User Tools

Site Tools

Trace:
native_netbsd_mailx

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

native_netbsd_mailx [2022/01/21 03:36] – created zilognative_netbsd_mailx [2024/09/06 05:55] (current) – “.” hc9
Line 1: Line 1:
 +====== Native NetBSD mail(1) Setup and Use: ======
 +
 +This is the native mail client on **NetBSD**, the operating system the SDF cluster runs on.  For historical reasons there are several aliases: //mail(1), Mail(1), mailx(1)//, however sticking to the first two will avoid name collision with any non-native clients.  While //mail(1)// has some MIME support it lacks folder-level hooks as well as POP3 or IMAP support so it may only appeal to users with modest mail needs.  That said, native //mail(1)// is quite capable of meeting most SDF email needs.
 +
 +===== Setup =====
 +
 +Native //mail(1)// uses  **~sdfuser/.mailrc**  for its configurations; below is an annotated sample config file which should work for most SDF users with little modification:
 +
 +<file config ~sdfuser/.mailrc>
 +### NetBSD mail(1) config file (~/.mailrc):
 +
 +## Hold mail in system Inbox (/sdf/mail/$USER):
 +set hold
 +
 +## Set top of mail folder tree & cd into it; can
 +## be any name but "mail" or "Mail" is typical:
 +# use '~/mail/':
 +set folder=mail
 +# allows simple folder changes, ex. 'fi Sent' instead of 'fi +/Sent':
 +chdir mail
 +
 +## Set non-std mbox and record names/locations.
 +## (default loc: ~/ ; '+' prefix => ~/mail/..):
 +# ~/mbox is default:
 +set MBOX=+Save
 +# none is default:
 +set record=+Sent
 +
 +## Header fields to ignore & retain:
 +ignore message-id received fcc status resent-date resent-message-id resent-from in-reply-to
 +retain bcc cc date from subject to user-agent organization
 +
 +## Add additional headers - these are added to outgoing
 +## messages unless editted/deleted in composition mode:
 +Header User-Agent: NetBSD Mail version 9.1alpha 2009-02-25
 +Header Organization: SDF Public Access UNIX System
 +
 +## uncomment to tweak the 'From:' field; default is
 +## SDF user GECOS field (use userinfo(1) to list):
 +#Header From: SDFuser at SDF <sdfuser@beevomit.org>
 +
 +# Open even if no mail:
 +set emptystart
 +
 +## Email aliases:
 +# use for contacting SDF membership:
 +alias sdfhelp 'SDF membership <membership@sdf.org>'
 +# a list of users, both local and remote:
 +alias wrkgrp sdfuser2 sdfuser3 rmtuser@remote.addr 'The Boss <boss@big.house>'
 +
 +## set alt. editor(s) and pager; these will override
 +## user's EDITOR, VISUAL, PAGER shell env. vars:
 +# default is PAGER:
 +#set PAGER=more
 +# default is EDITOR:
 +#set EDITOR=nano
 +# default is VISUAL:
 +#set VISUAL=$HOME/bin/veditor
 +
 +## Set an alternate escape char for composition mode; this
 +## helps prevent command collision with ssh(1) which also uses
 +## the '~' character for session escapes:
 +# set escape char to "`" (backtick):
 +#set escape=`
 +  
 +## enable piping output of mailx cmds. In example, typing
 +## '|wc -w' gives word count for *body* of current msg:
 +set enable-pipes
 +
 +# Set things to prompt for before sending:
 +set append ask autoprint
 +
 +## Set indent prefix (for Replys); use with '~m':
 +set indentprefix="> "
 +    
 +## Set autograph string & alternate (use with '~a' & '~A'):
 +set sign='SDFuser / SDF Public Access UNIX'
 +set Sign='SDFuser of SDF'
 +
 +## pipe html/text type messages thru lynx(1), the text
 +## web browser.  This makes reading html msgs easier:
 +set mime-decode-header mime-decode-message mime-decode-quote
 +set mime-body-text-html="+/usr/pkg/bin/lynx -force_html -dump -stdin"
 +
 +</file>
 +
 +===== Basic Use =====
 +
 +The //mail(1)// manpage will explain basic usage; once //mail(1)// is running you can type ''help'' and ''list'' for basic help info and a listing of commands.  Many commands can be abbreviated, i.e. ‘m’ for ''mailto'', ‘d’ for ''delete'', ‘p’ for ''print''. To page through multiple screens of messages use ''z'' (down) and ''z -'' (up).  A useful command is ''x'' which will quit without saving changes – handy if you've made several unintended changes, i.e. deleting a bunch of messages.
 +
 +==== Composition ====
 +
 +To compose a new message either launch mail(1) with ''mail someone@addr.foo'' or type ''m someone@addr.foo'' within mail(1).  Any defined aliases can be substituted for an address or group of addresses.  For example if ** alias mylist one@addr1 two@addr2 three@addr3 ** is defined then typing ''m mylist'' will send your message to all addresses to the right of “mylist”. 
 +
 +To reply to a message to a user from within //mail(1)// type ''R''.  This will put you in composition mode; to get help type ''~?'' or “?” prefixed with whatever alternate escape character you've set (may be needed within secure shell sessions).
 +
 +Some useful composition commands: ''~m'' will quote the current message using the //indentprefix// character(s); ''~e'' will launch the editor set in EDITOR; ''~a'' will add the signature string assigned to //sign//.  To finish your reply type either ''CNTL+D'' or a single “.” on a new line.  If you've changed your mind and want to discard your reply type ''~x'' (or ''~q'' which will save the text to your ~/dead.letter file).  To later retrieve the discarded contents within composition mode type ''~r ~/dead.letter''. 
 +
 +==== Tips & Tricks ====
 +
 +1. If you'd rather not change the default composition mode escape character for //mail(1)// but are using secure shell (ssh) to connect to SDF you can add the following to your ** ~/.ssh/config ** file:
 + 
 +<file config ~homeuser/.ssh/config>
 +# disable pty escapes:
 +EscapeChar none
 +</file>
 + 
 +This will disable PTY escapes completely; alternately you can choose a different escape character if needed.
 +
 +2. The VISUAL editor variable can be set within ** ~/.mailrc ** to a shell script which invokes an interactive lynx(1) session on the current mail message (or several messages).  This is useful for easilly following embedded URLs (lynx supports many protocols besides http/https such as gopher, finger, news and ftp).  The following is a sample script:
 +
 +<file config ~sdfuser/bin/veditor>
 +#!/bin/sh -e
 +# veditor - for using lynx(1) as VISUAL editor in mail(1)
 +#
 +
 +{ echo '<pre>'
 +  cat $* |egrep -m4 '^From:|^Date:|^To:|^Subject:'
 +  cat $* |sed '1,/^$/d'
 +  echo '</pre>'  ;} |lynx -force_html -stdin
 + </file>
 +
 +To use current message just type ''v'' ; if in composition mode use ''~v''.  It doesn't always look pretty but it's often enough for following a few links.