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1.1 root 1: .if n .pH uguide.chap11 %W%
2: .BK "User's Guide"
3: .H 0 "Electronic Mail Tutorial" "11"
4: .H 1 "Introduction"
5: The UNIX system offers a choice of commands that enable you to communicate
6: with other UNIX system users.
7: Specifically, they allow you to:
8: send and receive messages
9: from other users (on either your system or another UNIX system);
10: exchange files;
11: and form networks with other UNIX systems.
12: Through
13: networking, a user on one system can exchange messages
14: and files between computers, and execute commands on
15: remote computers.
16: .P
17: To help you take advantage of these capabilities,
18: this chapter will teach you how to use the
19: following commands.
20: .VL 2.25i 0.3i
21: .LI "For exchanging messages:"
22: \f4mail\f1, \f4mailx\f1, \f4uname\f1, and \f4uuname\f1
23: .LE
24: .P
25: To help you exchange files, and for information on networking,
26: see Chapter 12.
27: .H 1 "Exchanging Messages"
28: .IX sending messages (see \f4mail, mailx\f1)
29: To send messages
30: you can use either the \f4mail\f1 or \f4mailx\f1 command.
31: These commands deliver your message
32: to a file belonging to the recipient.
33: When the recipient logs in (or while
34: already logged in), he or she receives a message
35: that says \f4you have mail\f1.
36: The recipient can use either the
37: .UI mail
38: or
39: .UI mailx
40: command to read your message and
41: reply at his or her leisure.
42: .P
43: The main difference between \f4mail\f1 and \f4mailx\f1
44: is that only \f4mailx\f1
45: offers the following features:
46: .BL
47: .LI
48: a choice of text editors (\f4ed\f1 or \f4vi\f1)
49: for handling incoming and outgoing messages
50: .LI
51: several options for saving files
52: .LI
53: commands for replying to messages and sending copies
54: (of both incoming and outgoing messages) to other users
55: .LE
56: .P
57: You can also use \f4mail\f1 or \f4mailx\f1 to
58: send short files containing memos, reports,
59: and so on.
60: However, if you want to send someone
61: a file that is over a page long,
62: use one of the commands
63: designed for transferring files: \f4uuto\f1
64: or \f4uucp\f1.
65: (See "Sending Large Files" in chapter 12
66: for descriptions of these commands.)
67: .H 1 "\f4mail\fP"
68: .IX istart \f4mail\f1 command
69: This section presents the \f4mail\f1 command.
70: It discusses the basics of sending mail
71: to one or more people simultaneously,
72: whether they are working on the local
73: system (the same system as you) or on a
74: remote system.
75: It also covers receiving and handling incoming mail.
76: .H 2 "Sending Messages"
77: .IX sending messages (see \f4mail, mailx\f1)
78: The basic command line format for sending mail is
79: .DS I
80: \f4mail \f2login\f4<CR>\f1
81: .DE
82: where \f2login\f1 is the recipient's login name
83: on a UNIX system. This login name can be
84: either of the following:
85: .BL
86: .LI
87: a login name if the recipient is on your system
88: (for example, \f4bob\f1)
89: .LI
90: a system name and login name
91: if the recipient is on another UNIX system
92: that can communicate with yours (for example,
93: \f4sys2!bob\f1)
94: .LE
95: For the moment, assume that the recipient is on the local system.
96: (We will deal with sending mail to users
97: on remote systems later.)
98: Type the \f4mail\f1 command at the system prompt,
99: type the recipient's login id,
100: press the RETURN key, and start typing
101: the text of your message on the next line.
102: When you have finished typing it, send the message by
103: typing a period (\f4\z..\f1) or a <cntrl-d>
104: at the beginning of a new line.
105: .P
106: The following example shows how this
107: procedure will appear on your screen.
108: .SS
109: $ \f4mail phyllis<CR>
110: My meeting with Smith's<CR>
111: group tomorrow has been moved<CR>
112: up to 3:00 so I won't be able to<CR>
113: see you then. Could we meet<CR>
114: in the morning instead?<CR>
115: \&.<CR>\fP
116: $
117: .SE
118: The prompt on the last line
119: means that your message has been
120: queued (placed in a waiting line of messages)
121: and will be sent.
122: .H 3 "Undeliverable Mail"
123: .IX \f4mail\f1, undeliverable
124: If you make an error when typing the recipient's login,
125: the \f4mail\f1 command will not be able to deliver your mail.
126: Instead, it will print two messages telling you that it has failed
127: and that it is returning your mail.
128: Then it will return your mail in a message that includes
129: the system name and login name of both the sender and intended recipient,
130: and an error message stating the reason for the failure.
131: .P
132: For example, say you (owner of the login \f4kol\f1)
133: want to send a message to a user with the login \f4chris\f1.
134: Your message says \f4The meeting has been changed to 2:00.\f1
135: Failing to notice that you have incorrectly typed
136: the login as \f4cris\f1,
137: you try to send your message.
138: .SS
139: $ \f4mail cris<CR>
140: The meeting has been changed to 2:00.
141: \&.<CR>\fP
142: mail: Can't send to cris
143: mail: Return to kol
144: you have mail
145: $
146: .SE
147: The message \f4you have mail\f1 is presented by the shell; different shells
148: may use slightly different wording for this message.
149: .P
150: The mail that is waiting for you in \f4/var/mail\f1
151: will be useful if you do not know
152: why the \f4mail\f1 command has failed,
153: or if you want to retrieve your mail
154: so that you can resend it without typing it in again.
155: It contains the following:
156: .SS
157: $ \f4mail<CR>\fP
158: From kol Mon Jan 23 16:00 EST 1989
159: Date: Mon Jan 23 11:00:01 GMT 1989
160: Original-Date: Mon Jan 23 15:59 EST 1989
161: Not-Delivered-To: marmaduk!cris due to 02 Ambiguous Originator/Recipient Name
162: ORIGINAL MESSAGE ATTACHED
163: (mail: Error # 8 'Invalid recipient')
164: Content-Length: 77
165:
166: Content-Type: text
167: Content-Length: 38
168:
169: The meeting has been changed to 2:00.
170:
171: ?
172: .SE
173: To learn how to display and handle this message
174: see "Managing Incoming Mail" later in this chapter.
175: .H 3 "Sending Mail to One Person"
176: .IX \f4mail\f1, sending to one person
177: The following screen shows a typical message.
178: .SS
179: $ \f4mail tommy<CR>
180: Tom,<CR>
181: There's a meeting of the review committee<CR>
182: at 3:00 this afternoon. D.F. wants your<CR>
183: comments and an idea of how long you think<CR>
184: the project will take to complete.<CR>
185: B.K.<CR>
186: \&.<CR>\fP
187: $
188: .SE
189: When Tom logs in at his terminal (or while he is already logged in),
190: he receives a message that tells him he has mail waiting:
191: .DS I
192: \f4you have mail\f1
193: .DE
194: To find out how he can read his mail,
195: see the section "Managing Incoming Mail"
196: in this chapter.
197: .P
198: You can practice using the \f4mail\f1 command
199: by sending mail to yourself.
200: Type in the \f4mail\f1 command
201: and your login ID, and then write a short message to yourself.
202: When you type the final period or <cntrl-d>,
203: the mail will be sent to a file named
204: after your login ID in the \f4/var/mail\f1 directory, and
205: you will receive a notice that you have mail.
206: .P
207: Sending mail to yourself can also serve as a handy reminder system.
208: For example, suppose you (login ID \f4bob\f1)
209: want to call someone the next morning. Send
210: yourself a reminder in a mail message.
211: .SS
212: $ \f4mail bob<CR>
213: Call Accounting and find out<CR>
214: why they haven't returned my 1988 figures!<CR>
215: \&.<CR>\fP
216: $
217: .SE
218: When you log in the next day,
219: a notice will appear on your screen
220: informing you that you have mail
221: waiting to be read.
222: .H 3 "Sending Mail to Several People Simultaneously"
223: .IX \f4mail\f1, sending several people
224: You can send a message to several people
225: by including their login names on the \f4mail\f1
226: command line.
227: For example:
228: .SS
229: $ \f4mail tommy jane wombat dave<CR>
230: Diamond cutters,<CR>
231: The game is on for tonight at diamond three.<CR>
232: Don't forget your gloves!<CR>
233: Your Manager<CR>
234: \&.<CR>\fP
235: $
236: .SE
237: .H 2 "Sending Mail to Remote Systems: the \f4uname\fP and \f4uuname\fP Commands"
238: .IX \f4mail\f1, sending mail to remote systems
239: .IX \f4uname\f1 command
240: .IX \f4uuname\f1 command
241: Until now we have assumed that you are sending messages to users
242: on the local UNIX system.
243: However, your company may have three separate computer systems,
244: each in a different part of a building, or you may
245: have offices in several locations, each with its own system.
246: .P
247: If your system has the Basic Networking Utilities package installed,
248: you can send mail to users on other systems
249: simply by adding the name of the recipient's
250: system before the login ID on the command line.
251: .DS I
252: \f4mail sys2!bob<CR>\f1
253: .DE
254: Notice that the system name and the recipient's
255: login ID are separated by an exclamation mark.
256: .P
257: Before you can run this command, however, you need three
258: pieces of information:
259: .BL
260: .LI
261: the name of the remote system
262: .LI
263: whether or not your system and the remote system communicate
264: .LI
265: the recipient's login name
266: .LE
267: The \f4uname\f1 and \f4uuname\f1 commands
268: .IX \f4uname\f1 command
269: .IX \f4uuname\f1 command
270: allow you to find this information.
271: .P
272: If you can, get the name of the remote system and the recipient's login name
273: from the recipient. If the recipient does not know the system name,
274: have him or her issue the following command on the remote system:
275: .DS I
276: \f4uname \-n<CR>\f1
277: .DE
278: The command will respond with the name of the system.
279: For example:
280: .DS I
281: \f4$ \f4uname \-n<CR>\f4
282: dumbo
283: $\f1
284: .DE
285: .P
286: Once you know the remote system name,
287: the \f4uuname\f1 command can help you verify that
288: your system can communicate with the remote system.
289: At the prompt, type:
290: .DS I
291: \f4uuname<CR>\f1
292: .DE
293: This generates a list of remote systems with which your system can communicate.
294: If the recipient's system is on that list,
295: you can send messages to it by \f4mail\f1.
296: .P
297: You can simplify this step by using the \f4grep\f1 command to search through
298: the \f4uuname\f1 output.
299: At the prompt, type:
300: .DS I
301: \f4uuname | grep \f2system\f4<CR>\f1
302: .DE
303: (Here \f2system\f1 is the recipient's system name.)
304: If \f4grep\f1 finds the specified system name, it prints it
305: on the screen. For example:
306: .IX \f4uname\f1 command
307: .IX \f4uuname\f1 command
308: .DS I
309: \f4$\f4 uuname | grep dumbo<CR>
310: \f4dumbo
311: $\f1
312: .DE
313: This means that \f4dumbo\f1
314: can communicate with your system.
315: If \f4dumbo\f1 does not communicate
316: with your system, a prompt is returned.
317: .DS I
318: \f4$ \f4uuname | grep dumbo<CR>
319: \f4$\f1
320: .DE
321: .P
322: To summarize our discussion of \f4uname\f1
323: .IX \f4uname\f1 command
324: .IX \f4uuname\f1 command
325: and \f4uuname\f1, consider an example.
326: Suppose you want to send a message to login \f4sarah\f1
327: on the remote system \f4dumbo\f1.
328: Verify that \f4dumbo\f1 can communicate with your system and send your message.
329: The following screen shows both steps.
330: .SS
331: $ \f4uuname | grep dumbo<CR>\fP
332: dumbo
333: $ \f4mail dumbo!sarah<CR>
334: Sarah,<CR>
335: The final counts for the writing seminar<CR>
336: are as follows:<CR>
337: <CR>
338: Our department \- 18<CR>
339: Your department \- 20<CR>
340: <CR>
341: Tom<CR>
342: \&.<CR>\fP
343: $
344: .SE
345: .P
346: Figures 11-1 and 11-2 summarize the syntax and
347: capabilities of the \f4uname\f1 and \f4uuname\f1
348: commands, respectively.
349: .SK
350: .FG "Summary of the \f4uname\fP Command"
351: .TS
352: box;
353: c s s
354: c s s
355: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
356: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
357: lw(1i) l s.
358: .sp .5
359: Command Recap
360: .sp .5
361: \f4uname\f1 \- displays the system name\f1
362: .sp .5
363: _
364: .sp .5
365: \f2command \0\0\0options arguments\f1
366: .sp .5
367: _
368: .sp .5
369: \f4uname\f1 \0\0\0\f4\-n\f1 and others* none
370: .sp .5
371: _
372: .sp
373: Description: T{
374: .ll 3i
375: \f4uname\0\-n\f1 displays the name of the system
376: on which your login resides.
377: .ll
378: T}
379: .sp .5
380: .TE
381: .IX \f4uname\fP(1)
382: .TS
383: c lp8w(3.5i).
384: * T{
385: See \f4uname\f1(1)
386: in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1 for all
387: available options and an explanation of their
388: capabilities.
389: T}
390: .TE
391: .P
392: .FG "Summary of the \f4uuname\fP Command"
393: .TS
394: box;
395: c s s
396: c s s
397: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
398: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
399: lw(1i) l s.
400: .sp .5
401: Command Recap
402: .sp .5
403: \f4uuname\f1 \- displays a list of networked systems\f1
404: .sp .5
405: _
406: .sp .5
407: \f2command \0\0\0options arguments\f1
408: .sp .5
409: _
410: .sp .5
411: \f4uuname\f1 \0\0\0none none
412: .sp .5
413: _
414: .sp 12p
415: .T&
416: l l s.
417: Description: T{
418: .ll 3i
419: \f4uuname\f1 displays a list of remote
420: systems that can communicate with your
421: system.
422: .ll
423: T}
424: .TE
425: .P
426: In addition to the addressing style described above,
427: another addressing syntax known as Domain-style addressing is supported.
428: Here the address would be in the form
429: .DS I
430: \f2recipient\f4@\f2remote_system\f1
431: .DE
432: or
433: .DS I
434: \f2recipient\f4@\f2remote_system.domain_info\f1
435: .DE
436: The above two addresses are equivalent to the addresses
437: .DS I
438: \f2remote_system\f4!\f2recipient\f1
439: .DE
440: or
441: .DS I
442: \f2remote_system.domain_info\f4!\f2recipient\f1
443: .DE
444: .P
445: Other addressing syntaxes may be set up by your local System Administrator.
446: Your local System Administrator may also have set it up
447: (check with your local System Administrator to be sure),
448: such that it may not be necessary to verify that your local system can
449: directly communicate with the remote system.
450: If the remote system cannot be contacted directly the message may
451: be automatically forwarded to another system that can service the
452: indicated remote system.
453: .P
454: Figure 11-3 summarizes the syntax and capabilities of the \f4mail\fP command.
455: .FG "Summary of Sending Messages with the \f4mail\fP Command"
456: .TS
457: box;
458: c s s
459: c s s
460: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
461: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
462: lw(1i) l s.
463: .sp .5
464: Command Recap
465: .sp .5
466: \f4mail\f1 \- sends a message to another user's login
467: .sp .5
468: _
469: .sp .5
470: \f2command \0\0\0options* arguments\f1
471: .sp .5
472: _
473: .sp .5
474: \f4mail\f1 \0\0\0none required [\f2system_name!\f1]\f2login\f1
475: .sp .5
476: _
477: .sp
478: Description: T{
479: .ll 3i
480: Typing \f4mail\f1 followed by one or more
481: login names (which may include a system name),
482: sends the
483: message typed on the lines following the
484: command line to the specified login(s).
485: .ll
486: T}
487: .sp
488: Remarks: T{
489: .ll 3i
490: Typing a period (\f4.\f1) (followed by the RETURN key) or a <cntrl-d>
491: at the beginning of a new line sends the message.
492: .ll
493: T}
494: .TE
495: .TS
496: c lp8w(3.5i).
497: * T{
498: See the \f4mail\f1(1) manual page
499: in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1 for all
500: available options and an explanation of their
501: capabilities.
502: T}
503: .TE
504: .H 2 "Managing Incoming Mail"
505: .IX \f4mail\f1, incoming
506: As stated earlier,
507: the \f4mail\f1 command also allows you
508: to display messages sent to you by other users
509: on your screen
510: so you can read them.
511: If you are logged in
512: when someone sends
513: you mail, the following message is printed on
514: .IX \f4mail\f1, message
515: your screen:
516: .DS I
517: \f4you have mail\f1
518: .DE
519: This means that one or more messages are being held for you in a file
520: called \f4/var/mail/\f2your_login\f1, usually referred to as your mailbox.
521: To display these messages on your screen, type the \f4mail\f1 command
522: without any arguments:
523: .DS I
524: \f4mail<CR>\f1
525: .DE
526: .P
527: The messages will be displayed one at a time, beginning with
528: the one most recently received.
529: A typical \f4mail\f1 message display looks like this:
530: .SS
531: $ mail
532: >From tommy Wed May 21 15:33 CST 1989
533: Content-Length: 104
534:
535: Bob,
536: Looks like the meeting has been canceled.
537: Do you still want the material for the technical review?
538: Tom
539:
540: ?
541: .SE
542: The first set of lines,
543: called the message header,
544: provides information about the message: the
545: login name of the sender,
546: the date and time the message was sent,
547: and how many characters long the contents of the message is.
548: The lines after the first blank line (up to the line containing the \f1?\f1)
549: comprise the contents of the message.
550: .P
551: If a long message is being displayed on your terminal screen,
552: .IX \f4mail\f1, message
553: you may not be able to read it all at once.
554: You can interrupt the printing by typing <cntrl-s>.
555: This will freeze the screen, giving you a chance to read.
556: When you are ready to continue,
557: type <cntrl-q> and the printing will resume.
558: .P
559: After displaying each message, the \f4mail\f1 command
560: prints a \f4?\f1 prompt and waits for a response.
561: You have many options, for example, you can
562: leave the current message in your mailbox
563: while you read the next message;
564: you can delete the current message;
565: or you can save the current message for future reference.
566: For a list of \f4mail\f1's available options, type a \f4?\f1
567: in response to \f4mail\f1's \f1?\f1 prompt.
568: .P
569: To display the next message without deleting the current message,
570: press the RETURN key after the question mark.
571: .DS I
572: \f4?\f4<CR>\f1
573: .DE
574: The current message remains in your mailbox
575: and the next message is displayed.
576: If you have read all the messages in your mailbox,
577: the shell prompt appears.
578: .P
579: To delete a message, type a \f4d\f1 after the question mark:
580: .IX \f4mail\f1, delete message
581: .DS I
582: \f4? \f4d<CR>\f1
583: .DE
584: The message is deleted from your mailbox.
585: If there is another message waiting, it is then displayed.
586: .P
587: To save a message for later reference,
588: .IX \f4mail\f1, save message
589: type an \f4s\f1 after the question mark:
590: .DS I
591: \f4? \f4s<CR>\f1
592: .DE
593: This saves the message, by default, in a file called \f4mbox\f1
594: in your home directory.
595: To save the message in another file,
596: type the name of that file after the \f4s\f1 command.
597: .P
598: For example, to save a message
599: .IX \f4mail\f1, save message
600: in a file called \f4mailsave\f1 (in your current directory),
601: enter the response shown after the question mark:
602: .DS I
603: \f4? \f4s mailsave<CR>\f1
604: .DE
605: If \f4mailsave\f1 is an existing file,
606: the \f4mail\f1 command appends the message to it.
607: If there is no file by that name, the \f4mail\f1 command
608: creates one and stores your message in it.
609: You can later verify the existence of the new file
610: by using the \f4ls\f1 command.
611: (\f4ls\f1 lists the contents of your current directory.)
612: .P
613: You can also save the message in a file in a different directory
614: by specifying a path name.
615: For example:
616: .DS I
617: \f4? \f4s project1/memo<CR>\f1
618: .DE
619: This is a relative path name that identifies a file called \f4memo\f1
620: (where your message will be saved)
621: in a subdirectory (\f4project1\f1)
622: of your current directory.
623: You can use either relative or full path names
624: when saving mail messages.
625: (For instructions on using path names, see Chapter 3,
626: "Using the File System.")
627: .P
628: To quit reading messages, enter the response shown after the question mark:
629: .IX \f4mail\f1, quit reading message
630: .DS I
631: \f4?\f4 q<CR>\f1
632: .DE
633: Any messages that you have not read are kept in your mailbox
634: until the next time you use the \f4mail\f1 command.
635: .P
636: To stop the printing of a message entirely, press the BREAK key.
637: The \f4mail\f1 command will stop the display, print a ? prompt,
638: and wait for a response from you.
639: .P
640: Figure 11-4 summarizes the syntax and capabilities of the \f4mail\f1 command
641: for reading messages.
642: .FG "Summary of Reading Messages with the \f4mail\fP Command"
643: .TS
644: box;
645: c s s
646: c s s
647: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
648: c cw(1.5i) cw(1.5i)
649: lw(1i) l s.
650: .sp .5
651: Command Recap
652: .sp .5
653: \f4mail\f1 \- reads messages sent to your login\f1
654: .sp .5
655: _
656: .sp .5
657: \f2command \0\0\0options arguments\f1
658: .sp .5
659: _
660: .sp .5
661: \f4mail\f1 \0\0\0available* none
662: .sp .5
663: _
664: .sp
665: Description: T{
666: .ll 3i
667: When issued without options,
668: the \f4mail\f1 command displays
669: any messages waiting in
670: your mailbox
671: (the system file
672: \f4/var/mail/\f2your_login\f1).
673: .ll
674: T}
675: .sp
676: Remarks: T{
677: .ll 3i
678: A question mark (\f4?\f1) at the
679: end of a message means that a response
680: is expected.
681: A full list of possible responses is
682: given in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.
683: .ll
684: T}
685: .TE
686: .IX \f4mail\f1 command, summary of
687: .TS
688: c lp8w(3.5i).
689: * T{
690: See the \f4mail\f1(1) manual page in
691: the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1 for all
692: available options and an explanation of their
693: capabilities.
694: T}
695: .TE
696: .H 3 "The \f4vacation\fP and \f4notify\fP commands"
697: .IX \f4notify\f1 command
698: .IX \f4vacation\f1 command
699: Two other programs related to managing incoming messages are
700: \f2notify\f1(1) and \f2vacation\f1(1).
701: The \f2notify\f1 command provides a mechanism for
702: notifying the recipient (if they are currently logged on) of
703: newly arrived messages.
704: The \f2vacation\f1 command provides a way to automatically
705: answer incoming messages with a canned response while also
706: saving the incoming messages for later perusal.
707: See the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1 for additional details.
708: .IX iend \f4mail\f1 command
709: .H 1 "\f4mailx\fP"
710: .IX istart \f4mailx\f1 command
711: This section introduces the \f4mailx\f1 facility.
712: It explains how to set up your \f4mailx\f1 environment,
713: send messages with the \f4mailx\f1 command,
714: and handle messages that have been sent to you.
715: The material is presented in four parts:
716: .BL
717: .LI
718: \f4mailx\f1 Overview
719: .LI
720: Sending Messages
721: .LI
722: Managing Incoming Mail
723: .LI
724: The \f4.mailrc\f1 File
725: .LE
726: .H 1 "\f4mailx\fP Overview" "mailx"
727: .IX \f4mailx\f1 command
728: The \f4mailx\f1(1) command is an enhanced version of the
729: \f4mail\f1(1) command.
730: There are many options to \f4mailx\f1 that are not available in \f4mail\f1
731: for sending and reading mail.
732: For example, you can define an alias for a single login or for a group.
733: This allows you to send \f4mail\f1 to an individual using a
734: name or word other than their login ID,
735: and to send \f4mail\f1 to a whole group of people
736: using a single name or word.
737: When you use \f4mailx\f1 to read incoming mail
738: you can save it in various files,
739: edit it, forward it to someone else,
740: respond to the person who originated the message, and so forth.
741: By using \f4mailx\f1 environment variables
742: you can develop an environment to suit your individual tastes.
743: .P
744: If you type the \f4mailx\f1 command with one or more logins as
745: arguments, \f4mailx\f1 decides you are sending mail
746: to the named users, prompts you
747: for a summary of the subject, and then waits for you to
748: type in your message or issue a command.
749: The section "How to Send Messages" describes
750: features that are available to you for editing, incorporating other
751: files, adding names to copy lists, and more.
752: .P
753: If you enter the \f4mailx\f1 command with no arguments,
754: \f4mailx\f1 checks incoming mail for you in a file named
755: \f4/var/mail/\f2your_login\f1.
756: If there is mail for you in that file, you are shown a list of
757: the items and given the opportunity to read, store, remove or transfer
758: each one to another file.
759: The section entitled "How to Manage Incoming Mail" provides some
760: examples and describes the
761: options available.
762: .P
763: If you choose to customize \f4mailx\f1,
764: .IX \f4mailx\f1 command
765: you should create a start-up file in your home
766: directory called \f4.mailrc\f1.
767: The section on "The \f4.mailrc\f1 File" describes variables you
768: can include in your start-up file.
769: .P
770: \f4mailx\f1 has two modes of functioning: input mode and command mode.
771: You must be in input mode to create and send messages.
772: Command mode is used to read incoming mail.
773: You can use any of the following methods to
774: control the way \f4mailx\f1 works for you:
775: .BL
776: .LI
777: by entering options on the command line.
778: (See the \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.)
779: .LI
780: by issuing commands when you are in input mode, for example,
781: creating a message to send.
782: These commands are always preceded by a \&\f4~\f1(tilde) and are
783: referred to as tilde escapes.
784: (See the \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.)
785: .LI
786: by issuing commands when you are in command mode, for example,
787: reading incoming mail.
788: .LI
789: by storing commands and environment variables in a start-up
790: file in your home directory called \f4$HOME/.mailrc\f1.
791: .LE
792: .P
793: Tilde escapes are discussed in "Sending Messages,"
794: command mode commands in "Managing Incoming Mail,"
795: and the \f4.mailrc\f1 file in "The \f4.mailrc\f1 File."
796: .H 1 "Command Line Options"
797: .IX \f4mailx\f1, options
798: In this section, we will look at command line options.
799: .P
800: The syntax for the \f4mailx\f1 command is:
801: .DS I
802: \f4mailx\f1 [\f2options\f1] [\f2name...\f1]
803: .DE
804: The \f2options\f1 are flags that control the action of the command,
805: and \f2name...\f1 represents the intended recipients.
806: .P
807: Anything on the command line other than an
808: option preceded by a hyphen is read by \f4mailx\f1 as a \f2name\f1; that is,
809: the login or alias of a person to
810: whom you are sending a message.
811: .P
812: One valuable command line option that is also available
813: in \f4mail\f1, is
814: .TS
815: l lw(4i).
816: \f4\-f \f1[\f2filename\f1]:\ T{
817: Allows you to read messages from \f2filename\f1 instead of your mailbox.
818: .sp
819: Because \f4mailx\f1 lets you store messages in any file you name,
820: you need the \f4\-f\f1 option to review these stored options.
821: The default storage file is \f4$HOME/mbox\f1, so the command:
822: .DS I
823: \f4mailx \-f\f1
824: .DE
825: is used to review messages stored there.
826: T}
827: .TE
828: .H 1 "How to Send Messages: the Tilde Escapes"
829: .IX \f4mailx\f1, send message
830: To send a message to another UNIX system user, enter the following
831: command:
832: .SS
833: $ \f4mailx \fP\f2login\fP\f4<CR>\fP
834: Subject:
835: .SE
836: The login name specified belongs to
837: the person who is to receive the message.
838: The system puts you into input mode and prompts you for
839: the subject of the message.
840: (You may have to wait a few seconds for the \f4Subject:\f1
841: prompt if the system is very busy.)
842: This is the simplest way to run the \f4mailx\f1 command;
843: it differs little from the way you run the \f4mail\f1 command.
844: .P
845: The following examples
846: show how you can edit messages you
847: are sending, incorporate existing text into your messages,
848: change the header information,
849: and do other tasks that take
850: advantage of the \f4mailx\f1 command's capabilities.
851: Each example is followed by an explanation of the key
852: points illustrated in the example.
853: .SS
854: $ mailx sms<CR>
855: Subject:
856: .SE
857: .P
858: Whether to include a subject or not is optional.
859: If you elect not to, press the RETURN key.
860: The cursor moves to the next line and the program waits for you
861: to enter the text of the message.
862: .SS
863: $ mailx sms<CR>
864: Subject: meeting notice<CR>
865: We're having a meeting for novice mailx users in<CR>
866: the auditorium at 9:00 tomorrow.<CR>
867: Would you be willing to give a demonstration?<CR>
868: Bob<CR>
869: ~. <CR>
870: EOT
871: $
872: .SE
873: .P
874: There are two important things to notice about the above
875: example:
876: .BL
877: .LI
878: You break up the lines of your message by
879: pressing the RETURN key
880: at the end of each line.
881: This makes it easier for
882: the recipient to read the message,
883: and prevents you from overflowing the line buffer.
884: .LI
885: You end the text and send the message by entering
886: .IX \f4mailx\f1, end message
887: a tilde and a period together (\f4\~\.\f1), or a \f4cntrl-d\f1, at the
888: beginning of a line.
889: The system responds with an
890: end-of-text notice (\f4EOT\f1) and a prompt.
891: .LE
892: .P
893: There are several commands available to you
894: when you are in input mode (as we were in the example).
895: Each of them consists of a tilde (\~),
896: followed by an alphabetic character,
897: entered at the beginning of a line.
898: Together they are known as tilde escapes.
899: (See the \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.)
900: Most of them are used in the examples in this section.
901: .P
902: You can include the subject of your message on the
903: command line by using the \f4\-s\f1 option.
904: .IX \f4mailx\f1 options
905: For example, the command line:
906: .DS I
907: \f4$ \f4mailx \-s "meeting notice" sms<CR>\f1
908: .DE
909: is equivalent to:
910: .DS I
911: \f4$ \f4mailx sms<CR>\fP
912: Subject: \f4meeting notice<CR>\f1
913: .DE
914: .br
915: .ne8
916: .P
917: The subject line will look the same to the
918: recipient of the message.
919: Notice that when putting the subject
920: on the command line, you must enclose a subject
921: that has more than one word in quotation marks.
922: .H 2 "Editing the Message"
923: .IX \f4mailx\f1, edit message
924: When you are in the input mode of \f4mailx\f1, you can invoke an
925: editor by entering the <tilde e> escape
926: at the beginning of a line.
927: The following example shows how to use tilde:
928: .SS
929: .ta 1i
930: $ \f4mailx sms<CR>\fP
931: Subject: \f4Testing my tilde<CR>
932: When entering the text of a message<CR>
933: that has somehow gotten grabled<CR>
934: you may invoke your favorite editor<CR>
935: by means of a <tilde e> (~e).\fP
936: .
937: .
938: .
939: .ta
940: .SE
941: Notice that you have misspelled a word in your message.
942: To correct the error, use \f4\~e\f1 to invoke the editor,
943: in this case the default editor, \f4ed\f1.
944: .SS
945: .ta 1i
946: .
947: .
948: .
949: \f4\~e<CR>\fP
950: 12
951: \f4/grabled/p\fP
952: that has somehow gotten grabled
953: \f4s/gra/gar/p\fP
954: that has somehow gotten garbled
955: \f4w\fP
956: 132
957: \f4q\fP
958: (continue)
959: \f4What more can I tell you?\fP
960: .
961: .
962: .
963: .ta
964: .SE
965: .P
966: In this example the \f4ed\f1 editor was used.
967: .IX \f4mailx\f1, edit message
968: Your \f4.profile\f1 or a \f4.mailrc\f1 file
969: controls which editor will be invoked when you issue a \f4\~e\f1 escape command.
970: The \f4\~v\f1 (tilde v) escape invokes an alternate editor (most commonly,
971: \f4vi\f1).
972: .P
973: When you exited from \f4ed\f1 (by typing \f4q\f1),
974: the \f4mailx\f1 command
975: returned you to input mode and prompted you
976: to continue your message.
977: At this point you may want to preview your corrected message by
978: entering a \f4\~p\f1 (tilde p) escape.
979: The \f4\~p\f1 escape prints out the entire message up to the point
980: where the \f4\~p\f1 was entered.
981: Thus, at any time during text entry, you can review the current
982: contents of your message.
983: .SS
984: .sp -1
985: .ta 1i
986: .
987: .
988: .
989: \f4\~p\fP
990: Message contains:
991: To: sms
992: Subject: Testing my tilde
993:
994: When entering the text of a message
995: that has somehow gotten garbled
996: you may invoke your favorite editor
997: by means of a <tilde e> (~e).
998: What more can I tell you?
999: (continue)
1000: ~.
1001: EOT
1002: $
1003: .ta
1004: .SE
1005: .H 2 "Incorporating Existing Text into Your Message"
1006: .IX \f4mailx\f1, incorporating existing text
1007: \f4mailx\f1 provides four ways to incorporate
1008: material from another source into
1009: the message you are creating.
1010: You can:
1011: .BL
1012: .LI
1013: read a file into your message
1014: .LI
1015: read a message you have received into a reply
1016: .LI
1017: incorporate the value of a named
1018: environment variable into a message
1019: .LI
1020: execute a shell command and incorporate
1021: the output of the command into a message
1022: .LE
1023: .P
1024: The following examples show the first two of these functions.
1025: These are the most commonly used of these four functions.
1026: For information about the other two, see the
1027: \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page of the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.
1028: .H 3 "Reading a File into a Message"
1029: .IX \f4mailx\f1, read file
1030: .SS
1031: $ \f4mailx sms<CR>\fP
1032: Subject: \f4Work Schedule<CR>
1033: As you can see from the following<CR>
1034: \~r letters/file1
1035: \f4"letters/file1" 10/725\f4
1036: we have our work cut out for us.
1037: Please give me your thoughts on this.
1038: \- Bob
1039: \~.\fP
1040: EOT
1041: $
1042: .SE
1043: .P
1044: As the example shows, the \f4\~r\f1 (tilde r) escape
1045: is followed by the name of the file you want to include.
1046: The system displays the file name and
1047: the number of lines and characters it contains.
1048: You are still in input mode and can continue with
1049: the rest of the message. When the recipient gets
1050: the message, the text of \f4letters/file1\f1 is included.
1051: (You can, of course, use the \f4\~p\f1 (tilde p) escape
1052: to preview the contents
1053: before sending your message.)
1054: .H 3 "Incorporating a Message from Your Mailbox into a Reply"
1055: .IX \f4mailx\f1, incorporating message from mailbox
1056: .SS
1057: $ \f4mailx<CR>\fP
1058: mailx version 4.0 Type ? for help.
1059: "/var/mail/roberts": 2 messages 1 new
1060: >N 1 abc Tue May 1 08:09 8/155 Meeting Notice
1061: 2 hqtrs Mon Apr 30 16:57 4/127 Schedule
1062: ? \f4m jones<CR>\fP
1063: Subject: \f4Hq Schedule<CR>
1064: Here is a copy of the schedule from headquarters...<CR>
1065: \~f 2<CR>\fP
1066: Interpolating: 2
1067: (continue)
1068: \f4As you can see, the boss will be visiting our district on<CR>
1069: the 14th and 15th.<CR>
1070: \- Robert
1071: \~.\fP
1072: EOT
1073: ?
1074: .SE
1075: .P
1076: There are several important points illustrated in this
1077: example:
1078: .BL
1079: .LI
1080: The sequence begins in command mode, where you read and respond
1081: .IX \f4mailx\f1, incorporating message from mailbox
1082: to your incoming mail.
1083: Then you switch into input mode
1084: by issuing the command \f4\m jones\f1
1085: (meaning send a message to \f4jones\f1).
1086: .LI
1087: The \f4\~f\f1 escape is used in input mode to forward a message in
1088: your mailbox and make it part of the outgoing message.
1089: The number \f42\f1 after the \f4~f\f1 means message 2 is to be
1090: interpolated (read in).
1091: .LI
1092: \f4mailx\f1 tells you that message 2 is being
1093: interpolated and then tells you to continue.
1094: .LI
1095: When you finish creating and sending the message,
1096: you are back in command mode,
1097: shown by the \f4?\f1 prompt.
1098: You may now do something else in command mode,
1099: or exit \f4mailx\f1 by typing \f4q\f1.
1100: .LE
1101: .P
1102: An alternate command, the \f4\~m\f1 (tilde m) escape,
1103: works the way that \f4\~f\f1 does except
1104: the read-in message is indented one tab stop. Both the \f4\~m\f1
1105: and \f4\~f\f1 commands work only if you start out in command mode and then
1106: enter a command that puts you into input mode.
1107: Other commands that work this way will be covered in the section
1108: "How to Manage Incoming Mail."
1109: .H 2 "Changing Parts of the Message Header"
1110: .IX \f4mailx\f1, changing message header
1111: The header of a \f4mailx\f1 message has four components:
1112: .BL
1113: .LI
1114: subject
1115: .LI
1116: recipient(s)
1117: .LI
1118: copy-to list
1119: .LI
1120: blind-copy list (a list of intended recipients that is not shown on
1121: the copies sent to other recipients)
1122: .LE
1123: .P
1124: When you enter the \f4mailx\f1 command followed by a login or
1125: an alias you are put into input mode and prompted for the
1126: subject of your message.
1127: Once you end the
1128: subject line by pressing the RETURN key,
1129: \f4mailx\f1 expects you to type
1130: the text of the message.
1131: If, at any point in input mode,
1132: you want to change or
1133: supplement some of the header information, there are four
1134: tilde escapes that you can use: \f4\~h\f1, \f4\~t\f1, \f4\~c\f1,
1135: and \f4\~b\f1.
1136: .VL .75i .25i
1137: .LI "\f4\~h\f1"
1138: displays all the header fields: subject, recipient,
1139: copy-to list, and blind copy list, with their current values.
1140: You can change a current value, add to it, or, by
1141: pressing the RETURN key, accept it.
1142: .LI "\f4\~t\f1"
1143: lets you add names to the list of recipients.
1144: Names can be either login names or aliases.
1145: .LI "\f4\~c\f1"
1146: lets you create or add to a copy-to list for the message.
1147: Enter either login names or aliases of those to whom a copy
1148: of the message should be sent.
1149: .LI "\f4\~b\f1"
1150: lets you create or add to a blind-copy
1151: list for the message.
1152: .LE
1153: .P
1154: All tilde escapes
1155: must be in the first position on a line.
1156: For the \f4\~t\f1, \f4\~c\f1 or \f4\~b\f1,
1157: any additional material on the
1158: line is taken to be input for the list in question.
1159: Entering a tilde escape with no additional material will display the
1160: header line in question, allowing you to backspace and make changes.
1161: Any additional material on a line
1162: that begins with a \f4\~h\f1 is ignored.
1163: .H 2 "Adding Your Signature"
1164: .IX \f4mailx\f1, adding your signature
1165: If you want, you can establish two different signatures
1166: with the \f4sign\f1 and \f4Sign\f1 environment variables.
1167: These can be invoked with
1168: the \f4\~a\f1 (tilde a) or \f4\~A\f1 (tilde A) escape,
1169: respectively.
1170: Assume you have set the value
1171: Supreme Commander to be called by the \f4\~A\f1 escape.
1172: Here's how it would work:
1173: .SS
1174: $ \f4mailx \-s orders bll<CR>
1175: Be ready to move out at 0400 hours.<CR>
1176: ~A<CR>\fP
1177: Supreme Commander
1178: ~.<CR>
1179: EOT
1180: $
1181: .SE
1182: .P
1183: Having both escapes (\f4\~a\f1 and \f4\~A\f1)
1184: allows you to set up
1185: two forms for your signature.
1186: However, because the sender's login automatically appears in
1187: the message header when the message is read, no
1188: signature is required to identify you.
1189: .H 2 "Keeping a Record of Messages You Send"
1190: .IX \f4mailx\f1, record of messages
1191: The \f4mailx\f1 command offers several ways
1192: to keep copies of outgoing messages.
1193: Two that you can use
1194: without setting any special environment variables
1195: are the \f4\~w\f1 (tilde w) escape
1196: and the \f4\-F\f1 option on the command line.
1197: .P
1198: The \f4\~w\f1 followed by a file name causes the text of the message to
1199: be written to the named file if the file does not already exist.
1200: For example:
1201: .SS
1202: $ \f4mailx bdr<CR>\fP
1203: Subject: \f4Saving Copies<CR>
1204: When you want to save a copy of<CR>
1205: the text of a message, use the tilde w.<CR>
1206: \~w savemail\fP
1207: "savemail" 2/71
1208: \f4\~.\fP
1209: EOT
1210: $
1211: .SE
1212: If you now display the contents of \f4savemail\f1, you will see
1213: this:
1214: .IX \f4mailx\f1, record of messages
1215: .SS
1216: $ \f4cat savemail<CR>\fP
1217: When you want to save a copy of
1218: the text of a message, use the tilde w.
1219: $
1220: .SE
1221: The drawback to this method, as you can see, is that
1222: none of the header information is saved.
1223: .P
1224: The \f4\-F\f1 option appends the text of the message
1225: to a file named after the first recipient.
1226: If you have used an alias for the recipient(s)
1227: the alias is first converted into the appropriate
1228: login(s) and the first login is used as
1229: the file name.
1230: As noted above, if you have a file by that name in your current
1231: directory, the
1232: text of the message is appended to it.
1233: .P
1234: Using the \f4\-F\f1 option on the command line does preserve the
1235: header information.
1236: It works as follows:
1237: .SS
1238: $ \f4mailx \-F bdr<CR>\fP
1239: \f4Subject: \fP Savings
1240: This method appends this message to a
1241: file in my current directory named bdr.
1242: ~.\fP
1243: EOT
1244: $
1245: .SE
1246: .P
1247: We can check the results by looking at the file \f4bdr\f1.
1248: .IX \f4mailx\f1, record of messages
1249: .SS
1250: $ \f4cat bdr<CR>\fP
1251: From: kol Fri May 2 11:14:45 1989
1252: To: bdr
1253: Subject: Savings
1254:
1255: This method appends this message to a
1256: file in my current directory named bdr.
1257: $
1258: .SE
1259: .H 2 "Exiting from \f4mailx\fP"
1260: .IX \f4mailx\f1, exiting from
1261: When you have finished composing your message,
1262: you can leave \f4mailx\f1 by typing any of the following
1263: three commands:
1264: .VL .75i .25i
1265: .LI "\f4\~.\f1"
1266: tilde period (\f4\~.\f1), or \f4cntrl-d\f1, is the standard way of leaving
1267: input mode.
1268: It also sends the message. If you entered
1269: input mode from the command mode of \f4mailx\f1, you
1270: now return to the command mode (shown by the
1271: \f4?\f1 prompt you receive after typing this command).
1272: If you started out in input mode, you
1273: now return to the shell (shown by the shell prompt).
1274: .LI "\f4\~q\f1"
1275: tilde q (\f4\~q\f1) simulates an interrupt. It lets you exit the
1276: input mode of \f4mailx\f1. If you have entered text for a message,
1277: it will be appended to the file called \f4dead.letter\f1
1278: in your home directory.
1279: .LI "\f4\~x\f1"
1280: tilde x (\f4\~x\f1) simulates an interrupt. It lets you exit the
1281: input mode of \f4mailx\f1 without saving anything.
1282: .LE
1283: .H 2 "Summary"
1284: In the preceding paragraphs we have described and shown
1285: examples of some of the tilde escape commands available when sending
1286: messages via the \f4mailx\f1 command.
1287: (See the \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.)
1288: .H 1 "How to Manage Incoming Mail"
1289: .IX \f4mailx\f1, incoming mail
1290: \f4mailx\f1 has over fifty commands that help you manage your incoming mail.
1291: See the \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1
1292: for a list of all of them (and their synonyms) in alphabetic order.
1293: The most commonly used commands (and arguments) are described in the
1294: following subsections:
1295: .BL
1296: .LI
1297: the \f2msglist\f1 argument
1298: .LI
1299: commands for reading and deleting mail
1300: .LI
1301: commands for saving mail
1302: .LI
1303: commands for replying to mail
1304: .LI
1305: commands for getting out of \f4mailx\f1
1306: .LE
1307: .H 2 "The \f4msglist\fP Argument"
1308: .IX \f4mailx\f1, \f4msglist\f1 argument
1309: .IX \f4msglist\f1 (see \f4mailx\f1)
1310: Many commands in \f4mailx\f1 take a form of
1311: the \f2msglist\f1 argument.
1312: This argument provides the command with a list of messages on which
1313: to operate.
1314: If a command expects a \f2msglist\f1 argument and you
1315: do not provide one,
1316: the command is performed on the current message.
1317: Any of the following formats can be used for a \f2msglist\f1:
1318: .VL 1i .5i
1319: .LI "\f2n\f1"
1320: use message number \f2n\f1 as the current message
1321: .LI "\f4^\f1"
1322: the first undeleted message
1323: .LI "\f4$\f1"
1324: the last message
1325: .LI "\f4*\f1"
1326: all messages
1327: .LI "\f2n-m\f1"
1328: an inclusive range of message numbers
1329: .LI "\f2user\f1"
1330: all messages from \f2user\f1
1331: .LI "/\f2string\f1"
1332: All messages with \f2string\f1 in the
1333: subject line (case is ignored)
1334: .LI "\f4:\f2c\f1"
1335: all messages of type \f2c\f1 where \f2c\f1 is:
1336: .in +.5i
1337: .sp .5
1338: .nf
1339: \f4d\f1 - deleted messages
1340: \f4n\f1 - new messages
1341: \f4o\f1 - old messages
1342: \f4r\f1 - read messages
1343: \f4u\f1 - unread messages
1344: .in -.5i
1345: .fi
1346: .in 0
1347: .sp
1348: The context of the command determines whether
1349: this type of specification makes sense.
1350: .LE
1351: .P
1352: Here are two examples (the \f4?\f1 is the command mode prompt):
1353: .SS
1354: ? \f4d 1-3\|\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\fP[ \f2Delete messages 1, 2 and 3\fP ]
1355: ? \f4s bdr bdrmail\0\0\fP[ \f2Save all messages from user \f1bdr\f2 in a file named \f1bdrmail\f4. ]
1356: ?
1357: .SE
1358: Additional examples may be found throughout the next three
1359: subsections.
1360: .H 2 "Commands for Reading and Deleting Mail"
1361: When a message arrives in your mailbox
1362: the following notice appears on your screen:
1363: .DS I
1364: \f4you have mail\f1
1365: .DE
1366: The notice appears when you log in or when you
1367: return to the shell from another procedure.
1368: .H 3 "Reading Mail"
1369: .IX \f4mailx\f1, reading mail
1370: To read your mail, enter the \f4mailx\f1 command with or without arguments.
1371: Execution of the command places you in the command mode of
1372: \f4mailx\f1.
1373: The next thing that appears on your screen is
1374: a display that looks something like this:
1375: .SS
1376: mailx version 4.0 Type ? for help.
1377: "/var/mail/bdr": 3 messages 3 new
1378: > N 1 rbt Thur Apr 30 14:20 8/190 Review Session
1379: N 2 admin Thur Apr 30 15:56 5/84 New printer
1380: N 3 sms Fri May 1 08:39 64/1574 Reorganization
1381: ?
1382: .SE
1383: .P
1384: The first line identifies the version of
1385: \f4mailx\f1 used on your system, and
1386: reminds you that help is available by typing a question mark (\f4?\f1).
1387: The second line shows the path name of the file used
1388: as input to the display (the file name is normally the same
1389: as your login name) together with a count of the total
1390: number of messages and their status.
1391: .IX \f4mailx\f1, reading mail
1392: The rest of the display is header
1393: information from the incoming messages.
1394: The messages are numbered in sequence with the last one
1395: received at the bottom of the list.
1396: To the left of the numbers there may be a status indicator; N
1397: for new, U for unread.
1398: A greater than sign (\f4>\f1) points to the current message.
1399: Other fields in the header line show the login of the
1400: originator of the message, the day, date and time it
1401: was delivered, the number of lines and characters
1402: in the message, and the message subject.
1403: The last field may be blank.
1404: .P
1405: When the header information is displayed on your screen,
1406: you can print messages either by pressing the RETURN key
1407: or entering a command followed by a \f2msglist\f1
1408: argument.
1409: If you enter a command with no \f2msglist\f1 argument, the
1410: command acts on the message pointed at by the \f4>\f1 sign.
1411: Pressing the RETURN key
1412: is equivalent to typing the \f4p\f1 (for print) command without
1413: a \f2msglist\f1 argument; the message displayed is the one
1414: pointed at by the \f4>\f1 sign.
1415: To read some other message (or several
1416: others in succession),
1417: enter a \f4p\f1 (for print)
1418: or \f4t\f1 (for type)
1419: followed by the message number(s).
1420: Here are some examples:
1421: .SS
1422: ? \f4<CR>\fP \0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0[ \f2Print the current message.\fP ]
1423: ? \f4p 2<CR>\fP \|\0\0\0\0\|\0[ \f2Print message number 2.\fP ]
1424: ? \f4p sms<CR>\fP\0\0\0[ \f2Print all messages from user sms.\fP ]
1425: .SE
1426: The command \f4t\f1 (for type) is a synonym of \f4p\f1 (for print).
1427: .H 3 "Scanning Your Mailbox"
1428: .IX mailbox
1429: The \f4mailx\f1 command lets you
1430: look through the messages in your mailbox
1431: while you decide which ones need your immediate attention.
1432: .P
1433: When you first enter the \f4mailx\f1 command mode, the banner tells
1434: you how many messages you have and displays the header line for
1435: twenty messages.
1436: (If you are connected to the computer over a slow communication line, only
1437: the header lines for ten messages are displayed.)
1438: If the total number of messages exceeds one screenful, you can
1439: display the next screen by entering the \f4z\f1 command.
1440: Typing \f4z\-\f1 causes a previous screen
1441: (if there is one) to be displayed.
1442: If you want to see the
1443: header information for a specific group of
1444: messages, enter the \f4f\f1 (for from) command
1445: followed by the \f2msglist\f1
1446: argument.
1447: .P
1448: Here are examples of those commands:
1449: .SS
1450: ? \f4z\fP\0\0\0\0\0[ \f2Scroll forward one screenful of header lines.\fP ]
1451: ? \f4z\-\fP\0\0\0\0[ \f2Scroll backward one screenful.\fP ]
1452: ? \f4f sms\fP\0\0[ \f2Display headers of all messages from user sms.\fP ]
1453: .SE
1454: .H 3 "Switching to Other Mail Files"
1455: .IX \f4mailx\f1, other mail files
1456: When you enter \f4mailx\f1 by issuing the command:
1457: .DS I
1458: \f4$ \f4mailx<CR>\f1
1459: .DE
1460: you are looking at the file \f4/var/mail/\f2your_login\f1.
1461: .sp
1462: \f4mailx\f1 lets you switch to other mail files and use any of the
1463: \f4mailx\f1 commands on their contents.
1464: (You can even switch to a non-mail file, but if you try to use
1465: \f4mailx\f1 commands you are told \f4No applicable messages\f1.)
1466: The switch to another file is done with the \f4fi\f1 or \f4fold\f1 command
1467: (they are synonyms) followed by the \f2filename\f1.
1468: The following special characters
1469: work in place of the \f2filename\f1 argument:
1470: .VL .75i .25i
1471: .LI "\f4%\f1"
1472: the user's default mailbox (\f4/var/mail/\f2your_login\f1)
1473: .LI "\f4%\f2login\f1"
1474: the mailbox of the owner of \f2login\f1 (if you have the required permissions)
1475: .LI "\f4#\f1"
1476: the previous file
1477: .LI "\f4&\f1"
1478: the current mbox
1479: .LE
1480: Here is an example of how this might look on your screen:
1481: .SS
1482: $ \f4mailx<CR>\fP
1483: mailx version 4.0 Type ? for help.
1484: "/var/mail/sms": 3 messages 2 new 3 unread
1485: U 1 jaf Sat May 9 07:55 7/137 test25
1486: > N 2 todd Sat May 9 08:59 9/377 UNITS requirements
1487: N 3 has Sat May 9 11:08 29/1214 access to bailey
1488:
1489: ? \f4fi &\fP [\f2 Enter this command to transfer to your mbox.\fP ]
1490:
1491: Held 3 messages in /var/mail/sms
1492: "+mbox": 74 messages 10 unread
1493: . [\f2 Enter any commands for your mbox.\fP ]
1494: .
1495: .
1496: ? \f4q<CR>\fP
1497: $
1498: .SE
1499: .H 3 "Deleting Mail"
1500: .IX \f4mailx\f1, deleting mail
1501: To delete a message, enter a \f4d\f1 followed by a \f2msglist\f1 argument.
1502: If the \f2msglist\f1 argument is omitted, the current message is deleted.
1503: The messages are not deleted until you leave the mailbox
1504: file you are processing.
1505: Until you do, the \f4u\f1 (for \f4u\f1ndelete) gives you the opportunity
1506: to change your mind.
1507: Once you have issued the quit command (\f4q\f1) or switched to
1508: another file, however,
1509: the deleted messages are gone.
1510: .P
1511: \f4mailx\f1 permits you to combine the delete and print command and
1512: enter a \f4dp\f1.
1513: This is like saying, "Delete the message I just read and show
1514: me the next one."
1515: Here are some examples of the delete command:
1516: .SS
1517: ? \f4d *\fP\0\0\0\0[ \f2Delete all my messages.\fP ]
1518: ? \f4d :r\fP\0\0\0\0[ \f2Delete all messages that have been read.\fP ]
1519: ? \f4dp\fP\0\0\0\0\|[ \f2Delete the current message and print the next one.\fP ]
1520: ? \f4d 2-5\fP\0[ \f2Delete messages 2 through 5.\fP ]
1521: .SE
1522: .H 2 "Commands for Saving Mail"
1523: .IX \f4mailx\f1, saving mail
1524: All messages not specifically deleted are saved when you quit
1525: \f4mailx\f1.
1526: Messages that have been read
1527: are saved in a file in your home directory called \f4mbox\f1.
1528: Messages that have not been read are held in your
1529: mailbox (\f4/var/mail/\f2your_login\f1).
1530: .P
1531: The command to save messages comes in two forms: with an
1532: upper case or a lower case \f4s\f1.
1533: The syntax for the upper case version is:
1534: .DS I
1535: \f4S\f1 [\f2msglist\f1]
1536: .DE
1537: Messages specified by the \f2msglist\f1 argument are saved in a
1538: file in the current directory named for the login of the first
1539: message in the list.
1540: .P
1541: The syntax for the lower case version is:
1542: .DS I
1543: \f4s\f1 [\f2msglist\f1] \f2filename\f1
1544: \f2or\fP
1545: \f4s\f1
1546: .DE
1547: Messages specified by the \f2msglist\f1 argument are saved in
1548: the file named in the \f2filename\f1 argument.
1549: If you omit the \f2msglist\f1 argument, the current message is
1550: saved.
1551: If you are using logins for file names, this can lead to some
1552: ambiguity.
1553: If \f4mailx\f1 is puzzled, you will get an error message.
1554: Finally, if both the \f2msglist\f1 and the \f2filename\f1
1555: are omitted, the mail is saved in a file called
1556: .UI mbox
1557: in your home directory.
1558: .H 2 "Commands for Replying to Mail"
1559: .IX \f4mailx\f1, replying to mail
1560: The command for replying to mail comes in two forms:
1561: with an upper case or a lower case \f4r\f1.
1562: The difference between the two forms is that the
1563: upper case form (\f4R\f1) causes your response
1564: to be sent only to the originator of the message,
1565: while the lower case form (\f4r\f1) causes your
1566: response to be sent not only to the originator
1567: but also to all other recipients.
1568: .P
1569: When you reply to a message,
1570: the original subject line is picked
1571: up and used as the subject of your reply.
1572: Here's an example of the way it looks:
1573: .SS
1574: $ \f4mailx<CR>\fP
1575:
1576: mailx version 4.0 Type ? for help.
1577: "/var/mail/sms": 3 messages 2 new 3 unread
1578: U 1 jaf Wed May 9 07:55 7/137 test25
1579: > N 2 todd Wed May 9 08:59 9/377 UNITS requirements
1580: N 3 has Wed May 9 11:08 29/1214 access to bailey
1581:
1582: ? \f4R 2\fP
1583: To: todd
1584: Subject: Re: UNITS requirements
1585: .SE
1586: Assuming the message about ``UNITS requirements'' had been sent to
1587: .IX \f4mailx\f1, replying to mail
1588: some additional people, and the lower case \f4r\f1 had been used,
1589: the header might have appeared like this:
1590: .SS
1591: ? \f4r 2\fP
1592: To: todd eg has jcb bdr
1593: Subject: Re: UNITS requirements
1594: .SE
1595: .H 2 "Commands for Getting Out of \f4mailx\fP"
1596: .IX \f4mailx\f1, getting out of
1597: There are two standard ways of leaving \f4mailx\f1: with a \f4q\f1
1598: or with an \f4x\f1.
1599: If you leave \f4mailx\f1 with a \f4q\f1, you see messages that summarize
1600: what you did with your mail.
1601: They look like this:
1602: .SS
1603: ? \f4q<CR>\fP
1604: Saved 1 message in /fs1/bdr/mbox
1605: Held 1 message in /var/mail/bdr
1606: $
1607: .SE
1608: .P
1609: \&From the example we can surmise that user \f4bdr\f1 had at least
1610: two messages, read one and either left the other unread or
1611: issued a command asking that it be held in \f4/var/mail/bdr\f1.
1612: If there were more than two messages, the others were deleted
1613: or saved in other files.
1614: \f4mailx\f1 does not issue a message about those.
1615: .P
1616: If you leave \f4mailx\f1 with an \f4x\f1,
1617: it is almost as if you had never entered.
1618: Mail read and messages deleted are retained in your mailbox.
1619: However, if you have saved messages in other files, that action
1620: has already taken place and is not undone by the \f4x\f1.
1621: .H 2 "\f4mailx\fP Command Summary"
1622: .IX iend \f4mailx\f1 command
1623: In the preceding subsections we have described
1624: some of the most frequently used
1625: \f4mailx\f1 commands.
1626: (See the \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the
1627: \f2User's Reference Manual\f1 for a complete list.)
1628: If you need help while you are in the command
1629: mode of \f4mailx\f1, type either a \f4?\f1 or
1630: \f4help\f1 at the \f4?\f1 prompt.
1631: A list of \f4mailx\f1 commands and what they do will
1632: be displayed on your terminal screen.
1633: .H 1 "The \f4.mailrc\fP File" "mailx"
1634: .IX istart \f4.mailrc\f1
1635: The \f4.mailrc\f1 file contains commands to be executed
1636: when you invoke \f4mailx\f1.
1637: .P
1638: There may be a system-wide start-up file
1639: (\f4/etc/mail/mailx.rc\f1) on your system.
1640: If it exists it is used by the system administrator to set common variables.
1641: Variables set in your \f4.mailrc\f1 file
1642: take precedence over those in \f4mailx.rc.\f1
1643: .P
1644: Most \f4mailx\f1 commands are legal in the \f4.mailrc\f1 file.
1645: However, the following commands are NOT legal entries:
1646: .VL 1.5i .25i
1647: .LI "\f4!\f1\ (or)\ \f4shell\f1"
1648: escape to the shell
1649: .LI "\f4Copy\f1"
1650: save messages in \f2msglist\f1 in a file whose name is
1651: derived from the author
1652: .LI "\f4edit\f1"
1653: invoke the editor
1654: .LI "\f4visual\f1"
1655: invoke vi
1656: .LI "\f4followup\f1"
1657: respond to a message
1658: .LI "\f4Followup\f1"
1659: respond to a message, sending a copy to \f2msglist\f1
1660: .LI "\f4mail\f1"
1661: switch into input mode
1662: .LI "\f4reply\f1"
1663: respond to a message
1664: .LI "\f4Reply\f1"
1665: respond to the author of each message in
1666: \f2msglist\f1
1667: .LE
1668: .P
1669: You can create
1670: your own \f4.mailrc\f1 with any editor, or
1671: copy a friend's.
1672: Figure 11-5 shows a sample \f4.mailrc\f1 file.
1673: .FG "Sample \f4.mailrc\fP File"
1674: .SS
1675: if r
1676: \0\0cd $HOME/mail
1677: endif
1678: set allnet append asksub askcc autoprint dot
1679: set metoo quiet save showto header hold keep keepsave
1680: set outfolder
1681: set folder='mail'
1682: set record='outbox'
1683: set crt=24
1684: set EDITOR='/bin/ed'
1685: set sign='Roberts'
1686: set Sign='Jackson Roberts, Supervisor'
1687: set toplines=10
1688: alias fred\0\0fjs
1689: alias bob\0\0rcm
1690: alias alice\0\0ap
1691: alias donna\0\0dr
1692: alias pat\0\0pat
1693: group robertsgrp\0\0fred bob alice mark pat
1694: group accounts\0\0robertsgrp donna
1695: .SE
1696: .P
1697: The example in Figure 11-5 includes the commands
1698: you are most likely to find useful: the \f4set\f1 command and
1699: the \f4alias\f1 or \f4group\f1 commands.
1700: .P
1701: The \f4set\f1 command is used to establish values for
1702: environment variables.
1703: The command syntax is:
1704: .DS I
1705: \f4set
1706: set \f2name\fP
1707: \f4set \f2name\fP=\f2string\fP
1708: \f4set \f2name\fP=\f2number\f1
1709: .DE
1710: .P
1711: When you issue the \f4set\f1 command without any arguments,
1712: \f4set\f1 produces a list of all
1713: defined variables and their values.
1714: The argument \f2name\f1
1715: refers to an environmental variable.
1716: More than one \f2name\f1 can be entered after the \f4set\f1 command.
1717: Some variables take a string or numeric value.
1718: String values are enclosed in single quotes.
1719: .P
1720: When you put a value in an environment variable
1721: by making an assignment such as \f4HOME=\f2my_login\f1,
1722: you are telling the shell how to interpret that variable.
1723: However, this type of assignment in the shell does not
1724: make the value of the variable accessible to other
1725: UNIX system programs that need to reference environment
1726: variables.
1727: To make it accessible, you must export the variable.
1728: If you set the \f4TERM\f1 variable in your environment
1729: in Chapter 7 or Chapter 9),
1730: you will remember using the \f4export\f1 command
1731: shown in the following example:
1732: .DS I
1733: \f4$ \f4TERM=5425
1734: \f4$ \f4export TERM\f1
1735: .DE
1736: .P
1737: When you export variables from the shell in this way,
1738: programs that reference environment variables are said to import them.
1739: Some of these variables (such as \f4EDITOR\f1 and \f4VISUAL\f1)
1740: are not peculiar to \f4mailx\f1, but may be specified as general
1741: environment variables and imported from your
1742: execution environment.
1743: If a value is set in \f4.mailrc\f1 for an imported variable
1744: it overrides the imported value.
1745: There is an \f4unset\f1 command,
1746: but it works only
1747: against variables set in \f4.mailrc\f1;
1748: it has no effect on imported variables.
1749: .P
1750: There are too many environment variables that can be defined in
1751: your \f4.mailrc\f1 to be fully described in this document.
1752: For complete information, consult the
1753: \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.
1754: .P
1755: Three variables used in the example in Figure 11-5 deserve
1756: special attention because they show how
1757: to organize the filing of messages.
1758: These variables are: \f4folder\f1, \f4record\f1,
1759: and \f4outfolder\f1.
1760: All three are interrelated
1761: and control the directories and files
1762: in which copies of messages are kept.
1763: .P
1764: To put a value into the \f4folder\f1 variable,
1765: use the following format:
1766: .DS I
1767: \f4set folder=\f2directory\f1
1768: .DE
1769: This specifies the directory
1770: in which you want to save
1771: standard mail files.
1772: If the directory name specified does not begin with a \f4/\f1 (slash),
1773: it is presumed to be relative to \f4$HOME\f1.
1774: If \f4folder\f1 is an exported shell variable,
1775: you can specify file names
1776: (in commands that call for a \f2filename\f1 argument) with
1777: a \f4/\f1 before the name; the name will be expanded so that
1778: the file is put into the \f4folder\f1 directory.
1779: .P
1780: To put a value in the \f4record\f1 variable,
1781: use the following format:
1782: .DS I
1783: \f4set record=\f2filename\f1
1784: .DE
1785: This directs \f4mailx\f1
1786: to save a copy of all outgoing messages
1787: in the specified file.
1788: The header information is saved along with the text of the message.
1789: By default, this variable is disabled.
1790: .P
1791: The \f4outfolder\f1 variable
1792: causes the file in which you store copies of outgoing messages
1793: (enabled by the variable \f4record=\f1)
1794: to be located in the \f4folder\f1 directory.
1795: It is established by being named in a \f4set\f1 command.
1796: The default is \f4nooutfolder\f1.
1797: .P
1798: The \f4alias\f1 and \f4group\f1 commands are synonyms.
1799: In Figure 11-5, the \f4alias\f1 command is used to associate a
1800: name with a single login; the \f4group\f1 command is used to
1801: specify multiple names that can be called in with one pseudonym.
1802: This is a nice way to distinguish between single and group
1803: aliases, but if you want, you can treat the commands as exact equivalents.
1804: Notice, too, that aliases can be nested.
1805: .P
1806: In the \f4.mailrc\f1 file shown in Figure 11-5,
1807: the alias \f4robertsgrp\f1 represents five
1808: users; four of them are specified by previously defined
1809: aliases and one, \f4mark\fP, is specified by a login.
1810: The fifth user, \f4pat\f1, is specified by both a login and an alias.
1811: The next group command in the example, \f4accounts\f1,
1812: uses the group \f4robertsgrp\f1 plus the alias \f4donna\f1.
1813: It expands to six logins.
1814: .P
1815: The \f4.mailrc\f1 file in Figure 11-5
1816: includes an \f4if-endif\f1 command.
1817: The full syntax of that command is:
1818: .DS I
1819: \f4if s\||\|r
1820: \f2mail_commands\f4
1821: else
1822: \f2mail_commands\f4
1823: endif\f1
1824: .DE
1825: The \f4s\f1 and \f4r\f1 stand for send and receive,
1826: so you can cause
1827: some initializing commands to be executed according to whether
1828: \f4mailx\f1 is entered in input mode (send) or command mode (receive).
1829: In the preceding example, the command is issued to change directory
1830: to \f4$HOME/mail\f1 if reading mail.
1831: Here, the user elected to set up a subdirectory to
1832: handle incoming mail.
1833: .P
1834: The environment variables
1835: shown in this section are those most commonly
1836: included in the \f4.mailrc\f1 file.
1837: You can, however, specify any of them
1838: for one session only whenever
1839: you are in command mode.
1840: For a complete list of the environment variables
1841: you can set in \f4mailx\f1 see
1842: the \f4mailx\f1(1) manual page in the \f2User's Reference Manual\f1.
1843: .IX iend \f4.mailrc\f1
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