.TH prompter 1mh.SH Nameprompter \- prompting editor front-end.SH Syntax.B prompter[.I options].I file.\".\".\".\".SH DescriptionThe.PN prompter editor is a rudimentary editor provided by .PN comp , .PN dist , .PN forw , and.PN repl ..NXR "prompter editor front-end"It is automatically called by the abovecommands; you do not need to specify it.  .PPThe.PN promptereditor allows rapid composition ofmessages.It is particularly useful to network and low-speed(less than 2400 baud) users of MH..PPThe .PN promptereditor is an MH program.  Although is not invoked directly,it can have its own profile entry with options; see .MS mh_profile 5mh .The .PN comp , .PN dist , .PN forw ,and .PN replcommands invoke .PN prompterin one of three ways:when invoked with the.B "\-editor prompter"option;by an entry in the .PN \&.mh_profilefile;or by a command at the \f(CWWhat now?\fR prompt.If you do not specify an editor in any of these ways, MH provides.PN prompter as the default editor for all of these commands..PPFor information on how to use a different editor with MH commands,see the reference pages for the appropriate commands,and also.MS mh_profile 5mh ..\".\".SS Composing a Message with prompterWhen you create a message with an MH command,the mail system provides a message template for you to fill in.This template consists of two parts:the message header, comprising a number of header fields;and the body of the message, which is the areawhere you type the text of your message..PPThe.PN promptereditor displays each header field,one at a time, for you to fill in.Fill in the component by typing the text that you want.Type <RETURN> to move onto the next component.Once you have moved on from a header field,you cannot edit what you have entered..PPIf you want to leave a header field empty,simply type <RETURN>.You can continue a header field over one lineby typing a back-slash (\e) before the <RETURN>.Continuation lines must start with a blank (a space or a tab)..PPThe start of the message body is indicated by a blank line or a line of dashes.If you are creating a new message, the cursor is placed beneath this line to allow you to enter text.If there is already some body text in the message(for example, if you are using an existing draft,or if you are forwarding a message),you will receive a prompt:.EX    --------Enter additional text.EEor:.EX    --------Enter initial text.EEThe cursor is placed under the prompt to allow youto enter text..PPTo finish the message, type <CTRL/D>.You will then receive a prompt asking \f(CWWhat now?\fR.See .MS whatnow 1mhfor more details of responses..PPAn interrupt, usually <CTRL/C>, during component typing will abort.PN prompterand the MH command that invoked it.An interrupt during message-body typing is equivalent to <CTRL/D>,for historical reasons..\".\".\".\".SH Options.IP "\-prepend" 10.PD 0.IP "\-noprepend" 10.PDAdds text to the beginningof the message body, so that the rest of the body follows.This is useful for the .PN forwcommand.You can suppress this behavior by using the.B \-noprependoption..\".IP \-rapid 10.PD 0.IP \-norapid 10.PDCauses the text not to be displayed on your terminalif the draft already contains text in the message-body.This is useful for low-speed terminals.You can suppress this behavior by using the.B \-norapidoption..\".IP "\-erase \fIchar\fP"Specifies the line-editing characters, where .I charmay be a character or\f(CW\ennn\fR,where\f(CWnnn\fRis the octal value for the character..\".IP "\-kill \fIchar\fP"Specifies the line-editing characters, where.I charmay be a character or\f(CW\ennn\fR,where\f(CWnnn\fRis the octal value for the character..\".\".PPThe first argument to .PN prompterwhich is not an option is taken as the name of the draft .IR file , and subsequent non-flag arguments are ignored..PPThe default settings for.PN prompterare:.IP.B \-prepend.br.B \-norapid.\".\".\".\".SH RestrictionsThe .PN promptereditor uses .MS stdio 3s ,therefore do not edit fileswith nulls in them..\".\".\".\".SH Profile Components.TStab(+);l l.prompter-next:+To name the editor to be used on exit from prompterMsg-Protect:+To set protections when creating a new draft.TE.\".\".\".\".SH Files.TP 10.PN $HOME/.mh\_profileThe user profile..TP 10.PN /tmp/prompter*Temporary copy of message..\".\".\".\".SH See Alsocapsar(1), comp(1mh), dist(1mh), forw(1mh), repl(1mh), whatnow(1mh), stdio(3s), mh_profile(5mh)