mail

k -words

is an intelligent mail processing system which has a command syntax reminiscent of ed(1) with lines replaced by messages.

The options are as follows:

• a Specify additional header fields on the command line such as "X-Loop: foo@bar" etc. You have to use quotes if the string contains spaces. This argument may be specified more than once, the headers will then be concatenated.
• bcc-addr Send blind carbon copies to
• cc-addr Send carbon copies to list of users. should be a comma separated list of names.
• e Don't send empty mails. If the body is empty skip the mail.
• name Read in the contents of your mailbox (or the specified file for processing; when you quit, writes undeleted messages back to this file.
• I Forces to run in interactive mode, even when input is not a terminal. In particular, the special c ~ command character, used when sending mail, is only available interactively.
• i Ignore tty interrupt signals. This is particularly useful when using on noisy phone lines.
• N Inhibits initial display of message headers when reading mail or editing a mail folder.
• n Inhibits reading

upon startup.

subject Specify subject on command line (only the first argument after the flag is used as a subject; be careful to quote subjects containing spaces).

user Equivalent to:

except that locking is done.

v Verbose mode. The details of delivery are displayed on the user's terminal. At startup time, will execute commands in the system command file,

unless explicitly told not to by using the option. Next, the commands in the user's personal command file

are executed. then examines its command line options to determine whether the user requested a new message to be sent or existing messages in a mailbox to be examined. To send a message to one or more people, can be invoked with arguments which are the names of people to whom the mail will be sent. You are then expected to type in your message, followed by a control-D

at the beginning of a line. The section below, describes some features of available to help you compose your letter. In normal usage, 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 set to the first message (numbered 1) and can be printed using the c print command (which can be abbreviated c p ) . Moving among the messages is much like moving between lines in ed(1) you may use c + and c - to shift forwards and backwards, or simply enter a message number to move directly. After examining a message you can c delete

or c reply

to it. Deletion causes the program to forget about the message. This is not irreversible; the message can be c undeleted

by giving its number, or the session can be aborted by giving the c exit

command. Deleted messages, however, will usually disappear, never to be seen again. Commands such as c print and c delete can be given a list of message numbers as arguments to apply to a number of messages at once. Thus c delete 1 2 deletes messages 1 and 2, while c delete 1-5 deletes messages 1 through 5. The special name addresses all messages and addresses the last message; thus the command c top which prints the first few lines of a message could be used in c top * to print the first few lines of all messages. You can use the c reply 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 composing a message, treats lines beginning with the tilde

character specially. For instance, typing c ~m (alone on a line) will place a copy of the current message into the response, right shifting it by a single tab-stop (see the 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.) You can end a session with the c quit

command. Messages which have been examined go to your file unless they have been deleted, in which case they are discarded. Unexamined messages go back to the post office (see the option above). It is also possible to create personal distribution lists so that, for instance, you can send mail to and have it go to a group of people. Such lists can be defined by placing a line like

in the file

in your home directory. The current list of such aliases can be displayed with the c alias command in System wide distribution lists can be created by editing

(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 c reply to the recipients. System wide aliases are not expanded when the mail is sent, but any reply returned to the machine will have the system wide alias expanded as all mail goes through See mailaddr(7) for a description of network addresses.

has a number of options which can be set in the

file to alter its behavior; thus c set askcc enables the feature. (These options are summarized below.)

(Adapted from the

Each command is typed on a line by itself, and may take arguments following 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, types and aborts the command.

• - Print out the preceding message. If given a numeric argument goes to the previous message and prints it.
• ? Prints a brief summary of commands.
• ! Executes the shell (see sh(1) and csh(1) command which follows.
• alias

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.

alternates

The c alternates command is useful if you have accounts on several machines. It can be used to inform that the listed addresses are really you. When you c reply to messages, will not send a copy of the message to any of the addresses listed on the c alternates list. If the c alternates command is given with no argument, the current set of alternate names is displayed.

chdir

Changes the user's working directory to that specified, if given. If no directory is given, then changes to the user's login directory.

copy

The c copy command does the same thing that c save does, except that it does not mark the messages it is used on for deletion when you quit.

delete

Takes a list of messages as argument and marks them all as deleted. Deleted messages will not be saved in nor will they be available for most other commands.

dp (also c dt ) Deletes the current message and prints the next message. If there is no next message, says

edit

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.

exit

or c x ) Effects an immediate return to the shell without modifying the user's system mailbox, his file, or his edit file in

file

The same as c folder .

folder

The c folder 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 mailbox, %user means user's system mailbox, & means your file, and +folder means a file in your folder directory.

folders List the names of the folders in your folder directory.

from

Takes a list of messages and prints their message headers.

headers

Lists the current windowful of headers. To view the next or previous group of headers, see the c z command.

help A synonym for c ? .

hold

also c preserve ) Takes a message list and marks each message therein to be saved in the user's system mailbox instead of in Does not override the c delete command.

ignore Add the list of header fields named to the 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 c Type and c Print commands can be used to print a message in its entirety, including ignored fields. If c ignore is executed with no arguments, it lists the current set of ignored fields.

inc Incorporate any new messages that have arrived while mail is being read. The new messages are added to the end of the message list, and the current message is reset to be the first new mail message. This does not renumber the existing message list, nor does it cause any changes made so far to be saved.

list

List the valid commands.

mail

Takes as argument login names and distribution group names and sends mail to those people.

mbox Indicate that a list of messages be sent to in your home directory when you quit. This is the default action for messages if you do have the c hold option set.

more

Takes a message list and invokes the pager on that list.

next

(like c + or Goes to the next message in sequence and types it. With an argument list, types the next matching message.

preserve

A synonym for c hold .

Print

Like c print but also prints out ignored header fields. See also c print , c ignore , and c retain .

print

Takes a message list and types out each message on the user's terminal.

quit

Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved messages in the user's file in his login directory, preserving all messages marked with c hold or c preserve or never referenced in his system mailbox, and removing all other messages from his system mailbox. If new mail has arrived during the session, the message is given. If given while editing a mailbox file with the flag, then the edit file is rewritten. A return to the shell is effected, unless the rewrite of edit file fails, in which case the user can escape with the c exit command.

Reply

Reply to originator. Does not reply to other recipients of the original message.

reply

Takes a message list and sends mail to the sender and all recipients of the specified message. The default message must not be deleted.

respond A synonym for c reply .

retain Add the list of header fields named to the 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 c Type and c Print commands can be used to print a message in its entirety. If c retain is executed with no arguments, it lists the current set of retained fields.

save

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.

saveignore c saveignore is to c save what c ignore is to c print and c type . Header fields thus marked are filtered out when saving a message by c save or when automatically saving to

saveretain c saveretain is to c save what c retain is to c print and c type . Header fields thus marked are the only ones saved with a message when saving by c save or when automatically saving to c saveretain overrides c saveignore .

set

With no arguments, prints all variable values. Otherwise, sets option. Arguments are of the form (no space before or after =) or Quotation marks may be placed around any part of the assignment statement to quote blanks or tabs, i.e., c set indentprefix=-> .

shell

Invokes an interactive version of the shell.

size Takes a message list and prints out the size in characters of each message.

source The c source command reads commands from a file.

top Takes a message list and prints the top few lines of each. The number of lines printed is controlled by the variable c toplines and defaults to five.

Type

Identical to the c Print command.

type

A synonym for c print .

unalias Takes a list of names defined by c alias commands and discards the remembered groups of users. The group names no longer have any significance.

undelete

Takes a message list and marks each message as not being deleted.

unread

Takes a message list and marks each message as not having been read.

unset Takes a list of option names and discards their remembered values; the inverse of c set .

visual

Takes a message list and invokes the display editor on each message.

write

Similar to c save , except that c only the message body (without the header) is saved. Extremely useful for such tasks as sending and receiving source program text over the message system.

xit

A synonym for c exit .

z presents message headers in windowfuls as described under the c headers command. You can move attention forward to the next window with the c z command. Also, you can move to the previous window by using c z- . 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 is somewhat of a misnomer since the actual escape character can be set by the option c escape .

• command Execute the indicated shell command, then return to the message.
• ... 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).
• ... Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients.
• ~d Read the file

from your home directory into the message.

~e Invoke the text editor on the message collected so far. After the editing session is finished, you may continue appending text to the message.

messages Identical to c ~f , except all message headers are included.

messages 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 c ignore or c retain command) are not included.

~h Edit the message header fields by typing each one in turn and allowing the user to append text to the end or modify the field by using the current terminal erase and kill characters.

messages Identical to c ~m , except all message headers are included.

messages Read the named messages into the message being sent, indented by a tab or by the value of If no messages are specified, read the current message. Message headers currently being ignored (by the c ignore or c retain command) are not included.

~p Print out the message collected so far, prefaced by the message header fields.

~q Abort the message being sent, copying the message to

in your home directory if c save is set.

string Use as the Reply-To field.

filename Read the named file into the message.

string Cause the named string to become the current subject field.

... Add the given names to the direct recipient list.

~v Invoke an alternate editor (defined by the 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.

filename Write the message onto the named file.

command 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 c command to rejustify the message.

mail-command Execute the given mail command. Not all commands, however, are allowed.

string 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. Options are controlled via c set and c unset 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:

• append Causes messages saved in to be appended to the end rather than prepended. This should always be set (perhaps in

asksub Causes to prompt you for the subject of each message you send. If you respond with simply a newline, no subject field will be sent.

askbcc Causes you to be prompted for additional blind carbon copy recipients at the end of each message. Responding with a newline indicates your satisfaction with the current list.

askcc Causes you to be prompted for additional carbon copy recipients at the end of each message. Responding with a newline indicates your satisfaction with the current list.

autoinc Causes new mail to be automatically incorporated when it arrives. Setting this is similar to issuing the c inc command at each prompt, except that the current message is not reset when new mail arrives.

autoprint Causes the c delete command to behave like c dp ; thus, after deleting a message, the next one will be typed automatically.

debug Setting the binary option is the same as specifying on the command line and causes to output all sorts of information useful for debugging

dot The binary option causes to interpret a period alone on a line as the terminator of a message you are sending.

hold This option is used to hold messages in the system mailbox by default.

ignore Causes interrupt signals from your terminal to be ignored and echoed as @'s.

ignoreeof An option related to is which makes refuse to accept a control-D as the end of a message. also applies to command mode.

keep Setting this option causes to truncate your system mailbox instead of deleting it when it's empty.

keepsave Messages saved with the c save command are not normally saved in at quit time. Use this option to retain those messages.

metoo Usually, when a group is expanded that contains the sender, the sender is removed from the expansion. Setting this option causes the sender to be included in the group.

noheader Setting the option is the same as giving the flag on the command line.

nosave Normally, when you abort a message with two interrupt characters (usually control-C), copies the partial letter to the file

in your home directory. Setting the binary option prevents this.

quiet Suppresses the printing of the version when first invoked.

Replyall Reverses the sense of c reply and c Reply commands.

searchheaders If this option is set, then a message-list specifier in the form will expand to all messages containing the substring in the header field The string search is case insensitive. If is omitted, it will default to the header field. The form is a special case, and will expand to all messages containing the substring in the or header fields. The check for is case sensitive, so that can be used to limit the search for to just the field.

verbose Setting the option is the same as using the flag on the command line. When runs in verbose mode, the actual delivery of messages is displayed on the user's terminal.

• EDITOR Pathname of the text editor to use in the c edit command and c ~e escape. If not defined,

is used.

LISTER Pathname of the directory lister to use in the c folders command. Default is

MBOX The name of the file. It can be the name of a folder. The default is in the user's home directory.

PAGER Pathname of the program to use in the c more command or when the variable is set. The default paginator more(1) is used if this option is not defined.

REPLYTO If set, will be used to initialize the Reply-To field for outgoing messages.

SHELL Pathname of the shell to use in the c ! command and the c ~! escape. A default shell is used if this option is not defined.

VISUAL Pathname of the text editor to use in the c visual command and c ~v escape. If not defined,

is used.

crt The valued option is used as a threshold to determine how long a message must be before is used to read it. If 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)

escape If defined, the first character of this option gives the character to use in the place of ~ to denote escapes.

folder The name of the directory to use for storing folders of messages. If this name begins with a considers it to be an absolute pathname; otherwise, the folder directory is found relative to your home directory.

indentprefix String used by the c ~m tilde escape for indenting messages, in place of the normal tab character

Be sure to quote the value if it contains spaces or tabs.

record If defined, gives the pathname of the file used to record all outgoing mail. If not defined, then outgoing mail is not so saved.

screen Size of window of message headers for c z .

sendmail Pathname to an alternative mail delivery system.

toplines If defined, gives the number of lines of a message to be printed out with the c top command; normally, the first five lines are printed.

utilizes the and environment variables.

If the environment variable is set, its value is used as the path to the user's mail spool.

fmt(1) newaliases(1) vacation(1) aliases(5) mailaddr(7) mail.local(8) newaliases(8) sendmail(8)

"Mail Reference Manual",

A command appeared in This man page is derived from the .%T "Mail Reference Manual" originally written by Kurt Shoens.

There are some flags that are not documented here. Most are not useful to the general user.

Usually, and are just links to which can be confusing.