MAIL(1) MAIL(1)
NAME
mail - send or receive mail
SYNOPSIS
mail [ -r ] [ -p ] [ -m ] [ -f file ]
mail person ...
mail -n
DESCRIPTION
Mail with no argument prints a user's mail, message-by-
message, in last-in, first-out order, prompting between mes-
sages. The options are:
-r Print mail in first-in, first-out order.
-p Print entire mailbox without pause between messages.
-m Only print messages explicitly requested by the user.
-f file
Use file, e.g. `mbox', as if it were the mailbox.
After printing a prompt mail reads a line from the standard
input to direct disposition of the message. Commands are of
the form `[range] command [arguments]'. The command is
applied to each message in the specified range. The
optional range can be:
. current message
+ next message
- previous message
a number
the correspondingly numbered message
number1,number2
the range of messages between number1 and number2
inclusive
The commands are:
d Mark message for deletion on exiting mail.
u remove mark for deletion.
h Print the disposition, size in characters, and header
line for each message in the mailbox.
p Print message.
s [ file ] ...
Save the message in the named files (`mbox' default, in
HOME directory if known, see environ(5)).
m [ person ] ...
Mail the message to the named persons (yourself by
default).
r Reply to the sender of the last message printed.
EOT (control-D)
Put unexamined mail back in the mailbox and stop.
q Same as EOT.
x Exit, without changing the mailbox file.
MAIL(1) MAIL(1)
!command
Escape to the Shell to do command.
? Print a command summary.
= Print the number of the current message.
An interrupt stops the printing of the current letter.
When persons are named, mail takes the standard input up to
an end-of-file, or to a line consisting of a single `.'.
and adds it to each person's mailbox. The message is auto-
matically postmarked with the sender's name and date. Lines
that look like postmarks are prefixed with `>'.
Person is usually a login name. To denote a recipient on a
remote system, a network name must be used instead of a sim-
ple login name; see uucp(1), mail(7).
If a person's mailbox contains the sole line
Forward to name
the mail is sent to name instead of person. Name may be a
list of names.
If a person's mailbox contains the sole line
Pipe to command
the mail is piped to command instead of being appended to
person's mailbox. The command is run with the user and
group id of the mailbox's owner.
Each user owns his own mailbox, which is by default gener-
ally readable but not writable. Mail does not delete an
empty mailbox nor change its mode, so a user may make it
unreadable if desired.
Option -n causes notice to be given on your terminal when-
ever mail is delivered to your mail box. The option is
reversed at each occurrence. See also sysmon(9.1) and the
MAIL variable of sh(1).
When a user logs in he is informed of the presence of mail.
FILES
/usr/spool/mail/mail.log mail log file
/usr/spool/mail/* mailboxes
/etc/passwd to identify sender and locate per-
sons
mbox saved mail
/tmp/ma* temp file
$HOME/dead.letter unmailable text
MAIL(1) MAIL(1)
/usr/lib/upas/printmail the program to peruse the mail
uux(1)
SEE ALSO
xsend(1), write(1), sysmon(9.1), uucp(1), mail(7), upas(8)
BUGS
Option -n doesn't work in a mux(9.1) layer.