sortm(1) General Commands Manual sortm(1)NAME
sortm - sort messages (only available within the message handling system, mh)
SYNOPSIS
sortm [msgs] [+folder] [options]
OPTIONS
Specifies the name of the header field to use when making the date comparison. If you have a special field in each message, such as Deliv-
ery-Date:, then the -datefield switch can be used to tell sortm which field to examine. If you do not give this option, the default is to
use the Date: header field. Prints a list of all the valid options to this command. Displays the general actions that it is taking to
place the folder in sorted order. The -noverbose option performs these actions silently. The default is -noverbose.
The default settings for this command are:
+folder defaults to the current folder msgs defaults to all -datefield date -noverbose
DESCRIPTION
The command sortm sorts all the messages in the current folder into chronological order according to the contents of the Date: fields of
the messages.
By default, sortm sorts all the messages in the current folder. You can select particular messages in the folder by giving a range of mes-
sages. You can also sort messages in another folder by specifying the folder name.
If sortm encounters a message without a Date: field, or if the message has a Date: field that sortm cannot parse, it attempts to keep the
message in the same relative position. However, this does not always work; for instance, if the first message encountered lacks a date
which can be parsed, then it will usually be placed at the end of the messages being sorted.
When sortm complains about a message which it cannot order, it complains about the message number prior to sorting.
PROFILE COMPONENTS
Path: To determine your MH directory
EXAMPLES
The following example sorts all the messages in the folder +meetings: % sortm +meetings The next example sorts messages 10-30 in the folder
called +test: % sortm +test 10-30
FILES
The user profile.
SEE ALSO folder(1)sortm(1)
Check Out this Related Man Page
SORTM(1) [nmh-1.5] SORTM(1)NAME
sortm - sort messages
SYNOPSIS
sortm [+folder] [msgs] [-datefield field] [-textfield field] [-notextfield] [-limit days] [-nolimit] [-verbose | -noverbose] [-version]
[-help]
DESCRIPTION
Sortm sorts the specified messages in the named folder according to the chronological order of the "Date:" field of each message.
The -verbose switch directs sortm to tell the user the general actions that it is taking to place the folder in sorted order.
The -datefield field switch tells sortm the name of the field to use when making the date comparison. If the user has a special field in
each message, such as "BB-Posted:" or "Delivery-Date:", then the -datefield switch can be used to direct sortm which field to examine.
The -textfield field switch causes sortm to sort messages by the specified text field. If this field is "subject", any leading "re:" is
stripped off. In any case, all characters except letters and numbers are stripped and the resulting strings are sorted datefield-major,
textfield-minor, using a case insensitive comparison.
With -textfield field, if -limit days is specified, messages with similar textfields that are dated within `days' of each other appear
together. Specifying -nolimit makes the limit infinity. With -limit 0, the sort is instead made textfield-major, date-minor.
For example, to order a folder by date-major, subject-minor, use:
sortm -textfield subject +folder
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 folder(1)DEFAULTS
`+folder' defaults to the current folder
`msgs"'defaultstoall"
`-datefield' defaults to date
`-notextfield'
`-noverbose'
`-nolimit'
CONTEXT
If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. If the current message is moved, sortm
will preserve its status as current.
HISTORY
Timezones used to be ignored when comparing dates: they aren't any more.
Messages which were in the folder, but not specified by `msgs', used to be moved to the end of the folder; now such messages are left
untouched.
Sortm sometimes did not preserve the message numbering in a folder (e.g., messages 1, 3, and 5, might have been renumbered to 1, 2, 3 after
sorting). This was a bug, and has been fixed. To compress the message numbering in a folder, use "folder -pack" as always.
BUGS
If sortm encounters a message without a date-field, or if the message has a date-field that sortm cannot parse, then sortm attempts to keep
the message in the same relative position. This does not always work. For instance, if the first message encountered lacks a date which
can be parsed, then it will usually be placed at the end of the messages being sorted.
When sortm complains about a message which it can't temporally order, it complains about the message number prior to sorting. It should
indicate what the message number will be after sorting.
MH.6.8 11 June 2012 SORTM(1)