man > mark(1)

MARK(1mh)                                                                                  MARK(1mh)

NAME
       mark - manipulate nmh message sequences

SYNOPSIS


       mark [-help] [-version] [+folder] [msgs] [-sequence name ...]  [-add | -delete | -list]
            [-public | -nopublic] [-zero | -nozero] [-empty | -noempty] [-range | -norange]

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 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 argument (which must occur at least once) the mes‐
       sages  named  via  msgs  (which defaults to “cur” if no msgs are given), are added to the se‐
       quence.  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 -empty switch
       does not affect the operation of -add.

       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  neces‐
       sary)  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  indi‐
       cated  messages  should  be  removed from each sequence.  As expected, the command “mark -se‐
       quence foo -delete all” empties the sequence “foo”, and therefore removes that sequence  from
       the  current folder's list of sequences.  Sequence foo must exist or a “no such sequence” er‐
       ror results.  This can be avoided by adding -zero: “mark -sequence foo -delete -zero all” en‐
       sures sequence foo no longer exists.  The -empty switch does  not  affect  the  operation  of
       -delete.

       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  indi‐
       cates  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 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 mh-sequence(5) for more  details  about  the  difference  between
       “public” and “private” sequences.

       The  -list  switch  tells  mark to list all sequences, and the messages associated with them.
       The output can be limited to just certain sequences (with -sequence switches) and/or messages
       (with msgs arguments).  Normally, -list will show all sequences associated with  the  folder,
       or  all sequences given with -sequence.  Using -noempty will suppress any which would show as
       empty, whether because they actually are empty, or because they  don't  include  any  of  the
       given msgs, or because they've been specified with -sequence but don't exist.  (-empty is the
       default.)   With  the  default  -range switch, mark will compress consecutive runs of message
       numbers to save space.  That is, "3 4 5 6" will be shown as the range "3-6".  With  -norange,
       lists will be fully enumerated.  The -zero switch does not affect the operation of -list.

       The 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”.

       • 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'.  If `=' is substituted for `:', these forms will instead refer to  single  messages
         positioned  `n'  away  from  one  end or the other of the sequence.  Constructs of the form
         “name1-name2” are forbidden for user defined sequences.

FILES
       $HOME/.mh_profile   The user's 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             The current folder.
       -add                If -sequence is specified, -list otherwise.
       msgs                The current message, 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-1.8                                      2021-05-01                                    MARK(1mh)