ARCHIVED: In Unix, what is mpack and how do I use it?
In Unix, mpack is a program that encodes files
into MIME format. To use mpack, at the Unix
shell prompt, enter:
Replace [options] with one or more of the options
detailed below. Replace file with the name of the file
you wish to pack. Replace [addresses] with the email
addresses of those to whom you want to send the MIME-encapsulated
file. If you are sending the file to a newsgroup or saving
it to another file, you do not need to include email addresses.
The mpack program has the following options:
-s "subject" |
Replace subject with
what you want to appear in the "Subject:" header of the
MIME-encapsulated file. If you do not specify a subject,
mpack will prompt you for one. Make sure to use the
quotes as represented in this example.
|
-d descriptionfile |
Replace
descriptionfile with the name of an ASCII text
file. The file will be included at the beginning of the encoded file
(or the first file in the case of segmented documents) as an
introductory message.
|
-s maxsize |
Replace maxsize with
the maximum number of characters allowed in any encoded file. If the
encoded file is larger than this limit, it will be split into
segments.
|
-c content-type |
Replace
content-type with the MIME subtype that describes the
file. The mpack program will only accept the following
subtypes: application, audio,
image, and video. If you do not
specify a subtype, mpack will attempt to determine one
based on the content of the file.
|
-o outputfile |
Replace outputfile
with a filename. The mpack program will write its output
to that file. If it must split the encoded file, it will add a suffix
(.01, .02, .03, etc.) to the
end of each segment's output file. If you don't specify this option
and you also don't include any recipient addresses or newsgroups,
mpack will write to standard output (i.e., the terminal).
|
-n newsgroups |
Replace newsgroups
by a comma-delimited list of newsgroups to which you wish to send the
encoded file.
|
A utility called munpack decodes MIME-encapsulated
files. (However, metamail is a superior program that
provides the same functionality.)
For more information, consult the man pages for
mpack and metamail.
This is document afea in domain all.
Last modified on November 01, 2008.
Last modified on November 01, 2008.
