4.3BSD-Reno/share/man/cat1/mail.0
MAIL(1) UNIX Reference Manual MAIL(1)
NNAAMMEE
mmaaiill - send and receive mail
SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS
mmaaiill [--iiIInnvv] [--ss _s_u_b_j_e_c_t] [--cc _c_c-_a_d_d_r] [--bb _b_c_c-_a_d_d_r] _t_o-_a_d_d_r...
mmaaiill [--iiIInnNNvv] --ff [_n_a_m_e]
mmaaiill [--iiIInnNNvv] [--uu _u_s_e_r]
IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN
MMaaiill is a intelligent mail processing system, which has a command syntax
reminiscent of ed(1) with lines replaced by messages.
--vv Verbose mode. The details of delivery are displayed on the users
terminal.
--ii Ignore tty interrupt signals. This is particularly useful when us-
ing mmaaiill on noisy phone lines.
--II Forces mail to run in interactive mode even when input isn't a ter-
minal. In particular, the `~~' special character when sending mail
is only active in interactive mode.
--nn Inhibits reading /_u_s_r/_s_h_a_r_e/_m_i_s_c/_M_a_i_l._r_c upon startup.
--NN Inhibits the initial display of message headers when reading mail
or editing a mail folder.
--ss Specify subject on command line (only the first argument after the
--ss flag is used as a subject; be careful to quote subjects contain-
ing spaces.)
--cc Send carbon copies to _l_i_s_t of users.
--bb Send blind carbon copies to _l_i_s_t. List should be a comma-separated
list of names.
--ff Read in the contents of your _m_b_o_x (or the specified file) for pro-
cessing; when you _q_u_i_t, mmaaiill writes undeleted messages back to this
file.
--uu Is equivalent to:
mail -f /var/spool/mail/user
SSeennddiinngg mmaaiill
To send a message to one or more people, mmaaiill can be invoked with argu-
ments which are the names of people to whom the mail will be sent. You
are then expected to type in your message, followed by an `control-D' at
the beginning of a line. The section below _R_e_p_l_y_i_n_g _t_o _o_r _o_r_i_g_i_n_a_t_i_n_g
_m_a_i_l, describes some features of mmaaiill available to help you compose your
letter.
RReeaaddiinngg mmaaiill
In normal usage mmaaiill is given no arguments and checks your mail out of
the post office, then prints out a one line header of each message found.
The current message is initially the first message (numbered 1) and can
be printed using the pprriinntt command (which can be abbreviated (pp)). You
can move among the messages much as you move between lines in ed(1), with
the commands `++' and `--' moving backwards and forwards, and simple
numbers.
DDiissppoossiinngg ooff mmaaiill..
After examining a message you can ddeelleettee (dd) the message or rreeppllyy (rr) to
it. Deletion causes the mmaaiill program to forget about the message. This
is not irreversible; the message can be uunnddeelleetteedd (uu) by giving its
number, or the mmaaiill session can be aborted by giving the eexxiitt (xx)
command. Deleted messages will, however, usually disappear never to be
seen again.
SSppeecciiffyyiinngg mmeessssaaggeess
Commands such as pprriinntt and ddeelleettee can be given a list of message numbers
as arguments to apply to a number of messages at once. Thus ``delete 1
2'' deletes messages 1 and 2, while ``delete 1-5'' deletes messages 1
through 5. The special name `*' addresses all messages, and `$' ad-
dresses the last message; thus the command ttoopp which prints the first few
lines of a message could be used in ``top *'' to print the first few
lines of all messages.
RReeppllyyiinngg ttoo oorr oorriiggiinnaattiinngg mmaaiill..
You can use the rreeppllyy command to set up a response to a message, sending
it back to the person who it was from. Text you then type in, up to an
end-of-file, defines the contents of the message. While you are compos-
ing a message, mmaaiill treats lines beginning with the character `~~' spe-
cially. For instance, typing `~~mm' (alone on a line) will place a copy of
the current message into the response right shifting it by a tabstop (see
_i_n_d_e_n_t_p_r_e_f_i_x variable, below). Other escapes will set up subject fields,
add and delete recipients to the message and allow you to escape to an
editor to revise the message or to a shell to run some commands. (These
options are given in the summary below.)
EEnnddiinngg aa mmaaiill pprroocceessssiinngg sseessssiioonn..
You can end a mmaaiill session with the qquuiitt (qq) command. Messages which
have been examined go to your _m_b_o_x file unless they have been deleted in
which case they are discarded. Unexamined messages go back to the post
office. (See the --ff option above).
PPeerrssoonnaall aanndd ssyysstteemmwwiiddee ddiissttrriibbuuttiioonn lliissttss..
It is also possible to create a personal distribution lists so that, for
instance, you can send mail to ``cohorts'' and have it go to a group of
people. Such lists can be defined by placing a line like
alias cohorts bill ozalp jkf mark kridle@ucbcory
in the file ._m_a_i_l_r_c in your home directory. The current list of such
aliases can be displayed with the aalliiaass command in mmaaiill. System wide
distribution lists can be created by editing /_e_t_c/_a_l_i_a_s_e_s, see aliases(5)
and sendmail(8); these are kept in a different syntax. In mail you send,
personal aliases will be expanded in mail sent to others so that they
will be able to rreeppllyy to the recipients. System wide aalliiaasseess are not ex-
panded when the mail is sent, but any reply returned to the machine will
have the system wide alias expanded as all mail goes through sendmail.
NNeettwwoorrkk mmaaiill ((AARRPPAA,, UUUUCCPP,, BBeerrkknneett))
See mailaddr(7) for a description of network addresses.
MMaaiill has a number of options which can be set in the ._m_a_i_l_r_c file to
alter its behavior; thus ``set askcc'' enables the _a_s_k_c_c feature. (These
options are summarized below.)
SSUUMMMMAARRYY
(Adapted from the `Mail Reference Manual')
Each command is typed on a line by itself, and may take arguments follow-
ing the command word. The command need not be typed in its entirety -
the first command which matches the typed prefix is used. For commands
which take message lists as arguments, if no message list is given, then
the next message forward which satisfies the command's requirements is
used. If there are no messages forward of the current message, the
search proceeds backwards, and if there are no good messages at all, mmaaiill
types ``No applicable messages'' and aborts the command.
-- Print out the preceding message. If given a numeric argument
_n, goes to the _n'th previous message and prints it.
?? Prints a brief summary of commands.
!! Executes the shell (see sh(1) and csh(1)) command which fol-
lows.
PPrriinntt (PP) Like pprriinntt but also prints out ignored header fields. See
also pprriinntt, iiggnnoorree and rreettaaiinn.
RReeppllyy (RR) Reply to originator. Does not reply to other recipients of
the original message.
TTyyppee (TT) Identical to the PPrriinntt command.
aalliiaass (aa) With no arguments, prints out all currently-defined
aliases. With one argument, prints out that alias. With more
than one argument, creates a new alias or changes an old one.
aalltteerrnnaatteess
(aalltt) The aalltteerrnnaatteess command is useful if you have accounts on
several machines. It can be used to inform mmaaiill that the list-
ed addresses are really you. When you rreeppllyy to messages, mmaaiill
will not send a copy of the message to any of the addresses
listed on the aalltteerrnnaatteess list. If the aalltteerrnnaatteess command is
given with no argument, the current set of alternate names is
displayed.
cchhddiirr (cc) Changes the user's working directory to that specified, if
given. If no directory is given, then changes to the user's
login directory.
ccooppyy (ccoo) The ccooppyy command does the same thing that ssaavvee does, ex-
cept that it does not mark the messages it is used on for dele-
tion when you quit.
ddeelleettee (dd) Takes a list of messages as argument and marks them all as
deleted. Deleted messages will not be saved in _m_b_o_x, nor will
they be available for most other commands.
ddpp (also ddtt) Deletes the current message and prints the next mes-
sage. If there is no next message, mmaaiill says ``at EOF.''
eeddiitt (ee) Takes a list of messages and points the text editor at each
one in turn. On return from the editor, the message is read
back in.
eexxiitt (eexx or xx) Effects an immediate return to the Shell without
modifying the user's system mailbox, his _m_b_o_x file, or his edit
file in --ff.
ffiillee (ffii) The same as ffoollddeerr.
ffoollddeerrss List the names of the folders in your folder directory.
ffoollddeerr (ffoo) The ffoollddeerr command switches to a new mail file or folder.
With no arguments, it tells you which file you are currently
reading. If you give it an argument, it will write out changes
(such as deletions) you have made in the current file and read
in the new file. Some special conventions are recognized for
the name. # means the previous file, % means your system mail-
box, %user means user's system mailbox, & means your _m_b_o_x file,
and +folder means a file in your folder directory.
ffrroomm (ff) Takes a list of messages and prints their message headers.
hheeaaddeerrss (hh) Lists the current range of headers, which is an 18-message
group. If a `+' argument is given, then the next 18-message
group is printed, and if a `-' argument is given, the previous
18-message group is printed.
hheellpp A synonym for ??
hhoolldd (hhoo, also pprreesseerrvvee) Takes a message list and marks each message
therein to be saved in the user's system mailbox instead of in
_m_b_o_x. Does not override the ddeelleettee command.
iiggnnoorree NN..BB..:: IIggnnoorree has been superseded by rreettaaiinn.
Add the list of header fields named to the _i_g_n_o_r_e_d _l_i_s_t Header
fields in the ignore list are not printed on your terminal when
you print a message. This command is very handy for suppression
of certain machine-generated header fields. The TTyyppee and PPrriinntt
commands can be used to print a message in its entirety, in-
cluding ignored fields. If iiggnnoorree is executed with no argu-
ments, it lists the current set of ignored fields.
mmaaiill (mm) Takes as argument login names and distribution group names
and sends mail to those people.
mmbbooxx Indicate that a list of messages be sent to mmbbooxx in your home
directory when you quit. This is the default action for mes-
sages if you do _n_o_t have the hhoolldd option set.
nneexxtt (nn like ++ or CR) Goes to the next message in sequence and types
it. With an argument list, types the next matching message.
pprreesseerrvvee
(pprree) A synonym for hhoolldd.
pprriinntt (pp) Takes a message list and types out each message on the
user's terminal.
qquuiitt (qq) Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved
messages in the user's _m_b_o_x file in his login directory,
preserving all messages marked with hhoolldd or pprreesseerrvvee or never
referenced in his system mailbox, and removing all other mes-
sages from his system mailbox. If new mail has arrived during
the session, the message ``You have new mail'' is given. If
given while editing a mailbox file with the --ff flag, then the
edit file is rewritten. A return to the Shell is effected, un-
less the rewrite of edit file fails, in which case the user can
escape with the eexxiitt command.
rreeppllyy (rr) Takes a message list and sends mail to the sender and all
recipients of the specified message. The default message must
not be deleted.
rreessppoonndd A synonym for rreeppllyy.
rreettaaiinn Add the list of header fields named to the _r_e_t_a_i_n_e_d _l_i_s_t Only
the header fields in the retain list are shown on your terminal
when you print a message. All other header fields are
suppressed. The TTyyppee and PPrriinntt commands can be used to print a
message in its entirety. If rreettaaiinn is executed with no argu-
ments, it lists the current set of retained fields.
ssaavvee (ss) Takes a message list and a filename and appends each
message in turn to the end of the file. The filename in
quotes, followed by the line count and character count is
echoed on the user's terminal.
sseett (ssee) With no arguments, prints all variable values. Otherwise,
sets option. Arguments are of the form _o_p_t_i_o_n=_v_a_l_u_e (no space
before or after =) or _o_p_t_i_o_n. Quotation marks may be placed
around any part of the assignment statement to quote blanks or
tabs, i.e. ``set indentprefix="->"''
ssaavveeiiggnnoorree
SSaavveeiiggnnoorree is to ssaavvee what iiggnnoorree is to pprriinntt and ttyyppee. Header
fields thus marked are filtered out when saving a message by
ssaavvee or when automatically saving to _m_b_o_x.
ssaavveerreettaaiinn
SSaavveerreettaaiinn is to ssaavvee what rreettaaiinn is to pprriinntt and ttyyppee. Header
fields thus marked are the only ones saved with a message when
saving by ssaavvee or when automatically saving to _m_b_o_x.
SSaavveerreettaaiinn overrides ssaavveeiiggnnoorree.
sshheellll (sshh) Invokes an interactive version of the shell.
ssiizzee Takes a message list and prints out the size in characters of
each message.
ssoouurrccee The command reads commands from a file.
ttoopp Takes a message list and prints the top few lines of each. The
number of lines printed is controlled by the variable ttoopplliinneess
and defaults to five.
ttyyppee (tt) A synonym for pprriinntt.
uunnaalliiaass Takes a list of names defined by aalliiaass commands and discards
the remembered groups of users. The group names no longer have
any significance.
uunnddeelleettee
(uu) Takes a message list and marks each message as nnoott being
deleted.
uunnrreeaadd (UU) Takes a message list and marks each message as nnoott having
been read.
uunnsseett Takes a list of option names and discards their remembered
values; the inverse of sseett.
vviissuuaall (vv) Takes a message list and invokes the display editor on each
message.
wwrriittee (ww) Similar to ssaavvee, except that oonnllyy the message body (_w_i_t_h_o_u_t
the header) is saved. Extremely useful for such tasks as
sending and receiving source program text over the message
system.
xxiitt (xx) A synonym for eexxiitt.
zz MMaaiill presents message headers in windowfuls as described under
the hheeaaddeerrss command. You can move mmaaiill's attention forward to
the next window with the zz command. Also, you can move to the
previous window by using zz--.
TTiillddee//EEssccaappeess
Here is a summary of the tilde escapes, which are used when composing
messages to perform special functions. Tilde escapes are only recognized
at the beginning of lines. The name ``_t_i_l_d_e _e_s_c_a_p_e'' is somewhat of a
misnomer since the actual escape character can be set by the option
eessccaappee.
~~!!_c_o_m_m_a_n_d
Execute the indicated shell command, then return to the message.
~~bb_n_a_m_e ...
Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients but do
not make the names visible in the Cc: line ("blind" carbon copy).
~~cc_n_a_m_e ...
Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients.
~~dd Read the file ``_d_e_a_d._l_e_t_t_e_r'' from your home directory into the
message.
~~ee Invoke the text editor on the message collected so far. After the
editing session is finished, you may continue appending text to the
message.
~~ff_m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s
Read the named messages into the message being sent. If no
messages are specified, read in the current message. Message
headers currently being ignored (by the iiggnnoorree or rreettaaiinn command)
are not included.
~~FF_m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s
Identical to ~~ff, except all message headers are included.
~~hh Edit the message header fields by typing each one in turn and al-
lowing the user to append text to the end or modify the field by
using the current terminal erase and kill characters.
~~mm_m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s
Read the named messages into the message being sent, indented by a
tab or by the value of _i_n_d_e_n_t_p_r_e_f_i_x. If no messages are specified,
read the current message. Message headers currently being ignored
(by the iiggnnoorree or rreettaaiinn command) are not included.
~~MM_m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s
Identical to ~~mm, except all message headers are included.
~~pp Print out the message collected so far, prefaced by the message
header fields.
~~qq Abort the message being sent, copying the message to
``_d_e_a_d._l_e_t_t_e_r'' in your home directory if ssaavvee is set.
~~rr_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e
Read the named file into the message.
~~ss_s_t_r_i_n_g
Cause the named string to become the current subject field.
~~tt_n_a_m_e ...
Add the given names to the direct recipient list.
~~vv Invoke an alternate editor (defined by the VISUAL option) on the
message collected so far. Usually, the alternate editor will be a
screen editor. After you quit the editor, you may resume appending
text to the end of your message.
~~ww_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e
Write the message onto the named file.
~~||_c_o_m_m_a_n_d
Pipe the message through the command as a filter. If the command
gives no output or terminates abnormally, retain the original text
of the message. The command fmt(1) is often used as ccoommmmaanndd to re-
justify the message.
~~::_m_a_i_l-_c_o_m_m_a_n_d
Execute the given mail command. Not all commands, however, are
allowed.
~~~~_s_t_r_i_n_g
Insert the string of text in the message prefaced by a single ~.
If you have changed the escape character, then you should double
that character in order to send it.
MMaaiill OOppttiioonnss
Options are controlled via sseett and uunnsseett commands. Options may be either
binary, in which case it is only significant to see whether they are set
or not; or string, in which case the actual value is of interest. The
binary options include the following:
_a_p_p_e_n_d Causes messages saved in _m_b_o_x to be appended to the end rath-
er than prepended. This should always be set (perhaps in
/_u_s_r/_s_h_a_r_e/_m_i_s_c/_M_a_i_l._r_c).
_a_s_k Causes mmaaiill to prompt you for the subject of each message you
send. If you respond with simply a newline, no subject field
will be sent.
_a_s_k_c_c Causes you to be prompted for additional carbon copy reci-
pients at the end of each message. Responding with a newline
indicates your satisfaction with the current list.
_a_u_t_o_p_r_i_n_t Causes the ddeelleettee command to behave like ddpp - thus, after
deleting a message, the next one will be typed automatically.
_d_e_b_u_g Setting the binary option _d_e_b_u_g is the same as specifying --dd
on the command line and causes mmaaiill to output all sorts of
information useful for debugging mmaaiill.
_d_o_t The binary option _d_o_t causes mmaaiill to interpret a period alone
on a line as the terminator of a message you are sending.
_h_o_l_d This option is used to hold messages in the system mailbox by
default.
_i_g_n_o_r_e Causes interrupt signals from your terminal to be ignored and
echoed as @'s.
_i_g_n_o_r_e_e_o_f An option related to _d_o_t is _i_g_n_o_r_e_e_o_f which makes mmaaiill refuse
to accept a control-d as the end of a message. _I_g_n_o_r_e_e_o_f
also applies to mmaaiill command mode.
_m_e_t_o_o Usually, when a group is expanded that contains the sender,
the sender is removed from the expansion. Setting this op-
tion causes the sender to be included in the group.
_n_o_h_e_a_d_e_r Setting the option _n_o_h_e_a_d_e_r is the same as giving the --NN flag
on the command line.
_n_o_s_a_v_e Normally, when you abort a message with two RUBOUT (erase or
delete) mmaaiill copies the partial letter to the file
``_d_e_a_d._l_e_t_t_e_r'' in your home directory. Setting the binary
option _n_o_s_a_v_e prevents this.
_R_e_p_l_y_a_l_l Reverses the sense of rreeppllyy and RReeppllyy commands.
_q_u_i_e_t Suppresses the printing of the version when first invoked.
_v_e_r_b_o_s_e Setting the option _v_e_r_b_o_s_e is the same as using the --vv flag
on the command line. When mail runs in verbose mode, the ac-
tual delivery of messages is displayed on he users terminal.
OOppttiioonn SSttrriinngg VVaalluueess
_E_D_I_T_O_R Pathname of the text editor to use in the eeddiitt command and ~~ee
escape. If not defined, then a default editor is used.
_L_I_S_T_E_R Pathname of the directory lister to use in the ffoollddeerrss com-
mand. Default is /_b_i_n/_l_s.
_P_A_G_E_R Pathname of the program to use in the mmoorree command or when
ccrrtt variable is set. The default paginator more(1) is used
if this option is not defined.
_S_H_E_L_L Pathname of the shell to use in the !! command and the ~~!!
escape. A default shell is used if this option is not de-
fined.
_V_I_S_U_A_L Pathname of the text editor to use in the vviissuuaall command and
~~vv escape.
_c_r_t The valued option _c_r_t is used as a threshold to determine how
long a message must be before _P_A_G_E_R is used to read it. If
_c_r_t is set without a value, then the height of the terminal
screen stored in the system is used to compute the threshold
(see stty(1)).
_e_s_c_a_p_e If defined, the first character of this option gives the
character to use in the place of ~ to denote escapes.
_f_o_l_d_e_r The name of the directory to use for storing folders of mes-
sages. If this name begins with a `/', mmaaiill considers it to
be an absolute pathname; otherwise, the folder directory is
found relative to your home directory.
_M_B_O_X The name of the _m_b_o_x file. It can be the name of a folder.
The default is ``mbox'' in the user's home directory.
_r_e_c_o_r_d If defined, gives the pathname of the file used to record all
outgoing mail. If not defined, then outgoing mail is not so
saved.
_i_n_d_e_n_t_p_r_e_f_i_x
String used by the ``~m'' tilde escape for indenting mes-
sages, in place of the normal tab character (^I). Be sure to
quote the value if it contains spaces or tabs.
_t_o_p_l_i_n_e_s If defined, gives the number of lines of a message to be
printed out with the ttoopp command; normally, the first five
lines are printed.
EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT
MMaaiill utilizes the HOME and USER environment variables.
FFIILLEESS
/_v_a_r/_s_p_o_o_l/_m_a_i_l/* post office
~/mbox your old mail
~/.mailrc file giving initial mail commands
/_t_m_p/_R* temporary files
/_u_s_r/_s_h_a_r_e/_m_i_s_c/_M_a_i_l._h_e_l_p* help files
/_u_s_r/_s_h_a_r_e/_m_i_s_c/_M_a_i_l._r_c system initialization file
SSEEEE AALLSSOO
binmail(1), fmt(1), newaliases(1), vacation(1), aliases(5), mailaddr(7),
sendmail(8) and _T_h_e _M_a_i_l _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _M_a_n_u_a_l.
HHIISSTTOORRYY
A mmaaiill command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX. This man page is derived
from _T_h_e _M_a_i_l _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _M_a_n_u_a_l originally written by Kurt Shoens.
BBUUGGSS
There are some flags that are not documented here. Most are not useful to
the general user.
Usually, mmaaiill is just a link to MMaaiill, which can be confusing.