# man > REPL(1mh) [_REPL_(1mh)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/REPL/1mh/markdown) [_REPL_(1mh)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/REPL/1mh/markdown) ## NAME repl - reply to an nmh message ## SYNOPSIS **repl **[**-help**] [**-version**] [_+folder_] [_msg_] [**-annotate **| **-noannotate**] [**-group **| **-nogroup**] [**-cc** all/to/cc/me] [**-nocc **all/to/cc/me] [**-query **| **-noquery**] [**-form _**formfile_] [**-format **| **-no‐** **format**] [**-filter _**filterfile_] [**-inplace **| **-noinplace**] [**-mime **| **-nomime**] [**-fcc _**+folder_] [**-width _**columns_] [**-draftfolder _**+folder_] [**-draftmessage _**msg_] [**-nodraftfolder**] [**-editor** _editor_] [**-noedit**] [**-convertargs _**type_ _argstring_] [**-whatnowproc _**program_] [**-nowhatnowproc**] [**-atfile**] [**-noatfile**] [**-fmtproc _**program_] [**-nofmtproc**] [**-build**] [**-file _**msgfile_] ## DESCRIPTION **repl **may be used to reply to a message. In its simplest form (with no arguments), **repl **will set up a message-form skeleton in reply to the current message in the current folder, and invoke the **whatnow **shell. **repl **uses a reply template to construct the draft of the reply. A reply template is simply an **mhl **format file (see [_mh-format_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-format/5/markdown) for details). If the switch **-nogroup **is given (it is on by default), then **repl **will use the standard forms file “replcomps”. This will construct a draft message that is intended to be sent only to the author of the message to which you are replying. If a file named “replcomps” exists in the user's **nmh **directory, it will be used instead of this default forms file. The default reply template “replcomps” will direct **repl **to construct the reply message draft as follows: To: or or cc: and and Fcc: {fcc switch} or +outbox Subject: Re: In-Reply-To: References: Comments: In-Reply-To or or message dated -------- where field names enclosed in angle brackets (< >) indicate the contents of the named field from the message to which the reply is being made. By default, the “cc:” field is empty. You may selectively add addresses to this default with the **-cc _**type_ switch. This switch takes an argument (_all_/_to_/_cc_/_me_) which specifies who gets added to the default “cc:” list of the reply. You may give this switch multiple times (with different arguments) if you wish to add multiple types of address. If the switch **-group **is given, then **repl **will use the standard forms file “replgroupcomps”. This will construct a draft message that is intended as a group or followup reply. If a file named “replgroupcomps” exists in the user's nmh directory, it will be used instead of this default forms file, unless you specify another forms file on the command line or in your pro‐ file. The default group reply template “replgroupcomps” will direct **repl **to construct the reply message draft as follows: To: Subject: Re: In-Reply-To: Message from of . -------- or if the field is not available: To: or or cc: and and Subject: Re: In-Reply-To: Message from of . -------- By default, the “cc:” contains all the addresses shown. You may selectively remove addresses from this default with the **-nocc _**type_ switch. This switch takes an argument ( _all_/_to_/_cc_/_me_) which specifies who gets removed from the default “cc:” list of the reply. You may give this switch multiple times (with different arguments) if you wish to remove multiple types of ad‐ dress. In any case, you may specify an alternative forms file with the switch **-form _**formfile_. The **-query **switch modifies the action of **-nocc _**type_ switch by interactively asking you if each address that normally would be placed in the “To:” and “cc:” list should actually be sent a copy. This is useful for special-purpose replies. Note that the position of the **-cc** and **-nocc **switches, like all other switches which take a positive and negative form, is im‐ portant. Lines beginning with the fields “To:”, “cc:”, and ”Bcc:” will be standardized and have dupli‐ cate addresses removed. In addition, the **-width _**columns_ switch will guide **repl**'s formatting of these fields. If the draft already exists, **repl **will ask you as to the disposition of the draft. A reply of **quit **will abort **repl**, leaving the draft intact; **replace **will replace the existing draft with a blank skeleton; and **list **will display the draft. See [_comp_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/comp/1/markdown) for a description of the **-editor **and **-noedit **switches. Note that while in the editor, with **-atfile **and if the current directory is writable, the message being replied to is available through a link named “@” (assuming the default _whatnowproc_). In addition, the actual pathname of the message is stored in the environment variable **$editalt**, and the path‐ name of the folder containing the message is stored in the environment variable **$mhfolder**. The creation of the “@” file is controlled via the **-atfile **and **-noatfile **options. The **-convertargs **switch directs **repl **to pass the arguments for _type_ to **mhbuild**. Both argu‐ ments are required; _type_ must be non-empty while _argstring_ can be empty, e.g., '' in a shell command line. The **-convertargs **switch can be used multiple times. See the Convert Interface section of [_mhbuild_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhbuild/1/markdown) for a description of the convert mechanism, and _/usr/share/doc/nmh/con‐_ _trib/replaliases_ for examples of its use. Although **repl **uses a forms file to direct it how to construct the beginning of the draft, it uses a message filter file to direct it as to how the message to which you are replying should be filtered (re-formatted) in the body of the draft. The filter file for **repl **should be a standard form file for **mhl**, as **repl **will invoke **mhl **to format the message to which you are replying. The switches **-noformat**, **-format**, and **-filter _**filterfile_ specify which message filter file to use. If the switch **-noformat **is given (it is the default) and the **-filter **switch is not used, then the message to which you are replying is not included in the body of the draft. If the switch **-format **is given, then a default message filter file is used. This default message filter should be adequate for most users. This default filter “_mhl.reply_” is: ; mhl.reply ; ; default message filter for `repl' (repl -format) ; from:nocomponent,formatfield="%(unquote(decode(friendly{text}))) writes:" body:component="> ",overflowtext="> ",overflowoffset=0 which outputs each line of the body of the message prefaced with the “>” character and a space. If a file named “_mhl.reply_” exists in the user's **nmh **directory, it will be used instead of this form. You may specify an alternate message filter file with the switch **-filter _**filter‐_ _file_. Other reply filters are commonly used, such as: : body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9 which says to output a blank line, and then the body of the message being replied to, in‐ dented by one tab stop. Another popular format is: message-id:nocomponent,nonewline,\ formatfield=“In message %{text}, ” from:nocomponent,formatfield=“%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:” body:component=“>”,overflowtext=“>”,overflowoffset=0 This message filter file cites the Message-ID and author of the message being replied to, and then outputs each line of the body prefaced with the “>” character. You can also use an external format program to format the message body. The format program is specified by the _formatproc_ profile entry, and is enabled by the “format” flag. A message filter using an external format program would look like this: body:component=“>”,nowrap,format See the [_mhl_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhl/1/markdown) documentation for more information. The format program can be changed by the ### -fmtproc _ -nofmtproc To use the MIME rules for encapsulation, specify the **-mime **switch. This directs **repl **to gen‐ erate an **mhbuild **composition file. Note that **nmh **will not invoke **mhbuild **automatically; you must specifically give the command What now? mime prior to sending the draft. If the **-annotate **switch is given, the message being replied to will be annotated with the lines Replied: date Replied: addrs where the address list contains one line for each addressee. The annotation will be done only if the message is sent directly from **repl**. If the message is not sent immediately from **repl**, “**comp -use**” may be used to re-edit and send the constructed message, but the annota‐ tions won't take place. Normally annotations are done inplace in order to preserve any links to the message. You may use the **-noinplace **switch to change this. Although the default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be put in the folder `outbox', if the **-fcc _**+folder_ switch is given it will override the default value. More than one folder, each preceded by **-fcc **can be named. In addition to the standard [_mh-format_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-format/5/markdown) escapes, **repl **also recognizes the following addi‐ tional _component_ escape: _Escape_ _Returns_ _Description_ fcc string Any folders specified with `-fcc folder' To avoid reiteration, **repl **strips any leading `Re: ' strings from the _subject_ component. The **-draftfolder _**+folder_ and **-draftmessage _**msg_ switches invoke the **nmh **draft folder facility. This is an advanced (and highly useful) feature. Consult [_mh-draft_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-draft/5/markdown) for more information. Upon exiting from the editor, **repl **will invoke the **whatnow **program. See [_whatnow_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/whatnow/1/markdown) for a discussion of available options. The invocation of this program can be inhibited by using the **-nowhatnowproc **switch. (In fact, it is the **whatnow **program which starts the initial edit. Hence, **-nowhatnowproc **will prevent any edit from occurring.) The **-build **switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface to **nmh**. It implies ### -nowhatnowproc that would normally be presented to the user for editing. No mail is actually sent. The **-file _**msgfile_ switch specifies the message to be replied to as an exact filename rather than as an **nmh **folder and message number. The same caveats apply to this option as to the ### -build ## FILES **repl **looks for all format, filter and template files in multiple locations: absolute path‐ names are accessed directly, tilde expansion is done on usernames, and files are searched for in the user's _Mail_ directory as specified in their profile. If not found there, the direc‐ tory “_/etc/nmh_” is checked. /etc/nmh/replcomps The standard reply template or /replcomps Rather than the standard template /etc/nmh/replgroupcomps The standard `reply -group' template or /replgroupcomps Rather than the standard template /etc/nmh/mhl.reply The standard message filter or /mhl.reply Rather than the standard filter $HOME/.mh_profile The user profile /draft The draft file ## PROFILE COMPONENTS Path: To determine the user's nmh directory Alternate-Mailboxes: To determine the user's mailboxes Current-Folder: To find the default current folder Draft-Folder: To specify the default draftfolder Editor: To override the default editor Msg-Protect: To set mode when creating a new message (draft) fileproc: Program to refile the message mhlproc: Program to filter message being replied-to whatnowproc: Program to ask the “What now?” questions ## SEE ALSO [_comp_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/comp/1/markdown), [_forw_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/forw/1/markdown), [_mh-draft_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-draft/5/markdown), [_mh-format_(5)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mh-format/5/markdown), [_mhbuild_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mhbuild/1/markdown), [_send_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/send/1/markdown), [_whatnow_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/whatnow/1/markdown) _/usr/share/doc/nmh/contrib/replaliases_ ## DEFAULTS `**+folder**' defaults to the current folder `**msg**' defaults to cur `**-nogroup**' `**-nocc all**' with `-nogroup', `-cc all' with `-group' `**-noannotate**' `**-nodraftfolder**' `**-noformat**' `**-inplace**' `**-nomime**' `**-noquery**' `**-noatfile**' `**-width 72**' ## CONTEXT If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. The message replied to will become the current message. ## BUGS If any addresses occur in the reply template, addresses in the template that do not contain hosts are defaulted incorrectly. Instead of using the localhost for the default, **repl **uses the sender's host. Moral of the story: if you're going to include addresses in a reply tem‐ plate, include the host portion of the address. The **-width _**columns_ switch is only used to do address-folding; other headers are not line- wrapped. If _whatnowproc_ is **whatnow**, then **repl **uses a built-in **whatnow**, it does not actually run the **whatnow **program. Hence, if you define your own _whatnowproc_, don't call it **whatnow **since **repl** won't run it. nmh-1.8 2022-12-22 [_REPL_(1mh)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/REPL/1mh/markdown)