Option Editor="command line"
Option Editor_File="filename"
The Editor option tells MAIL8 how to invoke your favorite text editor. The format of the option command is
Option Editor="command string"
where "command string" is the first part of a command line needed to invoke the editor and read in a file. For example,
o ed="fred r"
lets MAIL8 invoke the FRED text editor to edit a mail message.
If you press BREAK while entering the header lines of a message, MAIL8 simply kills the message and goes back to its usual Mail? prompt. However, if you press BREAK while entering the body of a message, MAIL8 displays
Interrupt: Continue, Edit, Kill, or List?
If you reply "e" for Edit, MAIL8 writes your partly-finished message into a file. It then calls your editor with a command line that consists of the "command string" from your Editor option plus the name of the file being edited. You may then use your editor to make whatever changes you want in the message.
When you are done, write the changes back out to the file (if necessary) and quit your editor. You will return to MAIL8. MAIL8 then asks
Send, Edit, Kill or List?
Type "s" to send the message as edited. Type "k" to discard the message and go on to something else. Type "e" to return to your editor for more editing. Type "l" to list the message as it now reads; after you list the message, MAIL8 again asks the above question.
As noted above, MAIL8 saves the text of a partial message in a file. By default, this is a temporary file named "..msg.."; however, this can be changed by the site. You can display the default name chosen by your site with the CONFiguration command.
If you don't want to use the default chosen by your site, you can specify a different file name with
Option Editor_File="filename"
where "filename" is the name of the file you want to use. This filename will be used when MAIL8 constructs the command to invoke your text editor to edit a message. For example, with
Option Editor="fred r"
Option Editor_File="..msg.."
MAIL8 uses the command line
fred r ..msg..
when you want to edit a message. Note that the filename you specify is interpreted as a permanent or a temporary file according to the usual rules of filename format.
Copyright © 1997, Thinkage Ltd.