mail(1) 						      General Commands Manual							   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 standards 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 subcom-
       mand.)  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 deliv-
       ery.

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
       subcommands 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
       following 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 sendmail for other network connections.

       Tru64 UNIX provides locking for the mailbox files.  The style of locking used depends on how it is set in the rc.config.common  file.   For
       more information, see the Network Administration manual.

   Subcommands
       The  following  subcommands control message disposition.  Displays the next mail message.  Displays the previous message.  Deletes the cur-
       rent 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 subcommand 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)