vm(3)

NAME

vm - Email viewer
mail-check - Check for new email
stop-mail-check - Disable the check for new email
mail - Compose and send an email
mail-setup - Email setup dialog

SYNOPSIS

vm
mail-check
stop-mail-check
mail
mail-setup

DESCRIPTION

vm is a simple email manager, it is configured to send and receive emails using the mail-setup dialog. It must be stressed that vm has only been tested in one environment, caution should be used as system differences may cause problems, such as loss of data, which the author does not except any responsibility for.

mail-check tests the size of this incoming mail box, a non-zero length indicates that new mail has arrived and mail-check informs the user by inserting a 'M' in the mode-line (2nd character for the left) and ringing the system bell. mail-check uses create-callback(2) to check for new mail every 10 minutes, this can be disabled by executing stop-mail-check.

When vm is executed it checks for new mail, if found it first copies the new mail to a file called "new_mail" in the users mail directory. The incoming box is then emptied by truncating the file to zero length. The users main mail box is then loaded and the new mail (if any) is appended. The mail box is then processed after which 2 windows are created the bottom window listing all messages in the box and the top displaying the current message.

vm is capable of:

• Scrolling through the mail box displaying each message (up, p, down, n, return, space).
• Check and get new mail messages (g).
• Extract and cut embedded data files (x, C, c).
• Reply to and forward mail messages (R, r, z).
• Delete mail messages (d, u).
• Archive messages to other mail boxes (A, a).
• Save changes to the current mail box (S, s).
• Delete the current mail box (D).
• Visit another mail box (v).
• Send a mail message (m).
• Hide vm windows (delete).

Use the vm help page (bound to "esc h") for further information.

vm supports two types of embedded data, uuencode and mime encoding and uses ipipe-shell-command(2) to extract the data, the commanding to use must be supplied by the user using the setup dialog, which can contain the following special tokens:

%i


Temporary file name, if used, the embedded data is written to the this file first.

%o


User supplied output file name, if %i is not used, the embedded data is written to this file first.

%b


The output base name, i.e. %o without the path.

If no command line is supplied then the embedded data is written to the user supplied file name as a text file in the form found in the mail message.

mail can be used to compose and send an email, it can insert embedded data in a similar way to vm's data extraction, the following special tokens can be used:

%i


The user supplied data file to be embedded.

%b


The input base name, i.e. %i without the path.

%o


Temporary file name used to output the processed data file, this file is inserted into the mail message using insert-file(2).

mail also uses ipipe-shell-command to send the mail message, the following special tokens can be used:

%f


The from user name.

%s


The email subject.

%t


A comma separated list of 'To' recipients.

%c


A comma separated list of 'Cc' recipients.

%o


A file name of the mail message.

Any field not used in the command-line is left at the head of the mail message.

EXAMPLE - UNIX

The following command-line can be used on most UNIX systems to extract uuencoded data:

rm -f %o ; uudecode %i ; rm -f %i 

The following command-line can be used on most UNIX systems to extract mime encoded data:

rm -f /tmp/%b ; metamail -B -d -q -w -x -z %i ; mv -f /tmp/%b %o 

The following command-line can be used on most UNIX systems to uuencode a data file ready for it to be embedded, the original file is not changed:

uuencode %b < %i > %o 

The following command-line can be used on most UNIX systems to send an email:

/usr/lib/sendmail -oi -oem -odi -t < %o 

EXAMPLE - WIN32

Typically the cygwin(1) utilities can be used for data insertion and extraction. These have the advantage of being very similar to the unix ones so only minor changes are required, i.e. try the following for data insertion and mime & uuencode extraction respectively:

del %o ^ uudecode %i ^ del %i 
del c:\tmp\%b ^ metamail -B -d -q -w -x -z %i ^ move c:\tmp\%b %o 
uuencode %b < %i > %o 

This assumes that the shell you are using supports the '^' multiple commands on a single line feature, this is supported by 4dos(1) and 4nt(1). If your shell does not support this feature a simple batch file command could be used instead.

postie(1) is a freely available pop3/smpt e-mail support program, available on the net, which can be used to provide a fully working vm on windows systems. As it is typically used in a dial-up connect environment, the user-setup 'Queue Outgoing Mail' option will be enabled while the 'Check Mail' and 'VM Gets Mail' will be disabled. This ensures that a connection is only made when the vm 'g' command is used which sets all queued outgoing mail and gets any incoming mail.

The following command-line can be used to get mail from your pop server using postie:

postie -host:pop-mail-addr -user:user-addr -pass:password -file:inbox 
        "-sep:From root Mon Jan 11 20:02:02 1999" -raw -rm 

Where the inbox is the 'Incoming Mail Box' file specified in user-setup. The -sep option is used to partition each mail message from the previous message, this string is used as it is in a unix standard form so the resulting mail box could be understood by unix mail systems such as netscape etc.

NOTE: The -rm option is used to remove the incoming mail messages from the server. It is strongly recommended that the system is thoroughly tested without this option first.

The following command-line can be used to send mail to your smtp server using postie:

postie -host:smtp-mail-addr "-from:user@mail-addr" -use_mime:0 
        "-to:%t" "-s:%s" "-cc:%c" "-file:%o" 

blat(1) is another freely available windows program which can be used to send mail with the following command-line:

blat %o -f %f -s \"%s\" -t \"%t\" -c \"%c\" 

E-Mail Setup

The E-Mail Setup dialog is opened by executing the mail-setup command and configures a user to use part or all of the vm E-Mail manager, as follows:-

User Mail Dir


Sets the user mail-box directory where all files are to be found and stored (except usually the Incoming Mail box). The value of this field is platform independent and must be setup for each one.

The following fields are used for sending mail:

Send Mail Signature


Sets the signature file name which is inserted at the bottom of every out-going email message, if empty the no signature is inserted. The value of this field is platform independent, is value use by all. The file must be located in the User Mail Dir and no path entered for it to work across platforms.

Carbon-Copy File


Sets the sent-mail carbon-copy file, creating the "Fcc:" line of the mail buffer. All out-going emails are appended to the end of this file if the "Fcc:" line is not altered. If this field is left empty then no "Fcc:" line is created. The value of this field is platform independent, the file must be located in the User Mail Dir.

Insert Data (^C^I)


Sets the first embedded data command line, bound to "C-c C-I". The value of this field is platform dependent.

Insert Data (^C^Z)


Sets the second embedded data command line, bound to "C-c C-z". The value of this field is platform dependent.

Send Mail Command


Sets the command-line used for sending email messages. The value of this field is platform dependent.

The following fields are used for receiving mail:

Check for mail


Sets the time interval between the automatic checking for incoming mail in seconds, when set to 0 the automatic checking is disabled. When enabled, the check is performed by mail-check(3) which also sends any queued mail and gets any new mail if the Get Mail Command is used. The value of this field is platform dependent.

Get Mail Command


The command used to get new mail from the server, if empty it is assumed the Incoming Mail Box is automatically updated by the system. If used the command must append new mail to the end of the Incoming Mail Box specified below. The value of this field is platform dependent.

Incoming Mail Box


Sets the incoming mail box file which new incoming mail is appended to, either automatically by the system or by the Get Mail Command. The value of this field is platform dependent.

VM Main In Box


Sets the main current mail box, or inbox. The value of this field is platform independent, the file must be located in the User Mail Dir.

VM Gets Mail


When enabled, executing the command vm will not only create the mail box windows, it will also get and process any new mail. When disabled only the vm 'g' command can be used to get and process new mail.

Mime Data Extract


Sets the command-line used for extracting Mime encoded embedded data. The value of this field is platform dependent.

Uuencode Extract


Sets the command-line used for extracting Uuencoded embedded data. The value of this field is platform dependent.

Auto-Archive Setup


Sets up the auto-archive of messages in the current inbox to other mail boxes.

NOTES

vm is a macro defined in vm.emf, mail-check, stop-mail-check and mail are macros defined in mail.emf.

vm has only been tested in a couple of environments, the author will not except any responsibility for any loss of data, i.e. use at your own peril. You have been warned! Back-up all data files and test vm THOROUGHLY before using it.

SEE ALSO

user-setup(3), ipipe-shell-command(2), create-callback(2), sendmail(1).

(c) Copyright JASSPA 2025
Last Modified: 2024/10/13
Generated On: 2025/09/29