Mhn Explained

The manual page mhn(1) describes mhn in concise detail. The manual page should always be consulted for the most up-to-date information about mhn's features. This section provides a simplified synopsis of those features.

The mhn(1) manual page uses the terms content and content type to refer to the data in a multi-media message part and to the type of that data. For simplicity, this tutorial has used the term message part instead.

The mhn program allows you to create and to view MIME messages in just about any way that meets your needs, using whatever programs are at hand or whatever programs you invent.

The default configuration, as installed by your system administrator, most likely comes with some useful means by which to compose and to display the most common types of multi-media message parts.

The mhn program can be invoked directly from the command line to manipulate MIME messages, using the same kinds of options that other MH commands use:
\begin{brieflist}
\item The {\tt -list} option enumerates the contents;
\item Th...
...s;
\item The {\tt -store} option stores the contents into files.
\end{brieflist}

The synopsis of the mhn command from its manual page is this:


mhn [ +folder ] [ msgs ] [ -part number ]...     [ -type content ]...

[ -list [ -headers ] [ -noheaders ]
[ -realsize ] [ -norealsize ] ]
[ -nolist ]

[ -show [ -serialonly ] [ -noserialonly ] ]
[ -form formfile ] ]
[ -noshow ]

[ -store [ -auto ] [ -noauto ] ]
[ -nostore ]

[ -verbose ] [ -noverbose ]
[ -rfc934mode ] [ -norfc934mode ]
[ -ebcdicsafe ] [ -noebcdicsafe ]
[ -help ]

Some, but not all, of the options are explained here; for more information, consult mhn(1).

Typically, the MH command show is configured with an mhnproc parameter in the .mh_profile so that it can automatically invoke mhn. (See section [*].)

Either an entire message can be displayed, or just an individual part. To select an individual part, use the mhn -part option, as in this example:

% mhn -part 1.3 -show



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