


MAIL(1)             UNIX Programmer's Manual		  MAIL(1)



NAME
     mail - send and receive mail

SYNOPSIS
     mail [ -v ] [ -i ] [ -n ] [ -s subject ] [ user ...  ]
     mail [ -v ] [ -i ] [ -n ] -f [ name ]
     mail [ -v ] [ -i ] [ -n ] -u user

INTRODUCTION
     _M_a_i_l is a intelligent mail processing system, which has a
     command syntax reminiscent of _e_d with lines replaced by mes-
     sages.

     The -v flag puts mail into verbose mode; the details of
     delivery are displayed on the users terminal.  The -i flag
     causes tty interrupt signals to be ignored. This is particu-
     larly useful when using _m_a_i_l on noisy phone lines.  The -n
     flag inhibits the reading of /etc/Mail.rc.

     _S_e_n_d_i_n_g _m_a_i_l.  To send a message to one or more people, _m_a_i_l
     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 an EOT (control-D) at the
     beginning of a line.  A subject may be specified on the com-
     mand line by using the -s flag. (Only the first argument
     after the -s flag is used as a subject; be careful to quote
     subjects containing spaces.) The section below, labeled
     _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
     _m_a_i_l available to help you compose your letter.

     _R_e_a_d_i_n_g _m_a_i_l.  In normal usage _m_a_i_l is given no arguments
     and checks your mail out of the post office, then prints out
     a one line header of each message there.  The current mes-
     sage is initially the first message (numbered 1) and can be
     printed using the print command (which can be abbreviated
     p).  You can move among the messages much as you move
     between lines in _e_d, with the commands `+' and `-' moving
     backwards and forwards, and simple numbers.

     _D_i_s_p_o_s_i_n_g _o_f _m_a_i_l.  After examining a message you can delete
     (d) the message or reply (r) to it.  Deletion causes the
     _m_a_i_l program to forget about the message.	This is not
     irreversible; the message can be undeleted (u) by giving its
     number, or the _m_a_i_l session can be aborted by giving the
     exit (x) command.	Deleted messages will, however, usually
     disappear never to be seen again.

     _S_p_e_c_i_f_y_i_n_g _m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s.  Commands such as print and delete 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,



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     and ``$'' addresses the last message; thus the command top
     which prints the first few lines of a message could be used
     in ``top *'' to print the first few lines of all messages.

     _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.  You can use the reply com-
     mand 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, _m_a_i_l treats lines beginning with
     the character `~' specially.  For instance, typing ``~m''
     (alone on a line) will place a copy of the current message
     into the response right shifting it by a tabstop.	Other
     escapes will set up subject fields, add and delete reci-
     pients 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.)

     _E_n_d_i_n_g _a _m_a_i_l _p_r_o_c_e_s_s_i_n_g _s_e_s_s_i_o_n.	You can end a _m_a_i_l ses-
     sion with the quit (q) 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.  The -f option causes _m_a_i_l to read
     in the contents of your _m_b_o_x (or the specified file) for
     processing; when you quit, _m_a_i_l writes undeleted messages
     back to this file.  The -u flag is a short way of doing
     "mail -f /usr/spool/mail/user".

     _P_e_r_s_o_n_a_l _a_n_d _s_y_s_t_e_m_w_i_d_e _d_i_s_t_r_i_b_u_t_i_o_n _l_i_s_t_s.  It is also pos-
     sible 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 .mailrc in your home directory.  The current
     list of such aliases can be displayed with the alias (a)
     command in _m_a_i_l.  System wide distribution lists can be
     created by editing /etc/aliases, see _a_l_i_a_s_e_s(5) and _s_e_n_d_-
     _m_a_i_l(8); these are kept in a different syntax.  In mail you
     send, personal aliases will be expanded in mail sent to oth-
     ers so that they will be able to reply to the recipients.
     System wide _a_l_i_a_s_e_s 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 _s_e_n_d_m_a_i_l.

     _N_e_t_w_o_r_k _m_a_i_l (_A_R_P_A, _U_U_C_P, _B_e_r_k_n_e_t)  See _m_a_i_l_a_d_d_r(_7) for a
     description of network addresses.

     _M_a_i_l 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
     ``askcc'' feature.  (These options are summarized below.)



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SUMMARY
     (Adapted from the `Mail Reference Manual')

     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 require-
     ments 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, _m_a_i_l types ``No applicable mes-
     sages'' and aborts the command.

     -		 Goes to the previous message and prints it out.
		 If given a numeric argument _n, goes to the _n-th
		 previous message and prints it.

     ?		 Prints a brief summary of commands.

     !		 Executes the UNIX shell command which follows.

     Print	 (P) Like print but also prints out ignored
		 header fields. See also print , ignore and
		 retain.

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

     Type	 (T) Identical to the Print command.

     alias	 (a) With no arguments, prints out all
		 currently-defined aliases.  With one argument,
		 prints out that alias.  With more than one argu-
		 ment, creates an new or changes an on old alias.

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

     chdir	 (c) 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	 (co) The copy command does the same thing that
		 save does, except that it does not mark the



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		 messages it is used on for deletion when you
		 quit.

     delete	 (d) 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.

     dp          (also dt) Deletes the current message and prints
		 the next message.  If there is no next message,
		 _m_a_i_l says ``at EOF.''

     edit	 (e) 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	 (ex or x) Effects an immediate return to the
		 Shell without modifying the user's system mail-
		 box, his _m_b_o_x file, or his edit file in -f.

     file	 (fi) The same as folder.

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

     folder	 (fo) The 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 con-
		 ventions are recognized for the name. # means
		 the previous file, % means your system mailbox,
		 %user means user's system mailbox, & means your
		 ~/mbox file, and +folder means a file in your
		 folder directory.

     from	 (f) Takes a list of messages and prints their
		 message headers.

     headers	 (h) 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.

     help	 A synonym for ?

     hold	 (ho, also preserve) 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 delete command.



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     ignore	 N.B.: _I_g_n_o_r_e has been superseded by _r_e_t_a_i_n.
		 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 Type and Print commands can be used
		 to print a message in its entirety, including
		 ignored fields. If ignore is executed with no
		 arguments, it lists the current set of ignored
		 fields.

     mail	 (m) Takes as argument login names and distribu-
		 tion group names and sends mail to those people.

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

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

     preserve	 (pre) A synonym for hold.

     print	 (p) Takes a message list and types out each mes-
		 sage on the user's terminal.

     quit	 (q) Terminates the session, saving all
		 undeleted, unsaved messages in the user's _m_b_o_x
		 file in his login directory, preserving all mes-
		 sages marked with hold or 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 ``You have new mail'' is given.  If
		 given while editing a mailbox file with the -f
		 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 exit command.

     reply	 (r) Takes a message list and sends mail to the
		 sender and all recipients of the specified mes-
		 sage.	The default message must not be deleted.

     respond	 A synonym for reply.

     retain	 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



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		 print a message.  All other header fields are
		 suppressed.  The Type and Print commands can be
		 used to print a message in its entirety.  If
		 retain is executed with no arguments, it lists
		 the current set of retained fields.

     save	 (s) 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.

     set	 (se) With no arguments, prints all variable
		 values.  Otherwise, sets option.  Arguments are
		 of the form ``option=value'' (no space before or
		 after =) or ``option.''

     shell	 (sh) Invokes an interactive version of the
		 shell.

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

     source	 (so) The source command reads _m_a_i_l 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 toplines and defaults
		 to five.

     type	 (t) A synonym for print.

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

     undelete	 (u) Takes a message list and marks each message
		 as _n_o_t being deleted.

     unread	 (U) Takes a message list and marks each message
		 as _n_o_t having been read.

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

     visual	 (v) Takes a message list and invokes the display
		 editor on each message.

     write	 (w) Similar to save, except that _o_n_l_y the mes-
		 sage body (_w_i_t_h_o_u_t the header) is saved.
		 Extremely useful for such tasks as sending and



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		 receiving source program text over the message
		 system.

     xit	 (x) A synonym for exit.

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

     ~!command	 Execute the indicated shell command, then return
		 to the message.

     ~b name ... 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).

     ~c name ... Add the given names to the list of carbon copy
		 recipients.

     ~d          Read the file ``dead.letter'' 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.

     ~f messages Read the named messages into the message being
		 sent.	If no messages are specified, read in the
		 current message.

     ~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.

     ~m messages Read the named messages into the message being
		 sent, shifted right one tab.  If no messages are
		 specified, read the current message.

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

     ~q          Abort the message being sent, copying the mes-
		 sage to ``dead.letter'' in your home directory



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		 if save is set.

     ~r filename Read the named file into the message.

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

     ~t name ... Add the given names to the direct recipient
		 list.

     ~v          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 mes-
		 sage.

     ~w 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 ter-
		 minates abnormally, retain the original text of
		 the message.  The command _f_m_t(1) is often used
		 as _c_o_m_m_a_n_d to rejustify the message.

     ~~string	 Insert the string of text in the message pre-
		 faced 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 the set and unset commands.
     Options may be either binary, in which case it is only sig-
     nificant 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 _m_b_o_x to be appended
		    to the end rather than prepended.  (This is
		    set in /etc/Mail.rc on 2.11BSD systems.)

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

     askcc	    Causes you to be prompted for additional car-
		    bon copy recipients at the end of each mes-
		    sage.  Responding with a newline indicates
		    your satisfaction with the current list.

     autoprint	    Causes the delete command to behave like dp -
		    thus, after deleting a message, the next one



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		    will be typed automatically.

     debug	    Setting the binary option _d_e_b_u_g is the same
		    as specifying -d on the command line and
		    causes _m_a_i_l to output all sorts of informa-
		    tion useful for debugging _m_a_i_l.

     dot	    The binary option _d_o_t causes _m_a_i_l to inter-
		    pret a period alone on a line as the termina-
		    tor 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 _d_o_t is _i_g_n_o_r_e_e_o_f which
		    makes _m_a_i_l refuse to accept a control-d as
		    the end of a message.  _I_g_n_o_r_e_e_o_f also applies
		    to _m_a_i_l command mode.

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

     nosave	    Normally, when you abort a message with two
		    RUBOUT, _m_a_i_l copies the partial letter to the
		    file ``dead.letter'' in your home directory.
		    Setting the binary option _n_o_s_a_v_e prevents
		    this.

     Replyall	    Reverses the sense of _r_e_p_l_y and _R_e_p_l_y com-
		    mands.

     quiet	    Suppresses the printing of the version when
		    first invoked.

     verbose	    Setting the option _v_e_r_b_o_s_e is the same as
		    using the -v flag on the command line. When
		    mail runs in verbose mode, the actual
		    delivery of messages is displayed on he users
		    terminal.

     The following options have string values:

     EDITOR	    Pathname of the text editor to use in the
		    edit command and ~e escape.  If not defined,
		    then a default editor is used.

     PAGER	    Pathname of the program to use in the more



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		    command or when _c_r_t variable is set.  A
		    default paginator is used if this option is
		    not defined.

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

     VISUAL	    Pathname of the text editor to use in the
		    visual command and ~v escape.

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

     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 `/', _m_a_i_l considers it to be an absolute
		    pathname; otherwise, the folder directory is
		    found relative to your home directory.

     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.

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

FILES
     /usr/spool/mail/*	      post office
     ~/mbox		      your old mail
     ~/.mailrc		      file giving initial mail commands
     /tmp/R#		      temporary for editor escape
     /usr/share/misc/Mail.help*help files
     /etc/Mail.rc	      system initialization file
     Message*		      temporary for editing messages

SEE ALSO
     binmail(1), fmt(1), newaliases(1), aliases(5),
     mailaddr(7), sendmail(8)
     `The Mail Reference Manual'

BUGS
     There are many flags that are not documented here. Most are
     not useful to the general user.
     Usually, _m_a_i_l is just a link to _M_a_i_l, which can be



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     confusing.

AUTHOR
     Kurt Shoens



















































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