Re: group

[Kyle Wheeler <kyle-mutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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On Tuesday, July 29 at 06:59 PM, quoth Tom:
> I would like to set up a group and an alias for that group.  I read 
> the manual and the wiki and the recent post and still to dumb to 
> figure it out. I want the group name to be fargo. I would like the 
> alias to be fargo if the group name and alias can be the same.

Sure.

I think you're confusing what "group" means in this context, and 
you're making it mean multiple things. As far as mutt is concerned, a 
"group" is (more or less) a label that is applied to addresses, while 
an alias is a way of referring to one or more addresses. Thus, you 
can't say "send a message to group X", but you can say "send a message 
to alias Y". Groups are for answering questions like "is the sender a 
member of group X".

> The email addreses are daughter@xxxxxxxxx,soninlaw@xxxxxxxxx

Okay, so, first, we set up the alias:

alias fargo (daughter@xxxxxxxxx), (soninlaw@xxxxxxxxx)

Now, to add those to a group, we can do one of two things: we can 
either tag the alias command, or we can do a separate group command. 
For example, we could replace the previous alias command with this 
one:

alias -group fargo fargo (daughter@xxxxxxxxx), (soninlaw@xxxxxxxxx)

OR we can add a second "group" command:

group -group fargo -addr daughter@xxxxxxxxx soninlaw@xxxxxxxxx

Note that no comma is needed for the group command, but it is needed 
for the alias command. Also note that you don't need to create a group 
before using it!

> In .muttrc I put group -group fargo -addr 
> daughter@xxxxxxxxx,soninlaw@xxxxxxxxx
>
> In my alias file whose name is addressbook.txt I put 
> alias -group fargo

That didn't work for multiple reasons. First, I'm pretty sure you 
don't want the comma in the group command. Second, when you create an 
alias you're associating a name with a set of addresses. You can't 
associate a name with a group (groups can include things like regular 
expressions, and it makes no sense to send a message to a regular 
expression).

Or, if you prefer, think of it this way: the -group tag on the alias 
command is shorthand for the full-fledged group command, not the other 
way around. Thus "alias -group fargo" is saying "create an alias, in 
the group fargo, that is..." but is missing all the important 
information about the alias that you wish to create.

One of the ways I use groups is for coloring. Say, let's make it so 
that email from anyone in my family is colored blue. Now, over the 
years, my family members have changed email addresses, and I want to 
keep their old emails colored blue, but when I send messages to them, 
I only want to send the message to their current address. Thus:

alias -group family dad (dad@xxxxxxxxxxx)
group -group family -addr dadsoldaddress@xxxxxxxxxxx
group -group family -addr anotheroldone@xxxxxxxxxxx

(I could combine those last two lines, but I'm trying to keep these 
lines short for the purposes of this email).

Thus, the group "family" contains all three addresses, and I can 
create hooks that match on "%C family" that will match everything. For 
example:

fcc-save-hook '%C family' =Family
color index blue default '%f family'

And whenever Dad gets a new address, I only have to change the alias, 
I don't have to create an additional hook or coloring pattern.

Does that explain things a bit better?

~Kyle
- -- 
And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge 
the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the 
servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of 
Ahab shall perish.
                                             -- Bible, II Kings (9:7-8)
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