man page(1) manual page
Table of Contents
The utility is an intelligent mail processing system, which
has a command syntax reminiscent of with lines replaced by messages. The
following options are available: Verbose mode. The details of delivery
are displayed on the user’s terminal. Test for the presence of mail in the
(by default, system) mailbox. An exit status of 0 is returned if it has
mail; otherwise, an exit status of 1 is returned. Write a header summary
only. Do not send messages with an empty body. This is useful for piping
errors from scripts. Ignore tty interrupt signals. This is particularly
useful when using on noisy phone lines. Force to run in interactive mode
even when input is not a terminal. In particular, the special character
when sending mail is only active in interactive mode. Inhibit reading the
system-wide files upon startup. Inhibit the initial display of message
headers when reading mail or editing a mail folder. Specify on command
line. (Only the first argument after the flag is used as a subject; be
careful to quote subjects containing spaces.) Send carbon copies to list
of users. The argument should be a comma-separated list of names. Send blind
carbon copies to list of users. The argument should be a comma-separated
list of names. Read in the contents of your (or the specified file) for
processing; when you writes undeleted messages back to this file. Record
the message in a file named after the first recipient. The name is the login-name
portion of the address found first on the line in the mail header. Overrides
the variable, if set. Is equivalent to: At startup time will execute
commands in the system command files and in order, unless explicitly
told not to by the use of the option. Next, the commands in the user’s personal
command file are executed. The utility then examines its command line
options to determine whether a new message is to be sent, or whether an
existing mailbox is to be read. 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 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
the first message (numbered 1) and can be printed using the command (which
can be abbreviated You can move among the messages much as you move between
lines in with the commands and moving backwards and forwards, and simple
numbers. After examining a message you can the message or to it. Deletion
causes the program to forget about the message. This is not irreversible;
the message can be by giving its number, or the session can be aborted
by giving the command. Deleted messages will, however, usually disappear
never to be seen again. Commands such as and can be given a list of message
numbers as arguments to apply to a number of messages at once. Thus deletes
messages 1 and 2, while deletes messages 1 through 5. The special name
addresses all messages, and addresses the last message; thus the command
which prints the first few lines of a message could be used in to print
the first few lines of all messages. You can use the 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 character specially. For instance, typing (alone on a line) will place
a copy of the current message into the response right shifting it by a
tabstop (see 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
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 a 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 command in System wide
distribution lists can be created by editing see and 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 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 for a description of network addresses. The utility
has a number of options which can be set in the file to alter its behavior;
thus 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. ignore the remainder of the
line as a comment. Prints a brief summary of commands. Executes the shell
(see and command which follows. Like but also prints out ignored header
fields. See also and Reply to originator. Does not reply to other recipients
of the original message. Identical to the command. 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. The 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
to messages, will not send a copy of the message to any of the addresses
listed on the list. If the command is given with no argument, the current
set of alternative names is displayed. Changes the user’s working directory
to that specified, if given. If no directory is given, then changes to the
user’s login directory. The command does the same thing that does, except
that it does not mark the messages it is used on for deletion when you
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. (also Deletes the current message and prints the next message.
If there is no next message, says 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. or Effects an immediate return to the shell without
modifying the user’s system mailbox, his file, or his edit file in The
same as List the names of the folders in your folder directory. The
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, means user’s
system mailbox, means your file, and means a file in your folder directory.
Takes a list of messages and prints their message headers. 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. A synonym for also
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 command. 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 and commands can be used to print a message in its entirety, including
ignored fields. If is executed with no arguments, it lists the current
set of ignored fields. 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. Takes as argument login names and distribution
group names and sends mail to those people. 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 option set. Takes a list of messages
and invokes the pager on that list. like or Goes to the next message
in sequence and types it. With an argument list, types the next matching
message. A synonym for Takes a message list and types out each message
on the user’s terminal. Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved
messages in the user’s file in his login directory, preserving all messages
marked with or 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 command. Takes a message list and sends mail to the
sender and all recipients of the specified message. The default message
must not be deleted. A synonym for Add the list of header fields named
to the Only the header fields in the retained list are shown on your terminal
when you print a message. All other header fields are suppressed. The and
commands can be used to print a message in its entirety. If is executed
with no arguments, it lists the current set of retained fields. 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. 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. is to what is to and Header
fields thus marked are filtered out when saving a message by or when automatically
saving to is to what is to and Header fields thus marked are the
only ones saved with a message when saving by or when automatically saving
to overrides Invokes an interactive version of the shell. Takes a
message list and prints out the size in characters of each message. The
command reads commands from a file. Takes a message list and prints the
top few lines of each. The number of lines printed is controlled by the
variable and defaults to 5. A synonym for Takes a list of names defined
by commands and discards the remembered groups of users. The group names
no longer have any significance. Takes a message list and marks each message
as being deleted. Takes a message list and marks each message as having
been read. Takes a list of option names and discards their remembered values;
the inverse of Takes a message list and invokes the display editor on
each message. Similar to except that the message body the header) is
saved. Extremely useful for such tasks as sending and receiving source program
text over the message system. A synonym for The utility presents message
headers in windowfuls as described under the command. You can move attention
forward to the next window with the command. Also, you can move to the
previous window by using 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
Inserts the autograph string from the sign= option into the message.
Inserts the autograph string from the Sign= option into the message. Add
the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients but do not make the
names visible in the Cc: line carbon copy). Add the given names to the
list of carbon copy recipients. Read the file from your home directory
into the message. Invoke the text editor on the message collected so far.
After the editing session is finished, you may continue appending text
to the message. 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 or command) are not included. Identical
to except all message headers are included. 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.
Inserts the value of the named option into the text of the message. 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 or command) are not included.
Identical to except all message headers are included. Print out the message
collected so far, prefaced by the message header fields. Abort the message
being sent, copying the message to in your home directory if is set.
Read the named file into the message. If the argument begins with a the
rest of the string is taken as an arbitrary system command and is executed,
with the standard output inserted into the message. Use as the Reply-To
field. Cause the named string to become the current subject field. Add
the given names to the direct recipient list. Invoke an alternative editor
(defined by the environment variable) on the message collected so far.
Usually, the alternative editor will be a screen editor. After you quit
the editor, you may resume appending text to the end of your message. Write
the message onto the named file. Exits as with except the message is not
saved in Execute the indicated shell command, then return to the message.
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 is often used as to rejustify the message. Execute the given
command. Not all commands, however, are allowed. Simulate end-of-file on
input. Print a summary of the available command escapes. 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 can be set with the command and can be disabled with the or
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. If an option is not set, will look for an environment
variable of the same name. The available options include the following:
Causes messages saved in to be appended to the end rather than prepended.
This should always be set (preferably in one of the system-wide files).
Default is 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.
Default is 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. Default is 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. Default
is Causes new mail to be automatically incorporated when it arrives. Setting
this is similar to issuing the command at each prompt, except that the
current message is not reset when new mail arrives. Default is Causes
the command to behave like thus, after deleting a message, the next one
will be typed automatically. Default is 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 Default is
Setting the binary option is the same as specifying on the command
line and causes to output all sorts of information useful for debugging
Default is The binary option causes to interpret a period alone on
a line as the terminator of a message you are sending. Default is If defined,
the first character of this option gives the character to use in place
of to denote escapes. Reverses the sense of and commands. Default is
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. If defined,
initially display message headers when reading mail or editing a mail folder.
Default is This option can be disabled by giving the flag on the command
line. This option is used to hold messages in the system mailbox by default.
Default is Causes interrupt signals from your terminal to be ignored
and echoed as Default is An option related to is which makes refuse
to accept a as the end of a message. also applies to command mode. Default
is String used by the tilde escape for indenting messages, in place
of the normal tab character Be sure to quote the value if it contains
spaces or tabs. 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. Default is Suppresses the printing
of the version when first invoked. Default is If defined, gives the pathname
of the file used to record all outgoing mail. If not defined, outgoing mail
is not saved. Default is Reverses the sense of and commands. Default
is If this option is set, and you abort a message with two (erase or
delete), will copy the partial letter to the file in your home directory.
Default is 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. Default is If defined, gives the number of lines of a
message to be printed out with the command; normally, the first five lines
are printed. 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. Default is
Pathname of
the file to save partial messages to in case of interrupts or delivery
errors. Default is Pathname of the text editor to use in the command
and escape. If not defined, then a default editor is used. Pathname of
the user’s home directory. Pathname of the directory lister to use in the
command. Default is Location of the user’s mailbox. Default is Pathname
of file containing initial commands. Default is The name of the mailbox
file. It can be the name of a folder. The default is in the user’s home directory.
Pathname of the program to use in the command or when variable is set.
The default paginator is used if this option is not defined. If set, will
be used to initialize the Reply-To field for outgoing messages. Pathname
of the shell to use in the command and the escape. A default shell is
used if this option is not defined. Pathname of the text editor to use
in the command and escape. Login name of the user executing mail.
Post office. User’s old mail. File giving initial commands. This can be
overridden by setting the environment variable. Temporary files. Help
files. System-wide initialization files. Each file will be sourced, in
order, if it exists.
A command appeared in This
man page is derived from originally written by
There are some flags
that are not documented here. Most are not useful to the general user. Usually,
is just a link to and which can be confusing. The name of the list
is incorrect English (it should be but is retained for compatibility.
Table of Contents
![[Go to CFHT Home Page]](/images/cfht-icon.gif){kind=icon}
Man Pages 
Back to Software Index 
Manpage Top Level