PROMPTER(1m,C)              AIX Commands Reference               PROMPTER(1m,C)



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prompter



PURPOSE

Invokes a prompting editor.

SYNTAX


            +---------------+   +--------------+  +--- -prepend ---+
prompter ---|               |---|              |--|     one of     |--->
            +- -erase char -+   +- -kill char -+  | +------------+ |
                                                  +-| -prepend   |-+
                                                    | -noprepend |
                                                    +------------+

                                           +-- -norapid --+
                                       >---|    one of    |--- file ---|
                                           | +----------+ |
                                           +-| -rapid   |-+
                                             | -norapid |
                                             +----------+

prompter --- -help ---|


Warning: See restrictions, Chapter 18, AIX Programming Tools and Interfaces.

DESCRIPTION

The prompter command is used to invoke the prompter editor for message entry.
prompter is not designed to be run directly by the user; it is designed to be
called by other programs.  The prompter command is part of the Message Handling
(MH) package.

The prompter command opens the specified file and scans it for empty components
such as To: and prompts you to fill in those fields.  If you press Enter
without adding text, prompter later deletes the component.

After the first blank line or line of dashes in the file, prompter accepts text
for the body of the message.  If the body already contains text and the flag
-noprepend is specified, prompter displays the text followed by the message:

  --------Enter additional text

prompter appends any text that is entered to the message body.  If you specify
the -prepend flag, prompter displays the following message instead:

  --------Enter initial text



Processed November 8, 1990      PROMPTER(1m,C)                                1

PROMPTER(1m,C)              AIX Commands Reference               PROMPTER(1m,C)



When you press END OF FILE, prompter ends text entry and returns control to the
calling program.

FLAGS

-erase char         Sets the character to be used as the erase character.  You
                    can specify the octal representation of the character in
                    the form \nnn, or you can specify the character itself.

-help               Displays help information for the command.

-kill char          Sets the character to be used as the kill character.  You
                    can specify the octal representation of the character in
                    the form \nnn, or you can specify the character itself.

-noprepend          Places additional text below any text already in the
                    message body.

-norapid            Displays any text already in the message body.  This is the
                    default.

-prepend            Places additional text before any text already in the
                    message body.  This is the default.

-rapid              Does not display text already in the message body.

PROFILE ENTRIES

Msg-Protect:        Sets the protection level for your new message files.
prompter-next:      Specifies the editor used after exiting prompter.

FILES

$HOME/.mh_profile     The MH user profile.
/tmp/prompter*        A temporary copy of a message.

RELATED INFORMATION

See other MH commands:  "comp,"  "dist,"  "forw," "repl,"  "whatnow."

See the mh-profile file in AIX Operating System Technical Reference.

See "Overview of the Message Handling Package" in Managing the AIX Operating
System.











Processed November 8, 1990      PROMPTER(1m,C)                                2