NAME

send − send a message

SYNTAX

send [−alias aliasfile] [−draft] [−draftfolder +foldername] [−draftmessage msg] [−nodraftfolder] [−filter filterfile] [−nofilter] [−format] [−noformat] [−forward] [−noforward] [−msgid] [−nomsgid] [−push] [−nopush] [−verbose] [−noverbose] [−watch] [−nowatch] [−width columns] [file ...] [−help]

DESCRIPTION

Use send to send the draft message to the specified recipients. You normally choose send as one of the options from the whatnow program.  However, you can use send just like any other MH command.

Normally messages are created in the file draft. This file is stored in your Mail directory.  The draft message remains in the file draft until it is either sent or deleted.

The command send will normally search for the draft file and cause it to be delivered to each of the destinations in the To:, cc:, Bcc:, and Fcc: fields of the message.  If send is redistributing a message, as invoked from dist, the corresponding Resent−xxx fields are examined instead. The delivery is carried out using post(.).

OPTIONS

You can specify alternative messages or files to be used by send, provided that they are formatted as legal mail messages.  If you use the −draftfolder foldername option, send will search the specified folder for the draft message and will deliver it to the specified recipients.  If there is no draft message in the specified folder, send will display an error message.  In the following example send will search the folder +test for the draft message and send it if one exists.

% send −draftfolder +test

If you specify the −draftmessage filename option, you can send a file instead of a folder.  If you do not specify a directory, the file will be assumed to be in your Mail directory.  Note that, if you specify a relative pathname (one that doesn’t start with a /), send will assume that the pathname is relative to your Mail directory.  In the following example send will search for the file draftmessage in user Robb’s test directory.

% send −draftmessage ~robb/test/draftmessage

You should not attempt to use both the −draftfolder and the −draftmessage options at the same time.

Issuing send with no file argument will query whether the draft is the intended file, whereas −draft will suppress this question. Once the transport system has successfully accepted custody of the message, the file will be renamed with a leading comma. This allows it to be retrieved until the next draft message is sent. If there are errors in the formatting of the message, send will abort and issue an error message.

If a Bcc: field is encountered, its addresses will be used for delivery, and the Bcc: field will be removed from the message sent to sighted recipients.  The blind recipients will receive an entirely new message with a minimal set of headers.  Included in the body of the message will be a copy of the message sent to the sighted recipients.  If you specify −filter filterfile then this copy is filtered (re-formatted) prior to being sent to the blind recipients. 

Prior to sending the message, the fields From: user@local, and Date: now will be appended to the headers in the message.  If the environment variable $SIGNATURE is set, then its value is used as your personal name when constructing the From: line of the message.  If this variable is not set, then send will consult the profile entry Signature: for this information. 

If −msgid is specified, then a Message−ID: field will also be added to the message. 

If send is redistributing a message (when invoked by dist), then “Resent−” will be prepended to each of these fields: “From:”, “Date:”, and “Message−ID:”. If the message already contains a “From:” field, then a “Sender: user@local” field will be added as well.

By using the −format switch, each of the entries in the To: and cc: fields will be replaced with standard format entries. This standard format is designed to be usable by all of the message handlers on the various systems around the Internet. If −noformat is given, then headers are output exactly as they appear in the message draft.

If an cc: folder is encountered, the message will be copied to the specified folder for the sender in the format in which it will appear to any normal recipients of the message. That is, it will have the appended fields and field reformatting. The Fcc: fields will be removed from all outgoing copies of the message. 

By using the −width columns switch, you can specify how long send should make header lines containing addresses.

By using the −alias aliasfile switch, you can direct send to consult the named files for alias definitions (more than one file, each  preceded by −alias, can be named). See mh-alias() for more information.

If −push is specified, send performs its actions in the background. If you specify −push, and −forward and the draft cannot be sent, then the −forward switch says that draft should be forwarded with the failure notice sent to the sender. This differs from putting send in the background because the output is trapped and analyzed by MH.

If −verbose is specified, send will indicate the interactions occurring with the transport system, prior to actual delivery. If −watch is specified send will monitor the delivery of local and network mail.  Hence, by specifying both switches, a large amount of information can be gathered about each step of the message’s entry into the transport system. The defaults for the send command are:

file defaults to <mh−dir>/draft
−alias /usr/new/lib/mh/MailAliases
−nodraftfolder
−nofilter
−format
−forward
−nomsgid
−nopush
−noverbose
−nowatch
−width 72

FILES

PROFILE COMPONENTS

SEE ALSO

comp(1mh), dist(1mh), forw(1mh), repl(1mh), mh-alias(5mh), post(8mh)

Commands