I hope that some of you here may have used the UNIX mail/mailx program before and can shed some light on how to set it up. So far after reading the man page and a fair bit of googling I'm at a loss as to how to set it up. Most "tutorials" just explain how to use it. Surely I need to set up/configure it before hand? I have tried a simple mail myemail@interwebz.com which then asks me for a subject and after entering the body text I get the EOT message and my prompt reappears. However I never receive the email. The only thing I can think of (besides that I need to configure mail first) is that I need to add an exception in my npf.conf . However, even trying to send mail from the root user to my user account doesn't seem to work. Any help is much appreciated. Cheers,

The standard mail/mailx is an old-fashioned local-only MUA (mail user agent); it is not a MTA (mail transfer agent, like sendmail/postfix/exim/qmail) or a modern internet mail protocol-aware MUA (like alpine, mutt, thunderbird, ...). This means that mailx just manipulates your local mail boxes, but, needs other programs to deliver and retrieve internet mail. For receiving, you'll have to use a package like fetchmail to collect mail using IMAP/POP3 and store it in the user's inbox (in actuality, fetchmail will retrieve mail and hand it off to the local MTA--postfix on NetBSD--which then stores it in the user's inbox). When sending mail, mailx just hands your mail off to postfix (the MTA) which then sends it over the internet using the SMTP protocol. This means that, if you use mailx for mail, you will have to configure the local MTA to rewrite all the sender addresses correctly (eg. rvp@hostname.localdomain -> username@somesite.com ). It is simpler, and, much less intrusive to use a modern MUA like alpine/mutt/... which has SMTP/IMAP/POP3 support. OTOH, if you really like the mailx interface, then install its modern replacement from pkgsrc: pkgin install heirloom-mailx In short, mailx is fine for local email, but, not so great for internet email.

rvp Thanks, this helps a lot. And yes, I do very much prefer the mailx interface over something like mutt . In fact heirloom-mailx looks great. I really only need the ability to send mail (and attachments) from the terminal. However reading emails in the terminal with fetchmail also sounds like a great alternative to mutt . Curiously though.. rvp mail/mailx is local-only MUA (mail user agent); ...... mailx just manipulates your local mail boxes I attempted to send mail from the root user to my user account using # mail user@localhost and this still did not work 😕 Oh, and welcome to the forum! 🥳

...reading emails in the terminal with fetchmail also sounds like a great alternative to mutt . fetchmail is just a MDA (mail delivery agent)--it is not a MUA (mail user agent). It talks IMAP/POP3/... to download emails from, let's say, Google or Yahoo's IMAP/POP3 servers, then hands those emails to the MTA ( postfix ) running on your NetBSD machine, which then stores them in the user's inbox. Which is where the MUA like mailx (or, mutt ) reads it from. Ie. you'll still need a MUA like mailx or mutt with fetchmail . I attempted to send mail from the root user to my user account using # mail user@localhost and this still did not work To send email to local users, on NetBSD, you should use: a) just the bare user name, like $ mail rvp , or, b) $mail rvp@localhost . If you don't use either of those 2 forms, you'll have to use your FQDN (fully-qualified domain name). Like this: $ mail rvp@x202e.localdomain This won't work: $ mail rvp@x202e # this is not a FQDN Use @localhost instead. Log in as root, then check email (using mail 😉, of course)--you'll see all the rejected/undelivered email messages.

rvp you'll still need a MUA like mailx or mutt with fetchmail Of course, sorry my reply wasn't clear but that was understood, however I do very much appreciate that you clarified this. rvp This won't work: $ mail rvp@x202e # this is not a FQDN Use @localhost instead. Wow, that was precisely my mistake. You have explained that extremely well. Thank you again! 😃

Of course, sorry my reply wasn't clear but that was understood, however I do very much appreciate that you clarified this. Just to clarify things a bit more, here's how you can change the "From: " address using plain mailx(1) . Make sure that you give a valid from address so that rejected emails can be seen. Send mail with your Gmail address: $ mail you@your-company.com -f you@gmail.com Now, if you check your your-company.com emails you may, or may not , see the mail sent with your Gmail address. The your-company.com email server (MTA) can: a) Accept the mail for delivery (valid domain, even if coming from a non-domain address) b) Accept, but, force a delay (reason: valid domain, but, comes from a non-domain address). In this case, your local MTA, postfix , will keep the mail in queue, and retry after the grey-listing delay. c) Reject outright (reason: valid domain, but, comes from a non-domain address: Looks like Spam, spam, spam, lovely spaaam). d) Accept it, then chuck it away quietly. In cases a) & b) the message might end up in a Spam folder instead of the Inbox . Without the -f email-addr option (which is actually an MTA option), all mail servers will simply reject the message--what the heck is ...@hostname.localdomain ? Try these tests, if you care: $ mail you@gmail.com -f you@yahoo.com Gmail will reject outright. Check on Yahoo for rejection. $ mail you@yahoo.com -f you@gmail.com Yahoo will accept, but, drop the message into Spam . $ mail you@gmail.com -f you@gmail.com Here, the rejection message itself will be rejected. Who, then, gets that message?--Exercise left for reader. Given all these problems, you can see why I suggested configuring and using modern MUAs like alpine or mutt .

rvp I take your point. However, does heirloom-mailx solve these issues? I came across an MUA called mblaze while researching and this set of utils looks interesting. This is the kind workflow I'm after.

However, does heirloom-mailx solve these issues? I use alpine myself, so I don't know for sure, but, glancing at the heirloom-mailx docs, it looks like mailx can do most of what alpine can (-the OAuth/TFA stuff). If you can configure Yahoo and Gmail (via the web) to use only SMTP+Auth for their relay and IMAPs/POP3s for retrieval, then heirloom-mailx should work just fine. Try it out. If you run into problems, post here, and since I've recently installed NetBSD too, I'll be able to look into it for you. I came across an MUA called mblaze while researching and this set of utils looks interesting. Oh yeah! the maildir equivalent of nmh . I'm a fan of that kind of workflow myself, but: a) mblaze works with maildir format mail messages, so you'll either have to make postfix store incoming email in that format (the default is the mbox --unix mailbox format) to use it natively, or, incorporate the mbox->maildir converter utility everytime in your workflow. b) Like standard mailx , mblaze is a local-only MUA, so all the issues mentioned before re: mailx will apply to mblaze too: postfix will have to be configured to relay to different SMTP servers based on the From: address. This configuration is not too complicated (use Google: Postfix +Gmail ), but, it is still there.

rvp Ok. good to know. I took the weekend off (relax time) so will try and take a look at this again during the week next week. I'll be sure to come back here with my findings/issues 😀

So I tried to configure hairloom-mailx with gmails IMAP but it doesn't seem to work for me. I followed This guide and my ~/.mailrc is posted below. set ssl-verify=ignore set nss-config-dir=~/.mozilla/firefox/74xyr0xy.default set folder=imaps://my.email@gmail.com@imap.gmail.com set MAIL=imaps://my.email@gmail.com@imap.gmail.com:993/INBOX set-imap-use-starttls set imap-auth=login set imap-auth-user=my.email@gmail.com set password-my.email@gmail.com@imap.gmail.com="***************" set imap-cache=~/imap set smtp-use-starttls set smtp=smtp://smtp.gmail.com:587 set smtp-auth=login set smtp-auth-user="my.email@gmail.com" set smtp-auth-password="***************" set smtp-auth-password-my.email@gmail.com@gmail.com="***************" set from="my.email@gmail.com (My Real Name)" if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } I've read a few other guides but this one seems to be the most comprehensive and I've copied this ~/.mailrc from one of the comment the OP made near the bottom of the page. Again, I wonder if my firewall settings have anything to do with it or if I just haven't set up my gmail account correctly. $ mailx -v -s "test email" my.email@gmail.com ....Testing EOT Mail Delivery Status Report will be mailed to <dave>. $ if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } I still get no "mail Delivery Report when I use the mail command.

pfr Use this config in Append this to your ~/.mailrc : account gmail { set ssl-verify=warn set folder=imaps://USERNAME@imap.gmail.com set record=+"[Gmail]/Sent Mail" set imap-auth=login set password-USERNAME@imap.gmail.com="YOUR GMAIL PASSWORD" set from="USERNAME@gmail.com (FULL NAME)" set smtp=smtps://smtp.gmail.com:465 set smtp-auth=login set smtp-auth-user=USERNAME set smtp-auth-password="YOUR GMAIL PASSWORD" } account yahoo { set folder=imaps://USERNAME@imap.mail.yahoo.com set record=+Sent set imap-auth=login set password-USERNAME@imap.mail.yahoo.com="YAHOO_3RD_PARTY_PASSWD" set from="USERNAME@yahoo.com (FULL NAME)" set smtp=smtps://smtp.mail.yahoo.com:465 set smtp-auth=login set smtp-auth-user=USERNAME set smtp-auth-password="YAHOO_3RD_PARTY_PASSWD" } if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } Note: For Gmail, first, enable "Less secure apps" in your account. Otherwise, authentication will fail. For Yahoo, generate a 3rd-party password , then use that password in the config instead of your real Yahoo password. For both Gmail and Yahoo, the USERNAME is just xxxx , not, xxxx@domain.com . Don't use any :port for IMAP. If you do, you'll have to include that too in the set password- command, like this: set password-USERNAME@imap.gmail.com:993 . Best to leave it out. Usage: /PATH/TO/mailx -A gmail # (retrieve Google mail) /PATH/TO/mailx -A gmail somebody@company.com # (send mail using Google's server)

mail/mailx

pfr

rvp In ~/.nailrc, add set showlast

That didn't seem to work sadly 🙁

rvp At the & prompt `h$'

this works 🙂

rvp

pfr That didn't seem to work

It's a global setting, so pull it out of any account definitions. (Worked on FreeBSD's heirloom-mailx-12.4)

pfr

rvp It's a global setting, so pull it out of any account definitions. (Worked on FreeBSD's heirloom-mailx-12.4)

This is my .nailrc

I've got it just under the account settings

# This is the configuration file for Heirloom mailx (formerly
# known under the name "nail".
# See mailx(1) for further options.
# This file is not overwritten when 'make install' is run in
# the mailx build process again.

# Sccsid @(#)nail.rc	2.11 (gritter) 8/2/08

# Account datails
account gmail {                                                                                            
        set ssl-verify=ignore
        set folder=imaps://my.email.address@imap.gmail.com
        set imap-auth=login
        set password-my.email.address@imap.gmail.com="**************************"

        set from="my.email.address@gmail.com (My Name)"
        set smtp=smtps://smtp.gmail.com:465
        set smtp-auth=login
        set smtp-auth-user=my.email.address@gmail.com
        set smtp-auth-password="****************************"
}

# Show most recent emails first
set showlast

# Do not forward to mbox by default since this is likely to be
# irritating for most users today.
set hold

# Append rather than prepend when writing to mbox automatically.
# This has no effect unless 'hold' is unset again.
set append

# Ask for a message subject.
set ask

# Assume a CRT-like terminal and invoke a pager.
set crt

# Messages may be terminated by a dot.
set dot

# Do not remove empty mail folders in the spool directory.
# This may be relevant for privacy since other users could
# otherwise create them with different permissions.
set keep

# Do not remove empty private mail folders.
set emptybox

# Quote the original message in replies by "> " as usual on the Internet.
set indentprefix="> "

# Automatically quote the text of the message that is responded to.
set quote

# Outgoing messages are sent in ISO-8859-1 if all their characters are
# representable in it, otherwise in UTF-8.
set sendcharsets=iso-8859-1,utf-8

# Display sender's real names in header summaries.
set showname

# Display the recipients of messages sent by the user himself in
# header summaries.
set showto

# Automatically check for new messages at each prompt, but avoid polling
# of IMAP servers or maildir folders.
set newmail=nopoll

# If threaded mode is activated, automatically collapse thread.
set autocollapse

# Mark messages that have been answered.
set markanswered

# Hide some header fields which are uninteresting for most human readers.
ignore received in-reply-to message-id references
ignore mime-version content-transfer-encoding

# Be xBSD compliant
set bsdcompat

# Only include selected header fields when forwarding messages.
fwdretain subject date from to

Version check

$ pkg_info heirloom-mailx
Information for heirloom-mailx-12.5nb2:

rvp

pfr I've got it just under the account settings

I've got that order reversed in my .nailrc: global settings first, then the account stuff. Try it that way (heirloom mailx behaviour is a bit dodgy sometimes--showlast, for instance, doesn't seem to work if I set it at the & prompt).

Otherwise, try s-nail, the heirloom-mailx replacement.

pfr

rvp Interesting. I moved all of my account details to the end of the .nailrc file but this made no difference.

If I was to try s-nail is my .nailrc transferable over to .mailrc or s-nail.rc?

Any quirks to be aware of when switching over?

Cheers

rvp

pfr I moved all of my account details to the end of the .nailrc file but this made no difference.

Just tried out the NetBSD version, and... it works as advertised:

Without set showlast:

$ hmail -A yahoo -f '+Xxxx'
host certificate does not match "localhost"
Heirloom Mail version 12.5 6/20/10.  Type ? for help.
"imaps://xxxxxx_x_xxxxxx@localhost:9997/Xxxx": 50 messages
>   1 To xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.  Thu Dec 27 00:53    /2135  "xXxxxx-x.x.xx.x xxxxx()"
    2 To Xxx Xxxxxxx        Thu Dec 27 21:03    /2862  "Re: [Xxxxxxxxxx] xXxxxx"
    3 To Xxx Xxxxxxx        Fri Dec 28 04:52    /2137  "Re: [Xxxxxxxxxx] xXxxxx"
    4 To Xxxxx.Xxxx@xxxxxx  Tue Oct  1 11:42    /141474 "XXX Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx"
    5 To xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx  Sat Feb  8 05:06    /6522  "xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxx xxxx"
[...]
& q
$

With set showlast:

$ hmail -A yahoo -f '+Xxxx'
host certificate does not match "localhost"
Heirloom Mail version 12.5 6/20/10.  Type ? for help.
"imaps://xxxxxx_x_xxxxxx@localhost:9997/Xxxx": 50 messages
[...]
   46 To xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx-  Thu Aug 27 06:07    /1232  "Re: xxxxx-xxx: Xxxxxxx."
   47 To xxxxx-xxxx@XxxXXX  Sat Oct 10 20:31    /601   "Re: xxx/xxxxx"
   48 To xxxxx-xxxx@xxxxxx  Sat Oct 31 04:12    /849   "Re: xxx/xxxxx: xxx(1): "
   49 To Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx   Mon Mar 22 22:27    /2347  "xxxxxxx-x.x-xxxxxxxx: x"
>  50 To Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx   Sun Apr 18 02:27    /4511  "xxxxxxx-x.x-xxxxxxxx: x"
& q
$

set showlast inside an account block works too. My .nailrc is just the standard /usr/pkg/share/examples/mailx/nail.rc with my account stuff tacked on at the end. Find out what you're doing differently.

pfr If I was to try s-nail is my .nailrc transferable over to .mailrc

No idea.

or s-nail.rc?

No idea, and,

pfr Any quirks to be aware of when switching over?

also, no idea.

I merely found out that a cmd.-line-based e-mail client like s-nail existed when I looked into this last year, but, I haven't used it at all sinceheirloom-mailx does the job for me.

pfr

rvp Find out what you're doing differently.

I also am using the standard example file. I cannot understand why it's not working for me 🙄

rvp

pfr

Does setting showlast on the command line work?
hmail -S showlast -A account ...
If it does, try the updated hmail script in post #16.

pfr

rvp Does setting showlast on the command line work?
hmail -S showlast -A account ...

Nope. even that doesn't work...

My hmail script only has a single line in it

$ cat /usr/local/bin/hmail
#!/bin/sh
exec /usr/pkg/bin/mailx ${1:+"$@"}
$

rvp

pfr even that doesn't work...

Post the exact command-line that you normally use with hmail
Can you set that boolean on the command-line, then at the & prompt (after checking your mail as usual), do a set and check if showlast is set?

pfr

rvp

$ hmail -S showlast -A gmail

See below (i've deleted the passwords and email adress etc)

& set
append
ask
autocollapse
bsdcompat
crt
dot
emptybox
folder  imaps://
from    
header
hold
imap-auth       login
indentprefix    >
interactive
keep
markanswered
newmail nopoll
password-
quote
save
sendcharsets    iso-8859-1,utf-8
showlast
showname
showto
smtp    smtps://smtp.gmail.com:465
smtp-auth       login
smtp-auth-password      
smtp-auth-user  
ssl-verify      ignore
ttycharset      UTF-8
&

So it appears to be set but is still shows me my oldest emails first

rvp

pfr So it appears to be set but is still shows me my oldest emails first

Bizarre...

Can you try the updated script in post #16?
Try a different folder on Gmail instead of inbox. Just supply a folder name with -f +folder_name. (Wondering if it's a problem with Gmail+Inbox. My inbox folders are usually empty as I move mails out after I've read 'em.)

Wondering also if we're blind men with elephants: ie. we've got the same creature, but looking at different bits of it and getting confused as a result:
List the email as usual (with & w/o -S showlast); copy the output into 2 files; run the auto-redacter (below) on each; post output.

#!/usr/bin/awk -f
# hide_mail.awk: redact stuff from a mailx(1) list (h) output.
BEGIN {
	FS = ""
}
NR <= 2 { print }
NR > 2 {
	for (i = 1; i <= 80; i++) {
		if ((i >= 7 && i <= 27) || i >= 56) {
			if ($i ~ /[[:upper:]]/)
				printf("X");
			else if ($i ~ /[[:lower:]]|[[:digit:]]/)
				printf("x");
			else
				printf("%c", $i "");
		} else 
			printf("%c", $i "");
	}
	printf("\n");
}

pfr

rvp

Already have 🙂
Still shows the oldest emails, even in a different folder.
See below:

Without -S showlast

$ ./auto-redacter.sh without.txt
$ hmail -A gmail
Heirloom Mail version 12.5 6/20/10.  Type ? for help.
"imaps://xxxxx.xxxxxxx.xxxxffer@imap.gmail.com/INBOX": xxxx xxxxxxxx
  951 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx        Sat Dec  1 09:02    /28957 "Xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxx XX "
  952 XX XXXXXXXXXXX XXX X  Sat Dec  1 11:13    /203781 "Xxxxxxx xxx xxxx XX X"
  953 Xxxxx                 Sat Dec  1 18:13    /17933 "Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx"
 A954 Xxxxx Xxxxxxx         Sat Dec  1 20:20    /9804  "Xx: Xxxxxxxx."
  955 xxxxx-xxxxxxx@xxxxxx  Sat Dec  1 21:38    /8755  "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xx"
 A956 xxxxx xxxxxxxx        Sun Dec  2 20:08    /124971xx "Xx: Xxxxx xxxxx xxx"
  957 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx       Mon Dec  3 11:35    /52996 "XX: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
 A958 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx       Mon Dec  3 15:28    /58359 "XX: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  959 xxxxx                 Mon Dec  3 15:30    /6878  "Xx xxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxx"
 A960 xxxxx xxxxxxxx        Mon Dec  3 16:06    /25792 "Xx: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  961 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Mon Dec  3 18:14    /23722 "Xxxxxxxxx xxxxx: xx Xx"
 A962 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Tue Dec  4 13:59    /509719 "Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxx xxx"
 A963 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Tue Dec  4 17:00    /73054 "XX: Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxx "
  964 Xxxxx                 Tue Dec  4 17:08    /18443 "Xxxxx xxxx Xxxxx xxxxx"
 A965 xxxxx xxxxxxxx        Tue Dec  4 19:25    /28957 "Xx: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  966 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx  Wed Dec  5 14:05    /350256 "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx xX"
  967 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx       Wed Dec  5 16:39    /95370 "XX: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  968 xxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.  Wed Dec  5 18:23    /313660 "Xxxx Xxxxx xxxx xxx x"
  969 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Thu Dec  6 10:36    /93603 "XX: Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxx "
>F970 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Fri Dec  7 10:05    /130384 "Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx"
  971 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxx  Fri Dec 14 18:18    /305355x "Xxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx"
  972 Xx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx     Mon Dec 17 14:31    /735140x "Xxx"
  973 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Mon Dec 17 16:44    /67735 "XX: xx Xxxxx Xx Xxxxxx"
  974 Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx X  Tue Dec 18 06:39    /496007 "Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxx"
  975 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx         Tue Dec 18 23:11    /346492 "Xxxx xxxxx Xxxxxx xxx"
 A976 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Wed Dec 19 10:54    /78214 "XX: xx Xxxxx Xx Xxxxxx"
  977 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx  Thu Dec 20 13:31    /291878 "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx xX"
  978 XXXX                  Thu Dec 20 16:29    /276557 "Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx (Xxx"
 A979 XX XXXXXXXXXXX        Fri Dec 21 17:07    /55847 "Xx: XX Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxx"
  980 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_xxx  Sun Dec 23 10:56    /690275 "Xxxx xxx Xxxxxxx xxxx"
  981 Xxxxx Xxxxxxx         Mon Dec 24 20:01    /4857  "Xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx"
  982 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx  Wed Dec 26 07:10    /572548 "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xx"
  983 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Fri Dec 28 13:09    /23730 "Xxxxxxxxx xxxxx: xx Xx"
  984 xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.x  Tue Jan  1 11:05    /55771 "Xxxxxxx xxx xxxx Xxxxx"
 A985 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx       Wed Jan  2 18:35    /158255 "XX"
  986 Xxxxxxxxx             Fri Jan  4 10:48    /11352 "Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx"
  987 xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.x  Sat Jan  5 11:04    /56865 "Xxxxxxx xxx xxxx Xxxxx"
  988 xxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.  Mon Jan  7 17:41    /313675 "Xxxx Xxxxx xxxx xxx x"
&
$

With -S showlast

$ ./auto-redacter.sh with.txt
$ hmail -S showlast -A gmail
Heirloom Mail version 12.5 6/20/10.  Type ? for help.
"imaps://xxxxx.xxxxxxx.xxxxffer@imap.gmail.com/INBOX": xxxx xxxxxxxx
  951 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx        Sat Dec  1 09:02    /28957 "Xxxx xxxxxxxx xxxx XX "
  952 XX XXXXXXXXXXX XXX X  Sat Dec  1 11:13    /203781 "Xxxxxxx xxx xxxx XX X"
  953 Xxxxx                 Sat Dec  1 18:13    /17933 "Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxx"
 A954 Xxxxx Xxxxxxx         Sat Dec  1 20:20    /9804  "Xx: Xxxxxxxx."
  955 xxxxx-xxxxxxx@xxxxxx  Sat Dec  1 21:38    /8755  "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xx"
 A956 xxxxx xxxxxxxx        Sun Dec  2 20:08    /124971xx "Xx: Xxxxx xxxxx xxx"
  957 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx       Mon Dec  3 11:35    /52996 "XX: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
 A958 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx       Mon Dec  3 15:28    /58359 "XX: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  959 xxxxx                 Mon Dec  3 15:30    /6878  "Xx xxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxx"
 A960 xxxxx xxxxxxxx        Mon Dec  3 16:06    /25792 "Xx: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  961 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Mon Dec  3 18:14    /23722 "Xxxxxxxxx xxxxx: xx Xx"
 A962 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Tue Dec  4 13:59    /509719 "Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxx xxx"
 A963 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Tue Dec  4 17:00    /73054 "XX: Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxx "
  964 Xxxxx                 Tue Dec  4 17:08    /18443 "Xxxxx xxxx Xxxxx xxxxx"
 A965 xxxxx xxxxxxxx        Tue Dec  4 19:25    /28957 "Xx: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  966 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx  Wed Dec  5 14:05    /350256 "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx xX"
  967 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx       Wed Dec  5 16:39    /95370 "XX: Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx"
  968 xxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.  Wed Dec  5 18:23    /313660 "Xxxx Xxxxx xxxx xxx x"
  969 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Thu Dec  6 10:36    /93603 "XX: Xxxxxx xx Xxxxxxx "
>F970 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx     Fri Dec  7 10:05    /130384 "Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx"
  971 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxx  Fri Dec 14 18:18    /305355x "Xxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx"
  972 Xx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx     Mon Dec 17 14:31    /735140x "Xxx"
  973 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Mon Dec 17 16:44    /67735 "XX: xx Xxxxx Xx Xxxxxx"
  974 Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx X  Tue Dec 18 06:39    /496007 "Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx Xxx"
  975 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx         Tue Dec 18 23:11    /346492 "Xxxx xxxxx Xxxxxx xxx"
 A976 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Wed Dec 19 10:54    /78214 "XX: xx Xxxxx Xx Xxxxxx"
  977 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx  Thu Dec 20 13:31    /291878 "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx xX"
  978 XXXX                  Thu Dec 20 16:29    /276557 "Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx (Xxx"
 A979 XX XXXXXXXXXXX        Fri Dec 21 17:07    /55847 "Xx: XX Xxxxxxxxxxx Xxx"
  980 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_xxx  Sun Dec 23 10:56    /690275 "Xxxx xxx Xxxxxxx xxxx"
  981 Xxxxx Xxxxxxx         Mon Dec 24 20:01    /4857  "Xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx"
  982 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx  Wed Dec 26 07:10    /572548 "Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xx"
  983 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx        Fri Dec 28 13:09    /23730 "Xxxxxxxxx xxxxx: xx Xx"
  984 xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.x  Tue Jan  1 11:05    /55771 "Xxxxxxx xxx xxxx Xxxxx"
 A985 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxx       Wed Jan  2 18:35    /158255 "XX"
  986 Xxxxxxxxx             Fri Jan  4 10:48    /11352 "Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx"
  987 xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx.x  Sat Jan  5 11:04    /56865 "Xxxxxxx xxx xxxx Xxxxx"
  988 xxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.  Mon Jan  7 17:41    /313675 "Xxxx Xxxxx xxxx xxx x"
&
$

They look identical to me.

rvp

pfr They look identical to me.

Well, they're identical because you probably also have set showlast in your ~/.nailrc. But, I don't see what's wrong here:

If you have new, unread mail, then mailx will position the message-list "window" to include those messages by default, and the current message pointer > will point to the first of those.

With no unread messages, mailx will, by default, position the window to include message #1 (and then you'll have to use the z command to page through windows); or at the window containing the last message if showlast is set. You can see this in my post #26, above.

Flagged messages--your message #970--in this respect, act like new messages for some commands: The Z command, for instance, will position the window to a list containing a new, or flagged, message. And, if a message is flagged, then > indicator will point to it in any window. If you unflag that message of yours, then the > will move to message #988.

pfr

@rvp comment updated

pfr

rvp Well, they're identical because you probably also have set showlast in your ~/.nailrc

Well actually, I remembered to comment it out before running each command.

rvp With no unread messages, mailx will, by default, position the window to include message #1 (and then you'll have to use the z command to page through windows); or at the window containing the last message if showlast is set. You can see this in my post #26, above.

So, basically I don't want showlast to be set then if I want my most recent mail to be in the first window? I simply want the mail to be displayed from most recently received (like most email clients) regardless of whether they are read or unread. Paging through multiple windows to get to my newest mail seems counterproductive.

If there really in no way around it then that is fine, I just find it a bit strange that it would not be possible as this is the standard way email clients display messages. Newest first, at the top of the list.

rvp Flagged messages--your message #970--in this respect, act like new messages for some commands: The Z command, for instance, will position the window to a list containing a new, or flagged, message.

I now wonder, is there an input command to ask mailx to show only flagged mail? I to flax/star important mail and this would help immensly if I could use such a filter in mailx.

rvp

pfr Paging through multiple windows to get to my newest mail seems counterproductive.

That's what the Z command is for.

pfr I simply want the mail to be displayed from most recently received

You can use set autosort=date which will sort every folder oldest -> newest when opened, then do a Z to jump to the end.

There's no sort method to do the reverse (newest first) either by sent or received date. Shouldn't be hard to do it though...

pfr is there an input command to ask mailx to show only flagged mail?

Section Specifying messages has :f to operate on flagged messages.

rvp

rvp Try this patch; to use: sort rdate or set autosort=rdate:

--- thread.c.orig	2011-04-26 21:23:22.000000000 +0000
+++ thread.c	2021-06-28 23:18:37.239641723 +0000
@@ -283,6 +283,18 @@
 }
 
 static int 
+mlonggt(const void *a, const void *b)
+{
+	int	i;
+
+	i = ((struct msort *)a)->ms_u.ms_long -
+		((struct msort *)b)->ms_u.ms_long;
+	if (i == 0)
+		i = ((struct msort *)a)->ms_n - ((struct msort *)b)->ms_n;
+	return i < 0 ? 1 : i > 0 ? -1 : 0;
+}
+
+static int 
 mlonglt(const void *a, const void *b)
 {
 	int	i;
@@ -498,6 +510,7 @@
 	enum method {
 		SORT_SUBJECT,
 		SORT_DATE,
+		SORT_RDATE,
 		SORT_STATUS,
 		SORT_SIZE,
 		SORT_FROM,
@@ -511,6 +524,7 @@
 		int	(*me_func)(const void *, const void *);
 	} methnames[] = {
 		{ "date",	SORT_DATE,	mlonglt },
+		{ "rdate",	SORT_RDATE,	mlonggt },
 		{ "from",	SORT_FROM,	mcharlt },
 		{ "to",		SORT_TO,	mcharlt },
 		{ "subject",	SORT_SUBJECT,	mcharlt },
@@ -556,6 +570,7 @@
 	switch (method) {
 	case SORT_SUBJECT:
 	case SORT_DATE:
+	case SORT_RDATE:
 	case SORT_FROM:
 	case SORT_TO:
 		if (mb.mb_type == MB_IMAP)
@@ -569,6 +584,7 @@
 		if ((mp->m_flag&MHIDDEN) == 0) {
 			switch (method) {
 			case SORT_DATE:
+			case SORT_RDATE:
 				if (mp->m_date == 0 &&
 						(cp = hfield("date", mp)) != 0)
 					mp->m_date = rfctime(cp);
@@ -638,6 +654,8 @@
 	finalize(threadroot);
 	mb.mb_threaded = 2;
 	ac_free(ms);
+	if (method == SORT_RDATE)
+		msgvec[0] = n;
 	return vp && vp != (void *)-1 && !inhook &&
 		value("header") ? headers(msgvec) : 0;
 }

pfr

rvp I am genuinely impressed with your ability to just whip up patches the way you do 🤯

I will try this when I get a spare moment. Thanks!

rvp

pfr They are all extremely straightforward hacks, but, gracias señor ...😁

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