answer(1)						      General Commands Manual							 answer(1)

NAME

       answer - phone message transcription system

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

       The interactive program helps you to transcribe telephone (and other) messages into electronic mail.

       The program uses your personal alias database and the system alias database, allowing you to use aliases to address the messages.

   Options
       supports the following options:

	      Prompt for phone-slip-type message fields.

	      Allow addresses that are not aliases.

   Operation
       begins  with  the prompt.  Enter a one-word alias or a two-word user name ("Words" are separated by spaces.)  The user name is converted to
       an alias in the form where f is the first character of the first word, lastword is the second word, and all letters are shifted	to  lower-
       case.  For example, is converted to the alias

       Without	the  option, the specified or converted alias must exist in the alias databases.  With the option, if the processed "alias" is not
       in the alias databases, it is used for the address as is.

       The fully expanded address is displayed.

       With the option, you are asked for typical message slip data:

       Enter the appropriate data.  You can put just an or nothing after the pertinent dash prompts, or you can type  longer  comments.   Whatever
       you enter becomes part of the message.  Lines with no added text are omitted from the message.

       Finally,  you  are  prompted  for  a  message.	Enter  a message, if any, ending with a blank line.  The message is sent and the prompt is
       repeated.

       To end the program, enter any one of or at the prompt.

EXAMPLES

       User input is in normal type.

   With No Options
       This example shows a valid alias, an invalid user name, and a valid user name.  In the invalid case, the converted alias  is  displayed	in
       square brackets.

   With the -u Option
       If you enter the previous error is treated differently.

   With the -p Option
       If you enter the phone-slip prompts are added.  The three lines with no added text are deleted from the message.

FILES

       User alias database data table
       User alias database directory table
       User alias database hash table
       User alias source text
       System alias database data table
       System alias database directory table
       System alias database hash table
       System alias source text
       Outbound mail message edit buffer

AUTHOR

       was developed by HP.

SEE ALSO

       elm(1), newalias(1).

																	 answer(1)