mark

MARK(1)                                                                MARK(1)

NAME

       mark - manipulate message sequences

SYNOPSIS

       mark [+folder] [msgs] [-sequence name ...]  [-add]
            [-delete] [-list] [-public] [-nopublic] [-zero]
            [-nozero] [-version] [-help]

DESCRIPTION

       The  mark  command  manipulates message sequences by adding or deleting
       message numbers from folder-specific message sequences, or  by  listing
       those sequences and messages.

       A  message  sequence is a keyword, just like one of the "reserved" mes-
       sage names, such as "first" or "next".  Unlike the  "reserved"  message
       names,  which  have a fixed semantics on a per-folder basis, the seman-
       tics of a message sequence may be defined, modified, and removed by the
       user.   Message  sequences are folder-specific, e.g., the sequence name
       "seen" in the context of folder "+inbox" need  not  have  any  relation
       whatsoever  to the sequence of the same name in a folder of a different
       name.

       Three action switches direct the operation of mark.  These switches are
       mutually  exclusive:  the  last occurrence of any of them overrides any
       previous occurrence of the other two.

       The `-add' switch tells mark to add messages to sequences or to  create
       a new sequence.  For each sequence named via the `-sequence name' argu-
       ment (which must occur at least once) the  messages  named  via  `msgs'
       (which  defaults  to  "cur"  if  no `msgs' are given), are added to the
       sequence.  The messages to  be  added  need  not  be  absent  from  the
       sequence.   If  the  `-zero'  switch is specified, the sequence will be
       emptied prior to adding the messages.  Hence, `-add -zero'  means  that
       each  sequence  should  be initialized to the indicated messages, while
       `-add -nozero' means that each sequence should be appended  to  by  the
       indicated messages.

       The  `-delete' switch tells mark to delete messages from sequences, and
       is the dual of `-add'.  For each of the named sequences, the named mes-
       sages  are  removed  from  the  sequence.   These  messages need not be
       already present in the sequence.  If the `-zero' switch  is  specified,
       then all messages in the folder are added to the sequence (first creat-
       ing the sequence, if necessary) before removing the  messages.   Hence,
       `-delete -zero'  means  that  each sequence should contain all messages
       except those indicated, while `-delete -nozero'  means  that  only  the
       indicated  messages should be removed from each sequence.  As expected,
       the command `mark -sequence foo -delete all' deletes the sequence "foo"
       from the current folder.

       When  creating  or  modifying  sequences,  you can specify the switches
       `-public' or `-nopublic' to force the new or modified sequences  to  be
       "public"  or  "private".   The  switch  `-public'  indicates  that  the
       sequences should be made "public".  These sequences will then be  read-
       able by all nmh users with permission to read the relevant folders.  In
       contrast, the `-nopublic' switch indicates that the sequences should be
       made  "private",  and  will  only  be accessible by you.  If neither of
       these switches is specified,  then  existing  sequences  will  maintain
       their current status, and new sequences will default to "public" if you
       have  write  permission   for   the   relevant   folder.    Check   the
       mh-sequence(5)  man  page for more details about the difference between
       "public" and "private" sequences.

       The `-list' switch tells mark to list both the  sequences  defined  for
       the folder and the messages associated with those sequences.  Mark will
       list the name of each sequence given by `-sequence name' and  the  mes-
       sages  associated with that sequence.  If the sequence is private, this
       will also be indicated.  If no sequence is specified by the `-sequence'
       switch, then all sequences for this folder will be listed.  The `-zero'
       switch does not affect the operation of `-list'.

       The current restrictions on sequences are:

         The name used to denote a message sequence must consist of an  alpha-
         betic character followed by zero or more alphanumeric characters, and
         cannot be one of the (reserved) message names "new", "first", "last",
         "all", "next", or "prev".

         Only a certain number of sequences may be defined for a given folder.
         This number is usually limited to 26 (10 on small systems).

         Message ranges with user-defined sequence names are restricted to the
         form  "name:n",  "name:+n",  or  "name:-n", and refer to the first or
         last `n' messages of the sequence `name',  respectively.   Constructs
         of the form "name1-name2" are forbidden for user defined sequences.

FILES

       $HOME/.mh_profile                    The user profile

PROFILE COMPONENTS

       Path:                To determine the user's nmh directory
       Current-Folder:      To find the default current folder

SEE ALSO

       flist(1), pick(1), mh-sequence(5)

DEFAULTS

       `+folder' defaults to the current folder
       `-add' if `-sequence' is specified, `-list' otherwise
       `msgs' defaults to cur (or all if `-list' is specified)
       `-nozero'

CONTEXT

       If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.

HELPFUL HINTS

       Use  "flist"  to find folders with a given sequence, and "pick sequence
       -list" to enumerate those messages in the sequence (such as for use  by
       a shell script).



[nmh-1.0.4]                         MH.6.8                             MARK(1)