MH & nmh: Sending Mail
Author: Brent B. Welch

# Sending Mail

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This section describes how to start a mail message. The messages are created as templates in your drafts folder and then your editor is opened on the draft. The Sections The Built-in Editor and Mail Formatting describe how to actually compose the message when using the built-in editor or an external editor.

## Sending a New Message

Use the `Send` message button to create a new draft message. This runs the MH comp command to set up the template for the draft. So, it is affected by the components and your `comp:` profile entry, if any.

## Replying to a Message

The `Reply...` menu has two entries: `Reply to sender` and `Reply all`. These operations use the MH repl command, so they are affected by the replcomps file and your `repl:` profile entry, if any. `Reply to sender` uses the repl option -nocc to -nocc cc so that the reply just goes to the sender. `Reply all` uses -cc to -cc cc so that the reply goes to everyone in the `To:` and `Cc:` fields of the original message. (See the Section Selective Replies with -nocc and -cc.) Another entry displays instructions for adding more entries to the `Reply...` menu. The X resources used to do this are described in more detail in the Section Resources for Buttons.

## Forwarding a Message

To forward the current message or messages, click the `Forward` button or press f. `Forward` uses the MH forw command to set up the message, so it is affected by the forwcomps file and your `forw:` profile entry, if any.

## Using an Existing Message as a Template

To use an existing message as a template for a new message, select the `Use message as draft` menu entry under the message `More...` menu. In this case the message is copied into the draft folder first. This menu entry also lets you continue work on a message left in your drafts folder.

[Table of Contents] [Index] [Previous: Managing Messages] [Next: Mail Aliases]

(This section was written by Brent Welch.)
Last change $Date: 1999/10/10 05:14:05 $

This file is from the third edition of the book MH & xmh: Email for Users & Programmers, ISBN 1-56592-093-7, by Jerry Peek. Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. This file is freely available; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation. For more information, see the file copying.htm.