REFILE(1)                                               REFILE(1)

NAME
       refile - file message in other folders

SYNOPSIS
       refile [msgs] [-draft] [-link] [-nolink] [-preserve]
            [-nopreserve] [-src +folder] [-file file]
            [-rmmproc program] [-normmproc] +folder1 ...
            [-version] [-help]

DESCRIPTION
       Refile  moves  (mv (1))  or links (ln (1)) messages from a
       source folder into one or more destination folders.

       If you think of a message as a sheet of paper, this opera-
       tion  is  not unlike filing the sheet of paper (or copies)
       in file cabinet folders.  When a message is filed,  it  is
       linked  into the destination folder(s) if possible, and is
       copied otherwise.  As long as the destination folders  are
       all on the same file system, multiple filing causes little
       storage overhead.  This facility provides a  good  way  to
       cross-file  or multiply-index messages.  For example, if a
       message is received from Jones about the ARPA Map Project,
       the command

            refile cur +jones +Map

       would  allow  the message to be found in either of the two
       folders `jones' or `Map'.

       You may specify the source  folder  using  `-src +folder'.
       If  this  is  not  given,  the  current  folder is used by
       default.  If no message is specified, then `cur'  is  used
       by default.

       The  option  `-file file' directs refile to use the speci-
       fied file as the source message to be filed, rather than a
       message  from  a  folder.   Note that the file should be a
       validly formatted message, just like any  other  nmh  mes-
       sage.   It should NOT be in mail drop format (to convert a
       file in mail drop format to a folder of nmh messages,  see
       inc (1)).

       If  a destination folder doesn't exist, refile will ask if
       you want to create it.  A negative response will abort the
       file operation.  If the standard input for refile is not a
       tty, then refile will not ask any questions and will  pro-
       ceed as if the user answered "yes" to all questions.

       The option `-link' preserves the source folder copy of the
       message (i.e., it does  a  ln(1)  rather  than  a  mv(1)),
       whereas,  `-nolink'  (the  default) deletes the filed mes-
       sages from the source folder.

       Normally when a message is refiled, for  each  destination
       folder  it  is  assigned the number which is one above the
       current highest message number in that folder.  Use of the
       `-preserve'  switch  will  override this message renaming,
       and try to preserve the number of the message.  If a  con-
       flict for a particular folder occurs when using the `-pre-
       serve' switch, then refile will  use  the  next  available
       message  number which is above the message number you wish
       to preserve.

       If `-link' is not specified (or `-nolink'  is  specified),
       the filed messages will be removed from the source folder,
       by renaming them with a site-dependent prefix  (usually  a
       comma).

       If the user has a profile component such as

            rmmproc:  /bin/rm

       then  refile will instead call the named program to delete
       the message files.  The user may  specify  `-rmmproc  pro-
       gram'  on the command line to override this profile speci-
       fication.  The  `-normmproc'  option  forces  the  message
       files to be deleted by renaming them as described above.

       The   `-draft'   switch   tells   refile   to   file   the
       <mh-dir>/draft.   ^$HOME/.mh_profile~^The   user   profile
       ^Path:~^To   determine  the  user's  nmh  directory  ^Cur-
       rent-Folder:~^To   find   the   default   current   folder
       ^Folder-Protect:~^To  set  mode when creating a new folder
       ^rmmproc:~^Program  to  delete   the   message   folder(1)
       `-src +folder'  defaults  to  the  current  folder  `msgs'
       defaults to cur `-nolink' `-nopreserve' If  `-src +folder'
       is  given,  it will become the current folder.  If neither
       `-link' nor `all' is specified, the current message in the
       source  folder  will be set to the last message specified;
       otherwise, the current message won't be changed.

       If the Previous-Sequence profile entry is set, in addition
       to  defining  the  named sequences from the source folder,
       refile will also define those sequences for  the  destina-
       tion  folders.   See  mh-sequence (5) for information con-
       cerning the previous sequence.   Since  refile  uses  your
       rmmproc  to  delete the message, the rmmproc must NOT call
       refile without specifying `-normmproc', or you will create
       an infinite loop.

[nmh-0.27]                    MH.6.8                            1