FOLDER(1)

NAME
folder, folders - set/list current folder/message

SYNOPSIS
folder [+folder] [msg] [-all] [-create] [-nocreate] [-print] [-fast] [-nofast] [-header] [-noheader] [-recurse] [-norecurse] [-total] [-nototal] [-list] [-nolist] [-push] [-pop] [-pack] [-nopack] [-verbose] [-noverbose] [-help]
folders

DESCRIPTION
Since the MH environment is the shell, it is easy to lose track of the current folder from day to day. When folder is given the `-print' switch (the default), folder will list the current folder, the number of messages in it, the range of the messages (low-high), and the current message within the folder, and will flag extra files if they exist. An example of this summary is:
inbox+	has  16 messages	(  3- 22);	cur=  5.
If a `+folder' and/or `msg' are specified, they will become the current folder and/or message. By comparison, when a `+folder' argument is given, this corresponds to a "cd" operation in the shell; when no `+folder' argument is given, this corresponds roughly to a "pwd" operation in the shell. If the specified (or default) folder doesn't exist, the default action is to query the user as to whether the folder should be created; when standard input is not a tty, the answer to the query is assumed to be "yes". Specifying `-create' will cause folder to create new folders without any query. (This is the easy way to create an empty folder for use later.) Specifying `-nocreate' will cause folder to exit without creating a non-existant folder. Specifying `-all' will produce a summary line for each top-level folder in the user's MH directory, sorted alphabetically. (If folder is invoked by a name ending with "s" (e.g., folders ), `-all' is assumed). Specifying `-recurse' with `-all' will also produce a line for all sub-folders. These folders are all preceded by the read-only folders, which occur as "atr-cur-" entries in the user's MH context. For example,
Folder	   # of messages	( range )	cur msg (other files)
/fsd/rs/m/tacc	has  35 messages	(  1- 35);	cur= 23.
/rnd/phyl/Mail/EP	has  82 messages	(  1-108);	cur= 82.
ff	has  no messages.
inbox+	has  16 messages	(  3- 22);	cur=  5.
mh	has  76 messages	(  1- 76);	cur= 70.
notes	has   2 messages	(  1-  2);	cur=  1.
ucom	has 124 messages	(  1-124);	cur=  6; (others).
          TOTAL=	339 messages in 7 folders
The "+" after inbox indicates that it is the current folder. The "(others)" indicates that the folder `ucom' has files which aren't messages. These files may either be sub-folders, or files that don't belong under the MH file naming scheme. The header is output if either a `-all' or a `-header' switch is specified; it is suppressed by `-noheader'. A `-total' switch will produce only the summary line. If `-fast' is given, only the folder name (or names in the case of `-all') will be listed. (This is faster because the folders need not be read.) If a `+folder' is given along with the `-all' switch, folder will, in addition to setting the current folder, list the top-level folders for the current folder (with `-norecurse') or list all sub-folders under the current folder recursively (with `-recurse'). In this case, if a `msg' is also supplied, it will become the current message of `+folder'. The `-recurse' switch lists each folder recursively, so use of this option effectively defeats the speed enhancement of the `-fast' option, since each folder must be searched for subfolders. Nevertheless, the combination of these options is useful. The `-pack' switch will compress the message names in the designated folders, removing holes in message numbering. The `-verbose' switch directs folder to tell the user the general actions that it is taking to compress the folder. The `-push' switch directs folder to push the current folder onto the folder-stack, and make the `+folder' argument the current folder. If `+folder' is not given, the current folder and the top of the folder-stack are exchanged. This corresponds to the "pushd" operation in the CShell. The `-pop' switch directs folder to discard the top of the folder-stack, after setting the current folder to that value. No `+folder' argument is allowed. This corresponds to the "popd" operation in the CShell. The `-push' switch and the `-pop' switch are mutually exclusive: the last occurrence of either one overrides any previous occurrence of the other. Both of these switches also set `-list' by default. The `-list' switch directs folder to list the contents of the folder-stack. No `+folder' argument is allowed. After a successful `-push' or `-pop', the `-list' action is taken, unless a `-nolist' switch follows them on the command line. This corresponds to the "dirs" operation in the CShell. The `-push', `-pop', and `-list' switches turn off `-print'.
$HOME/.mh_profile    The user profile
Path:    To determine the user's MH directory
Current-Folder:    To find the default current folder
Folder-Protect:    To set mode when creating a new folder
Folder-Stack:    To determine the folder stack
refile(1), mhpath(1) `+folder' defaults to the current folder `msg' defaults to none `-nofast' `-noheader' `-nototal' `-nopack' `-norecurse' `-noverbose' `-print' is the default if no `-list', `-push', or `-pop' is specified `-list' is the default if `-push', or `-pop' is specified If `+folder' and/or `msg' are given, they will become the current folder and/or message. In previous versions of MH, the `-fast' switch prevented context changes from occurring for the current folder. This is no longer the case: if `+folder' is given, then folder will always change the current folder to that. `-all' forces `-header' and `-total'.

There is no way to restore the default behavior (to ask the user whether to create a non-existant folder) after `-create' or `-nocreate' is given.