A.6 UI Server: Encrypting and signing files.

First, the input files need to be specified by one or more FILE commands. Afterwards, the actual operation is requested:

Command: ENCRYPT_FILES --nohup

Command: SIGN_FILES --nohup

Command: ENCRYPT_SIGN_FILES --nohup

Request that the files specified by FILE are encrypted and/or signed. The command selects the default action. The UI server may allow the user to change this default afterwards interactively, and even abort the operation or complete it only on some of the selected files and directories.

What it means to encrypt or sign a file or directory is specific to the preferences of the user, the functionality the UI server provides, and the selected protocol. Typically, for each input file a new file is created under the original filename plus a protocol specific extension (like .gpg or .sig), which contain the encrypted/signed file or a detached signature. For directories, the server may offer multiple options to the user (for example ignore or process recursively).

The ENCRYPT_SIGN_FILES command requests a combined sign and encrypt operation. It may not be available for all protocols (for example, it is available for OpenPGP but not for CMS).

The option --nohup is mandatory. It is currently unspecified what should happen if --nohup is not present. Because --nohup is present, the server always returns OK promptly, and completes the operation asynchronously.