Provided by: nmh_1.6-8build1_amd64 
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” empties the sequence “foo”, and therefore removes that sequence
from the current folder's list of sequences.
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 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', respectively.
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).