encrypting and signing a file without a passphrase

[Steve Kwong]

Hi all,

I am using version 1.2.1.  Can someone help me with the following:

I would like to send encrpyt and sign a file without having to enter a
passphrase each time.  I could not find a way to pass the passphrase as an
argument to GPG.   In the FAQ, there was some mention (article 4.14) about a
batch process and removing the passphrase using --edit.  I tried that, but
when I entered:
    gpg --edit foo

 I had no means of editing foo.

Any ideas how I can encrpyt and sign a file without having to enter my
passphrase?

Steve
stevek@intergate.bc.ca