NAME

       mark - manipulate message sequences

SYNOPSIS

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

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
       messages named via msgs (which defaults to “cur” if no msgs are given), are added  to  the
       sequence.   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 -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
       necessary) 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 indicated messages should be removed from each sequence.   As  expected,  the  command
       “mark -sequence foo -delete all” deletes the sequence “foo” from the current folder.

       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
       indicates  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 the  mh-sequence(5)  man  page  for  more
       details about the difference between “public” and “private” sequences.

       The  -list  switch  tells  mark  to list both the sequences defined for the folder and the
       messages associated with those sequences.  Mark will list the name of each sequence  given
       by  -sequence  name  and  the  messages associated with that sequence.  If the sequence is
       private, this will also be indicated.  If  no  sequence  is  specified  by  the  -sequence
       switch,  then  all  sequences  for  this folder will be listed.  The -zero switch does not
       affect the operation of -list.

       The current 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”.

       • Only a certain number of sequences may be defined for a given folder.   This  number  is
         usually  limited  to  27  (11 on small systems).  (The internal implementation relies on
         bitmasks, with some bits set aside for internal use.)

       • 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', respectively.  Constructs of the  form  “name1-name2”  are  forbidden  for  user
         defined sequences.

FILES

       $HOME/.mh_profile          The user 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' defaults to the current folder
       `-add' if -sequence is specified, -list otherwise
       `msgs' defaults to cur (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).