aliases(5)aliases(5)Namealiases - aliases file for sendmail
Description
The aliases file is an ASCII file that describes user ID aliases that
are used in It is formatted as a series of lines in the following form:
name: name_1, name2, name_3, . . .
The name is the name to alias, and the name_n are the aliases for that
name. Each is separated from the next by a new line.
Continuation lines begin with white space. Comment lines begin with a
number sign (#).
You can only assign aliases to local names. Loops are not allowed
because a message should be sent to a person only once.
After an alias has been applied, local and valid recipients who have a
file in their home directory can have messages forwarded to the list of
users defined in that file.
This is only the raw data file; the actual information pertaining to
aliases is placed into binary format in the files and using the program
The command should be executed each time the aliases file changes.
This command allows the new changes to take effect.
Restrictions
Because of restrictions in a single alias cannot contain more than
approximately 1000 bytes of information. You can specify longer
aliases by chaining; that is, use a dummy name for the last name in the
alias, which creates a continuation alias.
The database may be distributed in a network by a naming service, such
as Yellow Pages or BIND/Hesiod. See the Guide to Yellow Pages or the
chapter on Hesiod in the Guide to BIND for setup information.
FilesSee Alsonewaliases(1), dbm(3x), sendmail(8)
"SENDMAIL Installation and Operation Guide", ULTRIX Supplementary Docu‐
ments, Vol. III: System Manager
Guide to the BIND/Hesiod Service
Guide to the Yellow Pages Service
aliases(5)
