can change the MIME type that Mutt-ng assigns to an - attachment by using the edit-type command from the compose menu (default: ^T). - The MIME type is actually a major mime type followed by the sub-type, separated - by a '/'. 6 major types: application, text, image, video, audio, and model have - been approved after various internet discussions. Mutt-ng recognises all of - these if the appropriate entry is found in the mime.types file. It also recog- - nises other major mime types, such as the chemical type that is widely used in - the molecular modelling community to pass molecular data in various forms to - various molecular viewers. Non-recognised mime types should only be used if the - recipient of the message is likely to be expecting such attachments. + set query_command = "mutt_ldap_query.pl '%s'" - _5_._3 _M_I_M_E _V_i_e_w_e_r _c_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n _w_i_t_h _m_a_i_l_c_a_p + The wrapper script should accept the query on the command-line. It should + return a one line message, then each matching response on a single line, + each line containing a tab separated address then name thensome other + optional information. On error, or if there are no matching addresses, + return a non-zero exit code and a one line error message. + + An example multiple response output: + + Searching database ... 20 entries ... 3 matching: + me@cs.hmc.edu Michael Elkins mutt dude + blong@fiction.net Brandon Long mutt and more + roessler@guug.de Thomas Roessler mutt pgp + + There are two mechanisms for accessing the query function of mutt. One is + to do a query from the index menu using the query function (default: Q). + This will prompt for a query, then bring up the query menu which will list + the matching responses. From the query menu, you can select addresses to + create aliases, or to mail. You can tag multiple addressesto mail, start a + new query, or have a new query appended to the current responses. + + The other mechanism for accessing the query function is for address + completion, similar to the alias completion. In any prompt for address + entry, you can use the complete-query function (default: ^T) to run a + query based on the current address you have typed. Like aliases, mutt will + look for what you have typed back to the last space or comma. If there is + a single response for that query, mutt will expand the address in place. + If there are multiple responses, mutt will activate the querymenu. At the + query menu, you can select one or more addresses to be added to the + prompt. + +8. Mailbox Formats + + Mutt-ng supports reading and writing of four different mailbox formats: + mbox, MMDF, MH and Maildir. The mailbox type is autodetected, so there is + no need to use a flag for different mailbox types. When creating + newmailboxes, Mutt-ng uses the default specified with the mbox-type + variable. + + mbox. This is the most widely used mailbox format for UNIX. All messages + are stored in a single file. Each message has a line of the form: + + From me@cs.hmc.edu Fri, 11 Apr 1997 11:44:56 PST + + to denote the start of a new message (this is often referred to as the + ``From_'' line). + + MMDF. This is a variant of the mbox format. Each message is surrounded by + lines containing ``^A^A^A^A'' (four control-A's). + + MH. A radical departure from mbox and MMDF, a mailbox consists of a + directory and each message is stored in a separate file. The filename + indicates the message number (however, this is may not correspond to the + message number Mutt-ng displays). Deleted messages arerenamed with a comma + (,) prepended to the filename. Note: Mutt detects this type of mailbox by + looking for either .mh_sequences or .xmhcache (needed to distinguish + normal directories from MH mailboxes). + + Maildir. The newest of the mailbox formats, used by the Qmail MTA (a + replacement for sendmail). Similar to MH, except that it adds three + subdirectories of the mailbox: tmp, new and cur .Filenames for the + messages are chosen in such a way they are unique, even when twoprograms + are writing the mailbox over NFS, which means that no file locking is + needed. + +9. Mailbox Shortcuts + + There are a number of built in shortcuts which refer to specific + mailboxes. These shortcuts can be used anywhere you are prompted for a + file or mailbox path. + + o ! -- refers to your spoolfile (incoming) mailbox + + o > -- refers to your mbox file + + o < -- refers to your record file + + o ^ -- refers to the current mailbox + + o - or !! -- refers to the file you've last visited + + o ˜ -- refers to your home directory + + o = or + -- refers to your folder directory + + o @alias -- refers to the save-hook as determined by the address of the + alias + +10. Handling Mailing Lists + + Mutt-ng has a few configuration options that make dealing with large + amounts of mail easier. The first thing you must do is to let Mutt know + what addresses you consider to be mailing lists (technically this does not + have to be a mailing list, but that is what it is most often used for), + and what lists you are subscribed to. This is accomplished through the use + of the lists commands in your muttrc. + + Now that Mutt-ng knows what your mailing lists are, it can do several + things, the first of which is the ability to show the name of a list + through which you received a message (i.e., of a subscribed list) in the + index menu display. This is useful to distinguish between personal and + list mail in the same mailbox. In the index-format variable, the escape + ``%L'' will return the string ``To '' when ``list'' appears in the + ``To'' field, and ``Cc '' when it appears in the ``Cc'' field + (otherwise it returns the name of the author). + + Often times the ``To'' and ``Cc'' fields in mailing list messages tend to + get quite large. Most people do not bother to remove the author of the + message they are reply to from the list, resulting in two or more copies + being sent to that person. The ``list-reply'' function, which by default + is bound to ``L'' in the index menu and pager, helps reduce the clutter by + only replying to the known mailing list addresses instead of all + recipients (except as specified by Mail-Followup-To, see below). + + Mutt-ng also supports the Mail-Followup-To header. When you send a message + to a list of recipients which includes one or several subscribed mailing + lists, and if the followup-to option is set, mutt will generate a + Mail-Followup-To header which contains all the recipients to whom you send + this message, but not your address. This indicates that group-replies or + list-replies (also known as ``followups'') to this message should only be + sent to the original recipients of the message, and not separately to you + - you'll receive your copy through one of the mailing lists you are + subscribed to. + + Conversely, when group-replying or list-replying to a message which has a + Mail-Followup-To header, mutt will respect this header if the + honor-followup-to configuration variable is set. Using list-reply will in + this case also make sure that the reply goes to the mailing list, even if + it's not specified in the list of recipients in the Mail-Followup-To. - Mutt-ng supports RFC 1524 MIME Configuration, in particular the Unix specific - format specified in Appendix A of RFC 1524. This file format is commonly - referred to as the mailcap format. Many MIME compliant programs utilize the - mailcap format, allowing you to specify handling for all MIME types in one - place for all programs. Programs known to use this format include Netscape, + Note that, when header editing is enabled, you can create a + Mail-Followup-To header manually. Mutt-ng will only auto-generate this + header if it doesn't exist when you send the message. + + The other method some mailing list admins use is to generate a + ``Reply-To'' field which points back to the mailing list address rather + than the author of the message. This can create problems when trying to + reply directly to the author in private, since most mail clients will + automatically reply to the address given in the ``Reply-To'' field. + Mutt-ng uses the reply-to variable to help decide which address to use. If + set to ask-yes or ask-no, you will be prompted as to whether or not you + would like to use the address given inthe ``Reply-To'' field, or reply + directly to the address given in the ``From'' field. When set to yes, the + ``Reply-To'' field will be used when present. + + The ``X-Label:'' header field can be used to further identify mailing + lists or list subject matter (or just to annotate messages individually). + The index-format variable's ``%y'' and ``%Y'' escapes can be used to + expand ``X-Label:'' fields in the index, and Mutt-ng's pattern-matcher can + match regular expressions to ``X-Label:'' fields with the ``˜y'' + selector. ``X-Label:'' is not a standard message header field, but it can + easily be inserted by procmailand other mail filtering agents. + + Lastly, Mutt-ng has the ability to sort the mailbox into threads. A thread + is a group of messages which all relate to the same subject. This is + usually organized into a tree-like structure where a message and all of + its replies are represented graphically. If you've ever used a threaded + news client, this is the same concept. It makes dealingwith large volume + mailing lists easier because you can easily delete uninteresting threads + and quickly find topics of value. + +11. Editing threads - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 73 + Mutt-ng has the ability to dynamically restructure threads that are broken + either by misconfigured software or bad behavior from some correspondents. + This allows to clean your mailboxes formats) from these annoyances which + make it hard to follow a discussion. + + 11.1. Linking threads + + Some mailers tend to "forget" to correctly set the "In-Reply-To:" and + "References:" headers when replying to a message. This results in broken + discussions because Mutt-ng has not enough information to guess the + correct threading. You can fix this by tagging the reply, then moving to + the parent message and using the ``link-threads'' function (bound to & by + default). The reply will then be connected to this "parent" message. + + You can also connect multiple children at once, tagging them and using the + tag-prefix command (';') or the auto_tag option. + + 11.2. Breaking threads + + On mailing lists, some people are in the bad habit of starting a new + discussion by hitting "reply" to any message from the list and changing + the subject to a totally unrelated one. You can fix such threads by using + the ``break-thread'' function (boundby default to #), which will turn the + subthread starting from the current message into a whole different thread. + +12. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support + + RFC1894 defines a set of MIME content types for relaying information about + the status of electronic mail messages. These can be thought of as + ``return receipts.'' + + Users can make use of it in one of the following two ways: + + o Berkeley sendmail 8.8.x currently has some command line options in + which the mail client can make requests as to what type of status + messages should be returned. + + o The SMTP support via libESMTP supports it, too. + + To support this, there are two variables: + + o dsn-notify is used to request receipts for different results (such as + failed message,message delivered, etc.). + + o dsn-return requests how much of your message should be returned with + the receipt (headers or full message). + + Please see the reference chapter for possible values. + +13. POP3 Support (OPTIONAL) + + If Mutt-ng was compiled with POP3 support (by running the configure script + with the --enable-pop flag), it has the ability to work with mailboxes + located on a remote POP3 server and fetch mail for local browsing. + + You can access the remote POP3 mailbox by selecting the folder + pop://popserver/. + + You can select an alternative port by specifying it with the server, i.e.: + pop://popserver:port/. + + You can also specify different username for each folder, i.e.: + pop://username@popserver[:port]/. + + Polling for new mail is more expensive over POP3 than locally. For this + reason the frequency at which Mutt-ng will check for mail remotely can be + controlled by the pop-mail-check variable, which defaults to every 60 + seconds. + + If Mutt-ng was compiled with SSL support (by running the configure script + with the --with-ssl flag), connections to POP3 servers can be encrypted. + This naturally requires that the server supports SSL encrypted + connections. To access a folder with POP3/SSL, you should use pops: + prefix, ie: pops://[username@]popserver[:port]/. + + Another way to access your POP3 mail is the fetch-mail function (default: + G). It allows to connect to pop-host ,fetch all your new mail and place it + in the local spoolfile. After this point, Mutt-ng runs exactly as if the + mail had always been local. - XMosaic, lynx and metamail. + Note: If you only need to fetch all messages to local mailbox you should + consider using a specialized program, such as fetchmail - In order to handle various MIME types that Mutt-ng can not handle internally, - Mutt-ng parses a series of external configuration files to find an external - handler. The default search string for these files is a colon delimited list - set to +14. IMAP Support (OPTIONAL) - ${HOME}/.mailcap:/usr/local/share/mutt/mailcap:/etc/mailcap:/etc/mailcap:/usr/etc/mailcap:/usr/local/etc/mailcap + If Mutt-ng was compiled with IMAP support (by running the configure script + with the --enable-imap flag), it has the ability to work with folders + located on a remote IMAP server. - where $HOME is your home directory. + You can access the remote inbox by selecting the folder + imap://imapserver/INBOX, where imapserver is the name of the IMAP server + and INBOX is the special name for your spool mailbox on the IMAP server. + If you want to access another mail folder at the IMAP server, you should + use imap://imapserver/path/to/folder where path/to/folder is the path of + the folder you want to access. - In particular, the metamail distribution will install a mailcap file, usually - as /usr/local/etc/mailcap, which contains some baseline entries. + You can select an alternative port by specifying it with the server, i.e.: + imap://imapserver:port/INBOX. - _5_._3_._1 _T_h_e _B_a_s_i_c_s _o_f _t_h_e _m_a_i_l_c_a_p _f_i_l_e + You can also specify different username for each folder, i.e.: + imap://username@imapserver[:port]/INBOX. - A mailcap file consists of a series of lines which are comments, blank, or def- - initions. + If Mutt-ng was compiled with SSL support (by running the configure script + with the --with-ssl flag), connections to IMAP servers can be encrypted. + This naturally requires that the server supports SSL encrypted + connections. To access a folder with IMAP/SSL, you should use + imaps://[username@]imapserver[:port]/path/to/folder as your folder path. - A comment line consists of a # character followed by anything you want. + Pine-compatible notation is also supported, i.e. + {[username@]imapserver[:port][/ssl]}path/to/folder - A blank line is blank. + Note that not all servers use / as the hierarchy separator. Mutt-ng should + correctly notice which separator is being used by the server and + convertpaths accordingly. - A definition line consists of a content type, a view command, and any number of - optional fields. Each field of a definition line is divided by a semicolon ';' - character. + When browsing folders on an IMAP server, you can toggle whether to look at + only the folders you are subscribed to, or all folders with the + toggle-subscribed command. See also the imap-list-subscribed variable. - The content type is specified in the MIME standard type/subtype method. For - example, text/plain, text/html, image/gif, etc. In addition, the mailcap for- - mat includes two formats for wildcards, one using the special '*' subtype, the - other is the implicit wild, where you only include the major type. For exam- - ple, image/*, or video, will match all image types and video types, respec- - tively. + Polling for new mail on an IMAP server can cause noticeable delays. So, + you'll want to carefully tune the imap-mail-check and timeout variables. - The view command is a Unix command for viewing the type specified. There are - two different types of commands supported. The default is to send the body of - the MIME message to the command on stdin. You can change this behavior by using - %s as a parameter to your view command. This will cause Mutt-ng to save the - body of the MIME message to a temporary file, and then call the view command - with the %s replaced by the name of the temporary file. In both cases, Mutt-ng - will turn over the terminal to the view program until the program quits, at - which time Mutt will remove the temporary file if it exists. + Note that if you are using mbox as the mail store on UW servers prior + tov12.250, the server has been reported to disconnect a client if another + client selects the same folder. - So, in the simplest form, you can send a text/plain message to the external - pager more on stdin: + 14.1. The Folder Browser - text/plain; more + As of version 1.2, mutt supports browsing mailboxes on an IMAP server. + This is mostly the same as the local file browser, with the following + differences: - Or, you could send the message as a file: + o Instead of file permissions, mutt displays the string "IMAP", possibly + followed by the symbol "+", indicating that the entry contains both + messages and subfolders. On Cyrus-like servers folders will often + contain both messages and subfolders. - text/plain; more %s + o For the case where an entry can contain both messages and subfolders, + the selection key (bound to enter by default) will choose to descend + into the subfolder view. If you wish to view the messages in that + folder, you must use view-file instead (bound to space by default). - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 74 + o You can create, delete and rename mailboxes with the create-mailbox, + delete-mailbox, and rename-mailbox commands (default bindings: C , d + and r, respectively). You may also subscribe and unsubscribe to + mailboxes (normally these are bound to s and u, respectively). - Perhaps you would like to use lynx to interactively view a text/html message: + 14.2. Authentication - text/html; lynx %s + Mutt-ng supports four authentication methods with IMAP servers: SASL, + GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, and LOGIN (there is a patch by Grant Edwards to add NTLM + authentication for you poor exchange users out there, but it has yet to be + integrated into the main tree). There is also support for the + pseudo-protocol ANONYMOUS, which allows you to log in to a public IMAP + server without having an account. To use ANONYMOUS, simply make your + username blank or "anonymous". - In this case, lynx does not support viewing a file from stdin, so you must use - the %s syntax. NNoottee:: _S_o_m_e _o_l_d_e_r _v_e_r_s_i_o_n_s _o_f _l_y_n_x _c_o_n_t_a_i_n _a _b_u_g _w_h_e_r_e _t_h_e_y _w_i_l_l - _c_h_e_c_k _t_h_e _m_a_i_l_c_a_p _f_i_l_e _f_o_r _a _v_i_e_w_e_r _f_o_r _t_e_x_t_/_h_t_m_l_. _T_h_e_y _w_i_l_l _f_i_n_d _t_h_e _l_i_n_e - _w_h_i_c_h _c_a_l_l_s _l_y_n_x_, _a_n_d _r_u_n _i_t_. _T_h_i_s _c_a_u_s_e_s _l_y_n_x _t_o _c_o_n_t_i_n_u_o_u_s_l_y _s_p_a_w_n _i_t_s_e_l_f _t_o - _v_i_e_w _t_h_e _o_b_j_e_c_t_. + SASL is a special super-authenticator, which selects among several + protocols (including GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, ANONYMOUS, and DIGEST-MD5) the most + secure method available on your host and the server. Using some of these + methods (including DIGEST-MD5 and possibly GSSAPI), your entire session + will be encrypted and invisible to those teeming network snoops. It is the + best option if you have it. To use it, you must have the Cyrus SASL + libraryinstalled on your system and compile mutt with the --with-sasl + flag. + + Mutt-ng will try whichever methods are compiled in and available on the + server, in the following order: SASL, ANONYMOUS, GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, LOGIN. - On the other hand, maybe you don't want to use lynx interactively, you just - want to have it convert the text/html to text/plain, then you can use: + There are a few variables which control authentication: - text/html; lynx -dump %s | more + o imap-user - controls the username under which you request + authentication on the IMAP server, for all authenticators. This is + overridden by an explicit username in the mailbox path (i.e. by using + a mailbox name of the form {user@host}). - Perhaps you wish to use lynx to view text/html files, and a pager on all other - text formats, then you would use the following: + o imap-pass - a password which you may preset, used by all + authentication methods where a password is needed. - text/html; lynx %s - text/*; more + o imap-authenticators - a colon-delimited list of IMAP authentication + methods to try, in the order you wish to try them. If specified, this + overrides mutt's default (attempt everything, in the order listed + above). - This is the simplest form of a mailcap file. +15. NNTP Support (OPTIONAL) - _5_._3_._2 _S_e_c_u_r_e _u_s_e _o_f _m_a_i_l_c_a_p + If compiled with ``--enable-nntp'' option, Mutt-ng can read news from a + newsserver via NNTP. You can open a newsgroup with the + ``change-newsgroup'' function from the index/pager which is by default + bound to i. - The interpretation of shell meta-characters embedded in MIME parameters can - lead to security problems in general. Mutt-ng tries to quote parameters in - expansion of %s syntaxes properly, and avoids risky characters by substituting - them, see the _m_a_i_l_c_a_p___s_a_n_i_t_i_z_e (section 7.4.123 , page 119) variable. + The Default newsserver can be obtained from the $NNTPSERVER environment + variable. Like other news readers, info about subscribed newsgroups is + saved in a file as specified by the nntp-newsrc variable. Article headers + are cached and can be loaded from a file when a newsgroup is entered + instead loading from newsserver; currently, this caching mechanism still + is different from the header caching for maildir/IMAP. - Although mutt's procedures to invoke programs with mailcap seem to be safe, - there are other applications parsing mailcap, maybe taking less care of it. - Therefore you should pay attention to the following rules: + 15.1. Again: Scoring - _K_e_e_p _t_h_e _%_-_e_x_p_a_n_d_o_s _a_w_a_y _f_r_o_m _s_h_e_l_l _q_u_o_t_i_n_g_. Don't quote them with single or - double quotes. Mutt-ng does this for you, the right way, as should any other - program which interprets mailcap. Don't put them into backtick expansions. Be - highly careful with eval statements, and avoid them if possible at all. Trying - to fix broken behaviour with quotes introduces new leaks - there is no alterna- - tive to correct quoting in the first place. + Especially for Usenet, people often ask for advanced filtering and scoring + functionality. Of course, mutt-ng has scoring and allows a killfile, too. + How to use a killfile has been discussed in score-command. - If you have to use the %-expandos' values in context where you need quoting or - backtick expansions, put that value into a shell variable and reference the - shell variable where necessary, as in the following example (using $charset - inside the backtick expansion is safe, since it is not itself subject to any - further expansion): + What has not been discusses in detail is mutt-ng's built-in realname + filter. For may newsreaders including those for ``advanced users'' like + slrn or tin, there are frequent request for such functionality. The + solutions offered often are complicated regular expressions. - text/test-mailcap-bug; cat %s; copiousoutput; test=charset=%{charset} \ - && test "`echo $charset | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'`" != iso-8859-1 + In mutt-ng this is as easy as - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 75 + score ~* =42 - _5_._3_._3 _A_d_v_a_n_c_e_d _m_a_i_l_c_a_p _U_s_a_g_e + This tells mutt-ng to apply a score of 42 to all messages whose sender + specified a valid realname and a valid email address. Using - _5_._3_._3_._1 _O_p_t_i_o_n_a_l _F_i_e_l_d_s + score !~* =42 - In addition to the required content-type and view command fields, you can add - semi-colon ';' separated fields to set flags and other options. Mutt-ng recog- - nizes the following optional fields: + on the contrary applies a score of 42 to all messages not matching those + criteria which are very strict: - copiousoutput - This flag tells Mutt-ng that the command passes possibly large - amounts of text on stdout. This causes Mutt-ng to invoke a pager - (either the internal pager or the external pager defined by the - pager variable) on the output of the view command. Without this - flag, Mutt-ng assumes that the command is interactive. One could - use this to replace the pipe to more in the lynx -dump example in - the Basic section: - - text/html; lynx -dump %s ; copiousoutput - - This will cause lynx to format the text/html output as text/plain - and Mutt-ng will use your standard pager to display the results. - - needsterminal - Mutt-ng uses this flag when viewing attachments with _a_u_t_o_v_i_e_w (sec- - tion 5.4 , page 78), in order to decide whether it should honor - the setting of the _$_w_a_i_t___k_e_y (section 7.4.347 , page 173) variable - or not. When an attachment is viewed using an interactive program, - and the corresponding mailcap entry has a _n_e_e_d_s_t_e_r_m_i_n_a_l flag, Mutt- - ng will use _$_w_a_i_t___k_e_y (section 7.4.347 , page 173) and the exit - status of the program to decide if it will ask you to press a key - after the external program has exited. In all other situations it - will not prompt you for a key. - - compose= - This flag specifies the command to use to create a new attachment - of a specific MIME type. Mutt-ng supports this from the compose - menu. - - composetyped= - This flag specifies the command to use to create a new attachment - of a specific MIME type. This command differs from the compose - command in that mutt will expect standard MIME headers on the data. - This can be used to specify parameters, filename, description, etc. - for a new attachment. Mutt-ng supports this from the compose - menu. - - print= - This flag specifies the command to use to print a specific MIME - type. Mutt-ng supports this from the attachment and compose menus. - - edit= - This flag specifies the command to use to edit a specific MIME - type. Mutt-ng supports this from the compose menu, and also uses - - The Mutt Next Generation E-Mail Client 76 - - it to compose new attachments. Mutt-ng will default to the defined - editor for text attachments. - - nametemplate=