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playground:native_mail [2021/12/30 04:21] zilogplayground:native_mail [2022/01/21 03:37] (current) – removed zilog
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-====== 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. 
playground/native_mail.1640838100.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/12/30 04:21 by zilog