.\"
.\" %nmhwarning%
.\"
.TH REPL %manext1% "%nmhdate%" MH.6.8 [%nmhversion%]
.SH NAME
repl \- reply to a message
.SH SYNOPSIS
.HP 5
.na
.B repl
.RI [ +folder ]
.RI [ msgs ]
.RB [ \-annotate " | " \-noannotate ]
.RB [ \-group " | " \-nogroup ]
.RB [ \-cc
all/to/cc/me]
.RB [ \-nocc
all/to/cc/me]
.RB [ \-query " | " \-noquery ]
.RB [ \-form
.IR formfile ]
.RB [ \-filter
.IR filterfile
.RB " | " \-nofilter ]
.RB [ \-mime " | " \-nomime ]
.RB [ \-editor
.IR editor ]
.RB [ \-whatnowproc
.IR program ]
.RB [ \-build ]
.RB [ \-file
.IR msgfile ]
.RB [ \-Version ]
.RB [ \-help ]
.ad
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B Repl
may be used to produce a reply to an existing message.
.PP
In its simplest form (with no arguments),
.B repl
will set up a
message\-form skeleton in reply to the current message in the current
folder, and invoke the whatnow shell.
.PP
In order to construct the message draft of the reply,
.B repl
uses
a reply template to guide its actions.  A reply template is simply a
.B mhl
format file (see
.BR mh\-format (5)
for details).
.PP
If the switch
.B \-nogroup
is given (it is on by default), then
.B 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
.B mmh
directory, it will be used instead of this
default forms file.
.PP
The default reply template `replcomps' will direct
.B repl
to construct the reply message draft as follows:
.PP
.RS 5
.nf
To: <Mail\-Reply\-To> or <Reply\-To> or <From>
Cc: <To> and <Cc> and <personal address>
Fcc: +sent
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In\-Reply\-To: <Message\-Id>
References: <Message\-Id>
Comments: In\-Reply\-To <From> or <apparently from> or <Sender>
.ti +3
message dated <date>
--------
.fi
.RE
.PP
where field names enclosed in angle brackets (<\ >) indicate the
contents of the named field from the message to which the reply is
being made.
.PP
By default, the `Cc:' field is empty.  You may selectively add
addresses to this default with the
.B \-cc
.I type
switch.  This switch takes an
argument (
.IR 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 addresses.
.PP
If the switch
.B \-group
is given, then
.B repl
will use the 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 mmh directory, it
will be used instead of this default forms file.
.PP
The default group reply template `replgroupcomps' will direct
.B repl
to construct the reply message draft as follows:
.PP
.RS 5
.nf
To: <Mail\-Followup\-To>
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In\-Reply\-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
.ti +\w'In\-Reply\-To: 'u
<Message\-Id>
--------
.fi
.RE
.PP
or if the field <Mail\-Followup\-To> is not available:
.PP
.RS 5
.nf
To: <Mail\-Reply\-To> or <Reply\-To> or <From>
Cc: <To> and <Cc> and <personal address>
Subject: Re: <Subject>
In\-Reply\-To: Message from <From> of <Date>.
.ti +\w'In\-Reply\-To: 'u
<Message\-Id>
--------
.fi
.RE
.PP
By default, the `Cc:' contains all the addresses shown.  You may
selectively remove addresses from this default with the
.B \-nocc
.I type
switch.
This switch takes an argument (
.IR 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 addresses.
.PP
In any case, you may specify an alternate forms file with the switch
.B \-form
.IR formfile .
.PP
The
.B \-query
switch modifies the action of
.B \-nocc
.I 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
.B \-cc
and
.B \-nocc
switches, like all other switches which take a
positive and negative form, is important.
.PP
Lines beginning with the fields `To:', `Cc:', and
`Bcc:' will be standardized and have duplicate addresses removed.
In addition, these fields will be wrapped at a reasonable length.
.PP
See
.BR comp (1)
for a description of the
.B \-editor
switch.  Note that while in the editor,
the actual pathname of the message being replied to is
stored in the environment variable
.BR $mhaltmsg ,
and the pathname of
the folder containing the message is stored in the environment variable
.BR $mhfolder .
.PP
Although
.B 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
.B repl
should be a standard form file for
.BR mhl ,
as
.B repl
will invoke
.B mhl
to format the message to which you are replying.
.PP
By default, the original message gets filtered
through a default message filter file and then included into the draft body
as quotation.
This should be adequate for most users.
This default filter
.RI ` mhl.reply '
is:
.PP
.RS 5
.nf
%mhl_reply%
.fi
.RE
.PP
which outputs each line of the body of the message prefaced with the
`>' character and a space.
If a file named
.RI ` mhl.reply '
exists in the user's
.B mmh
directory,
it will be used instead of this form.
.PP
You may specify an alternate message filter file with the switch
.B \-filter
.IR filterfile .
.PP
Other reply filters are commonly used, such as:
.PP
.RS 5
.nf
:
body:nocomponent,compwidth=9,offset=9
.fi
.RE
.PP
which says to output a blank line and then the body of the message
being replied\-to, indented by one tab\-stop.  Another popular format
is:
.PP
.RS 5
.nf
message-id:nocomponent,\|nonewline,\\
formatfield=`In message %{text},\ '
from:nocomponent,\|formatfield=`%(decode(friendly{text})) writes:'
body:component=`>',\|overflowtext=`>',\|overflowoffset=0
.fi
.RE
.PP
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.
.PP
If the switch
.B \-nofilter
is given, then the message
to which you are replying will not be formatted and thus not included in
the body of the draft.
(It may be added as MIME attachment with
.B \-mime
though.)
.PP
To MIME-attach the original message, specify the
.B \-mime
switch.
Note: In mmh, the \-mime switch is unrelated to
the \-filter and \-nofilter switches.
It is therefore possible to have the original message quoted in the body
.B and
attached as MIME part.
However, using the \-mime switch is discouraged.
It may get removed in the future.
.PP
If the
.B \-annotate
switch is given, the message being replied\-to will
be annotated with the line:
.PP
.RS 5
.nf
Replied:\ date
.fi
.RE
.PP
The annotation will be done only if the message is sent directly from
.BR repl .
If the message is not sent immediately from
.BR repl ,
.RB ` "comp\ \-use" '
may be used to re\-edit and send the constructed
message, but the annotations won't take place.  Annotations are always
done inplace in order to preserve any links to the message.
.PP
The default template specifies that a copy of the reply will be
put in
the folder 'sent'.
.PP
To avoid reiteration,
.B repl
strips any leading `Re: ' strings from
the
.I subject
component.
.PP
Consult the
.BR mh-draft (7)
man page for more
information.
.PP
Upon exiting from the editor,
.B repl
will invoke the
.B whatnow
program.  See
.BR whatnow (1)
for a discussion of available
options.
.PP
The
.B \-build
switch is intended to be used by the Emacs mh-e interface
to
.BR nmh .
It causes a file
.I reply (in the mail storage root)
to be created, containing the draft message that would normally be presented
to the user for editing.
No
.B whatnow
program is invoked.
No mail is actually sent.
.PP
The
.B \-file
.I msgfile
switch specifies the message to be replied to as an
exact filename rather than as an
.B mh
folder and message number. It is
intended to be used by the
.B msh
interface to
.BR nmh .
The same caveats apply to this option as to the
.B \-build
switch.

.SH FILES
.fc ^ ~
.nf
.ta \w'%etcdir%/ExtraBigFileName  'u
^%etcdir%/replcomps~^The standard reply template
^or $HOME/.mmh/replcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^%etcdir%/replgroupcomps~^The standard `reply \-group' template
^or $HOME/.mmh/replgroupcomps~^Rather than the standard template
^%etcdir%/mhl.reply~^The standard message filter
^or $HOME/.mmh/mhl.reply~^Rather than the standard filter
^$HOME/.mmh/profile~^The user profile
^+drafts~^The draft folder
.fi

.SH "PROFILE COMPONENTS"
.fc ^ ~
.nf
.ta 2.4i
.ta \w'ExtraBigProfileName  'u
^Path:~^To determine the user's mail storage
^Alternate\-Mailboxes:~^To determine the user's mailboxes
^Current\-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
^Draft\-Folder:~^To set the default draft\-folder
^Editor:~^To override the default editor
^Msg\-Protect:~^To set mode when creating a new message (draft)
^whatnowproc:~^Program to ask the `What now?' questions
.fi

.SH "SEE ALSO"
mhbuild(1), comp(1), forw(1), send(1), whatnow(1), mh\-format(5)

.SH DEFAULTS
.nf
.RB ` +folder "' defaults to the current folder"
.RB ` msg "' defaults to the current message"
.RB ` \-nogroup '
.RB ` "\-nocc\ all" "' with `\-nogroup', `\-cc\ all' with `\-group'"
.RB ` \-noannotate '
.RB ` \-nomime '
.RB ` \-noquery '
.fi

.SH CONTEXT
If a folder is given, it will become the current folder.  The message
replied\-to will become the current message.

.SH 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,
.B repl
uses the sender's host.
Moral of the story: if you're going to include addresses in a reply
template, include the host portion of the address.
.PP
The quotation of the original message does not get transfer-decoded, yet.