BIN-MAIL(1) USER COMMANDS BIN-MAIL(1)
NAME
bin-mail, binmail - an early program for processing mail
messages
SYNOPSIS
/usr/bin/mail [ -ipq ] [ -f filename ] address
/usr/bin/mail recipient ...
DESCRIPTION
Note: This is the old version 7 UNIX system mail program.
The default mail command, /usr/ucb/mail is described in
mail(1).
/usr/bin/mail with no address prints a user's mail,
message-by-message in last-in, first-out order.
/usr/bin/mail accepts commands from the standard input to
direct disposition messages.
When addresses are named, /usr/bin/mail takes the standard
input up to an EOF (or a line with just `.') and routes it
through the mailer daemon to each recipient. See send-
mail(8) for details. The message is preceded by the
sender's name and a postmark. Lines that look like post-
marks are prepended with `>'. A recipient is a user name
recognized by login(1), a network address or local mail
alias, or a filename (see aliases(5) for details).
If there is any pending mail, login tells you there is mail
when you log in. It is also possible to have the C shell,
or the daemon biff tell you about mail that arrives while
you are logged in.
To forward mail automatically, add the addresses of addi-
tional recipients to the .forward file in your home direc-
tory. Note: forwarding addresses must be valid, or the mes-
sages will bounce. You cannot, for instance, reroute your
mail to a new host by forwarding it to your new address if
it is not yet listed in the Network Information Service
(NIS) aliases domain.
OPTIONS
-i Ignore interrupts.
-p Print messages without prompting for com-
mands. Exit immediately upon receiving an
interrupt.
-q Quit immediately upon interrupt.
-f filename Use filename as if it were the mail file.
USAGE
? Print a command summary.
CTRL-D Put unexamined mail back in the mail
file and quit.
!command Escape to the shell to do command.
- Go back to previous message.
+ Go on to next message.
RETURN Go on to next message.
d Delete message and go on to the
next.
dq Delete message and quit.
m [ recipient ] ... Mail the message to the named
recipients (yourself is default).
n Go on to next message.
p Print message (again).
q Same as EOT .
s [ filename] ... Save the message in the named
filenames (`mbox' default). If
saved successfully, remove it from
the list and go on to the next mes-
sage.
w [ filename ] ... Save the message, without a header,
in the named filenames (`mbox'
default). If saved successfully,
remove it from the list and go on to
the next message.
x Exit without changing the mail file.
FILES
/etc/passwd to identify sender and locate address
/var/spool/mail/* incoming mail for user *
/usr/ucb/mail routes input through daemon to
recipients
mbox saved mail
/tmp/ma* temp file
/var/spool/mail/*.lock
lock for mail directory
dead.letter unmailable text is saved here
$HOME/.forward list of forwarding recipients
SEE ALSO
biff(1), csh(1), des(1), login(1), mail(1), uucp(1C),
uux(1C), write(1), xsend(1), crypt(3), aliases(5), send-
mail(8)
BUGS
Race conditions sometimes result in a failure to remove a
lock file.
The super-user can read your mail, unless it is encrypted by
des(1), xsend(1), or crypt(3). Even if you encrypt it, the
super-user can delete it.
NOTES
The Network Information Service (NIS) was formerly known as
Sun Yellow Pages (YP). The functionality of the two remains
the same; only the name has changed.
Sun Release 4.1 Last change: 28 November 1988
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