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" message  names,  such  as  "first"  or  "next".
       Unlike  the  "reserved"  message names, which have a fixed
       semantics on a per-folder basis, the semantics of  a  mes-
       sage 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' argument (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 messages 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  creating the sequence, if necessary) before remov-
       ing the messages.  Hence, `-delete -zero' means that  each
       sequence  should  contain  all messages except those indi-
       cated, while `-delete -nozero' means that only  the  indi-
       cated  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 mod-
       ified  sequences  to be "public" or "private".  The switch
       `-public' indicates that  the  sequences  should  be  made
       "public".   These  sequences  will then be readable 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 speci-
       fied, 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 differ-
       ence 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 messages 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  alphabetic  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).