alpine

NAME

SYNTAX

alpine [ options ] [ address , address ]

alpinef [ options ] [ address , address ]  

DESCRIPTION

Alpine is a screen-oriented message-handling tool. In its default configuration, Alpine offers an intentionally limited set of functions geared toward the novice user, but it also has a large list of optional "power-user" and personal-preference features. alpinef is a variant of Alpine that uses function keys rather than mnemonic single-letter commands. Alpine's basic feature set includes:

View, Save, Export, Delete, Print, Reply and Forward messages.

Compose messages in a simple editor (Pico) with word-wrap and a spelling checker. Messages may be postponed for later completion.

Full-screen selection and management of message folders.

Address book to keep a list of long or frequently-used addresses. Personal distribution lists may be defined. Addresses may be taken into the address book from incoming mail without retyping them.

New mail checking and notification occurs automatically every 2.5 minutes and after certain commands, e.g. refresh-screen (Ctrl-L).

On-line, context-sensitive help screens.

Alpine supports MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions), an Internet Standard for representing multipart and multimedia data in email. Alpine allows you to save MIME objects to files, and in some cases, can also initiate the correct program for viewing the object. It uses the system's mailcap configuration file to determine what program can process a particular MIME object type. Alpine's message composer does not have integral multimedia capability, but any type of data file --including multimedia-- can be attached to a text message and sent using MIME's encoding rules. This allows any group of individuals with MIME-capable mail software (e.g. Alpine, PC-Alpine, or many other programs) to exchange formatted documents, spread-sheets, image files, etc, via Internet email.

Alpine uses the c-client messaging API to access local and remote mail folders. This library provides a variety of low-level message-handling functions, including drivers for a variety of different mail file formats, as well as routines to access remote mail and news servers, using IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) and NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol). Outgoing mail is usually posted directly via SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).  

OPTIONS

The command line options/arguments are:

address

Send mail to address. This will cause Alpine to go directly into the message composer.

-attach file

Send mail with the listed file as an attachment.

-attachlist file-list

Send mail with the listed file-list as an attachments.

-attach_and_delete file

Send mail with the listed file as an attachment, and remove the file after the message is sent.

-aux local_directory

PC-Alpine only. When using a remote configuration (-p <remote_config>) this tells PC-Alpine the local directory to use for storing auxiliary files, like debug files, address books, and signature files.

-bail

Exit if the pinerc file does not exist. This might be useful if the config file is accessed using some remote filesystem protocol. If the remote mount is missing this will cause Alpine to quit instead of creating a new pinerc.

-c context-number

context-number is the number corresponding to the folder-collection to which the -f command line argument should be applied. By default the -f argument is applied to the first defined folder-collection.

-conf

Produce a sample/fresh copy of the system-wide configuration file, pine.conf, on the standard output. This is distinct from the per-user .pinerc file.

-convert_sigs -p pinerc

Convert signature files into literal signatures.

-copy_abook <local_abook> <remote_abook>

Copy the local address book file to a remote address book folder.

-copy_pinerc <local_pinerc> <remote_pinerc>

Copy the local pinerc file to a remote pinerc folder.

-d debug-level

Output diagnostic info at debug-level (0-9) to the current .pine-debug[1-4] file. A value of 0 turns debugging off and suppresses the .pine-debug file.

-d key[=val]

Fine tuned output of diagnostic messages where "flush" causes debug file writing without buffering, "timestamp" appends each message with a timestamp, "imap=n" where n is between 0 and 4 representing none to verbose IMAP telemetry reporting, "numfiles=n" where n is between 0 and 31 corresponding to the number of debug files to maintain, and "verbose=n" where n is between 0 and 9 indicating an inverse threshold for message output.

-f folder

Open folder (in first defined folder collection, use -c n to specify another collection) instead of INBOX.

-F file

Open named text file and view with Alpine's browser.

-h

Help: list valid command-line options.

-i

Start up in the FOLDER INDEX screen.

-I keystrokes

Initial (comma separated list of) keystrokes which Alpine should execute on startup.

-install

For PC-Alpine only, this option causes PC-Alpine to prompt for some basic setup information, then exits.

-k

Use function keys for commands. This is the same as running the command alpinef.

-n number

Start up with current message-number set to number.

-o

Open first folder read-only.

-p config-file

Use config-file as the personal configuration file instead of the default .pinerc.

-P config-file

Use config-file as the configuration file instead of default system-wide configuration file pine.conf.

-pinerc file

Output fresh pinerc configuration to file, preserving the settings of variables that the user has made. Use file set to ``-'' to make output go to standard out. <IP> -registry cmd 20 For PC-Alpine only, this option affects the values of Alpine's registry entries. Possible values for cmd are set, clear, and dump. Set will always reset Alpine's registry entries according to its current settings. Clear will clear the registry values. Clearsilent will silently clear the registry values. Dump will display the values of current registry settings. Note that the dump command is currently disabled. Without the -registry option, PC-Alpine will write values into the registry only if there currently aren't any values set.

-r

Use restricted/demo mode. Alpine will only send mail to itself and functions like save and export are restricted.

-sort order

Sort the FOLDER INDEX display in one of the following orders: arrival, date, subject, orderedsubj, thread, from, size, score, to, cc, or reverse. Arrival order is the default. The OrderedSubj choice simulates a threaded sort. Any sort may be reversed by adding /reverse to it. Reverse by itself is the same as arrival/reverse.

-supported

Some options may or may not be supported depending on how Alpine was compiled. This is a way to determine which options are supported in the particular copy of Alpine you are using.

-uninstall

For PC-Alpine only, this option causes PC-Alpine to remove references to Alpine in Windows settings.

-url url

Open the given url. Cannot be used with -f or -F options.

-v

Version: Print version information.

-version

Version: Print version information.

-x config

Use configuration exceptions in config. Exceptions are used to override your default pinerc settings for a particular platform, can be a local file or a remote folder.

-z

Enable ^Z and SIGTSTP so alpine may be suspended.

-option=value

Assign value to the config option option e.g. -signature-file=sig1 or -feature-list=signature-at-bottom (Note: feature-list values are additive)

CONFIGURATION

There are several levels of Alpine configuration. Configuration values at a given level over-ride corresponding values at lower levels. In order of increasing precedence:

 o built-in defaults.

 o system-wide  pine.conf file.

 o personal  .pinerc file (may be set via built-in Setup/Config menu.)

 o command-line options.

 o system-wide  pine.conf.fixed file.

There is one exception to the rule that configuration values are replaced by the value of the same option in a higher-precedence file: the feature-list variable has values that are additive, but can be negated by prepending "no-" in front of an individual feature name. Unix Alpine also uses the following environment variables:

  TERM

  DISPLAY     (determines if Alpine can display IMAGE attachments.)

  SHELL       (if not set, default is /bin/sh )

  MAILCAPS    (semicolon delimited list of path names to mailcap files)  

FILES

/usr/spool/mail/xxxx        Default folder for incoming mail.

~/mail                     Default directory for mail folders.

~/.addressbook             Default address book file.

~/.pine-debug[1-4]         Diagnostic log for debugging.

~/.pinerc                  Personal alpine config file.

~/.newsrc                  News subscription/state file.

~/.mailcap                 Personal mail capabilities file.

~/.mime.types              Personal file extension to MIME type mapping

/etc/mailcap               System-wide mail capabilities file.

/etc/mime.types            System-wide file ext. to MIME type mapping

/usr/local/lib/pine.info   Local pointer to system administrator.

/usr/local/lib/pine.conf   System-wide configuration file.

/usr/local/lib/pine.conf.fixed Non-overridable configuration file.

/tmp/.\usr\spool\mail\xxxx Per-folder mailbox lock files.

~/.pine-interrupted-mail   Message which was interrupted.

~/mail/postponed-msgs      For postponed messages.

~/mail/sent-mail           Outgoing message archive (FCC).

~/mail/saved-messages      Default destination for Saving messages.
 

SEE ALSO

pico(1), binmail(1), aliases(5), mailaddr(7), sendmail(8), spell(1), imapd(8)

Newsgroup: comp.mail.pine
Alpine Information Center: http://www.washington.edu/alpine
Source distribution: ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/alpine/alpine.tar.gz
Alpine Technical Notes, included in the source distribution.
C-Client messaging API library, included in the source distribution.  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The University of Washington Alpine development team (part of the UW Office 
of Computing & Communications) includes:
 
 Project Leader:           Mike Seibel
 Principal authors:        Mike Seibel, Steve Hubert, Jeff Franklin
 C-Client library & IMAPd: Mark Crispin
 Documentation:            Many people!
 Project oversight:        Terry Gray, Lori Stevens
 Principal Patrons:        Ron Johnson, Mike Bryant
 Initial Alpine code base: Pine - by the University of Washington, 
                           Elm - by Dave Taylor & USENET Community Trust
 Initial Pico code base:   MicroEmacs 3.6, by Dave G. Conroy
 User Interface design:    Inspired by UCLA's "Ben" mailer for MVS
 Suggestions/fixes/ports:  Folks from all over!

$Date: 2008-08-22 13:40:16 -0700 (Fri, 22 Aug 2008) $

alpine Version 2.00

pico

Name

Syntax

Description

Editing commands are entered using control-key combinations. As a work-around for communications programs that swallow certain control characters, you can emulate a control key by pressing ESCAPE twice, followed by the desired control character, e.g. "ESC ESC c" would be equivalent to entering a ctrl-c. The editor has five basic features: paragraph justification, searching, block cut/paste, a spelling checker, and a file browser.

Paragraph justification (or filling) takes place in the paragraph that contains the cursor, or, if the cursor is between lines, in the paragraph immediately below. Paragraphs are delimited by blank lines, or by lines beginning with a space or tab. Unjustification can be done immediately after justification using the control-U key combination.

String searches are not sensitive to case. A search begins at the current cursor position and wraps around the end of the text. The most recent search string is offered as the default in subsequent searches.

Blocks of text can be moved, copied or deleted with creative use of the command for mark (ctrl-^), delete (ctrl-k) and undelete (ctrl-u). The delete command will remove text between the "mark" and the current cursor position, and place it in the "cut" buffer. The undelete command effects a "paste" at the current cursor position.

The spell checker examines all words in the text. It then offers, in turn, each misspelled word for correction while highlighting it in the text. Spell checking can be cancelled at any time. Alternatively, pico will substitute for the default spell checking routine a routine defined by the SPELL environment variable. The replacement routine should read standard input and write standard output.

The file browser is offered as an option in the "Read File" and "Write Out" command prompts. It is intended to help in searching for specific files and navigating directory hierarchies. Filenames with sizes and names of directories in the current working directory are presented for selection. The current working directory is displayed on the top line of the display while the list of available commands takes up the bottom two. Several basic file manipulation functions are supported: file renaming, copying, and deletion.

More specific help is available in pico's online help.  

Options

+n

Causes pico to be started with the cursor located n lines into the file. (Note: no space between "+" sign and number)

-a

Display all files including those beginning with a period (.).

-b

Enable the option to Replace text matches found using the "Where is" command. This now does nothing. Instead, the option is always turned on (as if the -b flag had been specified).

-d

Rebind the "delete" key so the character the cursor is on is rubbed out rather than the character to its left.

-e

Enable file name completion.

-f

Use function keys for commands. This option supported only in conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.

-h

List valid command line options.

-j

Enable "Goto" command in the file browser. This enables the command to permit explicitly telling pilot which directory to visit.

-g

Enable "Show Cursor" mode in file browser. Cause cursor to be positioned before the current selection rather than placed at the lower left of the display.

-k

Causes "Cut Text" command to remove characters from the cursor position to the end of the line rather than remove the entire line.

-m

Enable mouse functionality. This only works when pico is run from within an X Window System "xterm" window.

-nn

The -nn option enables new mail notification. The n argument is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your mailbox is checked for new mail. For example, -n60 causes pico to check for new mail once every minute. The default interval is 180 seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space between "n" and the number)

-o dir

Sets operating directory. Only files within this directory are accessible. Likewise, the file browser is limited to the specified directory subtree.

-rn

Sets column used to limit the "Justify" command's right margin

-s speller

Specify an alternate program spell to use when spell checking.

-t

Enable "tool" mode. Intended for when pico is used as the editor within other tools (e.g., Elm, Pnews). Pico will not prompt for save on exit, and will not rename the buffer during the "Write Out" command.

-v

View the file only, disallowing any editing.

-version

Print Pico version and exit.

-w

Disable word wrap (thus allow editing of long lines).

-x

Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen.

-z

Enable ^Z suspension of pico.

-p

Preserve the "start" and "stop" characters, typically Ctrl-Q and Ctrl-S, which are sometimes used in communications paths to control data flow between devices that operate at different speeds.

-Q quotestr

Set the quote string. Especially useful when composing email, setting this allows the quote string to be checked for when Justifying paragraphs. A common quote string is "> ".

-W word_separators

If characters listed here appear in the middle of a word surrounded by alphanumeric characters that word is split into two words. This is used by the Forward and Backward word commands and by the spell checker.

-q

Termcap or terminfo definition for input escape sequences are used in preference to sequences defined by default. This option is only available if pico was compiled with the TERMCAP_WINS define turned on.

-setlocale_ctype

Do setlocale(LC_CTYPE) if available. Default is to not do this setlocale.

-no_setlocale_collate

Do not do setlocale(LC_COLLATE). Default is to do this setlocale.

Lastly, when a running pico is disconnected (i.e., receives a SIGHUP), pico will save the current work if needed before exiting. Work is saved under the current filename with ".save" appended. If the current work is unnamed, it is saved under the filename "pico.save".

Bugs

Files

pico.save         Unnamed interrupted work saved here.
*.save            Interrupted work on a named file is saved here.

Authors

See Also

$Date: 2008-08-22 13:40:16 -0700 (Fri, 22 Aug 2008) $

pico Version 5.04

pilot

Name

Syntax

Description

Pilot displays the current working directory at the top of the screen. The directory's contents are displayed in columns of file name, file size pairs. Names that are directories are indicated by the name "(dir)" in place of the file size. The parent of the current working directory is indicated by the file name ".." and size of "(parent dir)". File names that are symbolic links to other files are displayed with a file size of "--".

Several basic file manipulation commands are provided: Delete, Rename, Copy, View, Launch, and Edit. The "View" and "Edit" commands operate on text files only. By default, the "View" command displays files using "alpine -F", but will respect the environment variable PAGER if set. The "Edit" command simply invokes "pico". The "Launch" command provides a convenient way to either execute the selected file or to run an application on it.

More specific help is available in pilot's online help.  

Options

-a

Display all files including those beginning with a period (.).

-f

Use function keys for commands. This option supported only in conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.

-g

Enable "Show Cursor" mode. Cause cursor to be positioned before the current selection rather than placed at the lower left of the display.

-j

Enable "Goto" command. This enables the command to permit explicitly telling pilot which directory to visit.

-m

Enable mouse functionality. This only works when pilot is run from within an X Window System "xterm" window.

-nn

The -nn option enables new mail notification. The n argument is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your mailbox is checked for new mail. For example, -n60 causes pilot to check for new mail once every minute. The default interval is 180 seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space between "n" and the number)

-o dir

Sets operating directory. Only files within the specified directory are accessible and browsing is limited to the specified directory subtree.

-v

Enable single vertical column display.

-x

Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen.

-z

Enable ^Z suspension of pilot.

-q

Termcap or terminfo definition for input escape sequences are used in preference to sequences defined by default. This option is only available if pilot was compiled with the TERMCAP_WINS define turned on.

-setlocale_ctype

Do setlocale(LC_CTYPE) if available. Default is to not do this setlocale.

-no_setlocale_collate

Do not do setlocale(LC_COLLATE). Default is to do this setlocale.

Authors

See Also

$Date: 2005/01/14 20:40:14 $

pilot Version 1.1

mailutil

NAME

SYNTAX

All commands accept the -d, -v, and -u switches in addition to any command-specific switches.

mailutil check [MAILBOX]

mailutil create MAILBOX

mailutil delete MAILBOX

mailutil rename SOURCE DESTINATION

mailutil copy [-rw] [-kw] [-ig] SOURCE DESTINATION

mailutil move [-rw] [-kw] [-ig] SOURCE DESTINATION

mailutil append [-rw] [-kw] [-ig] SOURCE DESTINATION

mailutil appenddelete [-rw] [-kw] [-ig] SOURCE DESTINATION

mailutil prune MAILBOX CRITERIA

mailutil transfer [-m mode] [-rw] [-kw] [-ig] SOURCE DESTINATION  

DESCRIPTION

mailutil check determines whether new mail exists in the given mailbox (the default is INBOX). The number of new messages is defined as the number of messages that have "Recent" status set. If the mailbox contains no new messages, mailutil check will indicate that no new mail is present; otherwise, it will report the number of new messages. In either case, it will also indicate the canonical form of the name of the mailbox.

mailutil create creates a new mailbox with the given name. The mailbox name must not already exist. A mailbox can be created in a particular format by prefixing the name with #driver. followed by the format name and a / character. For example, the command

   mailutil create #driver.mbx/junkmail
will create a new mailbox named "junkmail" in mbx format.

mailutil delete deletes an existing mailbox with the given name.

mailutil rename renames an existing mailbox to a new name (which must not already exist). This only works if the old and new names are in the same mail store. A more general means to rename a mailbox is to do a mailutil copy of the old name to the new name, followed by a mailutil delete of the old name.

mailutil copy creates a new mailbox and copies messages from the old mailbox to the new mailbox. As in mailutil create a mailbox format can be specified with the new mailbox. For example, the command

   mailutil copy INBOX #driver.mbx/INBOX
will copy messages from your existing INBOX to an mbx-format INBOX.

mailutil move is similar to mailutil copy but in addition will also remove (delete and expunge) the messages from the old mailbox after copying them to the new mailbox.

mailutil append and mailutil appenddelete are similar to mailutil copy and mailutil move respectively except that they do not create the destination mailbox.

mailutil prune prunes the mailbox of messages which match certain criteria, which are in the form of IMAP2 (RFC 1176) SEARCH arguments. For example, the command.

  mailutil prune INBOX "before 1-jan-2004"
will delete and expunge all messages written before January 1, 2004.

Note that mailutil implements pruning by deleting the matching messages, and then expunging the mailbox. Consequently, mailutil will also expunge any messages which were deleted at the time of the pruning.

mailutil transfer copies an entire hierarchy of mailboxes from the named source to the named destination. Mailboxes are created on the destination as needed. Any error in copying messages will cause the transfer to stop.

Normally, any error in creation will cause the transfer to stop. However, if -m MODE or -merge MODE is specified, a merging transfer is performed. The MODE argument indicats the type of merge:

-m[erge] prompt indicates that the user should be asked for an alternative name to create. If creating the new name fails, the user will be asked again.

-m[erge] append indicates that it's alright to copy the messages into an existing mailbox with that name. If the mailbox does not exist, the user will be prompted for an alternative name.

-m[erge] suffix=XXXX where XXXX is any string, indicates that an alternative name should be built by appending the given suffix to the name. It that alternative name can't be created, then the user will be prompted for an alternative name.

The source hierarchy consists of all mailboxes which start with the given source name. With the exception of a remote system specification (within "{}" braces), the source name is used as the name of the destination. The destination hierarchy is a prefix applied to any new names being created. For example,

   mailutil transfer foo bar
will copy all mailboxes with names beginning with "foo" to names beginning with "bar" (hence "foobar" will be copied to "barfoobar"). Similarly,

   mailutil transfer "{imap.foo.com}" "{imap.bar.com}old/"
will copy all mailboxes from the imap.foo.com IMAP server to equivalent names starting with "old/" on the imap.bar.com IMAP server.  

FLAGS

The -v or -verbose flag prints verbose (non-error) telemetry.

The -u USERID or -user USERID switch attempts to become the indicated user. This is for the benefit of system administrators who want to do mailutil operations on a userid that does not normally have shell access.

The -rw or -rwcopy flag causes the source mailbox to be open in readwrite mode rather than readonly mode. Normally, mailutil tries to use readonly mode to avoid altering any flags in the source mailbox, but some mailbox types, e.g. POP3, can't be open in readonly mode.

The -kw or -kwcopy flag causes the keywords of the source mailbox to be created in the destination mailbox. Normally, mailutil does not create keywords in the destination mailbox so only those keywords that are already defined in the destination mailbox will be preserved. Note that some IMAP servers may automatically create keywords, so this flag may not be necessary.

The -ig or -ignore flag causes the keywords of the source mailbox to be ignored completely and no attempt is made to copy them to the destination mailbox.

The -ig[nore] and -kw[copy] flags are mutually exclusive.  

ARGUMENTS

Name

Meaning

INBOX

primary incoming mail folder on the local system

archive/tx-project

mail folder named "tx-project" in "archive" subdirectory of local filesystem home directory

{imapserver.foo.com}INBOX

primary incoming mail folder on IMAP server system "imapserver.foo.com"

{imapserver.foo.com}archive/tx-project

mail folder named "tx-project" in "archive" subdirectory on IMAP server system "imapserver.foo.com"

#news.comp.mail.misc

newsgroup "comp.mail.misc" on local filesystem

{newserver.foo.com/nntp}comp.mail.misc

newsgroup "comp.mail.misc" on NNTP server system "newserver.foo.com"

{popserver.foo.com/pop3}

mail folder on POP3 server system "popserver.foo.com"

See your system manager for more information about the types of mailboxes which are available on your system.  

RESTRICTIONS

You must surround a #driver.format/mailbox argument with quotation marks if you run mailutil from a shell in which "#" is the comment character.  

AUTHOR

mailutil March 3, 2008

rpload

NAME

SYNTAX

rpload [ -f ] [ -s trimSize ] -t Type -l Local_file -r Remote_folder  

DESCRIPTION

Rpload may be used to convert local Alpine configuration files or address books into remote configurations or address books. It is intended to be used by system administrators. Regular users should normally use the facilities provided within Alpine.

Local_file will usually be a user's alpine configuration file, and Remote_folder is the IMAP folder which will be used (with the help of Alpine's -p, -P, and -x commands or PINECONF, PINERC, and PINERCEX environment variables) as the user's remote configuration folder. A copy of Local_file will be placed in the folder with the correct header lines to satisfy Alpine.

-f

Force the load even if the remote folder is in the wrong format. This will delete the contents of the folder so use it carefully.

-s trimSize

If the number of messages in the remote folder is more than one plus trimsize (one is for the header message), then messages 2, 3, and so on will be deleted until there are only one plus trimsize messages left. If this option is not set no trimming will be done.

-t Type

The possible Types are pinerc, abook, and sig. (Sig is mostly obsolete. Literal signatures contained within the remote pinerc should be used instead.)

-l Local_file

The file on this system that is to be copied.

-r Remote_folder

A remote folder name to be copied to. See the Alpine documentation for the syntax of a remote folder name. One example is
{my.imap.server}remote_pinerc.

DIAGNOSTICS

SEE ALSO

Copyright 1989-2007 by the University of Washington.

$Date: 2005/01/14 20:40:14 $

rpdump

NAME

SYNTAX

rpdump [ -f ] -l Local_file -r Remote_folder  

DESCRIPTION

Rpdump may be used to copy the actual data from remote Alpine configuration files or address books into a local file. It is intended to be used by system administrators. Regular users should normally use the facilities provided within Alpine.

Local_file will normally be a local temporary file. Remote_folder is the IMAP folder being used as a remote Alpine configuration (with the help of Alpine's -P, -p, and -x commands or PINECONF, PINERC, and PINERCEX environment variables) or remote Alpine address book folder. A copy of the data from Remote_folder will be copied to Local_file.

-f

Force the dump even if the remote folder is in an unrecognized format.

-l Local_file

The file on this system that is to be copied to.

-r Remote_folder

A remote folder name to be copied from. See the Alpine documentation for the syntax of a remote folder name. One example is
{my.imap.server}remote_pinerc.

DIAGNOSTICS

SEE ALSO

Copyright 1989-2007 by the University of Washington.

$Date: 2005/01/14 20:40:14 $