Re: Searching in the index is not documented
* On Thu, Aug 17, 2006 Alan Mackenzie (acm@xxxxxx) muttered:
> This manual, fine though it otherwise be, does not describe how to do
> searching within the message index.
It does you just have to know where to look :)
> If I type "/foo":
simple_search
Type: string
Default: "~f %s | ~s %s"
Specifies how Mutt should expand a simple search into a real search
pattern. A simple search is one that does not contain any of the ~
operators. See ``[1182]patterns'' for more information on search
patterns.
For example, if you simply type joe at a search or limit prompt, Mutt
will automatically expand it to the value specified by this variable.
For the default value it would be:
~f joe | ~s joe
> (ii) Is "foo" interpreted literally as text or as a regular expression?
Let's check the "Patterns" section:
~f EXPR - messages originating from EXPR
~s EXPR - messages having EXPR in the ``Subject'' field.
"Where EXPR is a regular expression."
> (iii) If there are several instances of "foo", in what order does mutt
> find them? I would guess that it would use the order the mails are
> currently sorted in.
correct.
> (iv) Can I somehow search my mailbox for a pattern? (e.g. "~fAlan")?
Of course. What good are patterns when you cannot use them to search?
HTH,
Michael
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