A "Menu Prompt" for Naive Users (Unix Power Tools, 3rd Edition)

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4.9. A "Menu Prompt" for Naive Users

Some people don't want to be faced with a Unix % or $ shell prompt. If you (or, if you're a sys admin on a multiuser system, your users) usually run only a few particular Unix commands, you can put those command names in the shell prompt. Here's a simple one-line Bourne-shell prompt for a .profile:

PS1='Type "rn", "mailx", "wp", or "logout": '

Next, a multiline prompt (Section 4.7) for the C shell .cshrc or .tcshrc file:

if ($?prompt) then
set prompt='\\
Type "pine" to read the news,\\
type "mutt" to read and send mail,\\
type "wp" for word processing, or\\
type "logout" to log out.\\
YES, MASTER? '
endif

You get the idea.

--JP and SJC


4.8. Session Info in Window Title or Status Line		4.10. Highlighting and Color in Shell Prompts