MSH(1)								     [nmh-1.5]								    MSH(1)

NAME

       msh - nmh shell (and BBoard reader)

SYNOPSIS

       msh [-prompt string] [-scan | -noscan] [-topcur | -notopcur] [file] [-version] [-help]

DESCRIPTION

       msh  is	an  interactive program that implements a subset of the normal nmh commands operating on a single file in packf'dformat.  That is,
       msh is used to read a file that contains a number of messages, as opposed to the standard nmh style of reading a number of files, each file
       being  a separate message in a folder.  msh's chief advantage is that the normal nmh style does not allow a file to have more than one mes-
       sage in it.  Hence, msh is ideal for reading BBoards, as these files are delivered by the transport system in this  format.   In  addition,
       msh  can  be  used on other files, such as message archives which have been packed (see packf(1)).  Finally, msh is an excellent nmh tutor.
       As the only commands available to the user are nmh commands, this allows nmh beginners to concentrate on how commands to nmh are formed and
       (more or less) what they mean.

       When  invoked,  msh  reads  the	named file, and enters a command loop.	The user may type most of the normal nmh commands.  The syntax and
       semantics of these commands typed to msh are identical to their nmh counterparts.  In cases where the nature of msh would  be  inconsistent
       (e.g., specifying a +folder with some commands), msh will duly inform the user.	The commands that msh currently supports (in some slightly
       modified or restricted forms) are:

	    ali
	    burst
	    comp
	    dist
	    folder
	    forw
	    inc
	    mark
	    mhmail
	    mhn
	    msgchk
	    next
	    packf
	    pick
	    prev
	    refile
	    repl
	    rmm
	    scan
	    send
	    show
	    sortm
	    whatnow
	    whom

       In addition, msh has a help command which gives a brief overview.  To terminate msh, type CTRL-D, or use the quit command.

       If the file is writable and has been modified, then using quit will query the user if the file should be updated.

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

       You may wish to use an alternate nmh profile for the commands that msh executes; see mh-profile(5) for details about  the  $MH  environment
       variable.

       The exit command is identical to the quit command in msh.

       msh supports an output redirection facility.  Commands may be followed by one of

	    ^> file~^write output to file
	    ^>> file~^append output to file
	    ^| command~^pipe output to UNIX command

       If file starts with a " " (tilde), then a csh-like expansion takes place.  Note that command is interpreted by sh.  Also note that msh does
       NOT support history substitutions, variable substitutions, or alias substitutions.

       When parsing commands to the left of any redirection symbol, msh will honor `' (back-slash) as the quote next-character  symbol,  and  `"'
       (double-quote) as quote-word delimiters.  All other input tokens are separated by whitespace (spaces and tabs).

FILES

       $HOME/.mh_profile	  The user profile
       /etc/nmh/mts.conf	  nmh mts configuration file

PROFILE COMPONENTS

       Path:		    To determine the user's nmh directory
       Msg-Protect:	    To set mode when creating a new `file'
       fileproc:	    Program to file messages
       showproc:	    Program to show messages

SEE ALSO

       packf(1)

DEFAULTS

       `file' defaults to "./msgbox"
       `-prompt (msh) '
       `-noscan'
       `-notopcur'

CONTEXT

       None

BUGS

       The  argument to the -prompt switch must be interpreted as a single token by the shell that invokes msh.  Therefore, one must usually place
       the argument to this switch inside double-quotes.

       There is a strict limit of messages per file in packf'd format which msh can handle.  Usually, this limit is 1000 messages.

       Please remember that msh is not the C-Shell, and that a lot of the nice facilities provided by the latter are not present in the former.

       In particular, msh does not understand back-quoting, so the only effective way to use pick inside msh is to  always  use  the  -seq  select
       switch.	Clever users of nmh will put the line

	    pick: -seq select -list

       in their .mh_profile file so that pick works equally well from both the shell and msh.

       sortm always uses -noverbose and if -textfield field is used, -limit 0.

       The msh program inherits most (if not all) of the bugs from the nmh commands it implements.

MH.6.8								   11 June 2012 							    MSH(1)