Eric -- ...and then Eric Kidd said... % On Thu, 2001-12-06 at 14:54, Robert R. Wal wrote: % > You can also give messages weight based on all obnoxious criteria and % > limit, tag, or delete them based on their weight. % % Nice! Evolution is pretty deficient at scoring, which I consider to be % a highly desirable feature.
It is, indeed. % % > It can give you pretty much, but obviously you never cared to RTFM ;) % % Heh. Actually, I've read the non-reference sections of the manual about % ten times, and dug endlessly through the reference bits. After % reviewing your claims, and browsing the manual (for the Nth time), I've % concluded (1) mutt can probably do most of the things you claim, but (2) % the relevant information is spread out across about six subsections. I'll certainly give you that. Remember that documentation is like sex, though; it's hard to do to please everyone, and even when it's not very good it's better than none :-) % % Let's try a test. % % Ideally, I'd like to search three separate folders for all mail to or % from [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] during September 2000, display all % matching messages in a list view, and then search *those* for a number % of different strings in the body. Bonus points if I can save the query % or have it automatically update if new, matching mail arrives. (This is % a real test case from a recent problem I had.) Ugh. It looks ugly :-) Hokay... The three-separate-folder issue will be a problem; the only workaround of which I know is to [temporarily] combine all three folders, though it's perfectly valid to have three instances of mutt running. You can limit (bound by default to 'l') your display based on those criteria; you'd need something like ~h 'frob@(foo|bar).net' ~d 1/9/2000-30/9/2000 to catch frob in the headers and limit the date sent (~r for received instead) to Sep 2000. Once you have that index list, you can search (bound by default to '/') additionally using the same sort of limiters (like ~b '(help|support) to jump to the next message that has "help" or "support" in the body, for example). I don't know of a way to save the query automatically after you've built (and, probably, fine-tuned) it, but you could always make it a macro. In fact, it might not be a bad idea at all to have a muttrc.query file wherein you define these (say maybe that one was ,Qfrob or some such) as well as a reload command (perhaps ,Q or such) to re-source the file and update your definitions; all you'd then need to do would be to source that file in your main muttrc and you're set. [No, it's not elegant or beautiful or real-time updating, but it's a start.] I *think* that your index will update automatically as new mail comes in (you're still getting mail dated from Sep 2000? ;-) but if not you can force it by hitting 'l' and then return to re-apply the limit. If your folder is big, though, you might not want the wait for the limit to be applied, since AIUI it starts from scratch each time. % % How much of this can I actually do in mutt? Hacks and workarounds are % OK, but I'd like to know the (1) limitations and (2) actual keystrokes % so I can try it before posting my apology. I think I provided good keystrokes, but I didn't check the manual in detail. See section 4.2 and play around to find the pattern expression that does what you want. If you haven't yet, you should read about macros in 3.6 as well. I'm interested in your results, too, and in any better ideas anyone may have for implementing saved queries and the like. % % [A bit of UI criticism: The main mutt UI is very good (it even includes % a menu bar of all important commands for novice users!), but these % extended features lack "discoverability"--they can't be figured out % simply by screwing around with the program. A HOWTO would have been % very helpful.] You might check out http://mutt-newbie.sourceforge.net to see if it gives you any of the info you need -- and to contribute your ideas or at least your wish list items. % Cheers, % Eric HTH & HAND :-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.justpickone.org/davidtg/ Shpx gur Pbzzhavpngvbaf Qrprapl Npg!
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