NAME

mailtool - OpenWindows interface for the mail program

SYNOPSIS

mailtool [ -Mx ] [ -Mi interval ] [ -Mf mailfile ] [ generic-tool-arguments ] [ -v ]

AVAILABILITY

This command is available with the OpenWindows environment. mailtool uses the OPEN LOOK Graphical User Interface.

DESCRIPTION

mailtool is an electronic mail application that uses the standard OpenWindows interface. It provides a menu-driven facility for reading, storing, composing, and sending mail messages. Scrollable windows allow easy access to the In-Box mail files.

The full editing capabilities of textedit(1) are available for modifying and composing mail messages as well as text fields within command panels.

OPTIONS

-Mx

Expert mode. Do not ask for confirmation after potentially damaging mail commands. This has the same effect as setting the expert variable.

-Mi interval

Check for new mail every interval seconds. This has the same effect as specifying a value for the interval variable.

-Mf mailfile
           Start up mailtool with mailfile loaded instead of the In-Box.
-v         Print out the version number of mailtool and exit.

generic-tool-arguments

Mailtool accepts the generic tool arguments described in xview(7).

USAGE

mailtool operates through the use of a set of command panel buttons, message windows, menus, and other components that conform to the OPEN LOOK Graphical User Interface Functional Specification. Mail messages are edited using the menus and commands of the textedit program. For more information about the general usage of OPEN LOOK software applications, see the OpenWindows documentation. For more information about textedit conventions, see the textedit man page.

Command Panel Buttons

The mailtool command panel is located near the top of the main window, under the window header. Press MENU on a command panel button to reveal the menu for that button. Certain menu functions are accelerated, and may be activated directly from the keyboard by holding down the Meta key and the appropriate accelerator key. The accelerated functions are so indicated.

File >

Load In-Box [Meta o]
           Used to read mail from the user's system mail file into mailtool.

Print [Meta p]

Sends copies of all the selected mail items to your default printer. If there are no selected items, mailtool sends copies of those items

you are currently viewing.

Save Changes [Meta s]

Causes all the deletions and changes you have made to the mail file to become permanent and opens your In-Box for any new mail.

Done
           Save your changes and close mailtool to an icon. When mailtool
           is next opened, the In-Box will be reread.

Mail Files...

Bring up the Mail Files... scrolling list of your mail files. This popup allows you to create, delete, rename, add messages to, and view mail files.

View >
           Messages >

Displays messages you have selected.

Abbreviated Header

Strips unnecessary header fields from the messages

you view. Specify these fields by adding them to the

Hide list in the Message Window Property Sheet in

mailtool.

Full Header

Displays the currently selected messages with all of the

message header fields.

Previous

Determines the message preceding the last one displayed and displays it. The message is chosen from all the messages in the current mail file.

Next

Determines the message following the last one displayed and displays it. The message is chosen from all the messages in the current mail file.

Sort By >

Time and Date

Sorts the messages in chronological order.

Sender

Sorts the messages alphabetically by sender.

Subject

Sorts the messages alphabetically by subject.

Size

Sorts the messages by size (smallest to largest).

Status

Sorts the messages by status: first read, then unread,

and finally new.

Message Number

Sorts the messages by message number, in increasing

order.

Find... [Meta f]

From:

Enter text that is in the From field (mail address) of the

message you want to find. Capitalization is ignored.

To/Cc:

Enter text that is in the To or Cc field (mail address) of

the message you want to find. Capitalization is

ignored.

To:

Enter text that is in the To field (mail address) of the

message you want to find. Capitalization is ignored.

Cc:

Enter text that is in the Cc field (mail address) of the

message you want to find. Capitalization is ignored.

Subject:

Enter text that is in the Subject field of the message you

want. Capitalization is ignored.

Find Forward

After entering text for From: , To/Cc: , To: , Cc: , Sub-

ject: , or any combination of the above, click SELECT on

Find Forward to locate the next message that matches

the text.

Find Backward

After entering text for From: , To/Cc: , To: , Cc: , Sub-

ject: or any combination of the above, click SELECT on

Find Backward to locate the previous message that

matches the text.

Select All After entering text for From: , To/Cc: , To: , Cc: , Sub-

ject: or any combination of the above, click SELECT on

Select All to select all messages that match the text.

Edit >

Cut [Meta x]

           Deletes the selected mail messages, placing copies in the Clip-
           board.

Copy [Meta c]

           Copies the selected mail messages, placing copies in the Clip-
           board.

Delete

Deletes the selected mail messages, without placing copies in the Clipboard. If no mail messages are selected, the messages

currently being viewed are deleted.

Undelete >

Last

Restores the last message deleted to your mail header

display. This may be done until all messages deleted

since the last commit are restored. This option also

restores messages deleted through cut and move com-

mands.

From List...

Causes a popup window to appear. This popup con-

tains a list box that has all the mail items that have been

deleted since the last commit operation. You can select

any number of these, and press the Undelete button on

the command frame. All the selected items will be

returned to the mail header window.

           Properties... [Meta i]
                      Bring up the mailtool property sheets. You can modify most of
                      the options to mailtool through the property sheets.

Compose >

This panel button allows users to create new mail to be sent, reply to existing messages with or without including the current message, and to forward messages as needed.

New [Meta n]

Opens a composition window without the message headers being filled in. If an unused mail message window currently exists on the screen, it will be brought forward to be used and no new window is created. If an unused mail composition window currently exists and is fully displayed on the screen, there will be no change in the display.

Reply >

Opens a composition window with the message headers filled in appropriately and allows you to write and deliver your response. If an unused mail message window currently exists on the screen, it will be brought forward to be used and no new window is created. If an unused mail message window currently exists and is fully displayed on the screen, its headers will be updated. Options to this submenu are described below:

To Sender Opens a composition window. In the window, the

address field contains the originator's address for the

selected message and the subject field contains the sub-

ject line for the selected message, preceded by "Re: ".

To All

Opens a composition window. In the window, the

address field contains addresses for the person who

sent the selected message as well as all the people that

the selected message was sent to. The subject field con-

tains the subject line for the selected message, preceded

by "Re: ".

To Sender, Include

Opens a composition window. In the window, the

address field contains the originator's address for the

selected message. The subject field contains the subject

line for the selected message, preceded by "Re: ". The

window also contains the selected message in the body

of the new message.

To All, Include:

Opens a composition window. In the window, the

address field contains addresses for the person who

sent the selected message as well as all the people that

the selected message was sent to. The subject field con-

tains the subject line for the selected message, preceded

by "Re: ". The window also contains the selected mes-

sage in the body of the new message.

Forward

Opens a composition window. In the window, the subject field contains the subject line for the selected message. The window also contains the selected message in the body of the new message, and it contains the attachments (if any) of the selected message in the attachment pane.

Vacation

Lets you compose a message that is automatically delivered in response to incoming messages. Use this when you can't read your mail for a period of time and want your message to be responded to automatically. Only one response is sent to each originator over a one-week period.

The Composition Window

This window has its own control panel with the following buttons.

Include >

Bracketed Pastes the currently selected messages into the body of the mes-

sage you are composing. The included messages are bracketed with special lines.

Indented

Pastes the currently selected messages into the body of the message you are composing. Each line of the included message is indented, using the standard indentation string. The indentation string may be modified in the Mail Tool Property Sheet for the Compose Window.

Templates >

Lists the available templates that you can include if any are

installed. You can add and remove templates in the Mail Tool Property Sheet for Templates.

Deliver >

Quit window

Mails the message you have composed and then dismisses the compose window.

Close window

Mails the message you have composed, clears the compose

window, and then closes the compose window to an icon.

Clear window

Mails the message and then clears the compose window to prepare it for re-use.

Leave message intact

Mails the message and leaves the message in the compose window.

Headers > Selecting an option affects the headers of the mail message.

Aliases...

Bring up the Mail Tool Property Sheet for Aliases. From this property sheet, you can add, delete, or change your local mail aliases.

Add/Delete Bcc:

Adds or deletes the Bcc: line from the message you are composing.

Add/Delete Custom:

Adds or deletes a custom header line from the message you are composing. You will see one menu item for each custom header you have installed. You can install or remove custom headers in the Mail Tool Property Sheet for the Compose Window.

Clear

Clears the contents of the compose window.

Attach >

Selecting an option allows the creation of a Voice or Appointment attachment.

Voice...

Brings up AudioTool for adding audio attachments.

Appt...

Brings up Appointment Editor for adding calendar appointment attachments.

Mailtool Variables

In addition to the variables recognized by mailx(1), mailtool recognizes those listed below. They can be set by editing your .mailrc file; however, since most of the variables are accessible through the Mail Tool Property Sheets, we strongly recommend that you modify them there to reduce the chance of error. Unless otherwise noted, the default for the following variables is off.

additionalfields

A list of header fields to access via the Add Custom field in the Header menu. This variable can be accessed through the Custom Fields:, Header Field:, and Default Value: portions of the Compose Window category in the Mail Tool Property Sheet.

bell

The number of times to ring the bell when new mail arrives. This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Header Window category as Signal With: __ Beep(s). The default is 0.

dontlogmessages

This variable controls whether or not the log checkbox is checked in the Compose Message window. It is ignored if the record variable is not set. The default is to log messages.

expert

Set expert mode in which minimal confirmations are requested. This variable can be accessed through the Request confirmations check box in the Compose Window Category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet.

filemenu

A list of files from which to initialize the Move, Copy, and Load menus. These can be absolute pathnames or pathnames relative to the directory specified in the folder variable. This variable is superceded by the filemenu2 variable.

filemenu2 Same as filemenu, but if both exist, filemenu2 takes precedence. This variable

can be accessed through the Move, Copy, Load Menus: scrolling list and the Permanent File: text field in the Mail Filing category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet.

filemenusize

Specifies the maximum number of entries in the Move, Copy, and Load menus. This variable can be accessed through the Display Up To: __ Files in Menus entry in the Mail Filing Category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet. The default is 10.

flash

The number of times to flash the window or icon when new mail arrives. This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Header Window Category as Signal With: __ Flash(es). The default is 0.

folder

The directory for saving mail files. This variable can be accessed as Mail File Directory in the Mail Filing category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet.

headerlines

The number of lines to display at a time in the header window. This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Header Window category as Display __ Headers. The default is 15.

hideattachments

Hide the attachments pane in the Compose Message window. This variable can be accessed through the Defaults: Show attachment list check box in the Compose Window category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet. The default is to show the attachment pane.

indentprefix

When indentprefix is set, the string that it is set to is used to mark indented lines from included messages. The default indentprefix is "> ".

popuplines

The number of lines in the View Message and Compose Message Windows. This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Message Window category as Display __ Lines of Text. The default is 30.

printmail The command to use to print a message. This variable can be accessed

through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Message Window category as Print Script. The default is lp -s.

record

The mail file in which to record outgoing messages. If record is set, a Log check box will appear on the Compose Message window. If the check box is

checked, the message will be logged in the record file when it is sent. If it is not checked, the message will not be logged. The dontlogmessages variable controls whether or not the check box is checked by default. The record variable may be set through the Logged Messages File item in the Compose Window category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet.

retrieveinterval

The interval in seconds to check for new mail. This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Header Window category as Retrieve Every n Seconds. The default is 300.

save

Save contents of each Compose Message window in a dead.letter file until the message is delivered successfully. If a Compose Message window is quit, and a new one is brought up, the new window will reuse the dead.letter from the previous window. The first dead.letter file is called dead.letter, the second one is called dead.letter.1, the third dead.letter.2, and so on. The default is on.

showto

Show the "To" field of mail messages in the Header Window if the mail is from the same user that is reading mail (eg. you).

sortfilemenu
           Sort the Move, Copy, and Load menus alphabetically.

suppressautoretrieve

Do not automatically retrieve new mail messages. This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Header Window category as the Automatically display headers check box. Default is to automatically retrieve new mail.

templates A list of name:path pairs to access via the Include > Templates menu. name

appears in the menu; path is the file included when name is selected. This variable can be accessed in the Template category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet. By default, the calendar template is installed.

toolcols

Default width of Mail Tool windows (in columns). This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Header Window category as Display: __ Characters wide. Default is 80.

trash

The name of the trash bin, which may be accessed just like any other mail file. If set, all deleted messages are moved to the trash bin. The trash bin is emptied when you commit changes. This option degrades the performance of mailtool and is not recommended.

Mail Tool Commands

In addition to the commands recognized by mailx(1) in the .mailrc file, mailtool also recognizes the following commands.

#-button

This command is used to create the four custom buttons in mailtool. It can be accessed through the Custom Buttons:, Command:, and Label: properties in the Header Window category of the Mail Tool Property Sheet.

#-clearaliases

This command is used to clear all the aliases defined above the current line in the .mailrc file. Mail Tool uses this command to help prevent aliases from being defined twice when it saves alias definitions to the .mailrc file.

ignore [header-field...]

Suppress displaying of the specified header fields. Examples of header fields to ignore are Status and Received. The fields are also ignored when the message is saved or printed. This variable can be accessed through the Mail Tool Property Sheet in the Message Window category by using the Hide: scrolling list and the Header Field: text field.

The .mailtool-init File

The .mailtool-init file is created in your home directory when a "Save Workspace" command is invoked from the Workspace menu. This file contains the current positions and sizes of mailtool's View, Compose, and Header Windows (i.e., what's currently on your screen), so on the next invocation of mailtool your mailtool windows will start-up with the same layouts.

The following 3 lines show the syntax of .mailtool-init's contents:

viewwin xloc number yloc number width number height number

compwin [iconic] xloc number yloc number width number height number ixloc number iyloc number deldef number

basewin filedef number viewdef number editdef number compdef number repdef number

The first line specifies the x and y coordinates of the top left corner of the View Window, and its width and height (all in pixels).

The second line specifies the same information for the Compose Window. In addition, the iconic word, if present, specify that the Compose Window will come up as an icon in the positions specified by the ixloc and iyloc parameters. The deldef parameter specifies the menu default of the Deliver button (the number 1 for the first menu item, etc.).

The third line specifies, for the Header Window, menu default items for the File, View, Edit, Compose, and Reply menus, respectively.

The .mtdeletelog File

Mailtool creates the .mtdeletelog file in your home directory so that it can recover the undelete list if mailtool is terminated abnormally while reading the spool file. The next time mailtool comes up after an abnormal termination, it will remember which files were deleted so you don't have to delete them again, and the undelete list is there so that you can undelete any of those messages before

saving your changes. This only works if you were editing your In-Box, it doesn't work for other mail files.

Signals

SIGUSR1

If you send this signal to mailtool, mailtool will act as if you clicked on the Done button. It will save any changes, close the mail file, and iconify.

ENVIRONMENT

The following are environment variables taken from the execution environment and are not alterable within mailtool.

HOME =directory

The user's home directory.

MAIL =filename

The name of the initial mailbox file to read (in lieu of the standard system mailbox). The default is /var/mail/username .

MAILRC =filename

The name of the start-up file. Default is $HOME/.mailrc.

FILES

/var/mail/*

System mailboxes

/etc/mail/mailx.rc

System setup file that is read in before ~/.mailrc.

~/.mailrc

Start-up file for mail and mailtool.

~/.mailtool-init

Start-up file for mailtool that contains the positions and sizes of mailtool's View, Compose, and Header Windows.

~/.mtdeletelog

File mailtool uses to keep track of deleted messages.

SEE ALSO

mail(1), mailx(1), newaliases(1), sendmail(1M), textedit(1), vacation(1), aliases(4B), xview(7)

OpenWindows user documentation

"About Mail Tool" in the Help Handbook available through the Help option on the Workspace menu.