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mail(1)								       mail(1)

NAME
       mail, binmail - Sends and displays messages

SYNOPSIS
   Reading Mail
       mail [-epq] [-bhr] [-f file]

       binmail [-epq] [-bhr] [-f file]

   Sending Mail
       mail [-d] [-r name] [-h N] user... [< file]

       binmail [-d] [-r name] [-h N] user... [< file]

STANDARDS
       Interfaces  documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
       dards as follows:

       mail:  XCU5.0

       binmail:	 XCU5.0

       Refer to the standards(5) reference page	 for  more  information	 about
       industry standards and associated tags.

OPTIONS
   Reading Mail
       You  can	 use  the  following options when invoking the mail command to
       read mail: Does not display any messages.  This option causes  mail  to
       return an exit value of 0 (zero) if the user has mail and an exit value
       of 1 if the user has no mail.  Saves mail to and reads mail  from  file
       instead	of the default mail file, /usr/spool/mail/user.	 Displays mail
       without prompting for a disposition code. This option does not  delete,
       copy,  or forward any messages.	Causes mail to exit when you press the
       Interrupt key sequence. Normally, pressing the Interrupt	 key  sequence
       stops only the message being displayed. (In this case, the next message
       sometimes does not display until you enter the p subcommand.)  Displays
       mail  in first-in, first-out order.  The default is last-in, first-out.
       Alternate and obsolete form of the -b option.

	      If -r is the first option specified and more  arguments  follow,
	      send  mail  mode is assumed.  Alternate and obsolete form of the
	      -b option.

	      If -h is the first option specified and more  arguments  follow,
	      send mail mode is assumed.

   Sending Mail
       You  can	 use  the  following options when invoking the mail command to
       send mail: Sets the hop count to N. The hop count is incremented	 every
       time  the  mail	is  processed.	 When  it reaches a limit, the mail is
       returned with an error message, the victim of an aliasing loop.	If you
       do  not specify this option, received lines in the message are counted.
       Sets the name of the From: user field  (that  is,  the  sender  of  the
       mail).  The -r option can only be used by trusted users (normally root,
       daemon, and network) or if the person you are trying to become  is  the
       same  as	 the  person you are.  Informs binmail to actually deliver the
       mail instead of passing it off to the sendmail program for delivery.

DESCRIPTION
       The mail command writes to standard output all stored mail addressed to
       your  login  name,  one	message	 at a time, or sends a mail message to
       another user or users. Another name for the mail command is binmail.

       Following each message, mail prompts you with a ?  question mark. Press
       <Return>	 to display the current mail message, or enter one of the sub‐
       commands that control the disposition of the message.

       When sending mail, you specify users, and then  mail  reads  a  message
       from  standard  input  until  you press the End-of-File key sequence or
       enter a line containing only a . (dot). It prefixes this	 message  with
       the  sender's  name and the date and time of the message (its postmark)
       and adds this message to the file /usr/spool/mail/user  for  each  user
       specified on the command line.

       Usually, user is a name recognized by the login command.	 If the system
       does not recognize one or more of the specified users  or  if  mail  is
       interrupted   during   input,   mail   saves   messages	 in  the  file
       $HOME/dead.letter to allow for editing and resending.

       The action of  mail  can	 be  modified  in  two	ways  by  manipulating
       /usr/spool/mail/user: The default permission assignment for other users
       is read-only.  If you change this permission assignment	to  read/write
       or  to All Permissions Denied, the system preserves the file, even when
       it is empty, in order to maintain the desired permissions; you will not
       be  able to remove the file.  You can edit the file to contain the fol‐
       lowing as its first line:

	      Forward to person

	      This causes all messages sent to	user  to  be  sent  to	person
	      instead. The Forward to feature is especially useful for sending
	      all of a person's mail to a  particular  machine	in  a  network
	      environment.

       To  specify  a recipient on a remote system, prefix the system name and
       an !  (exclamation mark) to user.  See the uucp command for a  detailed
       discussion  of how to address remote systems.  Also see mailx and send‐
       mail for other network connections.

       Tru64 UNIX provides locking for the mailbox files.  The style of	 lock‐
       ing  used  depends  on how it is set in the rc.config.common file.  For
       more information, see mail_manual_setup(7).

   Subcommands
       The following subcommands control message  disposition.	 Displays  the
       next mail message.  Displays the previous message.  Deletes the current
       message and displays the next message.  Displays	 the  current  message
       again.	Saves  the message in file instead of in the default mail file
       $HOME/mbox.  Saves the message, without its postmark, in	 file  instead
       of  in the default mail file, $HOME/mbox.  Forwards the current message
       to users.  If the forward was successful, deletes that message and then
       displays	 the  next  message.   Writes  any  mail  not  yet  deleted to
       /usr/spool/mail/user and exits. Pressing the End-of-File	 key  sequence
       has  the same effect.  Exit, leaving the mail file unchanged.  Runs the
       specified command.  Displays a subcommand summary.  Displays a  subcom‐
       mand summary.

NOTES
       The mail utility is marked LEGACY in XCU Issue 5.

       The  binmail  program  is not RFC 822 compliant.	 This affects messages
       that begin withlines that look like header lines.  Header  lines	 begin
       with  a	string	followed  by  a	 colon (:) (such as those found in the
       /etc/passwd file).  Use mailx command to send such  messages,  or  make
       sure the message is preceded by a blank line.

EXIT STATUS
       For information about exit values, see the OPTIONS section.

EXAMPLES
       To display your mail, enter: mail

	      After the most recent message is displayed, a ?  (question mark)
	      indicates that mail  is  waiting	for  one  of  the  subcommands
	      explained	 previously (+, -, d, p, and so on).  Enter help or an
	      * (asterisk) to list the subcommands available.  If the  End-of-
	      File  key	 sequence is <Ctrl-d>, you send mail to other users by
	      entering: mail tom rachel Do not forget the meeting tomorrow  at
	      9:30.  <Ctrl-d>

	      In  this example, the system mails the message Do not forget the
	      meeting tomorrow at 9:30.	 to the users tom and rachel. The End-
	      of-File  key sequence (in this case, <Ctrl-d>) indicates the end
	      of the message, but it is not sent with the  text.   To  send  a
	      file to another user, enter: mail fran < proposal

	      This  command  sends  the contents of the file proposal to fran.
	      To save a message to the default mail file, enter: mail

	      This command displays each message mailed to you. Press <Return>
	      after the ?  prompt until the desired message is displayed.

	      When the appropriate message is displayed, enter: s

	      The  message  is saved in the default mail file, $HOME/mbox.  To
	      save a message to a specific file, enter: mail

	      This command displays each message mailed to you. Press <Return>
	      after the ?  prompt until the desired message is displayed. When
	      the appropriate message is displayed, enter: s mycopy

	      This command saves the message in a file	named  mycopy  in  the
	      current directory, rather than in the default mail file.

FILES
       Holds  saved  mail.  Holds unmailable text.  Contains user information.
       Holds incoming mail for user.  Lock for mail  directory.	  (Note:  this
       file is not created if lockf is used for locking.

SEE ALSO
       Commands:  login(1), mailx(1), sendmail(8), write(1), uucp(1)

								       mail(1)
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