[comp.sys.next] Reading NeXTMail from an ASCII dump...

bard@jessica.stanford.edu (David Hopper) (05/28/91)

A neophyte question for everyone:  When I copy my /usr/spool/mail/ file
from the mainframe to OD and transplant it to my machine, what can I do
with the uudecoded '.tar.xxx.name.attach' files so I can read them as 
NeXTMail, or simply use them (if they happen to be a complete
application)?

Isn't there a utility out there that extracts ASCII NeXTMail 
automatically?

Advthanksance,
Dave Hopper      |MUYOM!/// Anthro Creep | NeXT Campus Consultant at Stanford
                 | __  ///    .   .      | Smackintosh/UNIX Consultant - AIR
bard@jessica.    | \\\///    Ia! Ia!     | Independent Amiga Developer
   Stanford.EDU  |  \XX/ Shub-Niggurath! | & (Mosh) Pit Fiend from Maladomini

burns@cc.gatech.edu (James E. Burns) (05/28/91)

I use the GNU Emacs RMAIL facility to read mail, since it has some
features I like that NeXTMail does not support well.  I wrote/modified
a couple of small utilities to decypher the occasional NeXTMail
messages I receive.

A function for your .emacs file.  (If you don't use GNU Emacs, you can
simulate the first function with your editor of choice --- just put
the desired message in /tmp/nextmsg and trim it from the "begin" line
to the end of the message.)

(defun denext-msg ()
  "Find the NeXT attachment and write it to /tmp/nextmsg
   in preparation for denext."
  (interactive)
    (end-of-buffer)
    (re-search-backward "^begin ")
    (write-region (point) (point-max) "/tmp/nextmsg")
    (message "Now execute denext in the shell.")
    )

A script for your bin (I call it "denext").  Once /tmp/nextmsg is set
up, call denext from a shell.  This will open the directory containing
the various attachments.  Just double click the individual items to
look at them.

#! /bin/csh -f
# denext
#  Extract the NeXT-encoded mail message in /tmp/nextmsg
#  Original version by Mike Dixon (mdixon@parc.xerox.com)
#  Heavily modified 6/27/90, James E. Burns
#
# Before calling, save the "begin 0 .tar ... end" part of the message
# to /tmp/nextmsg  (In Emacs: Special function denext-msg does is
# automtically.)
#
cd /tmp
rm .tar* >& /dev/null
rm -r d.tar* >& /dev/null
if (! -f nextmsg) then
  echo "First store the message to decode in /tmp/nextmsg"
  exit 1
endif
uudecode nextmsg
set tname = .*tar*
mv $tname nextmsg.Z
chmod 644 nextmsg.Z
mkdir d$tname
cd d$tname
zcat ../nextmsg.Z | tar xf -
open .



jim burns
--
James E. Burns    Associate Professor    (404) 894-3816  Fax: (404) 853-9378
College of Computing, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332-0280
Internet :  burns@CC.GaTech.edu  
uucp:	...!{akgua,allegra,hplabs,ihnp4,linus,seismo,ulysses}!gatech!cc!burns

aozer@next.com (Ali Ozer) (05/28/91)

In article <1991May28.110642.1503@leland.Stanford.EDU> David Hopper writes:
>A neophyte question for everyone:  When I copy my /usr/spool/mail/ file
>from the mainframe to OD and transplant it to my machine, what can I do
>with the uudecoded '.tar.xxx.name.attach' files so I can read them as 
>NeXTMail, or simply use them (if they happen to be a complete
>application)?

If your machine is also a NeXT, then you can put the /usr/spool/mail/youracct
file from the mainframe in /usr/spool/mail/homeacct on your home machine and
just use Mail.app to read it.

Ali