WHATNOW(1)

💖 whatnow(1) — the General Commands Manual glow-up 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because we're talking about whatnow — the prompting front-end for writing nmh messages. she's a manual page from the General Commands Manual section and she's literally the moment before you hit send on your whole life. 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

whatnow — prompting front-end for writing nmh messages

fr fr that's it, that's the whole vibe. 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

whatnow [-help] [-version] [-draftfolder +folder] [-draftmessage msg]
     [-nodraftfolder] [-editor editor] [-noedit] [-prompt string] [file]

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so whatnow is the default program that queries the user about the disposition of a composed draft. it's normally automatically invoked by one of the nmh commands comp, dist, forw, or repl after the initial edit. she just shows up. she's invited. it's giving main character energy. 👑

When started, the editor is started on the draft — unless -noedit is given, in which case the initial edit is suppressed. Then, whatnow repetitively prompts the user with “What now?” and awaits a response. iconic behavior honestly.

The valid responses are:

• edit — Re-edit using the same editor that was used on the preceding round unless a profile entry “<lasteditor>-next: <editor>” names an alternate editor.
• edit editor — Invoke editor for further editing.
• refile +folder — Refile the draft into folder .
• mime — Process the draft as a MIME composition file using the buildmimeproc command which defaults to mhbuild(1).
• display — List the message being replied to or distributed on the terminal.
• list — List the draft on the terminal.
• send — Send the message.
• send -watch — Send the message and monitor the delivery process.
• push — Send the message in the background.
• whom — List the addresses to whom the message will go.
• whom -check — List the addresses and verify that they are acceptable to the transport service.
• quit — Preserve the draft and exit.
• quit -delete — Delete the draft and exit.
• delete — Delete the draft and exit.
• cd directory — Use directory when interpreting attachment file names. This does not change whatnow's process's current working directory so it and child processes, e.g. edit's, do not see the change.
• pwd — Print the working directory for attachment files.
• ls [ls-options] — List files in the attachment working directory using ls(1).
• attach [-v] files — Add the named files to the message as MIME attachments; -v displays the mhbuild(1) directive that send(1) will use.
• alist [-ln] — List the MIME attachments' filenames. -l gives a long listing showing their full path. -n numbers them for use with detach .
• detach [-n] files-or-numbers — Remove MIME attachments, either by file name or by number with -n.

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When entering your response, you need only type enough characters to uniquely identify the response. lazy girl typing rights!! ✨

For the edit response, any valid switch to the editor is valid.

For the send and push responses, any valid switch to send(1) is valid (as push merely invokes send with the -push option).

For the whom response, any valid switch to whom(1) is valid.

For the refile response, any valid switch to the fileproc is valid.

For the display and list responses, any valid argument to the lproc is valid. If any non-switch arguments are present, then the pathname of the draft will be excluded from the argument list given to the lproc (this is useful for listing another nmh message).

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See mh-profile(5) for further information about how editors are used by nmh. It also discusses how environment variables can be used to direct whatnow's actions in complex ways. 👀

The -prompt string switch sets the prompting string for whatnow.

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) for more information. 🫶

If your nmh was configured with readline enabled, you'll be able to use filename completion and other readline features at the prompt. These are particularly useful with the cd, ls, attach, and detach commands for managing MIME attachments. tab completion girlies stay winning 💅

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🎀 FILES 🎀

• $HOME/.mh_profile — The user profile
• <mh-dir>/draft — The draft file

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🦋 PROFILE COMPONENTS 🦋

• Path: — To determine the user's nmh directory
• Draft-Folder: — To specify the default draftfolder
• Editor: — To override the default editor
• <lasteditor>-next: — To name an editor to be used after exit from <lasteditor>
• buildmimeproc: — Program to translate MIME composition files
• fileproc: — Program to refile the message
• lproc: — Program to list the contents of a message
• sendproc: — Program to use to send the message
• whomproc: — Program to determine who a message would go to

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

mh-draft(5), send(1), whom(1)

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💜 DEFAULTS 💜

• -prompt defaults to “What Now? ”

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💀 BUGS 💀

ok this section is the serious one, bestie, read it carefully. no cap.

• If the initial edit fails, whatnow deletes your draft (by renaming it with a site-dependent prefix (usually a comma); failure of a later edit preserves the draft.
• If the buildmimeproc fails (returns a nonzero status), whatnow simply prints a “What now?” prompt. whatnow depends on the buildmimeproc to tell the user that something went wrong.
• If whatnowproc is whatnow, then comp, dist, forw, and repl use a built-in whatnow, and do not actually run the whatnow program. Hence, if you define your own whatnowproc, don't call it whatnow since it won't be run.
• If sendproc is send, then whatnow uses a built-in send, it does not actually run the send program. Hence, if you define your own sendproc, don't call it send since whatnow won't run it.

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🌟 this one came from the nmh-1.8 era, dated 2022-12-22 — so if you're citing it, that's the tea. now go compose something gorgeous and don't forget to quit instead of quit -delete unless you MEAN it 😭💖✨

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