| SORTM(1mh) | [mmh-0.4] | SORTM(1mh) |
sortm - sort messages
sortm [+folder] [msgs] [-datefield field] [-textfield field] [-notextfield] [-limit days] [-nolimit] [-verbose | -noverbose] [-Version] [-help]
Sortm sorts the specified messages in the named folder according to the chronological order of the `Date:' field of each message.
The -verbose switch directs sortm to tell the user the general actions that it is taking to place the folder in sorted order.
The -datefield field switch tells sortm the name of the field to use when making the date comparison. If the user has a special field in each message, such as `BB-Posted:' or `Delivery-Date:', then the -datefield switch can be used to direct sortm which field to examine.
The -textfield field switch causes sortm to sort messages by the specified text field. If this field is `subject', any leading "re:" is stripped off. In any case, all characters except letters and numbers are stripped and the resulting strings are sorted datefield-major, textfield-minor, using a case insensitive comparison.
With -textfield field, if -limit days is specified, messages with similar textfields that are dated within `days' of each other appear together. Specifying -nolimit makes the limit infinity. With -limit 0, the sort is instead made textfield-major, date-minor.
For example, to order a folder by date-major, subject-minor, use:
^$HOME/.mmh/profile~^The user profile
^Path:~^To determine the user's mail storage ^Current-Folder:~^To find the default current folder
`+folder' defaults to the current folder `msgs"'defaultstoall" `-datefield' defaults to date `-notextfield' `-noverbose' `-nolimit'
If a folder is given, it will become the current folder. If the
current message is moved, sortm
will preserve its status as current.
Timezones used to be ignored when comparing dates: they aren't any more.
Messages which were in the folder, but not specified by `msgs', used to be moved to the end of the folder; now such messages are left untouched.
Sortm sometimes did not preserve the message numbering in a folder (e.g., messages 1, 3, and 5, might have been renumbered to 1, 2, 3 after sorting). This was a bug, and has been fixed. To compress the message numbering in a folder, use `folder -pack' as always.
If sortm encounters a message without a date-field, or if the message has a date-field that sortm cannot parse, then sortm attempts to keep the message in the same relative position. This does not always work. For instance, if the first message encountered lacks a date which can be parsed, then it will usually be placed at the end of the messages being sorted.
When sortm complains about a message which it can't temporally order, it complains about the message number prior to sorting. It should indicate what the message number will be after sorting.
| 2019-01-06 | MH.6.8 |