[unix-history] / usr / doc / mail / mail4.nr

.sh 1 "Message lists"
.pp
The
.b type
and
.b delete
commands described in section two take a list of messages as argument,
as do many of the commands described in section six.  This section
describes the construction of message lists in general.
.pp
A
.i "message list"
consists of a list of message numbers, ranges, and names,
separated by spaces or tabs.  Message numbers may be either
decimal numbers, which directly specify messages, or one of the
special characters
.q \(ua
.q "."
or
.q "$"
to specify the first relevant, current, or last
relevant message, respectively.
.i Relevant
here means, for most commands
.q "not deleted"
and
.q "deleted"
for the
.b undelete
command.
.pp
A range of messages consists of two message numbers (of the form
described in the previous paragraph) separated by a dash.
Thus, to print the first four messages, use
.(l
type 1\-4
.)l
and to print all the messages from the current message to the last
message, use
.(l
type .\-$
.)l
.pp
A
.i name
is a user name.  All of the user names given in the message list are
collected together and each message selected by other means
is checked to make sure it was sent by one of the named users.
If the message consists entirely of user names, then every
message sent by one those users which is
.i relevant
(in the sense described earlier)
is selected.  Thus, to print every message sent to you by
.q root,
do
.(l
type root
.)l
.pp
As a shorthand notation, you can specify simply
.q *
to get every
.i relevant
(same sense)
message.  Thus,
.(l
type *
.)l
prints all undeleted messages,
.(l
delete *
.)l
deletes all undeleted messages, and
.(l
undelete *
.)l
undeletes all deleted messages.
Commit	Line	Data
f044c7fb KS	1	.sh 1 "Message lists"
	2	.pp
	3	The
	4	.b type
	5	and
	6	.b delete
	7	commands described in section two take a list of messages as argument,
	8	as do many of the commands described in section six. This section
	9	describes the construction of message lists in general.
	10	.pp
	11	A
	12	.i "message list"
	13	consists of a list of message numbers, ranges, and names,
	14	separated by spaces or tabs. Message numbers may be either
	15	decimal numbers, which directly specify messages, or one of the
	16	special characters
	17	.q \(ua
	18	.q "."
	19	or
	20	.q "$"
	21	to specify the first relevant, current, or last
	22	relevant message, respectively.
	23	.i Relevant
	24	here means, for most commands
	25	.q "not deleted"
	26	and
	27	.q "deleted"
	28	for the
	29	.b undelete
	30	command.
	31	.pp
	32	A range of messages consists of two message numbers (of the form
	33	described in the previous paragraph) separated by a dash.
	34	Thus, to print the first four messages, use
	35	.(l
	36	type 1\-4
	37	.)l
	38	and to print all the messages from the current message to the last
	39	message, use
	40	.(l
	41	type .\-$
	42	.)l
	43	.pp
	44	A
	45	.i name
	46	is a user name. All of the user names given in the message list are
	47	collected together and each message selected by other means
	48	is checked to make sure it was sent by one of the named users.
	49	If the message consists entirely of user names, then every
	50	message sent by one those users which is
	51	.i relevant
	52	(in the sense described earlier)
	53	is selected. Thus, to print every message sent to you by
	54	.q root,
	55	do
	56	.(l
	57	type root
	58	.)l
	59	.pp
	60	As a shorthand notation, you can specify simply
	61	.q *
	62	to get every
	63	.i relevant
	64	(same sense)
65	message. Thus,
66	.(l
67	type *
68	.)l
69	prints all undeleted messages,
70	.(l
71	delete *
72	.)l
73	deletes all undeleted messages, and
74	.(l
75	undelete *
76	.)l
77	undeletes all deleted messages.