FOLDER(1)
NAME
folder, folders - set/list current folder/message
SYNOPSIS
folder [+folder] [msg] [-all] [-noall]
[-create] [-nocreate] [-fast] [-nofast]
[-header] [-noheader] [-recurse] [-norecurse]
[-total] [-nototal] [-list] [-nolist]
[-push] [-pop] [-pack] [-nopack] [-print]
[-verbose] [-noverbose] [-version] [-help]
folders is equivalent to folder -all
DESCRIPTION
Since the nmh environment is the shell, it is easy to lose
track of the current folder from day to day. When folder
is given the `-print' switch (the default), folder will
list the current folder, the number of messages in it, the
range of the messages (low-high), and the current message
within the folder, and will flag extra files if they
exist. An example of this summary is:
inbox+ has 16 messages ( 3- 22); cur= 5.
If a `+folder' and/or `msg' are specified, they will
become the current folder and/or message. By comparison,
when a `+folder' argument is given, this corresponds to a
"cd" operation in the shell; when no `+folder' argument is
given, this corresponds roughly to a "pwd" operation in
the shell.
If the specified (or default) folder doesn't exist, the
default action is to query the user as to whether the
folder should be created; when standard input is not a
tty, the answer to the query is assumed to be "yes".
Specifying `-create' will cause folder to create new fold-
ers without any query. (This is the easy way to create an
empty folder for use later.) Specifying `-nocreate' will
cause folder to exit without creating a non-existant
folder.
Multiple Folders
Specifying `-all' will produce a summary line for each
top-level folder in the user's nmh directory, sorted
alphabetically. (If folder is invoked by a name ending
with "s" (e.g., folders ), `-all' is assumed). Specifying
`-recurse' with `-all' will also produce a line for all
sub-folders. These folders are all preceded by the
read-only folders, which occur as "atr-cur-" entries in
the user's nmh context. For example,
FOLDER # MESSAGES RANGE CUR (OTHERS)
/var/work/folder has 35 messages ( 1- 35); cur=23.
/usr/bugs/Mail has 82 messages ( 1-108); cur=82.
ff has no messages.
inbox+ has 16 messages ( 3- 22); cur= 5.
mh has 76 messages (15- 76); cur=70.
notes has 2 messages ( 1- 2); cur= 1.
ucom has 124 messages ( 1-124); cur= 6; (others).
TOTAL = 339 messages in 7 folders
The "+" after inbox indicates that it is the current
folder. The "(others)" indicates that the folder `ucom'
has files which aren't messages. These files may either
be sub-folders, or files that don't belong under the nmh
file naming scheme.
The header is output if either a `-all' or a `-header'
switch is specified. It is suppressed by `-noheader'.
The folder and message totals are output if either a
`-all' or a `-total' switch is specified. It is sup-
pressed by `-nototal'.
If `-fast' is given, only the folder name (or names in the
case of `-all') will be listed. (This is faster because
the folders need not be read.)
If a `+folder' is given along with the `-all' switch,
folder will, in addition to setting the current folder,
list the top-level subfolders for the current folder (with
`-norecurse') or list all sub-folders under the current
folder recursively (with `-recurse'). In this case, if a
`msg' is also supplied, it will become the current message
of `+folder'.
The `-recurse' switch lists each folder recursively, so
use of this option effectively defeats the speed enhance-
ment of the `-fast' option, since each folder must be
searched for subfolders. Nevertheless, the combination of
these options is useful.
Compacting a Folder
The `-pack' switch will compress the message names in the
designated folders, removing holes in message numbering.
The `-verbose' switch directs folder to tell the user the
general actions that it is taking to compress the folder.
The Folder Stack
The `-push' switch directs folder to push the current
folder onto the folder-stack, and make the `+folder'
argument the current folder. If `+folder' is not given,
the current folder and the top of the folder-stack are
exchanged. This corresponds to the "pushd" operation in
the CShell.
The `-pop' switch directs folder to discard the top of the
folder-stack, after setting the current folder to that
value. No `+folder' argument is allowed. This corre-
sponds to the "popd" operation in the CShell. The `-push'
switch and the `-pop' switch are mutually exclusive: the
last occurrence of either one overrides any previous
occurrence of the other. Both of these switches also set
`-list' by default.
The `-list' switch directs folder to list the contents of
the folder-stack. No `+folder' argument is allowed.
After a successful `-push' or `-pop', the `-list' action
is taken, unless a `-nolist' switch follows them on the
command line. This corresponds to the "dirs" operation in
the CShell. The `-push', `-pop', and `-list' switches
turn off `-print'.
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
Folder-Protect: To set mode when creating a new folder
Folder-Stack: To determine the folder stack
SEE ALSO
refile(1) mhpath(1)
DEFAULTS
`+folder' defaults to the current folder
`msg' defaults to none
`-nofast'
`-noheader'
`-nototal'
`-nopack'
`-norecurse'
`-noverbose'
`-print' is the default if no `-list', `-push', or `-pop' is specified
`-list' is the default if `-push', or `-pop' is specified
CONTEXT
If `+folder' and/or `msg' are given, they will become the
current folder and/or message.
BUGS
There is no way to restore the default behavior (to ask
the user whether to create a non-existant folder) after
`-create' or `-nocreate' is given.