MAN page from Old RedHat 5.X mh-6.8.4-6.i386.rpm

FORW

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

NAME

forw - forward messages

SYNOPSIS

forw[+folder] [msgs][-annotate] [-noannotate][-draftfolder +folder] [-draftmessage msg] [-nodraftfolder][-editor editor] [-noedit][-filter filterfile][-form formfile][-format] [-noformat][-inplace] [-noinplace][-mime] [-nomime][-whatnowproc program] [-nowhatnowproc][-help]

forw[+folder] [msgs][-digest list] [-issue number] [-volume number][other switches for forw][-help]

DESCRIPTION

Forw may be used to prepare a message containing othermessages.It constructs the new message from the components fileor `-form formfile' (see comp ), with a body composed of themessage(s) to be forwarded.An editor is invoked as in comp,and after editing is complete, the user is prompted before the messageis sent.

The default message form contains the following elements:

man2html: unable to open or read file/usr/lib/mh/forwcomps

If the file named ``forwcomps'' exists in the user's MH directory,it will be used instead of this form.In either case, the file specified by `-form formfile' will beused if given.

If the draft already exists,forw will ask you as to the disposition of the draft.A reply of quit will abort forw, leaving the draft intact;replace will replace the existing draft with a blank skeleton;and list will display the draft.

If the `-annotate' switch is given, each message beingforwarded will be annotated with the lines

Forwarded: date
Forwarded: addrs

where each address list contains as many lines as required.This annotationwill be done only if the message is sent directly from forw.If the message is not sent immediately from forw,``comp -use'' may be used to re-edit and send the constructed message,butthe annotations won't take place.The '-inplace' switch causes annotation tobe done in place in order to preserve links to the annotated message.

See comp (1) for a description of the `-editor' and `-noedit'switches.

Although forw uses the `-form formfile' switch to direct it how toconstruct the beginning of the draft, the `-filter filterfile',`-format', and `-noformat'switches direct forw as to how each forwarded message should beformatted in the body of the draft.If `-noformat' is specified,then each forwarded message is output exactly as it appears.If `-format' or `-filter filterfile' is specified,then each forwarded message is filtered (re-formatted) prior to beingoutput to the body of the draft.The filter file for forw should be a standard form file formhl,as forw will invoke mhl to format the forwarded messages.The default message filter (what you get with `-format') is:

man2html: unable to open or read file/usr/lib/mh/mhl.forward

If the file named ``mhl.forward'' exists in the user's MH directory,it will be used instead of this form.In either case, the file specified by `-filter filterfile' will beused if given.To summarize:`-noformat' will reproduce each forwarded message exactly,`-format' will use mhl and a default filterfile, ``mhl.forward'',to format each forwarded message, and`-filter filterfile' will use the named filterfile to format eachforwarded message with mhl.

Each forwarded message is separated with an encapsulation delimiter anddashes in the first column of the forwarded messages will be prependedwith `- ' so thatwhen received, the message is suitable for bursting by burst (1).This follows the Internet RFC-934 guidelines.

For users of prompter (1), by specifying prompter's `-prepend'switch in the .mh_profile file, any commentary text is entered beforethe forwarded messages. (A major win!)

To use the MIME rules for encapsulation,specify the `-mime' switch.This directs forw to generate an mhn composition file.Note that MH will not invoke mhn automatically,unless you add this line to your .mh_profile file:

automhnproc: mhn

Otherwise,you must specifically give the command

What now? edit mhn

prior to sending the draft.

To automate this somewhat,create a link to prompter called rapidand put these lines in your .mh_profile file:

forw: -editor rapid -mimerapid: -rapidrapid-next: mhn

Then,you can simply do:

forw msgsTo: mailboxcc:Subject: whatever--------Enter initial textblah, blah, blah.<CTRL-D>--------What now? editWhat now? send

The edit command invokes mhn automatically.

The `-draftfolder +folder' and `-draftmessage msg' switches invoke theMH draft folder facility.This is an advanced (and highly useful) feature.Consult the Advanced Features section of the MH manual for moreinformation.

Upon exiting from the editor,forw will invoke the whatnow program.See whatnow (1) for a discussion of available options.The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using the `-nowhatnowproc'switch.(In truth of fact,it is the whatnow program which starts the initial edit.Hence, `-nowhatnowproc' will prevent any edit from occurring.)

The `-digest list', `-issue number', and `-volume number' switchesimplement a digest facility for MH. Specifying these switchesenables and/or overloads the following escapes:

Type       Escape  Returns  Descriptioncomponent  digest  string   Argument to `-digest'function   cur     integer  Argument to `-volume'function   msg     integer  Argument to `-issue'

Consult the Advanced Features section of the MH User's Manual for more information on making digests.^/usr/lib/mh/forwcomps~^The message skeleton^or <mh-dir>/forwcomps~^Rather than the standard skeleton^/usr/lib/mh/digestcomps~^The message skeleton if `-digest' is given^or <mh-dir>/digestcomps~^Rather than the standard skeleton^/usr/lib/mh/mhl.forward~^The message filter^or <mh-dir>/mhl.forward~^Rather than the standard filter^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The user profile^<mh-dir>/draft~^The draft file^Path:~^To determine the user's MH directory^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folder^Draft-Folder:~^To find the default draft-folder^Editor:~^To override the default editor^Msg-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message (draft)^fileproc:~^Program to refile the message^mhlproc:~^Program to filter messages being forwarded^whatnowproc:~^Program to ask the ``What now?'' questionsProposed Standard for Message Encapsulation (aka RFC-934),
comp(1), dist(1), repl(1), send(1), whatnow(1), mh-format(5)`+folder' defaults to the current folder`msgs' defaults to cur`-noannotate'`-nodraftfolder'`-noformat'`-noinplace'`-nomime'If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.The first message forwarded will become the current message.If whatnowproc is whatnow,then forw uses a built-in whatnow,it does not actually run the whatnow program.Hence, if you define your own whatnowproc,don't call it whatnow since forw won't run it.

When forw is told to annotate the messages it forwards,it doesn't actually annotate them until the draft is successfully sent.If from the whatnowproc,you push instead of send,it's possible to confuse forw by re-ordering the file(e.g., by using `folder -pack') before the message is successfully sent.Dist and repl don't have this problem.

To avoid prepending the leading dash characters in forwarded messages,there is a `-nodashmunging' option. See the ``Hidden Features''section of the MH Administrator's Guide for more details.

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