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

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  argu-
       ment  (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  mes-
       sages  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 indi-
       cated 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 "pub-
       lic" 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 cur-
       rent 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:

       o 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".

       o 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.)

       o 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).

MH.6.8                                                             11 June 2012                                                            MARK(1)