MAN page from RedHat Other mh-6.8.4-7.i386.rpm

SORTM

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: MH.6.8
Index

NAME

sortm - sort messages

SYNOPSIS

sortm[+folder] [msgs][-datefield field][-textfield field] [-notextfield][-limit days] [-nolimit][-verbose] [-noverbose][-help]

DESCRIPTION

Sortm sorts the specified messages in the named folder accordingto the chronological order of the ``Date:'' field of each message.

The `-verbose' switch directs sortm to tell the user the generalactions that it is taking to place the folder in sorted order.

The `-datefield field' switch tells sortm the name of the fieldto use when making the date comparison.If the user has a special field in each message,such as ``BB-Posted:'' or ``Delivery-Date:'',then the `-datefield' switch can be used to direct sortm whichfield to examine.

The `-textfield field' switch causes sortm to sort messages by the specified text field.If this field is ``subject'',any leading "re:" is stripped off.In any case, all characters except letters and numbers are strippedand the resulting strings are sorted datefield-major, textfield-minor,using a case insensitive comparison.

With `-textfield field', if `-limit days' is specified, messages with similar textfieldsthat are dated within `days' of each other appear together.Specifying `-nolimit' makes the limit infinity.With `-limit 0', the sort is instead made textfield-major, date-minor.

For example, to order a folder by date-major, subject-minor, use:

sortm -textfield subject +folder

^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The user profile^Path:~^To determine the user's MH directory^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folderfolder (1)`+folder' defaults to the current folder`msgs' defaults to all`-datefield date'`-notextfield'`-noverbose'`-nolimit'If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.If the current message is moved, sortm will preserve its statusas current.Timezones used to be ignored when comparing dates:they aren't any more.

Messages which were in the folder, but not specified by `msgs',used to be moved to the end of the folder;now such messages are left untouched.

Sortm sometimes did not preserve the messagenumbering in a folder (e.g., messages1, 3, and 5, might have been renumberedto 1, 2, 3 after sorting).This was a bug, and has been fixed.To compress the message numbering in a folder, use``folder -pack'' as always.If sortm encounters a message without a date-field,or if the message has a date-field that sortm cannot parse,then sortm attempts to keep the message in the same relativeposition.This does not always work.For instance, if the first message encountered lacks a date which can beparsed,then it will usually be placed at the end of the messages being sorted.

When sortm complains about a message which it can't temporally order,it complains about the message number prior to sorting.It should indicate what the message number will be after sorting.

This document was created byman2html,using the manual pages.