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24 </style></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Chapter 2. Getting Started</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="intro.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center"> </th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="configuration.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="chapter" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a id="gettingstarted"></a>Chapter 2. Getting Started</h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="gettingstarted.html#core-concepts">1. Core concepts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="gettingstarted.html#menus">2. Moving Around in Menus</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="gettingstarted.html#editing">3. Editing Input Fields</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#editing-intro">3.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#editing-history">3.2. History</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="gettingstarted.html#reading">4. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#index-menu">4.1. The Message Index</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#pager-menu">4.2. The Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#threads">4.3. Threaded Mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#reading-misc">4.4. Miscellaneous Functions</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="gettingstarted.html#sending">5. Sending Mail</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#sending-intro">5.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#edit-header">5.2. Editing the message header</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#sending-crypto">5.3. Sending cryptographically signed/encrypted messages</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#sending-mixmaster">5.4. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="gettingstarted.html#ff">5.5. Sending format=flowed messages</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="gettingstarted.html#forwarding-mail">6. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="gettingstarted.html#postponing-mail">7. Postponing Mail</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
25 This section is intended as a brief overview of how to use Mutt. There are
26 many other features which are described elsewhere in the manual. There
27 is even more information available in the Mutt FAQ and various web
28 pages. See the <a class="ulink" href="http://www.mutt.org/" target="_top">Mutt homepage</a> for more details.
30 The keybindings described in this section are the defaults as distributed.
31 Your local system administrator may have altered the defaults for your site.
32 You can always type “<span class="quote">?</span>” in any menu to display the current bindings.
34 The first thing you need to do is invoke mutt, simply by typing <code class="literal">mutt</code>
35 at the command line. There are various command-line options, see
36 either the mutt man page or the <a class="link" href="reference.html#commandline" title="1. Command line options">reference</a>.
37 </p><div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="core-concepts"></a>1. Core concepts</h2></div></div></div><p>
38 Mutt is a text-based application which interacts with users through
39 different menus which are mostly line-/entry-based or page-based. A
40 line-based menu is the so-called “<span class="quote">index</span>” menu (listing all messages of
41 the currently opened folder) or the “<span class="quote">alias</span>” menu (allowing you to
42 select recipients from a list). Examples for page-based menus are the
43 “<span class="quote">pager</span>” (showing one message at a time) or the “<span class="quote">help</span>” menu listing
44 all available key bindings.
46 The user interface consists of a context sensitive help line at the top,
47 the menu's contents followed by a context sensitive status line and
48 finally the command line. The command line is used to display
49 informational and error messages as well as for prompts and for entering
52 Because Mutt allows for customizing almost all key bindings, there are
53 so-called “<span class="quote">functions</span>” which can be executed manually (using the
54 command line) or in macros. Macros allow the user to bind a sequence of
55 commands to a single key or a short key sequence instead of repeating a
56 sequence of actions over and over.
58 Many commands (such as saving or copying a message to another folder)
59 can be applied to a single message or a set of messages (so-called
60 “<span class="quote">tagged</span>” messages). To help selecting messages, Mutt provides a rich
61 set of message patterns (such as recipients, sender, body contents, date
62 sent/received, etc.) which can be combined into complex expressions
63 using the boolean <span class="emphasis"><em>and</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>or</em></span>
64 operations as well as negating. These patterns can also be used to (for
65 example) search for messages or to limit the index to show only matching
68 Mutt supports a “<span class="quote">hook</span>” concept which allows the user to execute
69 arbitrary configuration commands and functions in certain situations
70 such as entering a folder, starting a new message or replying to an
71 existing one. These hooks can be used to highly customize Mutt's
72 behaviour including managing multiple identities, customizing the
73 display for a folder or even implementing auto-archiving based on a
74 per-folder basis and much more.
75 </p></div><div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="menus"></a>2. Moving Around in Menus</h2></div></div></div><p>
76 The most important navigation keys common to all menus are shown in
77 <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-keys-nav" title="Table 2.1. Most common navigation keys">Table 2.1, “Most common navigation keys”</a>.
78 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-keys-nav"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.1. Most common navigation keys</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Most common navigation keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>j or <Down></td><td><code class="literal"><next-entry></code></td><td>move to the next entry</td></tr><tr><td>k or <Up></td><td><code class="literal"><previous-entry></code></td><td>move to the previous entry</td></tr><tr><td>z or <PageDn></td><td><code class="literal"><page-down></code></td><td>go to the next page</td></tr><tr><td>Z or <PageUp></td><td><code class="literal"><page-up></code></td><td>go to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td>= or <Home></td><td><code class="literal"><first-entry></code></td><td>jump to the first entry</td></tr><tr><td>* or <End></td><td><code class="literal"><last-entry></code></td><td>jump to the last entry</td></tr><tr><td>q</td><td><code class="literal"><quit></code></td><td>exit the current menu</td></tr><tr><td>?</td><td><code class="literal"><help></code></td><td>list all keybindings for the current menu</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="editing"></a>3. Editing Input Fields</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="editing-intro"></a>3.1. Introduction</h3></div></div></div><p>
79 Mutt has a built-in line editor for inputting text, e.g. email
80 addresses or filenames. The keys used to manipulate text input are
81 very similar to those of Emacs. See <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-keys-editor" title="Table 2.2. Most common line editor keys">Table 2.2, “Most common line editor keys”</a> for a full
82 reference of available functions, their default key bindings, and
84 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-keys-editor"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.2. Most common line editor keys</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Most common line editor keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>^A or <Home></td><td><code class="literal"><bol></code></td><td>move to the start of the line</td></tr><tr><td>^B or <Left></td><td><code class="literal"><backward-char></code></td><td>move back one char</td></tr><tr><td>Esc B</td><td><code class="literal"><backward-word></code></td><td>move back one word</td></tr><tr><td>^D or <Delete></td><td><code class="literal"><delete-char></code></td><td>delete the char under the cursor</td></tr><tr><td>^E or <End></td><td><code class="literal"><eol></code></td><td>move to the end of the line</td></tr><tr><td>^F or <Right></td><td><code class="literal"><forward-char></code></td><td>move forward one char</td></tr><tr><td>Esc F</td><td><code class="literal"><forward-word></code></td><td>move forward one word</td></tr><tr><td><Tab></td><td><code class="literal"><complete></code></td><td>complete filename or alias</td></tr><tr><td>^T</td><td><code class="literal"><complete-query></code></td><td>complete address with query</td></tr><tr><td>^K</td><td><code class="literal"><kill-eol></code></td><td>delete to the end of the line</td></tr><tr><td>Esc d</td><td><code class="literal"><kill-eow></code></td><td>delete to the end of the word</td></tr><tr><td>^W</td><td><code class="literal"><kill-word></code></td><td>kill the word in front of the cursor</td></tr><tr><td>^U</td><td><code class="literal"><kill-line></code></td><td>delete entire line</td></tr><tr><td>^V</td><td><code class="literal"><quote-char></code></td><td>quote the next typed key</td></tr><tr><td><Up></td><td><code class="literal"><history-up></code></td><td>recall previous string from history</td></tr><tr><td><Down></td><td><code class="literal"><history-down></code></td><td>recall next string from history</td></tr><tr><td><BackSpace></td><td><code class="literal"><backspace></code></td><td>kill the char in front of the cursor</td></tr><tr><td>Esc u</td><td><code class="literal"><upcase-word></code></td><td>convert word to upper case</td></tr><tr><td>Esc l</td><td><code class="literal"><downcase-word></code></td><td>convert word to lower case</td></tr><tr><td>Esc c</td><td><code class="literal"><capitalize-word></code></td><td>capitalize the word</td></tr><tr><td>^G</td><td>n/a</td><td>abort</td></tr><tr><td><Return></td><td>n/a</td><td>finish editing</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
85 You can remap the <span class="emphasis"><em>editor</em></span> functions using the
86 <a class="link" href="configuration.html#bind" title="5. Changing the default key bindings">bind</a> command. For example, to make
87 the <Delete> key delete the character in front of
88 the cursor rather than under, you could use:
89 </p><pre class="screen">
90 bind editor <delete> backspace
91 </pre></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="editing-history"></a>3.2. History</h3></div></div></div><p>
92 Mutt maintains a history for the built-in editor. The number of items
93 is controlled by the <a class="link" href="reference.html#history" title="3.77. history">$history</a>
94 variable and can be made persistent using an external file specified
95 using <a class="link" href="reference.html#history-file" title="3.78. history_file">$history_file</a>.
96 You may cycle through them at an editor prompt by using the
97 <code class="literal"><history-up></code> and/or
98 <code class="literal"><history-down></code> commands.
100 Mutt maintains several distinct history lists, one for each of the
101 following categories:
102 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul type="disc"><li><p>muttrc commands</p></li><li><p>addresses and aliases</p></li><li><p>shell commands</p></li><li><p>filenames</p></li><li><p>patterns</p></li><li><p>everything else</p></li></ul></div><p>
103 Mutt automatically filters out repeated items from the history. It
104 also mimics the behavior of some shells by ignoring items starting
105 with a space. The latter feature can be useful in macros to not clobber
106 the history's valuable entries with unwanted entries.
107 </p></div></div><div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="reading"></a>4. Reading Mail - The Index and Pager</h2></div></div></div><p>
108 Similar to many other mail clients, there are two modes in which mail is
109 read in Mutt. The first is the index of messages in the mailbox, which is
110 called the “<span class="quote">index</span>” in Mutt. The second mode is the display of the
111 message contents. This is called the “<span class="quote">pager.</span>”
113 The next few sections describe the functions provided in each of these
115 </p><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="index-menu"></a>4.1. The Message Index</h3></div></div></div><p>
116 Common keys used to navigate through and manage messages in the index
117 are shown in <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-key-index" title="Table 2.3. Most common message index keys">Table 2.3, “Most common message index keys”</a>. How messages are presented
118 in the index menu can be customized using the
119 <a class="link" href="reference.html#index-format" title="3.101. index_format">$index_format</a> variable.
120 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-index"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.3. Most common message index keys</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Most common message index keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>c</td><td>change to a different mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>Esc c</td><td>change to a folder in read-only mode</td></tr><tr><td>C</td><td>copy the current message to another mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>Esc C</td><td>decode a message and copy it to a folder</td></tr><tr><td>Esc s</td><td>decode a message and save it to a folder</td></tr><tr><td>D</td><td>delete messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>delete the current message</td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>mark as important</td></tr><tr><td>l</td><td>show messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>N</td><td>mark message as new</td></tr><tr><td>o</td><td>change the current sort method</td></tr><tr><td>O</td><td>reverse sort the mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>q</td><td>save changes and exit</td></tr><tr><td>s</td><td>save-message</td></tr><tr><td>T</td><td>tag messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>t</td><td>toggle the tag on a message</td></tr><tr><td>Esc t</td><td>toggle tag on entire message thread</td></tr><tr><td>U</td><td>undelete messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>u</td><td>undelete-message</td></tr><tr><td>v</td><td>view-attachments</td></tr><tr><td>x</td><td>abort changes and exit</td></tr><tr><td><Return></td><td>display-message</td></tr><tr><td><Tab></td><td>jump to the next new or unread message</td></tr><tr><td>@</td><td>show the author's full e-mail address</td></tr><tr><td>$</td><td>save changes to mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>/</td><td>search</td></tr><tr><td>Esc /</td><td>search-reverse</td></tr><tr><td>^L</td><td>clear and redraw the screen</td></tr><tr><td>^T</td><td>untag messages matching a pattern</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
121 In addition to who sent the message and the subject, a short summary of
122 the disposition of each message is printed beside the message number.
123 Zero or more of the “<span class="quote">flags</span>” in <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-msg-status-flags" title="Table 2.4. Message status flags">Table 2.4, “Message status flags”</a>
124 may appear, some of which can be turned on or off using these functions:
125 <code class="literal"><set-flag></code> and
126 <code class="literal"><clear-flag></code>
127 bound by default to “<span class="quote">w</span>” and “<span class="quote">W</span>” respectively.
129 Furthermore, the flags in <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-msg-recip-flags" title="Table 2.5. Message recipient flags">Table 2.5, “Message recipient flags”</a> reflect
130 who the message is addressed to. They can be customized with the
131 <a class="link" href="reference.html#to-chars" title="3.292. to_chars">$to_chars</a> variable.
132 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-msg-status-flags"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.4. Message status flags</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Message status flags" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>D</td><td>message is deleted (is marked for deletion)</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>message has attachments marked for deletion</td></tr><tr><td>K</td><td>contains a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td>N</td><td>message is new</td></tr><tr><td>O</td><td>message is old</td></tr><tr><td>P</td><td>message is PGP encrypted</td></tr><tr><td>r</td><td>message has been replied to</td></tr><tr><td>S</td><td>message is signed, and the signature is successfully verified</td></tr><tr><td>s</td><td>message is signed</td></tr><tr><td>!</td><td>message is flagged</td></tr><tr><td>*</td><td>message is tagged</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><div class="table"><a id="tab-msg-recip-flags"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.5. Message recipient flags</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Message recipient flags" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>+</td><td>message is to you and you only</td></tr><tr><td>T</td><td>message is to you, but also to or cc'ed to others</td></tr><tr><td>C</td><td>message is cc'ed to you</td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>message is from you</td></tr><tr><td>L</td><td>message is sent to a subscribed mailing list</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-menu"></a>4.2. The Pager</h3></div></div></div><p>
133 By default, Mutt uses its builtin pager to display the contents of messages.
134 The pager is very similar to the Unix program <span class="emphasis"><em>less</em></span> though not nearly as
136 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-pager"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.6. Most common pager keys</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Most common pager keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><Return></td><td>go down one line</td></tr><tr><td><Space></td><td>display the next page (or next message if at the end of a message)</td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>go back to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td>n</td><td>search for next match</td></tr><tr><td>S</td><td>skip beyond quoted text</td></tr><tr><td>T</td><td>toggle display of quoted text</td></tr><tr><td>?</td><td>show keybindings</td></tr><tr><td>/</td><td>regular expression search</td></tr><tr><td>Esc /</td><td>backward regular expression search</td></tr><tr><td>\</td><td>toggle highlighting of search matches</td></tr><tr><td>^</td><td>jump to the top of the message</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
137 In addition to key bindings in <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-key-pager" title="Table 2.6. Most common pager keys">Table 2.6, “Most common pager keys”</a>,
138 many of the functions from the index menu are also available in
139 the pager, such as <code class="literal"><delete-message></code> or <code class="literal"><copy-message></code>
140 (this is one advantage over using an external pager to view messages).
142 Also, the internal pager supports a couple other advanced features. For
143 one, it will accept and translate the “<span class="quote">standard</span>” nroff sequences for
144 bold and underline. These sequences are a series of either the letter,
145 backspace (^H), the letter again for bold or the letter, backspace,
146 “<span class="quote">_</span>” for denoting underline. Mutt will attempt to display these
147 in bold and underline respectively if your terminal supports them. If
148 not, you can use the bold and underline <a class="link" href="configuration.html#color" title="9. Using color and mono video attributes">color</a>
149 objects to specify a color or mono attribute for them.
151 Additionally, the internal pager supports the ANSI escape sequences for
152 character attributes. Mutt translates them into the correct color and
153 character settings. The sequences Mutt supports are:
154 </p><pre class="screen">
155 \e[<span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span>;<span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span>;..<span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span>;m
157 where <span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span> can be one of the codes shown in
158 <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-ansi-esc" title="Table 2.7. ANSI escape sequences">Table 2.7, “ANSI escape sequences”</a>.
159 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-ansi-esc"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.7. ANSI escape sequences</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="ANSI escape sequences" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Escape code</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>0</td><td>All attributes off</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Bold on</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Underline on</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Blink on</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Reverse video on</td></tr><tr><td>3<span class="emphasis"><em><color></em></span></td><td>Foreground color is <span class="emphasis"><em><color></em></span> (see <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-color" title="Table 2.8. Color sequences">Table 2.8, “Color sequences”</a>)</td></tr><tr><td>4<span class="emphasis"><em><color></em></span></td><td>Background color is <span class="emphasis"><em><color></em></span> (see <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-color" title="Table 2.8. Color sequences">Table 2.8, “Color sequences”</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><div class="table"><a id="tab-color"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.8. Color sequences</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Color sequences" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Color code</th><th>Color</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>0</td><td>Black</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Red</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Green</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Yellow</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Blue</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Magenta</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Cyan</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>White</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
160 Mutt uses these attributes for handling <code class="literal">text/enriched</code>
161 messages, and they can also be used by an external
162 <a class="link" href="mimesupport.html#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview">autoview</a> script for highlighting
164 </p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
165 If you change the colors for your
166 display, for example by changing the color associated with color2 for
167 your xterm, then that color will be used instead of green.
168 </p></div><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
169 Note that the search commands in the pager take regular expressions,
170 which are not quite the same as the more
171 complex <a class="link" href="advancedusage.html#patterns" title="2. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a> used by the search
172 command in the index. This is because the pager only performs simple
173 text search, whereas the index provides boolean filtering on several
175 </p></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="threads"></a>4.3. Threaded Mode</h3></div></div></div><p>
176 When the mailbox is <a class="link" href="reference.html#sort" title="3.273. sort">sorted</a> by <span class="emphasis"><em>threads</em></span>, there are
177 a few additional functions available in the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> modes
178 as shown in <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-key-threads" title="Table 2.9. Most common thread mode keys">Table 2.9, “Most common thread mode keys”</a>.
179 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-threads"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.9. Most common thread mode keys</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Most common thread mode keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>^D</td><td><code class="literal"><delete-thread></code></td><td>delete all messages in the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>^U</td><td><code class="literal"><undelete-thread></code></td><td>undelete all messages in the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>^N</td><td><code class="literal"><next-thread></code></td><td>jump to the start of the next thread</td></tr><tr><td>^P</td><td><code class="literal"><previous-thread></code></td><td>jump to the start of the previous thread</td></tr><tr><td>^R</td><td><code class="literal"><read-thread></code></td><td>mark the current thread as read</td></tr><tr><td>Esc d</td><td><code class="literal"><delete-subthread></code></td><td>delete all messages in the current subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc u</td><td><code class="literal"><undelete-subthread></code></td><td>undelete all messages in the current subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc n</td><td><code class="literal"><next-subthread></code></td><td>jump to the start of the next subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc p</td><td><code class="literal"><previous-subthread></code></td><td>jump to the start of the previous subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc r</td><td><code class="literal"><read-subthread></code></td><td>mark the current subthread as read</td></tr><tr><td>Esc t</td><td><code class="literal"><tag-thread></code></td><td>toggle the tag on the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc v</td><td><code class="literal"><collapse-thread></code></td><td>toggle collapse for the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc V</td><td><code class="literal"><collapse-all></code></td><td>toggle collapse for all threads</td></tr><tr><td>P</td><td><code class="literal"><parent-message></code></td><td>jump to parent message in thread</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
180 Collapsing a thread displays only the first message
181 in the thread and hides the others. This is useful when threads
182 contain so many messages that you can only see a handful of threads on
183 the screen. See %M in <a class="link" href="reference.html#index-format" title="3.101. index_format">$index_format</a>.
184 For example, you could use "%?M?(#%03M)&(%4l)?" in <a class="link" href="reference.html#index-format" title="3.101. index_format">$index_format</a> to optionally
185 display the number of hidden messages if the thread is collapsed.
187 See also: <a class="link" href="reference.html#strict-threads" title="3.283. strict_threads">$strict_threads</a>.
188 </p></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reading-misc"></a>4.4. Miscellaneous Functions</h3></div></div></div><p>
189 In addition, the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span>
190 menus have these interesting functions:
191 </p><div class="variablelist"><dl><dt><span class="term">
192 <code class="literal"><create-alias></code><a id="create-alias"></a> (default: a)
194 Creates a new alias based upon the current message (or prompts for a
195 new one). Once editing is complete, an <a class="link" href="configuration.html#alias" title="4. Defining/Using aliases">alias</a>
196 command is added to the file specified by
197 the <a class="link" href="reference.html#alias-file" title="3.3. alias_file">$alias_file</a> variable
199 </p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
200 Mutt does not read the <a class="link" href="reference.html#alias-file" title="3.3. alias_file">$alias_file</a>
201 upon startup so you must explicitly <a class="link" href="configuration.html#source" title="27. Reading initialization commands from another file">source</a> the file.
202 </p></div></dd><dt><span class="term">
203 <code class="literal"><check-traditional-pgp></code><a id="check-traditional-pgp"></a> (default: Esc P)
205 This function will search the current message for content signed or
206 encrypted with PGP the “<span class="quote">traditional</span>” way, that is, without proper
207 MIME tagging. Technically, this function will temporarily change
208 the MIME content types of the body parts containing PGP data; this
209 is similar to the <a class="link" href="gettingstarted.html#edit-type"><code class="literal"><edit-type></code></a> function's
211 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
212 <code class="literal"><edit></code><a id="edit"></a> (default: e)
214 This command (available in the index and pager) allows you to
215 edit the raw current message as it's present in the mail folder.
216 After you have finished editing, the changed message will be
217 appended to the current folder, and the original message will be
218 marked for deletion; if the message is unchanged it won't be replaced.
219 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
220 <code class="literal"><edit-type></code><a id="edit-type"></a> (default:
221 ^E on the attachment menu, and in the pager and index menus;
222 ^T on the compose menu)
224 This command is used to temporarily edit an attachment's content
225 type to fix, for instance, bogus character set parameters. When
226 invoked from the index or from the pager, you'll have the
227 opportunity to edit the top-level attachment's content type. On the
228 <a class="link" href="mimesupport.html#attach-menu" title="1.2. The Attachment Menu">attachment menu</a>, you can change any
229 attachment's content type. These changes are not persistent, and get
230 lost upon changing folders.
232 Note that this command is also available on the <a class="link" href="mimesupport.html#compose-menu" title="1.3. The Compose Menu">compose
233 menu</a>. There, it's used to fine-tune the properties of attachments you are going
235 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
236 <code class="literal"><enter-command></code><a id="enter-command"></a> (default: “<span class="quote">:</span>”)
238 This command is used to execute any command you would normally put in a
239 configuration file. A common use is to check the settings of variables, or
240 in conjunction with <a class="link" href="configuration.html#macro" title="8. Keyboard macros">macros</a> to change settings on the
242 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
243 <code class="literal"><extract-keys></code><a id="extract-keys"></a> (default: ^K)
245 This command extracts PGP public keys from the current or tagged
246 message(s) and adds them to your PGP public key ring.
247 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
248 <code class="literal"><forget-passphrase></code><a id="forget-passphrase"></a> (default:
251 This command wipes the passphrase(s) from memory. It is useful, if
252 you misspelled the passphrase.
253 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
254 <code class="literal"><list-reply></code><a id="list-reply"></a> (default: L)
256 Reply to the current or tagged message(s) by extracting any addresses which
257 match the regular expressions given by the <a class="link" href="configuration.html#lists" title="12. Mailing lists">lists or subscribe</a>
258 commands, but also honor any <code class="literal">Mail-Followup-To</code> header(s) if the
259 <a class="link" href="reference.html#honor-followup-to" title="3.79. honor_followup_to">$honor_followup_to</a>
260 configuration variable is set. Using this when replying to messages posted
261 to mailing lists helps avoid duplicate copies being sent to the author of
262 the message you are replying to.
263 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
264 <code class="literal"><pipe-message></code><a id="pipe-message"></a> (default: |)
266 Asks for an external Unix command and pipes the current or
267 tagged message(s) to it. The variables <a class="link" href="reference.html#pipe-decode" title="3.214. pipe_decode">$pipe_decode</a>, <a class="link" href="reference.html#pipe-split" title="3.213. pipe_split">$pipe_split</a>,
268 <a class="link" href="reference.html#pipe-sep" title="3.215. pipe_sep">$pipe_sep</a> and <a class="link" href="reference.html#wait-key" title="3.303. wait_key">$wait_key</a> control the exact behavior of this function.
269 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
270 <code class="literal"><resend-message></code><a id="resend-message"></a> (default: Esc e)
272 Mutt takes the current message as a template for a
273 new message. This function is best described as "recall from arbitrary
274 folders". It can conveniently be used to forward MIME messages while
275 preserving the original mail structure. Note that the amount of headers
276 included here depends on the value of the <a class="link" href="reference.html#weed" title="3.304. weed">$weed</a>
279 This function is also available from the attachment menu. You can use this
280 to easily resend a message which was included with a bounce message
281 as a <code class="literal">message/rfc822</code> body part.
282 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
283 <code class="literal"><shell-escape></code><a id="shell-escape"></a> (default: !)
285 Asks for an external Unix command and executes it. The <a class="link" href="reference.html#wait-key" title="3.303. wait_key">$wait_key</a> can be used to control
286 whether Mutt will wait for a key to be pressed when the command returns
287 (presumably to let the user read the output of the command), based on
288 the return status of the named command. If no command is given, an
289 interactive shell is executed.
290 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
291 <code class="literal"><toggle-quoted></code><a id="toggle-quoted"></a> (default: T)
293 The pager uses the <a class="link" href="reference.html#quote-regexp" title="3.237. quote_regexp">$quote_regexp</a> variable to detect quoted text when
294 displaying the body of the message. This function toggles the display
295 of the quoted material in the message. It is particularly useful when
296 being interested in just the response and there is a large amount of
297 quoted text in the way.
298 </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
299 <code class="literal"><skip-quoted></code><a id="skip-quoted"></a> (default: S)
301 This function will go to the next line of non-quoted text which comes
302 after a line of quoted text in the internal pager.
303 </p></dd></dl></div></div></div><div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="sending"></a>5. Sending Mail</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sending-intro"></a>5.1. Introduction</h3></div></div></div><p>
304 The bindings shown in <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-key-send" title="Table 2.10. Most common mail sending keys">Table 2.10, “Most common mail sending keys”</a> are available in the
305 <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> to start a new message.
306 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-send"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.10. Most common mail sending keys</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Most common mail sending keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>m</td><td><code class="literal"><compose></code></td><td>compose a new message</td></tr><tr><td>r</td><td><code class="literal"><reply></code></td><td>reply to sender</td></tr><tr><td>g</td><td><code class="literal"><group-reply></code></td><td>reply to all recipients</td></tr><tr><td>L</td><td><code class="literal"><list-reply></code></td><td>reply to mailing list address</td></tr><tr><td>f</td><td><code class="literal"><forward></code></td><td>forward message</td></tr><tr><td>b</td><td><code class="literal"><bounce></code></td><td>bounce (remail) message</td></tr><tr><td>Esc k</td><td><code class="literal"><mail-key></code></td><td>mail a PGP public key to someone</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
307 <span class="emphasis"><em>Bouncing</em></span> a message sends the message as-is to the recipient you
308 specify. <span class="emphasis"><em>Forwarding</em></span> a message allows you to add comments or
309 modify the message you are forwarding. These items are discussed
310 in greater detail in the next chapter “<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="gettingstarted.html#forwarding-mail" title="6. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail">Forwarding
311 and Bouncing Mail</a>.</span>”
313 Mutt will then enter the <span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu and prompt you for the
314 recipients to place on the “<span class="quote">To:</span>” header field. Next, it will ask
315 you for the “<span class="quote">Subject:</span>” field for the message, providing a default if
316 you are replying to or forwarding a message. See also
317 <a class="link" href="reference.html#askcc" title="3.10. askcc">$askcc</a>,
318 <a class="link" href="reference.html#askbcc" title="3.9. askbcc">$askbcc</a>,
319 <a class="link" href="reference.html#autoedit" title="3.17. autoedit">$autoedit</a>,
320 <a class="link" href="reference.html#bounce" title="3.21. bounce">$bounce</a>,
321 <a class="link" href="reference.html#fast-reply" title="3.55. fast_reply">$fast_reply</a>,
322 and <a class="link" href="reference.html#include" title="3.98. include">$include</a>
323 for changing how Mutt asks these questions.
325 Mutt will then automatically start your <a class="link" href="reference.html#editor" title="3.51. editor">$editor</a>
326 on the message body. If the <a class="link" href="reference.html#edit-headers" title="3.50. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a>
327 variable is set, the headers will be at the top of the message in your editor.
328 Any messages you are replying to will be added in sort order to the message,
329 with appropriate <a class="link" href="reference.html#attribution" title="3.16. attribution">$attribution</a>,
330 <a class="link" href="reference.html#indent-string" title="3.100. indent_string">$indent_string</a> and
331 <a class="link" href="reference.html#post-indent-string" title="3.225. post_indent_string">$post_indent_string</a>.
332 When forwarding a message, if the <a class="link" href="reference.html#mime-forward" title="3.127. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a>
333 variable is unset, a copy of the forwarded message will be included. If
334 you have specified a <a class="link" href="reference.html#signature" title="3.265. signature">$signature</a>, it
335 will be appended to the message.
337 Once you have finished editing the body of your mail message, you are
338 returned to the <span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu providing the functions
339 shown in <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-func-compose" title="Table 2.11. Most common compose menu keys">Table 2.11, “Most common compose menu keys”</a> to modify, send or postpone the
341 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-func-compose"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.11. Most common compose menu keys</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Most common compose menu keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>a</td><td><code class="literal"><attach-file></code></td><td>attach a file</td></tr><tr><td>A</td><td><code class="literal"><attach-message></code></td><td>attach message(s) to the message</td></tr><tr><td>Esc k</td><td><code class="literal"><attach-key></code></td><td>attach a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-description></code></td><td>edit description on attachment</td></tr><tr><td>D</td><td><code class="literal"><detach-file></code></td><td>detach a file</td></tr><tr><td>t</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-to></code></td><td>edit the To field</td></tr><tr><td>Esc f</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-from></code></td><td>edit the From field</td></tr><tr><td>r</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-reply-to></code></td><td>edit the Reply-To field</td></tr><tr><td>c</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-cc></code></td><td>edit the Cc field</td></tr><tr><td>b</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-bcc></code></td><td>edit the Bcc field</td></tr><tr><td>y</td><td><code class="literal"><send-message></code></td><td>send the message</td></tr><tr><td>s</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-subject></code></td><td>edit the Subject</td></tr><tr><td>S</td><td><code class="literal"><smime-menu></code></td><td>select S/MIME options</td></tr><tr><td>f</td><td><code class="literal"><edit-fcc></code></td><td>specify an “<span class="quote">Fcc</span>” mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>p</td><td><code class="literal"><pgp-menu></code></td><td>select PGP options</td></tr><tr><td>P</td><td><code class="literal"><postpone-message></code></td><td>postpone this message until later</td></tr><tr><td>q</td><td><code class="literal"><quit></code></td><td>quit (abort) sending the message</td></tr><tr><td>w</td><td><code class="literal"><write-fcc></code></td><td>write the message to a folder</td></tr><tr><td>i</td><td><code class="literal"><ispell></code></td><td>check spelling (if available on your system)</td></tr><tr><td>^F</td><td><code class="literal"><forget-passphrase></code></td><td>wipe passphrase(s) from memory</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
342 The compose menu is also used to edit the attachments for a message which can be either files
343 or other messages. The <code class="literal"><attach-message></code> function to will prompt you for a folder to
344 attach messages from. You can now tag messages in that folder and they
345 will be attached to the message you are sending.
346 </p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
348 operations like composing a new mail, replying, forwarding, etc. are
349 not permitted when you are in that folder. The %r in
350 <a class="link" href="reference.html#status-format" title="3.281. status_format">$status_format</a> will change to
351 a “<span class="quote">A</span>” to indicate that you are in attach-message mode.
352 </p></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="edit-header"></a>5.2. Editing the message header</h3></div></div></div><p>
353 When editing the header because of <a class="link" href="reference.html#edit-headers" title="3.50. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a>
354 being set, there are a several pseudo headers available which
355 will not be included in sent messages.
356 </p><div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="fcc-header"></a>5.2.1. Fcc: pseudo header</h4></div></div></div><p>
359 <code class="literal">Fcc:</code> <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span>
361 as a header, Mutt will pick up <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span>
362 just as if you had used the <code class="literal"><edit-fcc></code> function in the <span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu.
363 </p></div><div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="attach-header"></a>5.2.2. Attach: pseudo header</h4></div></div></div><p>
364 You can also attach files to your message by specifying
366 <code class="literal">Attach:</code> <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span> [ <span class="emphasis"><em>description</em></span> ]
368 where <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span> is the file to attach and <span class="emphasis"><em>description</em></span> is an
369 optional string to use as the description of the attached file.
370 </p></div><div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="pgp-header"></a>5.2.3. Pgp: pseudo header</h4></div></div></div><p>
371 If you want to use PGP, you can specify
373 <code class="literal">Pgp:</code> [ <code class="literal">E</code> | <code class="literal">S</code> | <code class="literal">S</code><span class="emphasis"><em><id></em></span> ]
376 “<span class="quote">E</span>” selects encryption, “<span class="quote">S</span>” selects signing and
377 “<span class="quote">S<id></span>” selects signing with the given key, setting
378 <a class="link" href="reference.html#pgp-sign-as" title="3.166. pgp_sign_as">$pgp_sign_as</a>
380 </p></div><div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="in-reply-to-header"></a>5.2.4. In-Reply-To: header</h4></div></div></div><p>
381 When replying to messages, the <span class="emphasis"><em>In-Reply-To:</em></span> header contains the
382 Message-Id of the message(s) you reply to. If you remove its value, Mutt will not generate a
383 <span class="emphasis"><em>References:</em></span> field, which allows you to create a new message thread, for example
384 to create a new message to a mailing list without having to enter the mailing list's address.
385 </p></div></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sending-crypto"></a>5.3. Sending cryptographically signed/encrypted messages</h3></div></div></div><p>
386 If you have told mutt to PGP or S/MIME encrypt a message, it will guide you
387 through a key selection process when you try to send the message.
388 Mutt will not ask you any questions about keys which have a
389 certified user ID matching one of the message recipients' mail
390 addresses. However, there may be situations in which there are
391 several keys, weakly certified user ID fields, or where no matching
394 In these cases, you are dropped into a menu with a list of keys from
395 which you can select one. When you quit this menu, or mutt can't
396 find any matching keys, you are prompted for a user ID. You can, as
397 usually, abort this prompt using <code class="literal">^G</code>. When you do so, mutt will
398 return to the compose screen.
400 Once you have successfully finished the key selection, the message
401 will be encrypted using the selected public keys when sent out.
403 Most fields of the entries in the key selection menu (see also <a class="link" href="reference.html#pgp-entry-format" title="3.158. pgp_entry_format">$pgp_entry_format</a>)
404 have obvious meanings. But some explanations on the capabilities, flags,
405 and validity fields are in order.
407 The flags sequence (%f) will expand to one of the flags in
408 <a class="xref" href="gettingstarted.html#tab-pgp-menuflags" title="Table 2.12. PGP key menu flags">Table 2.12, “PGP key menu flags”</a>.
409 </p><div class="table"><a id="tab-pgp-menuflags"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 2.12. PGP key menu flags</b></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="PGP key menu flags" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>R</td><td>The key has been revoked and can't be used.</td></tr><tr><td>X</td><td>The key is expired and can't be used.</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>You have marked the key as disabled.</td></tr><tr><td>c</td><td>There are unknown critical self-signature packets.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
410 The capabilities field (%c) expands to a two-character sequence
411 representing a key's capabilities. The first character gives
412 the key's encryption capabilities: A minus sign (“<span class="quote">-</span>”) means
413 that the key cannot be used for encryption. A dot (“<span class="quote">.</span>”) means that
414 it's marked as a signature key in one of the user IDs, but may
415 also be used for encryption. The letter “<span class="quote">e</span>” indicates that
416 this key can be used for encryption.
418 The second character indicates the key's signing capabilities. Once
419 again, a “<span class="quote">-</span>” implies “<span class="quote">not for signing</span>”, “<span class="quote">.</span>” implies
420 that the key is marked as an encryption key in one of the user-ids, and
421 “<span class="quote">s</span>” denotes a key which can be used for signing.
423 Finally, the validity field (%t) indicates how well-certified a user-id
424 is. A question mark (“<span class="quote">?</span>”) indicates undefined validity, a minus
425 character (“<span class="quote">-</span>”) marks an untrusted association, a space character
426 means a partially trusted association, and a plus character (“<span class="quote">+</span>”)
427 indicates complete validity.
428 </p></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sending-mixmaster"></a>5.4. Sending anonymous messages via mixmaster</h3></div></div></div><p>
429 You may also have compiled mutt to co-operate with Mixmaster, an
430 anonymous remailer. Mixmaster permits you to send your messages
431 anonymously using a chain of remailers. Mixmaster support in mutt is for
432 mixmaster version 2.04 (beta 45 appears to be the latest) and 2.03.
433 It does not support earlier versions or the later so-called version 3 betas,
434 of which the latest appears to be called 2.9b23.
436 To use it, you'll have to obey certain restrictions. Most
437 important, you cannot use the <code class="literal">Cc</code> and <code class="literal">Bcc</code> headers. To tell
438 Mutt to use mixmaster, you have to select a remailer chain, using
439 the mix function on the compose menu.
441 The chain selection screen is divided into two parts. In the
442 (larger) upper part, you get a list of remailers you may use. In
443 the lower part, you see the currently selected chain of remailers.
445 You can navigate in the chain using the <code class="literal"><chain-prev></code> and
446 <code class="literal"><chain-next></code> functions, which are by default bound to the left
447 and right arrows and to the <code class="literal">h</code> and <code class="literal">l</code> keys (think vi
448 keyboard bindings). To insert a remailer at the current chain
449 position, use the <code class="literal"><insert></code> function. To append a remailer behind
450 the current chain position, use <code class="literal"><select-entry></code> or <code class="literal"><append></code>.
451 You can also delete entries from the chain, using the corresponding
452 function. Finally, to abandon your changes, leave the menu, or
453 <code class="literal"><accept></code> them pressing (by default) the <code class="literal">Return</code> key.
455 Note that different remailers do have different capabilities,
456 indicated in the %c entry of the remailer menu lines (see
457 <a class="link" href="reference.html#mix-entry-format" title="3.130. mix_entry_format">$mix_entry_format</a>). Most important is
458 the “<span class="quote">middleman</span>” capability, indicated by a capital “<span class="quote">M</span>”: This
459 means that the remailer in question cannot be used as the final
460 element of a chain, but will only forward messages to other
461 mixmaster remailers. For details on the other capabilities, please
462 have a look at the mixmaster documentation.
463 </p></div><div class="sect2" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ff"></a>5.5. Sending format=flowed messages</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="ff-concept"></a>5.5.1. Concept</h4></div></div></div><p>
464 <code class="literal">format=flowed</code>-style messages (or <code class="literal">f=f</code>
465 for short) are <code class="literal">text/plain</code> messages that consist of paragraphs which a receiver's
466 mail client may reformat to its own needs which mostly means to
467 customize line lengths regardless of what the sender sent. Technically this is
468 achieved by letting lines of a “<span class="quote">flowable</span>” paragraph end in spaces
469 except for the last line.
471 While for text-mode clients like mutt it's the best way to assume only a
472 standard 80x25 character cell terminal, it may be desired to let the
473 receiver decide completely how to view a message.
474 </p></div><div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="ff-support"></a>5.5.2. Mutt support</h4></div></div></div><p>
475 Mutt only supports setting the required <code class="literal">format=flowed</code>
476 MIME parameter on outgoing messages if the <a class="link" href="reference.html#text-flowed" title="3.285. text_flowed">$text_flowed</a>
477 variable is set, specifically it does not add the
480 After editing the initial message text and before entering
481 the compose menu, mutt properly space-stuffes the message.
482 <span class="emphasis"><em>Space-stuffing</em></span> is required by RfC3676 defining
483 <code class="literal">format=flowed</code> and means to prepend a space to:
484 </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul type="disc"><li><p>all lines starting with a space</p></li><li><p>lines starting with the word “<span class="quote"><code class="literal">From</code></span>”
485 followed by space</p></li><li><p>all lines starting with “<span class="quote"><code class="literal">></code></span>” which
486 is not intended to be a quote character</p></li></ul></div><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
487 Mutt only supports space-stuffing
488 for the first two types of lines but not for the third: It is impossible to
489 safely detect whether a leading <code class="literal">></code> character starts a
490 quote or not. Furthermore, Mutt only applies space-stuffing
491 <span class="emphasis"><em>once</em></span> after the initial edit is finished.
493 All leading spaces are to be removed by receiving clients to restore
494 the original message prior to further processing.
495 </p></div><div class="sect3" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="ff-editor"></a>5.5.3. Editor considerations</h4></div></div></div><p>
496 As mutt provides no additional features to compose <code class="literal">f=f</code>
497 messages, it's completely up to the user and his editor to produce
498 proper messages. Please consider your editor's documentation if you
499 intend to send <code class="literal">f=f</code> messages.
501 Please note that when editing messages from the compose menu several
502 times before really sending a mail, it's up to the user to ensure that
503 the message is properly space-stuffed.
505 For example, <span class="emphasis"><em>vim</em></span> provides the <code class="literal">w</code>
506 flag for its <code class="literal">formatoptions</code> setting to assist in
507 creating <code class="literal">f=f</code> messages, see <code class="literal">:help
508 fo-table</code> for details.
509 </p></div></div></div><div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="forwarding-mail"></a>6. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail</h2></div></div></div><p>
510 Bouncing and forwarding let you send an existing message to recipients
511 that you specify. Bouncing a message sends a verbatim copy of a message
512 to alternative addresses as if they were the message's original
513 recipients specified in the Bcc header.
514 Forwarding a message, on the other hand, allows you to modify the message
515 before it is resent (for example, by adding your own comments). Bouncing
516 is done using the <code class="literal"><bounce></code> function and forwarding
517 using the <code class="literal"><forward></code> function bound to “<span class="quote">b</span>” and “<span class="quote">f</span>”
520 Forwarding can be done by including the original message in the new
521 message's body (surrounded by indicating lines) or including it as a MIME
522 attachment, depending on the value of the <a class="link" href="reference.html#mime-forward" title="3.127. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> variable. Decoding of attachments,
523 like in the pager, can be controlled by the <a class="link" href="reference.html#forward-decode" title="3.62. forward_decode">$forward_decode</a> and <a class="link" href="reference.html#mime-forward-decode" title="3.128. mime_forward_decode">$mime_forward_decode</a> variables,
524 respectively. The desired forwarding format may depend on the content,
525 therefore <span class="emphasis"><em>$mime_forward</em></span> is a quadoption which, for
526 example, can be set to “<span class="quote">ask-no</span>”.
528 The inclusion of headers is controlled by the current setting of the
529 <a class="link" href="reference.html#weed" title="3.304. weed">$weed</a> variable, unless <a class="link" href="reference.html#mime-forward" title="3.127. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is set.
531 Editing the message to forward follows the same procedure as sending or
532 replying to a message does.
533 </p></div><div class="sect1" lang="en" xml:lang="en"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="postponing-mail"></a>7. Postponing Mail</h2></div></div></div><p>
534 At times it is desirable to delay sending a message that you have
535 already begun to compose. When the <code class="literal"><postpone-message></code> function is
536 used in the <span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu, the body of your message and attachments
537 are stored in the mailbox specified by the <a class="link" href="reference.html#postponed" title="3.227. postponed">$postponed</a> variable. This means that you can recall the
538 message even if you exit Mutt and then restart it at a later time.
540 Once a message is postponed, there are several ways to resume it. From the
541 command line you can use the “<span class="quote">-p</span>” option, or if you compose a new
542 message from the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> or <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> you will be prompted if postponed
543 messages exist. If multiple messages are currently postponed, the
544 <span class="emphasis"><em>postponed</em></span> menu will pop up and you can select which message you would
546 </p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
547 If you postpone a reply to a message, the reply setting of
548 the message is only updated when you actually finish the message and
549 send it. Also, you must be in the same folder with the message you
550 replied to for the status of the message to be updated.
552 See also the <a class="link" href="reference.html#postpone" title="3.226. postpone">$postpone</a> quad-option.
553 </p></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="intro.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"> </td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="configuration.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Chapter 1. Introduction </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Chapter 3. Configuration</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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