diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'usr.bin/mail/mail.1')
-rw-r--r-- | usr.bin/mail/mail.1 | 1280 |
1 files changed, 1280 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/usr.bin/mail/mail.1 b/usr.bin/mail/mail.1 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3c3a23e --- /dev/null +++ b/usr.bin/mail/mail.1 @@ -0,0 +1,1280 @@ +.\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1990, 1993 +.\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. +.\" +.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without +.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions +.\" are met: +.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright +.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. +.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright +.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the +.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. +.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors +.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software +.\" without specific prior written permission. +.\" +.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND +.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE +.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE +.\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE +.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL +.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS +.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) +.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT +.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY +.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF +.\" SUCH DAMAGE. +.\" +.\" @(#)mail.1 8.8 (Berkeley) 4/28/95 +.\" $FreeBSD$ +.\" +.Dd January 5, 2006 +.Dt MAIL 1 +.Os +.Sh NAME +.Nm mail , +.Nm Mail , +.Nm mailx +.Nd send and receive mail +.Sh SYNOPSIS +.Nm +.Op Fl dEiInv +.Op Fl s Ar subject +.Op Fl c Ar cc-addr +.Op Fl b Ar bcc-addr +.Op Fl F +.Ar to-addr ... +.Op Fl Ar sendmail-option ... +.Nm +.Op Fl dEHiInNv +.Op Fl F +.Fl f +.Op Ar name +.Nm +.Op Fl dEHiInNv +.Op Fl F +.Op Fl u Ar user +.Nm +.Op Fl d +.Fl e +.Op Fl f Ar name +.Sh INTRODUCTION +The +.Nm +utility is an intelligent mail processing system, which has +a command syntax reminiscent of +.Xr ed 1 +with lines replaced by messages. +.Pp +The following options are available: +.Bl -tag -width indent +.It Fl v +Verbose mode. +The details of +delivery are displayed on the user's terminal. +.It Fl d +Debugging mode. +See the +.Va debug +mail option for details. +.It Fl e +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. +.It Fl H +Write a header summary only, then exit. +.It Fl E +Do not send messages with an empty body. +This is useful for piping errors from +.Xr cron 8 +scripts. +.It Fl i +Ignore tty interrupt signals. +This is +particularly useful when using +.Nm +on noisy phone lines. +.It Fl I +Force +.Nm +to run in interactive mode even when +input is not a terminal. +In particular, the +.Ql ~ +special +character when sending mail is only active in interactive mode. +.It Fl n +Inhibit reading the system-wide +.Pa mail.rc +files upon startup. +.It Fl N +Inhibit the initial display of message headers +when reading mail or editing a mail folder. +.It Fl s Ar subject +Specify +.Ar subject +on command line. +(Only the first argument after the +.Fl s +flag is used as a subject; be careful to quote subjects +containing spaces.) +.It Fl c Ar cc-addr +Send carbon copies to +.Ar cc-addr +list of users. +The +.Ar cc-addr +argument should be a comma-separated list of names. +.It Fl b Ar bcc-addr +Send blind carbon copies to +.Ar bcc-addr +list of users. +The +.Ar bcc-addr +argument should be a comma-separated list of names. +.It Fl f Op Ar mbox +Read in the contents of your +.Pa mbox +(or the specified file) +for processing; when you +.Ic quit , +.Nm +writes undeleted messages back to this file. +.It Fl F +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 +.Dq Li To: +line in the mail header. +Overrides the +.Va record +variable, if set. +.It Fl u Ar user +Is equivalent to: +.Pp +.Dl "mail -f /var/mail/user" +.El +.Ss "Startup Actions" +At startup time +.Nm +will execute commands in the system command files +.Pa /usr/share/misc/mail.rc , +.Pa /usr/local/etc/mail.rc +and +.Pa /etc/mail.rc +in order, unless explicitly told not to by the use of the +.Fl n +option. +Next, the commands in the user's personal command file +.Pa ~/.mailrc +are executed. +The +.Nm +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. +.Ss "Sending Mail" +To send a message to one or more people, +.Nm +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 +.Aq Li control-D +at the beginning of a line. +The section below +.Sx "Replying To or Originating Mail" , +describes some features of +.Nm +available to help you compose your letter. +.Ss "Reading Mail" +In normal usage +.Nm +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 +.Ic print +command (which can be abbreviated +.Ic p ) . +You can move among the messages much as you move between lines in +.Xr ed 1 , +with the commands +.Ic + +and +.Ic \- +moving backwards and forwards, and +simple numbers. +.Ss "Disposing of Mail" +After examining a message you can +.Ic delete +.Pq Ic d +the message or +.Ic reply +.Pq Ic r +to it. +Deletion causes the +.Nm +program to forget about the message. +This is not irreversible; the message can be +.Ic undeleted +.Pq Ic u +by giving its number, or the +.Nm +session can be aborted by giving the +.Ic exit +.Pq Ic x +command. +Deleted messages will, however, usually disappear never to be seen again. +.Ss "Specifying Messages" +Commands such as +.Ic print +and +.Ic delete +can be given a list of message numbers as arguments to apply +to a number of messages at once. +Thus +.Dq Li "delete 1 2" +deletes messages 1 and 2, while +.Dq Li "delete 1\-5" +deletes messages 1 through 5. +The special name +.Ql * +addresses all messages, and +.Ql $ +addresses +the last message; thus the command +.Ic top +which prints the first few lines of a message could be used in +.Dq Li "top *" +to print the first few lines of all messages. +.Ss "Replying To or Originating Mail" +You can use the +.Ic 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, +.Nm +treats lines beginning with the character +.Ql ~ +specially. +For instance, typing +.Ic ~m +(alone on a line) will place a copy +of the current message into the response right shifting it by a tabstop +(see +.Va indentprefix +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.) +.Ss "Ending a Mail Processing Session" +You can end a +.Nm +session with the +.Ic quit +.Pq Ic q +command. +Messages which have been examined go to your +.Pa mbox +file unless they have been deleted in which case they are discarded. +Unexamined messages go back to the post office. +(See the +.Fl f +option above). +.Ss "Personal and System Wide Distribution Lists" +It is also possible to create a personal distribution lists so that, +for instance, you can send mail to +.Dq Li cohorts +and have it go +to a group of people. +Such lists can be defined by placing a line like +.Pp +.Dl "alias cohorts bill ozalp jkf mark kridle@ucbcory" +.Pp +in the file +.Pa .mailrc +in your home directory. +The current list of such aliases can be displayed with the +.Ic alias +command in +.Nm . +System wide distribution lists can be created by editing +.Pa /etc/mail/aliases , +see +.Xr aliases 5 +and +.Xr 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 +.Ic 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 +.Xr sendmail 8 . +.Ss "Network Mail (ARPA, UUCP, Berknet)" +See +.Xr mailaddr 7 +for a description of network addresses. +.Pp +The +.Nm +utility has a number of options which can be set in the +.Pa .mailrc +file to alter its behavior; thus +.Dq Li "set askcc" +enables the +.Va askcc +feature. +(These options are summarized below.) +.Sh SUMMARY +(Adapted from the +.%T "Mail Reference Manual" . ) +.Pp +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 \(em 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, +.Nm +types +.Dq Li "No applicable messages" +and +aborts the command. +.Bl -tag -width indent +.It Ic \- +Print out the preceding message. +If given a numeric +argument +.Ar n , +goes to the +.Ar n Ns 'th +previous message and prints it. +.It Ic # +ignore the remainder of the line as a comment. +.It Ic \&? +Prints a brief summary of commands. +.It Ic \&! +Executes the shell +(see +.Xr sh 1 +and +.Xr csh 1 ) +command which follows. +.It Ic Print +.Pq Ic P +Like +.Ic print +but also prints out ignored header fields. +See also +.Ic print , ignore +and +.Ic retain . +.It Ic Reply +.Pq Ic R +Reply to originator. +Does not reply to other +recipients of the original message. +.It Ic Type +.Pq Ic T +Identical to the +.Ic Print +command. +.It Ic alias +.Pq Ic a +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. +.It Ic alternates +.Pq Ic alt +The +.Ic alternates +command is useful if you have accounts on several machines. +It can be used to inform +.Nm +that the listed addresses are really you. +When you +.Ic reply +to messages, +.Nm +will not send a copy of the message to any of the addresses +listed on the +.Ic alternates +list. +If the +.Ic alternates +command is given with no argument, the current set of alternative +names is displayed. +.It Ic chdir +.Pq Ic 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. +.It Ic copy +.Pq Ic co +The +.Ic copy +command does the same thing that +.Ic save +does, except that it does not mark the messages it +is used on for deletion when you +.Ic quit . +.It Ic delete +.Pq Ic d +Takes a list of messages as argument and marks them all as deleted. +Deleted messages will not be saved in +.Pa mbox , +nor will they be available for most other commands. +.It Ic dp +(also +.Ic dt ) +Deletes the current message and prints the next message. +If there is no next message, +.Nm +says +.Dq Li "at EOF" . +.It Ic edit +.Pq Ic 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. +.It Ic exit +.Ic ( ex +or +.Ic x ) +Effects an immediate return to the shell without +modifying the user's system mailbox, his +.Pa mbox +file, or his edit file in +.Fl f . +.It Ic file +.Pq Ic fi +The same as +.Ic folder . +.It Ic folders +List the names of the folders in your folder directory. +.It Ic folder +.Pq Ic fo +The +.Ic 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. +.Ql # +means the previous file, +.Ql % +means your system mailbox, +.Dq Li % Ns Ar user +means user's system mailbox, +.Ql & +means your +.Pa mbox +file, and +.Dq Li + Ns Ar folder +means a file in your folder +directory. +.It Ic from +.Pq Ic f +Takes a list of messages and prints their message headers. +.It Ic headers +.Pq Ic h +Lists the current range of headers, which is an 18-message group. +If +a +.Ql + +argument is given, then the next 18-message group is printed, and if +a +.Ql \- +argument is given, the previous 18-message group is printed. +.It Ic help +A synonym for +.Ic \&? . +.It Ic hold +.Ic ( ho , +also +.Ic preserve ) +Takes a message list and marks each +message therein to be saved in the +user's system mailbox instead of in +.Pa mbox . +Does not override the +.Ic delete +command. +.It Ic ignore +Add the list of header fields named to the +.Ar ignored list . +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 +.Ic Type +and +.Ic Print +commands can be used to print a message in its entirety, including +ignored fields. +If +.Ic ignore +is executed with no arguments, it lists the current set of +ignored fields. +.It Ic 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. +.It Ic mail +.Pq Ic m +Takes as argument login names and distribution group names and sends +mail to those people. +.It Ic mbox +Indicate that a list of messages be sent to +.Pa mbox +in your home directory when you quit. +This is the default +action for messages if you do +.Em not +have the +.Ic hold +option set. +.It Ic more +.Pq Ic mo +Takes a list of messages and invokes the pager on that list. +.It Ic next +.Ic ( n , +like +.Ic + +or +.Tn CR ) +Goes to the next message in sequence and types it. +With an argument list, types the next matching message. +.It Ic preserve +.Pq Ic pre +A synonym for +.Ic hold . +.It Ic print +.Pq Ic p +Takes a message list and types out each message on the user's terminal. +.It Ic quit +.Pq Ic q +Terminates the session, saving all undeleted, unsaved messages in +the user's +.Pa mbox +file in his login directory, preserving all messages marked with +.Ic hold +or +.Ic 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 +.Dq Li "You have new mail" +is given. +If given while editing a +mailbox file with the +.Fl 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 +.Ic exit +command. +.It Ic reply +.Pq Ic r +Takes a message list and sends mail to the sender and all +recipients of the specified message. +The default message must not be deleted. +.It Ic respond +A synonym for +.Ic reply . +.It Ic retain +Add the list of header fields named to the +.Em "retained list" . +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 +.Ic type +and +.Ic print +commands can be used to print a message in its entirety. +If +.Ic retain +is executed with no arguments, it lists the current set of +retained fields. +.It Ic save +.Pq Ic 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. +.It Ic set +.Pq Ic se +With no arguments, prints all variable values. +Otherwise, sets +option. +Arguments are of the form +.Ar option Ns Li = Ns Ar value +(no space before or after +.Ql = ) +or +.Ar option . +Quotation marks may be placed around any part of the assignment statement to +quote blanks or tabs, i.e.\& +.Dq Li "set indentprefix=\*q->\*q" +.It Ic saveignore +.Ic Saveignore +is to +.Ic save +what +.Ic ignore +is to +.Ic print +and +.Ic type . +Header fields thus marked are filtered out when +saving a message by +.Ic save +or when automatically saving to +.Pa mbox . +.It Ic saveretain +.Ic Saveretain +is to +.Ic save +what +.Ic retain +is to +.Ic print +and +.Ic type . +Header fields thus marked are the only ones saved +with a message when saving by +.Ic save +or when automatically saving to +.Pa mbox . +.Ic Saveretain +overrides +.Ic saveignore . +.It Ic shell +.Pq Ic sh +Invokes an interactive version of the shell. +.It Ic size +Takes a message list and prints out the size in characters of each +message. +.It Ic source +The +.Ic source +command reads +commands from a file. +.It Ic top +Takes a message list and prints the top few lines of each. +The number of +lines printed is controlled by the variable +.Va toplines +and defaults to 5. +.It Ic type +.Pq Ic t +A synonym for +.Ic print . +.It Ic unalias +Takes a list of names defined by +.Ic alias +commands and discards the remembered groups of users. +The group names +no longer have any significance. +.It Ic undelete +.Pq Ic u +Takes a message list and marks each message as +.Em not +being deleted. +.It Ic unread +.Pq Ic U +Takes a message list and marks each message as +.Em not +having been read. +.It Ic unset +Takes a list of option names and discards their remembered values; +the inverse of +.Ic set . +.It Ic visual +.Pq Ic v +Takes a message list and invokes the display editor on each message. +.It Ic write +.Pq Ic w +Similar to +.Ic save , +except that +.Em only +the message body +.Em ( without +the header) is saved. +Extremely useful for such tasks as sending and receiving source +program text over the message system. +.It Ic xit +.Pq Ic x +A synonym for +.Ic exit . +.It Ic z +The +.Nm +utility presents message headers in windowfuls as described under the +.Ic headers +command. +You can move +.Nm Ns 's +attention forward to the next window with the +.Ic z +command. +Also, you can move to the previous window by using +.Ic z\- . +.El +.Ss Tilde/Escapes +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 +.Dq "tilde escape" +is somewhat of a misnomer since the actual escape character can be set +by the option +.Va escape . +.Bl -tag -width indent +.It Ic ~a +Inserts the autograph string from the sign= option into the message. +.It Ic ~A +Inserts the autograph string from the Sign= option into the message. +.It Ic ~b Ar name ... +Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients but do not make +the names visible in the Cc: line +.Dq ( blind +carbon copy). +.It Ic ~c Ar name ... +Add the given names to the list of carbon copy recipients. +.It Ic ~d +Read the file +.Pa dead.letter +from your home directory into the message. +.It Ic ~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. +.It Ic ~f Ar 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 +.Ic ignore +or +.Ic retain +command) are not included. +.It Ic ~F Ar messages +Identical to +.Ic ~f , +except all message headers are included. +.It Ic ~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. +.It Ic ~i Ar string +Inserts the value of the named option into the text of the message. +.It Ic ~m Ar messages +Read the named messages into the message being sent, indented by a +tab or by the value of +.Va indentprefix . +If no messages are specified, +read the current message. +Message headers currently being ignored (by the +.Ic ignore +or +.Ic retain +command) are not included. +.It Ic ~M Ar messages +Identical to +.Ic ~m , +except all message headers are included. +.It Ic ~p +Print out the message collected so far, prefaced by the message header +fields. +.It Ic ~q +Abort the message being sent, copying the message to +.Pa dead.letter +in your home directory if +.Va save +is set. +.It Ic ~r Ar filename , Ic ~r Li \&! Ns Ar command +.It Ic ~< Ar filename , Ic ~< Li \&! Ns Ar command +Read the named file into the message. +If the argument begins with a +.Ql \&! , +the rest of the string is taken as an arbitrary system command and is +executed, with the standard output inserted into the message. +.It Ic ~R Ar string +Use +.Ar string +as the Reply-To field. +.It Ic ~s Ar string +Cause the named string to become the current subject field. +.It Ic ~t Ar name ... +Add the given names to the direct recipient list. +.It Ic ~v +Invoke an alternative editor (defined by the +.Ev VISUAL +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. +.It Ic ~w Ar filename +Write the message onto the named file. +.It Ic ~x +Exits as with +.Ic ~q , +except the message is not saved in +.Pa dead.letter . +.It Ic ~! Ar command +Execute the indicated shell command, then return to the message. +.It Ic ~| Ar command , Ic ~^ Ar 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 +.Xr fmt 1 +is often used as +.Ar command +to rejustify the message. +.It Ic ~: Ar mail-command , Ic ~_ Ar mail-command +Execute the given +.Nm +command. +Not all commands, however, are allowed. +.It Ic ~. +Simulate end-of-file on input. +.It Ic ~? +Print a summary of the available command escapes. +.It Ic ~~ Ar string +Insert the string of text in the message prefaced by a single +.Ql ~ . +If +you have changed the escape character, then you should double +that character in order to send it. +.El +.Ss "Mail Options" +Options can be set with the +.Ic set +command +and can be disabled with the +.Ic unset +or +.Ic set Cm no Ns Ar name +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, +.Nm +will look for an environment variable of the same name. +The available options include the following: +.Bl -tag -width indent +.It Va append +Causes messages saved in +.Pa mbox +to be appended to the end rather than prepended. +This should always be set (preferably in one of the system-wide +.Pa mail.rc +files). +Default is +.Va noappend . +.It Va ask , asksub +Causes +.Nm +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 +.Va asksub . +.It Va 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. +Default is +.Va noaskbcc . +.It Va 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. +Default is +.Va noaskcc . +.It Va autoinc +Causes new mail to be automatically incorporated when it arrives. +Setting this is similar to issuing the +.Ic inc +command at each prompt, except that the current message is not +reset when new mail arrives. +Default is +.Va noautoinc . +.It Va autoprint +Causes the +.Ic delete +command to behave like +.Ic dp ; +thus, after deleting a message, the next one will be typed +automatically. +Default is +.Va noautoprint . +.It Va crt +The valued option +.Va crt +is used as a threshold to determine how long a message must +be before +.Ev PAGER +is used to read it. +If +.Va crt +is set without a value, +then the height of the terminal screen stored in the system +is used to compute the threshold (see +.Xr stty 1 ) . +Default is +.Va nocrt . +.It Va debug +Setting the binary option +.Va debug +is the same as specifying +.Fl d +on the command line and causes +.Nm +to output all sorts of information useful for debugging +.Nm . +In case +.Nm +is invoked in this mode to send mail, all preparations +will be performed and reported about, but the mail will +not be actually sent. +Default is +.Va nodebug . +.It Va dot +The binary option +.Va dot +causes +.Nm +to interpret a period alone on a line as the terminator +of a message you are sending. +Default is +.Va nodot . +.It Va escape +If defined, the first character of this option gives the character to +use in place of +.Ql ~ +to denote escapes. +.It Va flipr +Reverses the sense of +.Ic reply +and +.Ic Reply +commands. +Default is +.Va noflipr . +.It Va folder +The name of the directory to use for storing folders of +messages. +If this name begins with a +.Ql / , +.Nm +considers it to be an absolute pathname; otherwise, the +folder directory is found relative to your home directory. +.It Va header +If defined, initially display message headers when reading mail or +editing a mail folder. +Default is +.Va header . +This option can be disabled by giving the +.Fl N +flag on the command line. +.It Va hold +This option is used to hold messages in the system mailbox +by default. +Default is +.Va nohold . +.It Va ignore +Causes interrupt signals from your terminal to be ignored and echoed as +.Li @ Ns 's. +Default is +.Va noignore . +.It Va ignoreeof +An option related to +.Va dot +is +.Va ignoreeof +which makes +.Nm +refuse to accept a +.Aq Li control-D +as the end of a message. +.Ar Ignoreeof +also applies to +.Nm +command mode. +Default is +.Va noignoreeof . +.It Va indentprefix +String used by the +.Ic ~m +tilde escape for indenting messages, in place of +the normal tab character +.Pq Li ^I . +Be sure to quote the value if it contains +spaces or tabs. +.It Va 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. +Default is +.Va nometoo . +.It Va quiet +Suppresses the printing of the version when first invoked. +Default is +.Va noquiet . +.It Va record +If defined, gives the pathname of the file used to record all outgoing +mail. +If not defined, outgoing mail is not saved. +Default is +.Va norecord . +.It Va Replyall +Reverses the sense of +.Ic reply +and +.Ic Reply +commands. +Default is +.Va noReplyall . +.It Va save +If this option is set, and you abort a message with two +.Tn RUBOUT +(erase or delete), +.Nm +will copy the partial letter to the file +.Pa dead.letter +in your home directory. +Default is +.Va save . +.It Va searchheaders +If this option is set, then a message-list specifier in the form +.Dq Li / Ns Ar x Ns Li : Ns Ar y +will expand to all messages containing the substring +.Ar y +in the header field +.Ar x . +The string search is case insensitive. +If +.Ar x +is omitted, it will default to the +.Dq Li Subject +header field. +The form +.Dq Li /to: Ns Ar y +is a special case, and will expand +to all messages containing the substring +.Ar y +in the +.Dq Li To , +.Dq Li Cc +or +.Dq Li Bcc +header fields. +The check for +.Qq Li "to" +is case sensitive, so that +.Dq Li /To: Ns Ar y +can be used to limit the search for +.Ar y +to just the +.Dq Li To: +field. +Default is +.Va nosearchheaders . +.It Va toplines +If defined, gives the number of lines of a message to be printed out +with the +.Ic top +command; normally, the first five lines are printed. +.It Va verbose +Setting the option +.Va verbose +is the same as using the +.Fl v +flag on the command line. +When +.Nm +runs in verbose mode, +the actual delivery of messages is displayed on the user's +terminal. +Default is +.Va noverbose . +.El +.Sh ENVIRONMENT +.Bl -tag -width ".Ev REPLYTO" +.It Ev DEAD +Pathname of the file to save partial messages to in case of interrupts +or delivery errors. +Default is +.Pa ~/dead.letter . +.It Ev EDITOR +Pathname of the text editor to use in the +.Ic edit +command and +.Ic ~e +escape. +If not defined, then a default editor is used. +.It Ev HOME +Pathname of the user's home directory. +.It Ev LISTER +Pathname of the directory lister to use in the +.Ic folders +command. +Default is +.Pa /bin/ls . +.It Ev MAIL +Location of the user's mailbox. +Default is +.Pa /var/mail . +.It Ev MAILRC +Pathname of file containing initial +.Nm +commands. +Default is +.Pa ~/.mailrc . +.It Ev MBOX +The name of the mailbox file. +It can be the name of a folder. +The default is +.Pa mbox +in the user's home directory. +.It Ev PAGER +Pathname of the program to use in the +.Ic more +command or when +.Va crt +variable is set. +The default paginator +.Xr more 1 +is used if this option is not defined. +.It Ev REPLYTO +If set, will be used to initialize the Reply-To field for outgoing +messages. +.It Ev SHELL +Pathname of the shell to use in the +.Ic \&! +command and the +.Ic ~! +escape. +A default shell is used if this option is +not defined. +.It Ev TMPDIR +Pathname of the directory used for creating temporary files. +.It Ev VISUAL +Pathname of the text editor to use in the +.Ic visual +command and +.Ic ~v +escape. +.It Ev USER +Login name of the user executing mail. +.El +.Sh FILES +.Bl -tag -width ".Pa /usr/share/misc/mail.*help" -compact +.It Pa /var/mail/* +Post office. +.It Pa ~/mbox +User's old mail. +.It Pa ~/.mailrc +File giving initial +.Nm +commands. +This can be overridden by setting the +.Ev MAILRC +environment variable. +.It Pa /tmp/R* +Temporary files. +.It Pa /usr/share/misc/mail.*help +Help files. +.Pp +.It Pa /usr/share/misc/mail.rc +.It Pa /usr/local/etc/mail.rc +.It Pa /etc/mail.rc +System-wide initialization files. +Each file will be sourced, in order, +if it exists. +.El +.Sh SEE ALSO +.Xr fmt 1 , +.Xr newaliases 1 , +.Xr vacation 1 , +.Xr aliases 5 , +.Xr mailaddr 7 , +.Xr sendmail 8 +.Rs +.%T "The Mail Reference Manual" +.Re +.Sh HISTORY +A +.Nm +command +appeared in +.At v1 . +This man page is derived from +.%T "The Mail Reference Manual" +originally written by +.An Kurt Shoens . +.Sh BUGS +There are some flags that are not documented here. +Most are +not useful to the general user. +.Pp +Usually, +.Nm +is just a link to +.Nm Mail +and +.Nm mailx , +which can be confusing. +.Pp +The name of the +.Ic alternates +list is incorrect English (it should be +.Dq alternatives ) , +but is retained for compatibility. |