MEUF: mail enhanced using faces

Steve Kinzler ((no email))
Mon, 31 Jan 1994 11:31:24 -0500

I just found out about this program, and thought people on this list
would be interested in it. I don't believe it's been mentioned on this
list before. It looks like the most recent MEUF stuff is in:

ftp.enst.fr:/pub/mail/meuf*
and ftp.enst.fr:/pub/faces

--
from the brain of Steve Kinzler    /o)\    kinzler@cs.indiana.edu
an organ with a mind of its own    \(o/

Revalue reflect / interplay variant backstop / agrarian potter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: glazman@grif.grif.fr (Daniel Glazman) Newsgroups: comp.archives Subject: [comp.mail.mime] infos on MEUF Followup-To: comp.mail.mime Message-ID: <1mrmki$ni1@agate.berkeley.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: soda.berkeley.edu X-Original-Newsgroups: comp.mail.mime X-Original-Date: 24 Feb 93 12:15:06 GMT

Archive-name: auto/comp.mail.mime/infos-on-MEUF

Hi !

I posted some lines about my soft MEUF in message <9302221201.AA13410@pitea. grif.fr>... I received so many questions or "send-me-your-soft" e_mails that I send this message in order to explain (or try to) exactly what is Meuf v1.3. New features implemented in the announced v2.0 are described immediately after.

D.Glazman, glazman@grif.grif.fr Soft & Syst. Eng., Postmaster.

MEUF v1.3 =========

Meuf is simple x11 "mail" utility (MUA). It monitors a mail file or the result of a shell-script. In its main window are displayed 48x48 icons (called Faces) representing the sender of a message or its org, lab, or whatever the sender wants ! With each Face are displayed the name of the sender and the Subject line of the message.

The purpose of this small description is not the Face concept. About faces, please see faces(1). Faces-1.6 (by Rich Burridge, Sun Aus.) is available from all the main ftp sites.

The main window is automatically updated each time the spool file is modified. An audio signal is played (X beep or user-defined) each time this happens.

Clicking on a Face "opens" the selected message in a new independant window.

Available operations in a message window are: * Close * Reply To sender To all To sender with yanking To all with yanking * Forward * Save * Delete * Undelete * Print

Composing a message allows the following operations (see Athena Widget Set - C Language Interface X11R>4, TextWidgets):

Ctrl-a Beginning of line | Meta-b Backward word Ctrl-b Backward character | Meta-f Forward word Ctrl-d Delete next character | Meta-i Insert file Ctrl-e End of line | Meta-k Kill to end of paragraph Ctrl-f Forward character | Meta-q Form paragraph Ctrl-g Multiply reset | Meta-v Previous page Ctrl-h Delete previous character | Meta-y Insert current selection Ctrl-j Newline and indent | Meta-z Scroll one line down Ctrl-k Kill to end of line | Meta-d delete next word Ctrl-l Redraw display | Meta-D Kill word Ctrl-m Newline | Meta-h Delete previous word Ctrl-n Next line | Meta-H Backward kill word Ctrl-o Newline and backup | Meta-< Beginning of file Ctrl-p Previous line | Meta-> End of file Ctrl-r Search/Replace backward | Meta-delete Delete previous word Ctrl-s Search/Replace forward | Meta-Sh.delete Kill previous word Ctrl-t Transpose characters | Meta-Backspace Delete previous word Ctrl-s Search/Replace forward | Meta-Sh.bckspace Kill previous word Ctrl-u Multiply by 4 | Ctrl-v Next page | Ctrl-w Kill selection | Ctrl-y Unkill | Ctrl-z Scroll one line up |

Message is sent when clicking on the SEND button.

Two configuration files can be used by a Meuf' user:

1) $HOME/.meufrc contains * customization of internal meuf variables (folder, sound, include signature, etc...) * aliases * messages to mark as deleted at reception time

2) $HOME/.meuf.prologue contains line to include in the RFC822 header of a sent message. For instance MY .meuf.prologue contains:

Bcc: glazman

The variables set in the .meufrc file can also be interactively using the PROPERTIES button in the main window of Meuf. The opened panel allows also to save the current configuration in the .meufrc file.

'Customizable' variables are: NAME TYPE MEANING ========================================================================= signature boolean include $HOME/.signature prologue boolean include $HOME/.meuf.prologue sendmail string location of the sendmail binary spooler string spool file to monitor print string printer job fortune string if not empty, include a fortue using this cmd askcc boolean always ask for Cc folder string default directory for saved messages indentprefix string used when quoting (yank) a message delwhenread boolean delete a mail when closing the window keep boolean keep the spool file if length = 0 verbose boolean -v arg passed to sendmail userintitle boolean user name if the main window title silent boolean never beep invert boolean exchange bg/fg for bitmaps (some X terminals) facedir string location of the Faces database saveme boolean save my messages using the recipient's name expertmode boolean no message popups bell string if not empty, used instead of XBell()

ICONIFY button in the mail window turns Meuf into a Xbiff-alike: only one bitmap is shown in the window. This bitmap means "no new mail" immediately after the change until a new mail arrives. A click on the icon makes Meuf return to its normal state.

This release contains graphical interface for X11 using Xt and Xaw R>4. Successfully compiled with: Sun3 + SunOs 4.1.X + X11R4 SunSparc+ SunOs 4.1.X + openwin 2.0 & 3.0 HP 9000/705 + HP/UX IBM RS6000 + AIX 3.2 + X11R4

V2.0 FEATURES =============

* reading MIME 1.0 extensions. Composing is not yet implemented. * xbmtoface utility converting a 48x48 bitmap Xbm format into a X-Face RFC822 field

STILL TO DO ===========

* full compliance to RFC 1343 (mailcap mechanism) * composition of MIME messages * parsing of X-Sun-attachment headers * enhancement of the pure-MUA features * show-all-the-message-in-only-one-window-whatever-is-the-content feature.... * and more, of course. If you have any suggestion !

WARNING =======

The descriptions given above are absolutely not an advertisement, a planning or whatever you want it to be ! It implies nothing from me or from Grif. This product is not belonging to Grif S.A. and is full public domain. As soon as you get it, do whatever you want with it but let me be happy knowing you use it: send me an e_mail !!!

V1.3 availability =================

MEUF is available from : matrix.enst.fr (137.194.32.3) : meuf-1.3pl2.tar.Z in /pub/mail nuri.inria.fr (128.93.1.26) : MEUF-1.3pl2.tar.Z in X/contrib/clients

Article to come in next Tribunix (Unix French Users Group newspaper).