Bob --
...and then Rob Watkin said...
% I have been using Mutt for a week and am a total convert. I _did_ have a
Welcome! It doesn't take long to get hooked, does it? :-)
% lot of problems but they where all associated with RedHat stuffing things
% out of the way. :)
Well, glad to hear that you're getting past that mess.
%
% Anyhoo, I urgently need to send at an email to list of 196 people. I want
Urk!
% to Bcc them so that they don't all get the list. I seem to have two choices -
That makes sense. Thank heavens you thought to do that!
% 1. run Mutt from the command line and using something like xargs pipe the
% list to the -b argument.
Sure...
% 2. convert my file to an single line and put it into my .mail_aliases
% file like this
% alias [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...... etc
Sure...
%
% Well both these methods seem so clumbsy. I am sure there must be a better
Let's start off by thinking about how you would otherwise send this mail
using the Cc: or To: headers. Do you already have an alias defined? You
mentioned a file; are the addresses all listed in that file?
When I have to send mail to lots of folks, I usually start with a parsed
file of addresses that I can then read into my editor. If the addresses
each have a trailing comma (or maybe it doesn't matter) and a leading tab
(matters), then they are already in the format for a To:/Cc:/Bcc: line,
since continued headers are tab-indented.
Since I have $edit_headers set so that I can directly manipulate my email
headers while composing my message, it's a trivial matter for me to go to
the Bcc: line and use the vim command :r<filename> and load it in; my
headers go from something like
From: David T-G <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Some Description:;
Cc:
Bcc:
Subject: Re: Sending Bcc List
Reply-To:
to
From: David T-G <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Some Description:;
Cc:
Bcc:
<tab>addr1,
<tab>addr2,
<tab>addr3,
<tab>addr4,
<tab>addr5,
...
Subject: Re: Sending Bcc List
Reply-To:
where <tab> means a real tab indent (and none of that illustrative
two-space indent, of course). When I save and quit, mutt automatically
reformats the Bcc: line so that it looks more like
From: David T-G <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Some Description:;
Cc:
Bcc: addr1, addr2,
<tab>addr3, addr4, addr5,
...
Subject: Re: Sending Bcc List
Reply-To:
the next time I peek at it (by editing the message again).
% way. I have read the docs but I didn't see anything. Does mutt expect me to
% use an external program for this?
Well, yes and no; mutt happily looks to external programs because it
does things The UNIX Way (tm), in which it expects little tools with
great little strengths to all come together as needed; you could either
do this in mutt or let an address DB handle it for you.
My answer keeps everything within mutt, but you probably want
something a little more clever if you're routinely going to send out
such widely-spread missives. You might try creating a procmail rc file
that recognized an alias you've set up for yourself (you send your big
mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and it gets bounced right back to you)
and bounces the email to each recipient on your list. You might try
setting up real mailing list software and then creating a mailing list
for yourself. The possibilities are, of course, endless :-)
%
% Thanks
HTH & HAND
%
% Rob Watkin
:-D
--
David T-G * It's easier to fight for one's principles
(play) [EMAIL PROTECTED] * than to live up to them. -- fortune cookie
(work) [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.bigfoot.com/~davidtg/ Shpx gur Pbzzhavpngvbaf Qrprapl Npg!
The "new millennium" starts at the beginning of 2001. There was no year 0.
Note: If bigfoot.com gives you fits, try sector13.org in its place. *sigh*
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