[unix-history] / usr / doc / Mail / mail3.nr

.bp
.sh 1 "Maintaining folders"
.pp
.i Mail
includes a simple facility for maintaining groups of messages together
in folders.  This section describes this facility.
.pp
To use the folder facility, you must tell
.i Mail
where you wish to keep your folders.  Each folder of messages will
be a single file.  For convenience, all of your folders are kept in
a single directory of your choosing.  To tell
.i Mail
where your folder directory is, put a line of the form
.(l
set folder=letters
.)l
in your
.i .mailrc
file.  If, as in the example above, your folder directory does not
begin with a `/,'
.i Mail
will assume that your folder directory is to be found starting from
your home directory.  Thus, if your home directory is
.b /usr/person
the above example told
.i Mail
to find your folder directory in
.b /usr/person/letters .
.pp
Anywhere a file name is expected, you can use a folder name, preceded
with `+.'  For example, to put a message into a folder with the
.b save
command, you can use:
.(l
save +classwork
.)l
to save the current message in the
.i classwork
folder.  If the
.i classwork
folder does not yet exist, it will be created.  Note that messages
which are saved with the
.b save
command are automatically removed from your system mailbox.
.pp
In order to make a copy of a message in a folder without causing
that message to be removed from your system mailbox, use the
.b copy
command, which is identical in all other respects to the
.b save
command.  For example,
.(l
copy +classwork
.)l
copies the current message into the
.i classwork
folder and leaves a copy in your system mailbox.
.pp
The
.b folder
command
can be used to direct
.i Mail
to the contents of a different folder.
For example,
.(l
folder +classwork
.)l
directs
.i Mail
to read the contents of the
.i classwork
folder.  All of the commands that you can use on your system
mailbox are also applicable to folders, including
.b type ,
.b delete ,
and
.b reply .
To inquire which folder you are currently editing, use simply:
.(l
folder
.)l
.pp
To list your current set of folders, use the
.b folders
command.
.pp
To start
.i Mail
reading one of your folders, you can use the
.b \-f
option described in section 2.  For example:
.(l
% Mail \-f +classwork
.)l
will cause
.i Mail
to read your
.i classwork
folder without looking at your system mailbox.
Commit	Line	Data
729d3e46 C	1	.bp
	2	.sh 1 "Maintaining folders"
	3	.pp
	4	.i Mail
	5	includes a simple facility for maintaining groups of messages together
	6	in folders. This section describes this facility.
	7	.pp
	8	To use the folder facility, you must tell
	9	.i Mail
	10	where you wish to keep your folders. Each folder of messages will
	11	be a single file. For convenience, all of your folders are kept in
	12	a single directory of your choosing. To tell
	13	.i Mail
	14	where your folder directory is, put a line of the form
	15	.(l
	16	set folder=letters
	17	.)l
	18	in your
	19	.i .mailrc
	20	file. If, as in the example above, your folder directory does not
	21	begin with a `/,'
	22	.i Mail
	23	will assume that your folder directory is to be found starting from
	24	your home directory. Thus, if your home directory is
	25	.b /usr/person
	26	the above example told
	27	.i Mail
	28	to find your folder directory in
	29	.b /usr/person/letters .
	30	.pp
	31	Anywhere a file name is expected, you can use a folder name, preceded
	32	with `+.' For example, to put a message into a folder with the
	33	.b save
	34	command, you can use:
	35	.(l
	36	save +classwork
	37	.)l
	38	to save the current message in the
	39	.i classwork
	40	folder. If the
	41	.i classwork
	42	folder does not yet exist, it will be created. Note that messages
	43	which are saved with the
	44	.b save
	45	command are automatically removed from your system mailbox.
	46	.pp
	47	In order to make a copy of a message in a folder without causing
	48	that message to be removed from your system mailbox, use the
	49	.b copy
	50	command, which is identical in all other respects to the
	51	.b save
	52	command. For example,
	53	.(l
	54	copy +classwork
	55	.)l
	56	copies the current message into the
	57	.i classwork
	58	folder and leaves a copy in your system mailbox.
	59	.pp
	60	The
	61	.b folder
	62	command
	63	can be used to direct
	64	.i Mail
65	to the contents of a different folder.
66	For example,
67	.(l
68	folder +classwork
69	.)l
70	directs
71	.i Mail
72	to read the contents of the
73	.i classwork
74	folder. All of the commands that you can use on your system
75	mailbox are also applicable to folders, including
76	.b type ,
77	.b delete ,
78	and
79	.b reply .
80	To inquire which folder you are currently editing, use simply:
81	.(l
82	folder
83	.)l
84	.pp
85	To list your current set of folders, use the
86	.b folders
87	command.
88	.pp
89	To start
90	.i Mail
91	reading one of your folders, you can use the
92	.b \-f
93	option described in section 2. For example:
94	.(l
95	% Mail \-f +classwork
96	.)l
97	will cause
98	.i Mail
99	to read your
100	.i classwork
101	folder without looking at your system mailbox.