System User's Guide: Communications and Networks

Creating and Sending Mail

You can use the mail program to create, send, reply, and forward messages to other users or to send ASCII files to other users. An ASCII file might, for example, be a document you have written using a preferred editor or a source file for a program.

The mail program provides a line-oriented editor for creating messages. This editor enables you to type each line of the message, press the Enter key to get a new line, and type more text. When you create mail with the mail editor, the date: and from: fields are automatically completed by the system. You have the option to complete the subject: and cc: fields. These fields are similar to the body of a standard business letter. Other editors can only be used by using the editor subcommands.

You can send messages and files to a user on your local system, on your network, or to a user on another connected network. The recipient does not need to be logged onto the system when you send the information. Mail is sent to a user's address.

For more information about creating and sending mail, see:

• Addressing Mail
• Starting the Mail Editor
• Editing a Message
• Displaying a Message While in the Mail Editor
• Exiting the Mail Editor without Sending the Message
• Adding a File and a Specific Message within a Message
• Changing or Adding to the Heading Fields of a Message
• Reformatting a Message in the Mail Editor
• Checking for Misspelling in the Mail Editor
• Sending Mail
• Replying to Mail
• Forwarding Mail
• Sending a Vacation Message Notice
• Sending and Receiving Secret Mail

Addressing Mail

Mail is sent to a user's address. The address, containing the login name and system name, directs the delivery of the mail message. Generally, to send a message to another user, you must type the mail command and the address as follows:

mail User@Address

How you address mail depends on whether you are sending the mail:

• To users on your local system (To Address Mail to Users on Your Local System)
• To users on your network (To Address Mail to Users on Your Network)
• To users on a different network (To Address Mail to Users on a Different Network)
• Over a BNU or UUCP link (To Address Mail over a BNU or UUCP Link)

However, the format of the Address parameter depends upon the location of the recipient. The concept is similar to how you might address a note to a fellow worker in an office. To send a note to Ryan, who works in a small department of six to eight people, you might write the name on an envelope and put it in the office mail system. However, if Ryan is in another department, you might have to provide more information on the envelope:

Ryan
Payroll

If Ryan is in another plant, you might need even more information to ensure that the message reaches him:

Ryan
Payroll
Gaithersburg

Note: More than one user can be addressed at the same time on the command line. Separate each name with a space. For example:

ryan@tybalt suemc@julius dmorgan@ophelia

Prerequisites

The mail program must be installed on your system.

To Address Mail to Users on Your Local System

To send a message to a user on your local system (to someone whose login name is listed in your /etc/passwd file), use the login name for the address. At your system command line prompt, you can use the mail command in the way shown in the following example:

mail LoginName 

To Address Mail to Users on Your Network

To send a message through a local network to a user on another system, at the command line type:

mail ryan@zeus

Note: To send a message through a local network to a user on another system, you must know the login name and the name of the other system. For more information on this, see Communications System Commands for End Users (Communications System Commands).

To Address Mail to Users on a Different Network

If your network is connected to other networks, you can send mail to users on the other networks. The address parameters differ depending on how your network and the other networks address each other and how they are connected.

Using a Central Database of Names and Addresses: at your system command line prompt, you can use the mail command in the way shown in the following example:

Using Domain Name Addressing: at your system command line prompt, you can use the mail command in the ways shown in the following examples:

To Address Mail over a BNU or UUCP Link

To send a message to a user on another system connected to your system by the Basic Networking Utilities (BNU) or another version of UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Program (UUCP), you must know:

• The login name
• The name of the other system
• The physical route to that other system

The person responsible for connecting your system to other systems should be able to provide routing information to address the other system.

When Your Computer Has a BNU or UUCP Link: at your system command line prompt, you can use the mail command in the ways shown in the following examples:

When the BNU or UUCP Link Is on Another Computer: in a local or wide area network environment, one of the systems on the network may have a BNU or other type of UUCP connection to a remote system. You can use that UUCP connection to send a message to a user on that remote UUCP system. At your system command line prompt, you can use the mail command in the way shown in the following example:

mail @arthur:merlin!ken

Sends mail to ken on UUCP system merlin from the Internet system arthur. The delimiter @ is for the internet addressing, the delimiter ! is for the UUCP addressing, and the delimiter : connects the two addresses. Notice that in this format you are not sending mail to a user at any of the intermediate systems, so no login name precedes the @ in the domain address.

mail @arthur:odin!acct.dept!kelly

Sends mail to kelly on UUCP system acct.dept through system odin from the Internet system arthur.

mail@odin.uucp:@dept1.UUCP:@dept2:bill@dept3

Sends mail to bill@dept3 over odin and dept1 UUCP links and then over the local network link between systems dept2 and dept3. The /etc/sendmail.cf file must be configured accordingly to use this type of UUCP address notation. See your system administrator for information.

If you often send mail to users on other networks, creating aliases that include the users' addresses can save you time. See Creating an Alias or Distribution List.

Starting the Mail Editor

The mail program provides a line-oriented editor for composing messages. This editor enables you to type each line of the message, press the Enter key to get a new line, and type more text. You cannot change a line after you have pressed the Enter key. However, before pressing the Enter key, you can change information on that one line by using the Backspace and Delete keys to erase. You can also use mail editor subcommands to enter a full-screen editor and change the message.

The mail editor includes many control subcommands that enable you to perform other operations on a message. Each of these subcommands must be typed on a new line and must begin with the special escape character. By default, the escape character is a tilde (~). You can change it to any other character by including the set escape option in your .mailrc file.

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. The mail program must be started.

To Start the Mail Editor from the Command Line or the Mailbox Prompt

At your system command line prompt or your mailbox prompt, you can use the mail command in the ways shown in the following examples:

For more information, see Sending Mail. The mail editor is also activated, if you use the (R)eply or (r)eply subcommands to reply to a message. For more information on how to reply to a message, see Replying to Mail.

Editing a Message

While in your mailbox, you can add information to an existing message by typing the (e)dit or (v)isual subcommand at the mailbox prompt. While in the mail editor, you cannot change information on a line after you have pressed the Enter key and gone on to the next line. You can change the content of your message before sending it by editing the message with another editor.

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. The alternate editor must be defined in the .mailrc file with:

   set EDITOR=PathName
   

   This defines the editor you activate with the ~e subcommand. The value of PathName must be the full path name to the editor program that you want to use. For example, the definition set EDITOR=/usr/bin/vi defines the vi editor for use with the ~e subcommand.

3. To add information to a message in your mailbox, you must have started the mail command to read mail in the system mailbox, other mailbox, or folder.
4. To start an alternate editor while creating a message, you must be in the mail editor prompt.

To Add Information to a Specific Message in Your Mailbox

To add information to a message in your mailbox, type the (e)dit subcommand or the (v)isual subcommand, followed by the message number. At the mailbox prompt, you can use either the e subcommand or the v subcommand in the ways shown in the following examples:

If you do not specify a message number, the mail command activates the editor using the current message. When you leave the editor, you return to the mailbox prompt to continue processing the messages in the mailbox.

To Change the Current Message While in the Mail Editor

At the beginning of a line while in the mail editor, you can use either the ~e subcommand or the ~v subcommand in the ways shown in the following examples:

This enables you to edit the text of the current message. When you leave the different editor, you return to the mail editor.

Displaying a Message While in the Mail Editor

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. To display a message while in the mail editor, you must have started the mail editor. If you need information on this, see Starting the Mail Editor.

To Display the Lines of a Message

At the beginning of a line while in the mail editor, use the ~p subcommand in the way shown in the following example:

If the message is larger than one screen and you have not set the page size for your terminal by using the stty command, the text scrolls off the top of the screen to the end. To look at the content of large messages, use the mail editor subcommands to view the message with another editor. If you need information on this, see Editing a Message.

Exiting the Mail Editor without Sending the Message

To quit the mail editor without sending the message, use the ~q subcommand or the interrupt key sequence (usually the Alt-Pause or Ctrl-C key sequence). If you have typed any text, the mail command saves the message in the dead.letter file.

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. To display a message while in the mail editor, you must have started the mail editor. If you need information on this, see Starting the Mail Editor.

To Quit the Editor

At the beginning of a line while in the mail editor, you can use the ~q subcommand in the way shown in the following example:

(Interrupt -- one more to kill letter)

(Last Interrupt -- letter saved in dead.letter)

Note: When you exit the mail editor without sending the message, the previous content of the dead.letter file is replaced with the incomplete message. To retrieve the file, see Adding a File and a Specific Message within a Message.

Adding a File and a Specific Message within a Message

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. You must know the name and address of the mail recipient.
3. The mail editor must be started.

To Include a File in a Message

At the beginning of a line while in the mail editor, you can use the ~r subcommand in the way shown in the following example:

To Include a Specific Message within a Message

At the beginning of a new line while in the mail editor, you can use either the ~f or ~m subcommands in the ways shown in the following examples:

To Add the Contents of the dead.letter File into Your Current Message

At the beginning of a new line while in the mail editor, you can use the ~d subcommand in the way shown in the following example:

Changing or Adding to the Heading Fields of a Message

The heading of a message contains routing information and a short statement of the subject. You must specify at least one recipient of the message. The rest of the heading information is not required. The information in the heading can include the following:

You can customize the mail program (Customizing the Mail Program) to automatically ask for the information in these fields by putting entries in your .mailrc file.

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. Start the mail editor (Starting the Mail Editor) and begin editing a message.

To Edit the Heading Information

To add to or change information in more than one heading field, use the ~h subcommand. When you type this subcommand on a new line while in the mail editor, the system displays each of the four heading fields, one at a time. You can:

• View the content of each field.
• Delete information from that field (using the Backspace key).
• Add information to that field.

Pressing the Enter key saves any changes to that field and displays the next field and its contents. When you press the Enter key for the last field (Bcc:), you return to the editor.

1. Type the following subcommand at the beginning of a new line while in the mail editor:

   ~h
   

   The system responds with the contents of the To: field and places the cursor at the end of that field:

   To: mark@austin_
   

   If necessary, edit or add to the field. Then press the Enter key.

2. The system responds with the contents of the Subject: field:

   Subject: Fishng Trip_
   

   Note: If you have changed this field, the cursor may not be at the end of the field.

   To correct the misspelling in the subject, use the Cursor Right or Cursor Left key to position the cursor under the n in Fishng. Retype the rest of the subject to correct it to Fishing Trip. Press the Enter key.

3. The system responds with the contents of the Cc: field:

   Cc: mel@gtwn_
   

   To add another person to the copy list, ensure the cursor is at the end of the list, type a space, and type the new address:

   Cc: mel@gtwn geo@austin
   

   This expands the copy list to two persons. When you have completed the copy list, press the Enter key.

4. The system responds with the contents of the Bcc: field. Make any changes and press the Enter key.
5. The system responds with the (Continue) prompt and returns you to the mail editor at the current end of the message.

To Set or Reset the Subject: Field

Use the ~s subcommand to set the Subject: field to a particular phrase or sentence. Using this subcommand replaces the previous contents (if any) of the Subject: field. At the beginning of a new line while in the mail editor, you can use the ~s subcommand in the way shown in the following example:

Subject: Vacation

Subject: Fishing Trip

To Add to the To:, Cc:, and Bcc: List

At the beginning of a new line while in the mail editor, you can use the ~t, ~c , or ~b subcommands in the ways shown in the following examples:

To: mark@austin

To: mark@austin geo@austin mel@gtwn

Cc: mark@austin amy

Cc: mark@austin amy geo@austin mel@gtwn

Bcc: mark@austin

Bcc: mark@austin geo@austin mel@gtwn

Note: You cannot use the ~t, ~c, or~b subcommands to change or delete the contents of the To:, Cc:, and Bcc: lists. Use the ~h subcommand, as described in To Edit the Heading Information.

Reformatting a Message in the Mail Editor

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. The fmt command must be installed on your system.

To Reformat a Message in the Mail Editor

After you have typed the message and before sending it, you can reformat the message to improve its appearance by using the fmt shell program. At the beginning of a new line while in the mail editor, you can use the fmt command in the way shown in the following example:

Attention: Do not use the fmt command if the message contains embedded messages or preformatted information from external files. The fmt command reformats the heading information in embedded messages and may change the format of preformatted information. Instead, use the ~e or ~v subcommand to enter a full-screen editor and reformat the message.

Checking for Misspelling in the Mail Editor

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. The text-formatting programs must be installed on your system.

To Spell Check Your Message

To use the spell command to check your message for misspelled words, from the mail editor:

1. Write the message to a temporary file. For example, to write the message to the checkit file, type:

   ~w checkit
   

2. Run the spell command using the temporary file as input. Type:

   ~! spell checkit
   

   In this example, the exclamation point (!) is the subcommand that starts a shell, runs a command, and returns to the mailbox. The spell command responds with a list of words that are not in its list of known words, followed by an exclamation point (!) to indicate that you have returned to the mail program.

3. Examine the list of words. Determine if you need to use an editor to make corrections.
4. Type the following to delete the temporary file:
   ~! rm checkit
   

Sending Mail

Prerequisites

• The mail program must be installed on your system.
• You must know the name and address of the mail recipient.

To Send Mail

1. Type the mail command on the command line, followed by the name and address of the recipient (or recipients) of the message. For example:

   >mail jan@brown
   

   The system responds with:

   Subject:
   

2. Type the subject of the message. For example:

   Subject: Dept Meeting
   

   and press Enter. You can now type the body of the text.

3. Type your message.

   There will be a short department meeting this afternoon
   in my office. Please plan on attending.
   

4. To send a message you have typed with the mail editor, press the end-of-text character, which is usually the Ctrl-D key sequence or a period (.), while at the beginning of a new line in the message.

   The system displays the carbon copy field:

   Cc:
   

5. Type the names and addresses of those users who should receive copies of the message, and press Enter. For example:

   Cc:  karen@hobo cliff@cross
   

   Note: If you do not want to send copies, press Enter without typing.

6. When you press the Enter key, the message is delivered to the specified address.

   Note: If you type an address unknown to the system, or not defined in an alias or distribution list, the system responds with the login name followed by an error message:

   [user ID]... User unknown
   

Replying to Mail

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. There must be mail in your system mailbox.

To Reply to a Mail Message

At the mailbox prompt, you can use the (r)eply/respond and (R)eply/respond subcommands in the ways shown in the following examples:

To: karen@thor
Subject: Re: Department Meeting

I'll be there.

To Create a New Message While in the Mailbox

At the mailbox prompt, you can use the m subcommand in the way shown in the following example:

Forwarding Mail

While reading your mail, you might want to forward a specific note to another user. This task can be accomplished by using the ~f and ~m subcommands.

If you are going to be away from your normal network address, you can have your mail sent to another network address by creating the .forward file. The new address can be any valid mail address on your network or a network connected to yours. It can be the address of a coworker who will handle your messages while you are away. When you choose to forward your network mail, you do not receive a copy of any incoming mail in your mailbox. All mail is forwarded directly to the address or addresses that you have specified.

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. If forwarding a selected message, start the mail facility with the mail command. Make a note of the number of the mail message that you wish to forward.

To Forward Selected Messages from within the Mailbox

Use the following steps to forward specific mail messages.

1. Create a new message by using the m subcommand and specify a recipient, type the following at the mailbox prompt:

   m User@Host
   

   where User refers to the login name of another user and Host is the name of the user's system. If the user is on your system, you can omit the @Host part of the address.

2. Type a subject name at the Subject: prompt.
3. To specify the number of the mail message to be forwarded, type:

   ~f MessageNumber
   

   OR

   ~m MessageNumber
   

   MessageNumber identifies the piece of mail to forward.

   The mail command displays a message similar to the following:

   Interpolating: 1
   (continue)
   

4. To exit mail, type a period (.) on a blank line. At the Cc: prompt, type any additional names to whom you wish to forward a mail message.

To Forward All Mail

Use the following steps to forward all your mail to another person.

1. Type the cd command with no parameters to ensure you are in your home directory. For example, type the following for login name mary:

   cd
   pwd
   

   The system responds with:

   /home/mary
   

2. Create a .forward file in your home directory. This file contains the network address or addresses that will receive your forwarded network mail. Addresses must take the form of User@Host. User refers to the login name of another user and Host is the name of the user's system. If the user is on your system, you can omit the @Host part of the address. You can use the cat command to create a .forward file as follows:

   cat > .forward
   mark
   joe@saturn
   [END OF FILE]
   

   [END OF FILE] represents the end of file character, which is the Ctrl-D key sequence on most terminals. This must be typed on a blank line.

   The .forward file contains the addresses of the users you want your mail forwarded to. Your mail will be forwarded to mark on your local system, and to joe on system saturn.

   Note: You will not receive any mail until you delete the .forward file.

   This file must contain valid addresses. If it is a null file (zero length), your mail is not forwarded and is stored in your mailbox.

3. To stop forwarding mail, use the rm command to remove the .forward file from your home directory:

   rm .forward
   

Sending a Vacation Message Notice

Prerequisites

The mail program must be installed on your system.

To Send a Vacation Message Notice

1. Initialize the vacation message in your $HOME (login) directory by typing:
   vacation -I
   

   This creates a .vacation.dir file and a .vacation.pag file where names of the people who send messages are kept.

2. Modify the .forward file. For example, carl types the following statement in the .forward file:

   carl, |"/usr/bin/vacation carl"
   

   The first carl entry is the user name to which mail is forwarded. The second carl entry is the user name of the sender of the vacation message. The sender of the mail message receives one vacation message from carl per week, regardless of how many messages are sent to carl from the sender. If you have your mail forwarded to someone else, the mail message from the sender is forwarded to the person defined in your .forward file.

   Use the -f flag to change the frequency intervals at which the message is sent. For example, carl types the following statement in the .forward file:

   carl, |"/usr/bin/vacation -f10d carl"
   

   The sender of mail messages receives one vacation message from carl every ten days, regardless of how many messages are sent to carl from the sender.

3. To send a message to each person who sends you mail, create the file $HOME/.vacation.msg and add your message to this file. The following is an example of a vacation message:

   From: carl@odin.austin (Carl Jones)
   Subject: I am on vacation.
   I am on vacation until October 1. If you have something urgent, 
   please contact Jim Terry <terry@zeus.valhalla>.
      --carl
   

   The sender receives the message that is in the $HOME/.vacation.msg file, or if the file does not exist, the default message found in the /usr/share/lib/vacation.def file. If neither of these files exist, no automatic replies are sent to the sender of the mail message and no error message is generated.

4. To cancel the vacation message, remove the .forward file, .vacation.dir file, .vacation.pag file, and .vacation.msg file from your $HOME (login) directory:

   rm .forward .vacation.dir .vacation.pag .vacation.msg
   

Sending and Receiving Secret Mail

Prerequisites

1. The mail program must be installed on your system.
2. A password must have been set up using the enroll command.

To Send Secret Mail

At the system command line prompt, you can use the xsend command in the way shown in the following example:

To Receive Secret Mail

1. At your system command line prompt, type:

   mail
   

   The system displays the list of messages in your system mailbox. The secret mail program sends you a notification that you have received secret mail. The message line will be similar to the following:

   Mail [5.2 UCB] Type ? for help.
   "/usr/spool/mail/linda": 4 messages 4 new
   >N 1 robert Wed Apr 14 15:23 4/182 "secret mail from robert@Zeus"
   

   The message text directs you to read your secret mail on your host using the xget command.

2. At your system command line prompt, type:

   xget
   

   You are prompted for the password that was previously set up using the enroll command. After typing your password, the xget command prompt is displayed followed by a listing of any secret mail. The mail program is used to display any secret mail. You must type the (q)uit subcommand if you want to leave read and unread messages in the secret mailbox and prevent the xget command from deleting the messages.