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dxmail(1X) dxmail(1X) NAME dxmail - DECwindows mail program SYNOPSIS dxmail [options] OPTIONS On color displays, specifies the color of highlighted folders. (Fold- ers containing unread messages are highlighted.) This overrides the system default defined in the Session Manager's Customize Window dialog box. On color displays, specifies the color of the window's back- ground. This overrides the system default defined in the Session Man- ager's Customize Window dialog box. Specifies the width (in pixels) of the window's border. For debug purposes only. Specifies the display screen where dxmail displays its window. If the display option is not specified, dxmail uses the display screen specified by your DISPLAY en- vironment variable. The display option has the format hostname:number. Using two colons (::) instead of one (:) indicates that DECnet is to be used for transport. The default is :0. For more information, see X(1X). Specifies the color of the text. This overrides the system de- fault defined in the Session Manager's Customize Window dialog box. Specifies the font used as the output font. Any fixed-width font can be used. The default is 6x13. Specifies the name that is to replace the program name. Reverses the default color values (for example, black becomes white and white becomes black). The default is On. Specifies the title to be listed in the main window's title bar. DESCRIPTION The dxmail command provides a window-oriented interface to the mh Mail Handler. The mh Mail Handler software must be installed on your system before you can use dxmail. When dxmail starts, it checks in your home directory for the file dx- mail reads and uses the configuration information that the file con- tains. If the file is not there, dxmail creates it and includes the minimum required default values. MAIN WINDOW At startup, the dxmail main window is displayed. It consists of seven areas: Displays window manager icons that allow you to move and resize the dxmail window and to shrink it to an icon. For more information, see mwm(1X). Lists the available dxmail menus (for example, File or Edit). See the section Menu Bar, below. Lists your current folders. By default, dxmail puts your incoming mail in the inbox folder. When you receive new mail, dxmail draws a border around the inbox folder. Drafts of messages can be saved in the drafts folder and messages to be deleted can be placed in the wastebasket folder. To select a folder, click on the appropriate folder button. When a folder button is se- lected, dxmail highlights that button. To view the contents of a folder, double-click on the appropriate folder button. Contains but- tons that execute the general dxmail commands (for example, New mail or Create-Send). See the section Global Commands Pane, below. Lists the name of the currently opened folder. Lists the messages in the cur- rently opened folder. Initially, this window lists the messages con- tained in the inbox folder. See the section Message Index and Message Commands Panes, below. Contains buttons that execute the commonly used commands which affect the messages listed in the Message Index Pane. Dimmed commands are disabled. See the section Message Index and Message Commands Panes, below. Menu Bar The Main Window's Menu Bar provides access to both commonly and less commonly used commands. (Access to the more commonly used commands is made easier with the Global Commands and Message Commands Panes, de- scribed later in this reference page.) The Menu Bar contains the fol- lowing menus: File Edit Pick Create-Send Read Maintenance Customize Help File Menu Moves the message to the selected folder. However, dxmail does not re- move the message from the original folder until you close and reopen the folder, select the Commit Changes menu item or double-click on the folder name. If the selected folder is the same as the viewed folder, this command just beeps. Copies the selected messages to the selected folder. Creates a file from the selected message. Prints the selected messages. Opens the currently selected folder. Opens the currently selected folder in a new main window. Incorporates new mail into your inbox folder. Closes the main dxmail window. If the main window being closed is the only main dxmail window on the screen, invoking this menu item exits dxmail. Edit Menu Places the selected messages in the wastebasket folder for deletion; if no messages are currently selected, this item is disabled. However, dxmail does not remove the messages from the current folder until you close and reopen the original folder, select the Commit Changes menu item, or double-click on the folder name. You can move the messages back to their original folder by selecting the "Undo move/delete" menu item. Undoes any move or delete operations for the selected messages; if no messages are currently selected, this item is disabled. Once you commit changes to messages by reopening the folder, selecting the Com- mit Changes menu item, or double-clicking on the folder name, you can- not undo the changes. Copies a mail message (or part of one) to a clipboard, for example, a Create-Send Window. To perform this opera- tion, open the message you want to copy, mark the beginning of the block of text by clicking on it with MB1, then drag the end to the end of the block of text. Select Copy to Clipboard from the Edit menu, then place the pointer in the clipboard (window) and press MB2. Selects all messages from the Message Index pane. Pick Menu The Pick menu lets you select, define, and manipulate groups of mes- sages. Groups of messages, called sequences, further organize messages within a folder. For example, you can create sequences that consist of all of the messages that meet some common criterion (such as those to or from a certain person, received on a certain date, pertaining to a certain subject, or containing a specific word). Message sequences and their names are specific to folders; therefore, the same sequence name can exist in multiple folders. In each folder, all messages belong to a predefined sequence called all. Only one se- quence can be displayed at a time; its name is next to the folder name in the title bar above the message list, When you view messages, the next and previous messages are defined in relation to the current se- quence. The Pick menu contains the following items: Displays the Pick dialog box, which lets you specify criteria for selecting messages from any folder and creating a new sequence. Displays the Pick dialog box, which lets you specify criteria for selecting messages from the current folder and creating a new sequence. Lets you specify the name of a new sequence. The sequence does not contain messages until you explicitly add some. The sequence name must begin with an alphabetic character and should not contain any non-alphanumeric characters (such as punctuation marks). Displays the last specified sequence or one that you select from the submenu. This item is disabled until the folder contains se- quences other than all. Adds selected messages to a sequence that you select from the submenu. This item is disabled until the folder con- tains sequences other than all. Removes selected messages from a se- quence that you select from the submenu. This item is disabled until the folder contains sequences other than all. Removes a sequence that you select from the submenu. The messages themselves are not deleted; they are still part of the folder's all sequence, Create-Send Menu The Create-Send menu contains the following items: Displays a Create- Send Window that allows you to compose a new message. Displays the File Selection dialog box, which lets you send an existing file as a mail message. Once the File Selection dialog box is dismissed, dxmail displays a Create-Send Window whose body is the specified file. To send a DDIF or DTIF file, use the Create-Send menu option and select the File option. (DDIF or DTIF files are displayed graph- ically and can not be edited.) Creates a Create-Send Window in reply to the first selected message. Creates a Create-Send Win- dow that contains the contents of the selected message or mes- sages. Creates a Create-Send Window that contains the contents of the selected message. This menu item is often used to compose a new message with the contents of a message previously saved in the drafts folder. Read Menu The Read menu contains the following items: Displays the selected mes- sage in a new Read Window, regardless of whether a default Read Window is already displayed. Displays the selected message in the default Read Window. If a Read Window is not displayed, dxmail creates a new Read Window automatically. You can also invoke this command by double- clicking on the envelope icon for the appropriate message. Displays a submenu that lets you display the selected message in one of several already displayed Read Windows. Checks to see if any new mail has ar- rived. If new mail has arrived, dxmail incorporates the new mail and displays the first message in the automatically created default Read Window. If no new mail has arrived, dxmail displays a dialog box that says "No new mail." The dxmail program beeps only if you have selected the "Beep instead of putting up a No New Mail dialog box" option in Modify Mail Profile in the Customize Window. The default is no beep. Checks to see if any new mail has arrived. If new mail has arrived, dxmail incorporates the new mail and displays the first message in a new Read Window that is created automatically. If no new mail has ar- rived, dxmail displays a dialog box that says "No new mail." The dxmail program beeps only if you have selected the "Beep instead of putting up a No New Mail dialog box" option in the Customize Window. The default is no beep. Maintenance Menu The Maintenance menu contains the following items: Creates a new folder and displays a dialog box that prompts for the new folder name. Deletes the messages previously placed in the wastebasket folder with the Delete command. Deletes the selected folder and displays a Caution dialog box that prompts for verification. Opens a mail drawer to dis- play the folders contained there. Closes a mail drawer and makes the folders contained there invisible. Removes from the message list of the current folder any message that you previously marked to delete or move. When you close and reopen a folder or double-click on a folder name, dxmail invokes this command automatically. Renumbers the mes- sages in the viewed folder starting from 1 and incrementing by 1 for each following message. Sorts the messages in the folder into increas- ing order by date. Causes dxmail to check and make sure its informa- tion about the folder is correct. This command can be useful if you have invoked mh commands directly from the command line while dxmail is running. Brings up a dialog box that allows you to rename a folder. There must not already be a folder with the new name. It is possible for a mail folder to get into a state in which the messages don't match the numbers. (This could happen if dxmail and MH were run simultane- ously.) This option will correct this state once dxmail is exited and restarted. Customize Menu The Customize menu contains the following item: Displays the Customize dialog box, which lets you modify characteristics of dxmail. The cus- tomize options are: Skip to next message upon deleting current one. Skip to next message upon moving current one. Commit changes in a folder upon closing it. Renumber messages in a folder after every com- mit. Put deleted messages into wastebasket instead of deleting immedi- ately. Incorporate new messages when invoking Show Unopened Buttons Affect the current message if no messages are selected. Beep instead of putting up a No New Mail dialog box. Global Commands Pane Global Command buttons displayed in the dxmail window are: Checks to see if any new mail has arrived. If new mail has arrived, dxmail adds the new mail to the inbox folder and displays the first message in the default Read Window. If the default Read Window does not exist, dxmail creates one automatically. If no new mail has arrived, dxmail displays a dialog box that says "No new mail." The dxmail program beeps only if you have selected the "Beep instead of putting up a No New Mail Dialog Box" option in the Customize window. The default is no beep. When a PostScript, DDIF, or DTIF message is read, you are given the option of displaying it as a graphic. If you choose not to read a PostScript message as a graphic, it is displayed as ASCII text. If you choose not to read a DDIF or DTIF file as a graphic, it is displayed as compressed uuencoded ASCII text. Displays a Create-Send Window that allows you to compose a new message. You can use Create-Send to send a PostScript file. When the Cre- ate-Send Window appears, use the Include file... function of its File pull-down menu to include the PostScript file below the mail header. Removes from the message list of the current folder any message that you previously marked to delete or move. When you close and reopen a folder or double-click on a folder name, dxmail invokes this command automatically. Causes dxmail to check and make sure its information about the folder is cor- rect. This command can be useful if you have invoked mh com- mands directly from the command line while dxmail is running. (See also Invalid cache on exit, above.) Message Index and Message Commands Panes These Panes are parts of the dxmail window as described above in the section MAIN WINDOW. To specify the message or messages to be affected by commands in the Message Commands Pane or in one of the several dxmail menus, first se- lect the message or messages in the Message Index Pane. Message Index Pane To select a single message in the Message Index Pane, click MB1 (mouse button 1) on the message. To highlight a range of messages, you can follow one of two procedures: Place the pointer on the first message to be selected. Press MB1. Drag the pointer to the last message to be selected. Release MB1. Or: Place the pointer on the first message to be selected. Click MB1. Place the pointer on the last message to be selected. Hold down the Shift key and click MB1. To add a message to the current selection, follow this procedure: Place the pointer on the icon of the message to be included. Hold the Shift key and click MB1. To remove messages from the current selection, follow this procedure: Place the pointer on the first message to be removed. Hold the Shift key and drag MB1 up or down. To view the contents of a message listed in the Message Index Pane, place the pointer anywhere on the message and double-click MB1. he contents of the message are displayed in a Read Window. The selected messages are the same as the highlighted messages, if any. The current message is marked with a plus sign (+), except when it is open in a Read menu (when it is marked with an open envelope). The cur- rent message is the last message viewed in the default Read Window within the current folder. Message Commands Pane The Message Commands Pane contains command buttons that act on selected messages: Incorporates new mail into your inbox folder. Creates a Cre- ate-Send Window in reply to the first selected message. Creates a Cre- ate-Send Window whose body is initialized to be the contents of the se- lected messages. Prints the selected messages, using lpr, to the de- fault printer. Moves the message to the selected folder. However, dx- mail does not remove the message from the original folder until you close and reopen the folder, select the Commit Changes menu item, or double-click on the open folder name. For example, you can remove a message moved out of inbox by closing and reopening inbox, selecting Commit Changes, or by double-clicking on inbox. If the selected folder is the same as the viewed folder, this command just beeps. You can move the messages back to the current folder by selecting the Undo move/delete menu item. Places the selected messages in the wastebasket folder for deletion. However, dxmail does not remove the selected mes- sages from the current folder until you close and reopen the original folder, select the Commit Changes menu item, or double-click on the folder name. You can move the messages back to their original folder by selecting the Undo move/delete menu item. READ WINDOWS Most Read Window command buttons are the same as the Message Command Pane buttons of the same name. However, the Read Window command but- tons affect the viewed message instead of the selected message, and there are three additional command buttons: Displays the message after the message displayed currently. Displays the message before the mes- sage displayed currently. Closes the Read Window. Allows you to reply to the message displayed in the Read Window. Allows you to forward the message displayed in the Read Window. Allows you to print the message displayed in the Read Window. Allows you to move the message displayed in the Read Window to a mail folder. Allows you to delete the message displayed in the Read Window. Less commonly used functions are available only through the menu bar. The menu bar contains the following menus: File Edit Sequences Create- Send Read File Menu File menu items unique to the Read Window are as follows: Specifies that the current Read Window is the default Read Window. Closes the Read Window. Edit Menu Edit menu items unique to the Read Window are as follows: Selects all text displayed in the Read Window. Specifies that the message in the Read Window can be modified. Saves any changes made to the message displayed in the Read Window after invoking the Edit message menu item. Read Menu Displays the next message selected from the main dxmail window in the current Read Window. Displays the previous message selected from the main dxmail window in the current Read Window. Displays the next mes- sage listed in the main dxmail window in the current Read Window. Dis- plays the previous message listed in the main dxmail window in the cur- rent Read Window. CREATE-SEND WINDOWS The buttons associated with Create-Send Windows are: Closes the Create- Send Window without taking any further action. If changes have been made, dxmail displays a Caution dialog box prompting for confirmation or cancellation. Clears the Create-Send Window. Invokes the editor specified in the resource file ~/DXMail. See Chapter 9 of the DECwin- dows User's Guide. Saves the message contained in the Create-Send Win- dow in the drafts folder. You can later view, edit, and send the mes- sage with the Use as comp command. Sends the message contained in the Create-Send Window. If any errors appear in the message header, dxmail displays a mail message containing this composition and a description of the error. The Send command does not close the Create-Send Window. The menu bar in a Create-Send Window contains the following menus: File Edit File Menu Performs the same function as the Send button. Performs the same func- tion as the Save button. Copies a message to a file. Inserts a file into the message. Performs the same function as the Reset button. Performs the same function as the Close button. Invokes the editor specified in the resource file ~/DXMail. See Chapter 9 of the DECwin- dows User's Guide. Edit Menu Selects all text displayed in the Create-Send Window. CONVERTING OLD MAIL FOLDERS If you have been using the mail(1) program to read your mail, you can convert your existing folders into dxmail folders with the following command: inc +foldername -file filename Specifies the name that is to be used for the dxmail folder. Specifies the name of the existing mail folder. Note that you must run inc to access mail if you have been using the Berkeley mail handler. For more information, see inc(1). MAIL ALIASES The dxmail command does not use your file in your home directory. Therefore, dxmail does not use the user mail aliases that you have de- fined in that file. However, dxmail does make use of the global alias files that sendmail uses. To define an alias file to be used with dxmail, follow this procedure: Create the Mail directory and a skeleton file by invoking dxmail. This skeletal will contain the following line: Path: Mail Edit the file to add the following three lines: ali: -alias aliases send: -alias aliases whom: -alias aliases Create an alias file in your Mail directory with the name specified in these lines. In your alias file, add lines in the following format: alias: person1, person2,.... The person to whom you assigned an alias can have another alias, and you can mix previously defined aliases and people on the same line. However, because the file is read from top to bottom, you must make sure that aliases used in other aliases have already been defined in the file. X DEFAULTS The dxmail application uses the values in the file that were active when you logged in and uses the appropriate resource specification to customize the appearance or characteristics of its displayed dxmail window. The format for a resource specification in the file is: [name]*resource: value Specifies the application name or the name string that restricts the resource assignment to that application or to a component of an appli- cation. If you do not specify this argument, the resource assignment is globally available to all X applications. Specifies the resource. Specifies the value that is to be assigned to the resource. For more information, see X(1X). Because each toolkit-based application can consist of a combination of widgets (for example, push buttons and a scroll bar), you can form the name string by adding widget class and name identifiers to the string. For further information about adding class and name identifiers, see X(1X). For dxmail, the available class identifiers are: XmMainWindow XmSeparatorGadget XmPanedWindow XmScrolledWindow Xm- DrawingArea XmRowColumn Item XmScrollBar XmPushButton XmLabel XmForm XmFrame XmBulletinBoard XmText XmSash XmCascadeButton XmSeparator Xm- Sash For dxmail, the available name identifiers are: mainWindow workArea folderArea innerFolderArea vScrollBar hScrollBar folderCommandBar readNewMail createSend messagePane messageForm mes- sageArea messageButtonsArea messageButton messageScroll innerMsgArea messageCommandBar menuBar sendWindow commandBar confirm createSend cus- tomize ddifHeaders pick prompt read titlebar In addition to the general resources listed in X(1X), the resources available for dxmail are: Specifies the initial geometry (window size and screen location) for the Create-Send Window. For more information about the geometry specification and screen coordinate system, see X(1X). Specifies the initial geometry (window size and screen loca- tion) for the main dxmail window. Specifies the initial geometry (win- dow size and screen location) for the Read Window. Specifies the ini- tial geometry (window size and screen location) for the Pick window. Specifies the command to be executed to print a message. (Standard out and standard error must be redirected explicitly.) The default is: lpr > /dev/null 2 > /dev/null This command is used to print when the "Entire Message" option is selected. It is also used for printing when "Body Only" op- tion is selected if the StrippedPrintCommand resource is not specified. Specifies the command to be executed if the "Body Only" option is selected under "Print". It is also used for ex- ecuting the print command when “Entire Message" option is selected if the PrintCommand resource is not specified. Each specification included in the file for the translations re- source modifies a key setting for the editor that dxmail uses. For more information about key and mouse specifications in the file, see X(1X). RESTRICTIONS The dxmail application requires Version 6 of mh. If a line in the starts with Current-Folder, you have been using Version 4 or earlier. To convert to Version 6, remove that line. For more information, refer to mh(1). Sequence names and message lists together cannot exceed 1024 charac- ters. In practice, this means that sequences can have a maximum of 200 messages. Messages can be numbered from 1-9999. You should periodically renumber your messages. Do not create folder names that are made up of only digits. When sending mail, the dashes under the Subject: line are required. FILES SEE ALSO inc(1), mh(1), X(1X), DECwindows User's Guide dxmail(1X)