inc(1)inc(1)NAMEinc - Incorporates new mail (only available within the message handling
system, mh)
SYNOPSISinc [+folder] [options]
OPTIONS
The -audit option specifies that a record be kept in the named file of
all new mail that is incorporated. The inc command places a scan line
in the named audit file for each message it incorporates. This is use‐
ful for keeping track of the volume and source of incoming mail.
Auditing is often set up in the file rather than through the
-audit option on the command line. See the mh_profile(4) refer‐
ence page for more information on how to add entries to
If auditing is enabled through the file, you can disable it by
using the -noaudit option on the command line. The -changecur
option makes the first new message the current message. This is
the default operation of inc. If you want the current message to
remain as it was, use the -nochangecur option. The -conv option
converts the mail exchange codeset of the incoming message to
the user application codeset at the time an incoming message is
stored. By default, conversion to user application code is done
when mail is displayed. If the incoming message contains a Con‐
tent-Type header with a charset value, the inc-conv command
modifies this value to be the name of the application codeset.
The command uses the value in the /usr/lib/mail-codesets file as
the mail interchange codeset. If this file is absent or if the
appropriate converter is not installed in the
/usr/lib/nls/loc/iconv directory, codeset conversion does not
occur. If the /usr/lib/mail-codesets file specifies a value
that does not match the mail interchange codeset of the incoming
message, the conversion operation may corrupt the contents of
the message. Refer to mh(1) for more information about the
/usr/lib/mail-codesets file.
You can specify the inshdr parameter with the -conv option if
you receive many messages without the “Content-Type” header
entry and you need to include it at the time the message is con‐
verted and stored. The header consists of the following lines:
Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset="<applica‐
tion-codeset>"
The -noconv option, which is the default, specifies that the
exchange codeset of the incoming message is not converted to the
user application codeset at the time a message is stored.
Incorporates mail from a named file. This is usually a file
other than your default maildrop. Note that the mail system does
not zero the named file unless the -truncate option is given.
Controls the format of the display produced by the inc command.
The output of inc is formatted according to the instructions in
the named file. The file must be an mhl format file; see the mh-
format(4) reference for more information. Controls the format
of the display produced by the inc command. The output of inc is
formatted according to the instructions given by the specified
string. This must be a standard format string; see the mh-for‐
mat(4) reference page for more information. If the string con‐
tains blank spaces, the whole string must be enclosed in double
quotes. Prints a list of the valid options for this command.
The -silent option directs inc to be quiet and not ask any ques‐
tions at all. The -silent option is useful when you want to run
inc in the background and go on to other tasks. By default, the
-nosilent option is in effect. Specifies the source file from
which mail is retrieved. The only value allowed is the keyword
file, which specifies the standard mail system. Alternative val‐
ues are supported only for use with other mail systems. The
-truncate option zeroes your maildrop file when mail is fetched
from it. This is the default operation for /usr/spool/mail/$USER
but not for an alternative maildrop specified by the -file
option.
Specify the -notruncate option if you do not want the
/usr/spool/mail/$USER file to be zeroed. Specify the -truncate
option if you do want the file specified with the -file option
to be zeroed. Controls the width of the display produced by
inc. By default, or if no value is specified, the inc command
produces a display as wide as the terminal screen allows.
OPERANDS
Specifies the folder into which new mail is incorporated. By default,
the inc command incorporates mail into your +inbox folder.
DESCRIPTION
Use the inc command to incorporate mail from your incoming maildrop
into a folder.
The new messages being incorporated are numbered sequentially, starting
with the next highest available number in the folder. If the specified
(or default) folder does not exist, inc will ask you whether you want
to create it. As the messages are processed, the command produces a
scan listing of the new mail messages. See the scan(1) reference page
for details of the listing produced.
The folder into which messages are being incorporated becomes the cur‐
rent folder.
If your contains a Msg-Protect: entry, the mail system uses this entry
as the protection on the newly created messages; otherwise, it uses the
protection 0600. When the 0600 default protection is used, it means
that messages created have read and write permission for the user only.
During all operations on messages, the mail system preserves this ini‐
tially assigned protection for each message. You can also use the chmod
command to set a different protection on an individual message; in this
case, the mail system preserves the new protection.
Note that the inc command incorporates improperly formatted messages
into your folder, inserting a blank line prior to the offending compo‐
nent and printing a comment identifying the bad message.
If the entry Unseen-Sequence is present in your profile, then inc adds
each of the newly incorporated messages to each sequence named by the
profile entry. This is similar to the Previous-Sequence profile entry
supported by all the MH commands that take the msg or msgs arguments.
Note that inc does not zero each sequence prior to adding messages.
If the environment variable $MAILDROP is set, then inc uses the value
of this variable as the location of your maildrop instead of the
default. If this variable is not set, then inc consults the profile
entry Maildrop for this information. If the value found is not abso‐
lute, then it is interpreted relative to your Mail directory, which is
usually $HOME/Mail. If the value is not found, then inc looks in the
standard system location for your maildrop. The -file option overrides
all these defaults.
If you specify no parameters or options on the inc command line, the
following defaults are in effect: +folder defaults to +inbox -noaudit
-changecur -nosilent -truncate if the -file option is not given; other‐
wise, -notruncate -width defaults to the width of the terminal -noconv
Profile Components
The following entries in the $HOME/.mh_profile file affect inc command
operation: To determine your Mail directory. To determine your mail‐
boxes. To set protection mode when creating a new folder. To deter‐
mine the location of your maildrop. To set protection mode when creat‐
ing a new message or an audit file. To name sequences denoting unseen
messages.
RESTRICTIONS
For this version of MH, the -source option supports only the value
file. Additional values are supported for use only with other mail sys‐
tems.
EXAMPLES
The following example fetches incoming mail and places it in the folder
+not_read: % inc +not_read
FILES
The user profile The system customization file The user's maildrop
SEE ALSO
Commands: chmod(1), mhl(1), mhmail(1), scan(1), post(8)
Files: mh-mail(4), mh-format(4), mh_profile(4)inc(1)