Before you can use the mail system, you must select a user-agent program such as one of the following:
A user-agent program provides facilities for creating, receiving, sending, and filing mail. In addition, you need a transport-agent program, sendmail, which distributes incoming mail from other systems or packages, and distributes each outgoing mail item and transmits it to a similar program in one or more remote systems.
Note: mail and mh are incompatible in the way they store mail; you must choose one mail handler or the other.
The mail program provides you with a user interface to handle mail to and from both a local network user and a remote system user.
A mail message can be text, entered using an editor, or an ASCII file. In addition to a typed message or a file, you can send:
When you receive mail using the mail subcommands, you can:
The installation of sendmail is automatic.
For more information about the mail program, refer to "Mail Overview".
mh is a collection of commands that enables you to perform each mail processing function directly from the command line. These commands provide a broader range of function than the subcommands of mail, and, since they can be issued at any time the command prompt is displayed, you gain power and flexibility in creating mail and in processing received mail. For example, you can read a mail message, search a file or run a program to find a particular solution, and answer the message, all within the same shell.
The mh program enables you to create, distribute, receive, view, process, and store messages using the following commands:
ali | Lists mail aliases and their addresses. |
anno | Annotates messages. |
ap | Parses and reformats addresses. |
burst | Explodes digests into messages. |
comp | Starts an editor for creating or modifying a message. |
dist | Redistributes a message to additional addresses. |
dp | Parses and reformats dates. |
folder | Selects and lists folders and messages. |
folders | Lists all folders and messages in the mail directory. |
forw | Forwards messages. |
inc | Incorporates new mail into a folder. |
mark | Creates, modifies, and displays message sequences. |
mhl | Produces a formatted listing of messages. |
mhmail | Sends or receives mail. |
mhpath | Prints full path names of messages and folders. |
msgchk | Checks for messages. |
msh | Creates a mail handler (MH) shell. |
next | Shows the next message. |
packf | Compresses the contents of a folder into a file. |
pick | Selects messages by content and creates and modifies sequences. |
prev | Shows the previous message. |
refile | Moves files between folders. |
repl | Replies to a message. |
rmf | Removes folders and the messages they contain. |
rmm | Removes messages from active status. |
scan | Produces a one-line-per-message scan listing. |
send | Sends a message. |
show | Shows messages. |
sortm | Sorts messages. |
vmh | Starts a visual interface for use with mh commands. |
whatnow | Starts a prompting interface for draft disposition. |
whom | Manipulates MH addresses. |
For more information on mh commands, refer to the AIX Version 4.3 Commands Reference..
bellmail is the original AT&T UNIX mail command, which handles mail for users on the same system and also for users on remote systems that can be accessed by means of Basic Network Utilities (BNU), sometimes known as the UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Program (UUCP). These programs support only networks of systems connected by dial-up or leased point-to-point communication lines. The command opens a shell whose subcommands allow you to:
However, you must have some skill as a UNIX user before you can make full use of this mail handler. For more information, refer to the bellmail command in the AIX Version 4 Commands Reference.