path: root/static/unix-v10/man1/mailx.1

'\"macro stdmacro
.if n .pH g1.mailx %W% of %G%
.nr X
.if \nX=0 .ds x} mailx 1 "Essential Utilities" "\&"
.if \nX=1 .ds x} mailx 1 "Essential Utilities"
.if \nX=2 .ds x} mailx 1 "" "\&"
.if \nX=3 .ds x} mailx "" "" "\&"
.TH \*(x}
.\" mailx command (in COMMAND section)
.de Cm
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\\f4\\$1\\f1\\$2 \\$3 \\$4 \\$5 \\$6 \\$7 \\$8 \\$9
.\"br
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.\" mailx tilde escape (in TILDE ESCAPE section)
.de Ti
.\"sp
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\\f4~\\^\\$1\\f1 \\$2 \\$3 \\$4 \\$5 \\$6 \\$7 \\$8 \\$9
.\"br
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.\" mailx environment variable that takes an arg (in ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE section)
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\\f4\\$1\\f1=\\$2 \\$3 \\$4 \\$5 \\$6 \\$7 \\$8 \\$9
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.\" mailx environment variable that does not take an arg (in ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE section)
.de V
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\\f4\\$1\\f1
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.\"  mailx environment variable in running text
.de Ev
\f4\\$1\f1\\$2
..
.ds Ma \\f4mailx\\f1
.ds EV "\s-1ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES\s+1
.ds CM "\s-1COMMANDS\s+1
.ds TX "\s-1TILDE ESCAPES\s+1
.ds WA "\s-1WARNINGS\s+1
.ds al \\f2alias\\f1
.ds nu \\f2number\\f1
.ds ms \\f2message\f1
.ds sh \\f2shell-command\\f1
.ds mC \\f2mail-command\\f1
.ds dl \\f4dead.letter\\f1
.ds mr \\f4.mailrc\\f1
.ds mb \\f4mbox\\f1
.ds mx \\f4mailbox\\f1
.ds ml \\f2msglist\\f1
.ds om [\\f2msglist\\f1]
.ds hf \\f2header-field\\f1
.ds fn \\f2filename\\f1
.ds st \\f2string\\f1
.ds dr \\f2directory\\f1
.ds nm \\f2name\\f1
.SH NAME
\f4mailx\f1 \- interactive message processing system
.SH SYNOPSIS
\f4mailx\f1
[
.I options
] [
.IR name \|.\|.\|.\|
]
.SH DESCRIPTION
The command
\f4mailx\fP provides a comfortable, flexible environment for sending and
receiving messages electronically.
When reading mail,
\*(Ma provides commands to facilitate saving, deleting, and responding to
messages.
When sending mail,
\*(Ma allows editing, reviewing and other modification of the message
as it is entered.
.PP
Many of the remote features of \f4mailx\fP
work only if the Basic Networking Utilities are installed on your system.
.PP
Incoming mail is stored in a standard file for each user,
called the \*(mx for that user.
When \*(Ma is called to read messages,
the \*(mx is the default place to find them.
As messages are read,
they are marked to be moved to a secondary file for storage,
unless specific action is taken,
so that the messages need not be seen again.
This secondary file is called the \*(mb
and is normally located in the user's
\f4HOME\f1
directory
[see 
.Ev MBOX
(\*(EV) for a description of this file].
Messages can be saved in other secondary files named by the user.
Messages remain in a secondary file until forcibly removed.
.PP
The user can access a secondary file by using the 
\f4\-f\f1 option of the \*(Ma command.
Messages in the secondary file can then be read or otherwise
processed using the same \*(CM as in the primary \*(mx.
This gives rise within these pages to the notion of a current \*(mx.
.PP
On the command line,
.I options
start with a dash (\-) and any other arguments are taken to be
destinations (recipients).
If no recipients are specified,
\*(Ma attempts to read messages from the \*(mx.
Command-line options are:
.PP
.RS
.TP 14
\f4\-d\f1
Turn on debugging output.
.TP
\f4\-e\f1
Test for presence of mail.
\f4mailx\fP prints nothing and exits with a successful return code if there is
mail to read.
.TP
\f4\-f\f1 [\*(fn]
Read messages from \*(fn instead of \*(mx.
If no \*(fn is specified,
the \*(mb is used.
.TP
\f4\-F\f1
Record the message in a file named after the first recipient.
Overrides the
.Ev record
variable, if set (see \*(EV).
.TP
\f4\-h\f1 \*(nu
The number of network ``hops'' made so far.
This is provided for network
software to avoid infinite delivery loops.
This option and its argument is passed to the delivery program.
.TP
\f4\-H\f1
Print header summary only.
.TP
\f4\-i\f1
Ignore interrupts.
See also
.Ev ignore
(\*(EV).
.TP
\f4\-I\f1
Include the newsgroup and article-id header lines when printing mail
messages.
This option requires the \f4\-f\f1 option to be specified.
.TP
\f4\-n\f1
Do not initialize from the system default
.I mailx.rc
file.
.TP
\f4\-N\f1
Do not print initial header summary.
.TP
\f4\-r\f2 address\f1
Use
.I address
as the return address when invoking the delivery program.
All tilde commands are disabled.
This option and its argument is passed to the delivery program.
.TP
\f4\-s\f2 subject\f1
Set the Subject header field to
.IR subject .
.TP
\f4\-T\f2 file\f1
Message-id and article-id header lines are recorded in \f2file\f1 after the
message is read.
This option will also set the \f4\-I\f1 option.
.TP
\f4\-u\f2 user\f1
Read
.IR user 's
\*(mx.
This is only effective if
.IR user 's
\*(mx is not read protected.
.TP
\f4\-U\f1
Convert \f4uucp\fP style addresses to internet standards.
Overrides the
.Ev conv
environment variable.
.TP
\f4\-V\f1
Print the \*(Ma version number and exit.
.RE
.PP
When reading mail,
\*(Ma is in
\f2command mode\f1.
A header summary of the first several messages is displayed,
followed by a prompt indicating \*(Ma can accept regular commands
(see \*(CM below).
When sending mail,
\*(Ma is in
\f2input mode\f1.
If no subject is specified on the command line,
a prompt for the subject is printed.
(A subject longer than 1024 characters causes \*(Ma to print the
message \f2mail: ERROR signal 10\fP; the mail will not be delivered.)
As the message is typed,
\*(Ma reads the message and store it in a temporary
file.
Commands may be entered by beginning a line with the tilde (~) escape
character followed by a single command letter and optional arguments.
See \*(TX for a summary of these commands.
.PP
At any time,
the behavior of \*(Ma is governed by a set of
\f2environment variables\f1.
These are flags and valued parameters which are set and cleared via the
\f4se\f1t
and
\f4uns\f1et
commands.
See \*(EV below for a summary of these parameters.
.PP
Recipients listed on the command line may be of three types:
login names,
shell commands,
or
alias groups.
Login names may be any network address,
including mixed network addressing.
If mail is found to be undeliverable, an attempt is
made to return it to the sender's \f2mailbox\f1.
If the recipient name begins with a pipe symbol ( | ),
the rest of the name is taken to be a shell command to pipe the
message through.
This provides an automatic interface with any program that reads the standard
input, such as
\f4lp\fP(1)
for recording outgoing mail on paper.
Alias groups are set by the
\f4a\f1lias
command (see \*(CM below)
and are lists of recipients of any type.
.PP
Regular commands are of the form
.PP
.RS
[
.I command
] [
.I msglist
] [
.I arguments
]
.RE
.PP
If no command is specified in \f2command mode\f1,
\f4p\f1rint
is assumed.
In \f2input mode\f1,
commands are recognized by the escape character,
and lines not treated as commands are taken as input for the message.
.PP
Each message is assigned a sequential number,
and there is at any time the notion of a current message,
marked by a right angle bracket (>) in the header summary.
Many commands take an optional list of messages
(\*(ml) to operate on. 
The default for \f2msglist\f1 is the current message.
A \*(ml is a list of message identifiers separated by spaces,
which may include:
.PP
.RS
.TP 8
\f4n\f1
Message number
\f4n\f1.
.TP
\f4\&.\f1
The current message.
.TP
\f4^\f1
The first undeleted message.
.TP
\f4$\f1
The last message.
.TP
\f4*\f1
All messages.
.TP
\f4n\-m\f1
An inclusive range of message numbers.
.TP
\f4user\f1
All messages from
\f4user\f1.
.TP
\f4/string\f1
All messages with
\f4string\f1
in the subject line (case ignored).
.TP
\f4:\f2c\f1
All messages of type
.IR c ,
where
.I c
is one of:
.RS 13
.TP
\f4d\f1
deleted messages
.TP
\f4n\f1
new messages
.TP
\f4o\f1
old messages
.TP
\f4r\f1
read messages
.TP
\f4u\f1
unread messages
.RE 0
.RS 13
Note that the context of the command determines whether this type of
message specification makes sense.
.RE
.PP
Other arguments are usually arbitrary strings whose usage
depends on the command involved.
File names,
where expected,
are expanded via the normal shell conventions [see
\f4sh\fP(1)].
Special characters are recognized by certain commands and are
documented with the commands below.
.PP
At start-up time,
\*(Ma tries to execute commands from the optional system-wide file
(\f4/etc/mail/mailx.rc\f1) to initialize
certain parameters,
then from a private start-up file
\f1(\f4$HOME/.mailrc\f1)
for personalized variables.
With the exceptions noted below, 
regular commands are legal inside start-up files.
The most common use of a start-up file is 
to set up initial display options and alias lists.
The following commands are not legal in the start-up file:
\f4!\f1,
\f4C\f1opy,
\f4e\f1dit,
\f4fo\f1llowup,
\f4F\f1ollowup,
\f4ho\f1ld,
\f4m\f1ail,
\f4pre\f1serve,
\f4r\f1eply,
\f4R\f1eply,
\f4sh\f1ell,
and
\f4v\f1isual.
An error in the start-up file causes the remaining lines in the file to
be ignored.
The \*(mr file is optional, and must be constructed locally.
.SS \*(CM
The following is a complete list of \*(Ma commands:
.PP
.Cm ! \*(sh
Escape to the shell.
See
.Ev SHELL
(\*(EV).
.Cm # "" \f2comment\f1
Null command (comment).
This may be useful in \*(mr files.
.Cm =
Print the current message number.
.Cm ?
Prints a summary of commands.
.Cm a lias \*(al \*(nm ...
.C g roup \*(al \*(nm ...
Declare an alias for the given names.
The names are substituted
when
\*(al is used as a recipient.
Useful in the \*(mr file.
.Cm alt ernates \*(nm ...
Declares a list of alternate names for your login.
When responding to a message,
these names are removed from the list of recipients for the response.
With no arguments,
\f4alt\f1ernates
prints the current list of alternate names.
See also
.Ev allnet
(\*(EV).
.Cm cd "" [\*(dr]
.C ch dir [\*(dr]
Change directory.
If \*(dr is not specified,
\f4$HOME\f1
is used.
.Cm c opy [\*(fn]
.C c opy \*(om \*(fn
Copy messages to the file without marking the messages as saved.
Otherwise equivalent to the
\f4s\f1ave
command.
.Cm C opy \*(om
Save the specified messages in a file whose name is derived from the
author of the
message to be saved, without marking the messages as saved.
Otherwise equivalent to the
\f4S\f1ave
command.
.Cm d elete \*(om
Delete messages from the \*(mx.
If
.Ev autoprint
is set,
the next message after the last one deleted is printed
(see \*(EV).
.Cm di scard [\*(hf ...]
.C ig nore [\*(hf ...]
Suppresses printing of the specified header fields when displaying messages
on the screen.
Examples of header fields to ignore are
\f4status\f1
and
\f4cc\f1.
The fields are included when the message is saved.
The
\f4P\f1rint
and
\f4T\f1ype
commands override this command.
If no header is specified, the current list of header fields being ignored
will be printed.
See also the \f4undi\f1scard and \f4unig\f1nore commands.
.Cm dp "" \*(om
.C dt "" \*(om
Delete the specified messages from the \*(mx and print the next message
after the last one deleted.
Roughly equivalent to a
\f4d\f1elete
command followed by a
\f4p\f1rint
command.
.Cm ec ho \*(st ...
Echo the given strings [like
\f4echo\fP(1)].
.Cm e dit \*(om
Edit the given messages.
The messages are placed in a temporary file and the
.Ev EDITOR
variable
is used to get the name of the editor
(see \*(EV).
Default editor is
\f4ed\fP(1).
.Cm ex it
.C x it
Exit from \*(Ma,
without changing the \*(mx.
No messages are saved in the \*(mb (see also
\f4q\f1uit).
.Cm fi le [\*(fn]
.C fold er [\*(fn]
Quit from the current file of messages and read in the specified file.
Several special characters are recognized when used as file names,
with the following substitutions:
.RS 10
.TP 10
\f4%\f1
the current \*(mx.
.TP
\f4%\f2user\f1
the \*(mx for
.IR user .
.TP
\f4#\f1
the previous file.
.TP
\f4&\f1
the current \*(mb.
.RE
.RS 5
Default file is the current \*(mx.
.RE
.Cm folders
Print the names of the files in the
directory set by the
.Ev folder
variable
(see \*(EV).
.Cm fo llowup [\*(ms]
Respond to a message,
recording the response in a file whose name is derived from the
author of the message.
Overrides the
.Ev record
variable, if set.
See also the
\f4F\f1ollowup,
\f4S\f1ave,
and
\f4C\f1opy
commands and
.Ev outfolder
(\*(EV).
.Cm F ollowup \*(om
Respond to the first message in the \*(ml,
sending the message to the author of each message in the \*(ml.
The subject line is taken from the first message
and the response is recorded in a file whose name is derived
from the author of the first message.
See also the
\f4fo\f1llowup,
\f4S\f1ave,
and
\f4C\f1opy
commands
and
.Ev outfolder
(\*(EV).
.Cm f rom \*(om
Prints the header summary for the specified messages.
.Cm g roup \*(al \*(nm ...
.C a lias \*(al \*(nm ...
Declare an alias for the given names.
The names are substituted
when
\*(al is used as a recipient.
Useful in the \*(mr file.
.Cm h eaders [\*(ms]
Prints the page of headers which includes the message specified.
The
.Ev screen
variable sets the number of headers per page
(see \*(EV).
See also the
\f4z\f1
command.
.Cm hel p
Prints a summary of commands.
.Cm ho ld \*(om
.C pre serve \*(om
Holds the specified messages in the \*(mx.
.Cm i f \f2s\f1 | \f2r\f1
.C "" \*(mCs
.C el se
.C "" \*(mCs
.C en dif
Conditional execution, where
.I s
executes following \*(mCs, up to an
\f4el\f1se
or
\f4en\f1dif,
if the program is in
.I send
mode, and
.I r
causes the \*(mCs to be executed only in
.I receive
mode.
Useful in the \*(mr file.
.Cm ig nore [\*(hf ...]
.C di scard [\*(hf ...]
Suppresses printing of the specified header fields when displaying messages
on the screen.
Examples of header fields to ignore are
\f4status\f1
and
\f4cc\f1.
All fields are included when the message is saved.
The
\f4P\f1rint
and
\f4T\f1ype
commands override this command.
If no header is specified, the current list of header fields being ignored
will be printed.
See also the \f4undi\f1scard and \f4unig\f1nore commands.
.Cm l ist
Prints all commands available.
No explanation is given.
.Cm m ail \*(nm ...
Mail a message to the specified users.
.Cm M ail \*(nm
Mail a message to the specified user and record a copy of it
in a file named after that user.
.Cm mb ox \*(om
Arrange for the given messages to end up in the standard \*(mb save file
when \*(Ma terminates normally.
See
.Ev MBOX
(\*(EV) for a description of this file.
See also the
\f4ex\f1it
and
\f4q\f1uit
commands.
.Cm n ext [\*(ms]
Go to next message matching \*(ms.
A \*(ml may be specified,
but in this case the first valid message in the list is the only one used.
This is useful for jumping to the next message from a specific user,
since the name would be taken as a command in the absence of a real command.
See the discussion of \*(mls above for a description of
possible message specifications.
.Cm pi pe \*(om [\*(sh]
.C | "" \*(om [\*(sh]
Pipe the message through the given \*(sh.
The message is treated as if it were read.
If no arguments are given,
the current message is piped through the command specified by the
value of the
.Ev cmd
variable.
If the
.Ev page
variable is set,
a form feed character is inserted after each message
(see \*(EV).
.Cm pre serve \*(om
.C ho ld \*(om
Preserve the specified messages in the \*(mx.
.Cm P rint \*(om
.C T ype \*(om
Print the specified messages on the screen,
including all header fields.
Overrides suppression of fields by the
\f4ig\f1nore
command.
.Cm p rint \*(om
.C t ype \*(om
Print the specified messages.
If
.Ev crt
is set,
the messages longer than the number of lines specified by the
.Ev crt
variable are paged through the command specified by the
.Ev PAGER
variable.
The default command is
\f4pg\fP(1)
(see \*(EV).
.Cm q uit
Exit from \*(Ma,
storing messages that were read in \*(mb and unread messages in the \*(mx.
Messages that have been explicitly saved in a file are deleted.
.Cm R eply \*(om
.C R espond \*(om
Send a response to the author of each message in the \*(ml.
The subject line is taken from the first message.
If
.Ev record
is set to a file name,
the response is saved at the end of that file (see \*(EV).
.Cm r eply [\*(ms]
.C r espond [\*(ms]
Reply to the specified message,
including all other recipients of the message.
If
.Ev record
is set to a file name,
the response is saved at the end of that file (see \*(EV).
.Cm S ave \*(om
Save the specified messages in a file whose name is derived from
the author of the first message.
The name of the file is taken to be the author's name with all
network addressing stripped off.
See also the
\f4C\f1opy,
\f4fo\f1llowup,
and
\f4F\f1ollowup
commands and
.Ev outfolder
(\*(EV).
.Cm s ave [\*(fn]
.C s ave \*(om \*(fn
Save the specified messages in the given file.
The file is created if it does not exist.
THe file defaults to \*(mb.
The message is deleted from the \*(mx when
\*(Ma terminates unless
.Ev keepsave
is set
(see also \*(EV and the
\f4ex\f1it
and
\f4q\f1uit
commands).
.Cm se t
.C se t \*(nm
.C se t \*(nm=\*(st
.C se t \*(nm=\*(nu
Define a variable called \*(nm.
The variable may be given a null, string, or numeric value.
\f4Se\f1t
by itself prints all defined variables and their values.
See \*(EV for detailed descriptions of the \*(Ma variables.
.Cm sh ell
Invoke an interactive shell [see also
.Ev SHELL
(\*(EV)].
.Cm si ze \*(om
Print the size in characters of the specified messages.
.Cm so urce \*(fn
Read commands from the given file and return to command mode.
.Cm to p \*(om
Print the top few lines of the specified messages.
If the
.Ev toplines
variable is set,
it is taken as the number of lines to print
(see \*(EV).
The default is 5.
.Cm tou ch \*(om
Touch the specified messages.
If any message in \*(ml is not specifically saved in a file,
it is placed in the \*(mb,
or the file specified in the
.Ev MBOX
environment variable, upon normal termination.
See
\f4ex\f1it
and
\f4q\f1uit.
.Cm T ype \*(om
.C P rint \*(om
Print the specified messages on the screen,
including all header fields.
Overrides suppression of fields by the
\f4ig\f1nore
command.
.Cm t ype \*(om
.C p rint \*(om
Print the specified messages.
If
.Ev crt
is set,
the messages longer than the number of lines specified by the
.Ev crt
variable are paged through the command specified by the
.Ev PAGER
variable.
The default command is
\f4pg\fP(1)
(see \*(EV).
.Cm u ndelete \*(om
Restore the specified deleted messages.
Will only restore messages deleted in the current mail session.
If
.Ev autoprint
is set, the last message of those restored is printed
(see \*(EV).
.Cm undi scard \*(hf ...
.C unig nore \*(hf ...
Remove the specified header fields from the list being ignored.
.Cm uns et \*(nm ...
Causes the specified variables to be erased.
If the variable was imported from the execution environment (i.e., a
shell variable) then it cannot be erased.
.Cm ve rsion
Prints the current version.
.Cm v isual \*(om
Edit the given messages with a screen editor.
The messages are placed in a temporary file and the
.Ev VISUAL
variable
is used to get the name of the editor
(see \*(EV).
.Cm w rite \*(om \*(fn
Write the given messages on the specified file,
minus the header and trailing blank line.
Otherwise equivalent to the
\f4s\f1ave
command.
.Cm x it
.C ex it
Exit from \*(Ma,
without changing the \*(mx.
No messages are saved in the \*(mb (see also
\f4q\f1uit).
.Cm z [+ | \-]
Scroll the header display forward or backward one screen\-full.
The number of headers displayed is set by the
.Ev screen
variable
(see \*(EV).
.SS \*(TX
The following commands may be entered only from
\f2input mode\f1,
by beginning a line with the tilde escape character (~).
See
.Ev escape
(\*(EV)
for changing this special character.
.PP
.Ti ! \*(sh
Escape to the shell.
.Ti .
Simulate end of file (terminate message input).
.Ti : \*(mC
.PD 0
.Ti _\  \*(mC
.PD
Perform the command-level request.
Valid only when sending a message while reading mail.
.Ti ?
Print a summary of tilde escapes.
.Ti A
Insert the autograph string
.Ev Sign
into the message
(see \*(EV).
.Ti a
Insert the autograph string
.Ev sign
into the message
(see \*(EV).
.Ti b \*(nms ...
Add the \*(nms to the blind carbon copy (Bcc) list.
.Ti c \*(nms ...
Add the \*(nms to the carbon copy (Cc) list.
.Ti d
Read in the \*(dl file.
See
.Ev DEAD
(\*(EV) for a description of this file.
.Ti e
Invoke the editor on the partial message.
See also
.Ev EDITOR
(\*(EV).
.Ti f \*(om
Forward the specified messages.
The messages are inserted into the message
without alteration.
.Ti h
Prompt for Subject line and To, Cc, and Bcc lists.
If the field is displayed with an initial value,
it may be edited as if you had just typed it.
.Ti i \*(st
Insert the value of the named variable into the text of the message.
For example,
\f4~A\f1
is equivalent to
\f1'\f4~i\f1\\f4Sign.'\f1
Environment variables set and exported in the shell are also
accessible by ~i.
.Ti m \*(om
Insert the specified messages into the letter,
shifting the new text to the right one tab stop.
Valid only when sending a message while reading mail.
.Ti p
Print the message being entered.
.Ti q
Quit from input mode by simulating an interrupt.
If the body of the message is not null,
the partial message is saved in \*(dl.
See
.Ev DEAD
(\*(EV) for a description of this file.
.Ti r \*(fn
.PD 0
.Ti <\  \*(fn
.Ti <\  !\*(sh
.PD
Read in the specified file.
If the argument begins with an exclamation point (!),
the rest of the string is taken as an arbitrary shell command
and is executed,
with the standard output inserted into the message.
.Ti s \*(st ...
Set the subject line to \*(st.
.Ti t \*(nms ...
Add the given \*(nms to the To list.
.Ti v
Invoke a preferred screen editor on the partial message.
See also
.Ev VISUAL
(\*(EV).
.Ti w \*(fn
Write the message into the given file,
without the header.
.Ti x
Exit as with
\f4~q\f1
except the message is not saved in \*(dl.
.Ti | \*(sh
Pipe the body of the message through the given \*(sh.
If the \*(sh returns a successful exit status,
the output of the command replaces the message.
.SS \*(EV
The following are environment variables taken from the execution environment and
are not alterable within \*(Ma.
.Va \s-1HOME\s+1 \*(dr
The user's base of operations.
.Va \s-1MAILRC\s+1 \*(fn
The name of the start-up file.
Default is
\f4$HOME/.mailrc\f1.
.PP
The following variables are internal \*(Ma variables.
They may be imported from the execution environment or
set via the
\f4se\f1t
command at any time.
The
\f4uns\f1et
command may be used to erase variables.
.PP
.V allnet
All network names whose last component (login name) match are treated as
identical.
This causes the \*(ml message specifications to behave similarly.
Default is
\f4noallnet\f1.
See also the
\f4alt\f1ernates
command and the
.Ev metoo
variable.
.V append
Upon termination, append messages to the end of the \*(mb file instead of prepending them.
Default is
\f4noappend.\f1
.V askcc
Prompt for the Cc list after the Subject is entered.
Default is
\f4noaskcc\f1.
.V askbcc
Prompt for the Bcc list after the Subject is entered.
Default is
\f4noaskbcc\f1.
.V asksub
Prompt for subject if it is not specified on the command line
with the
\f4\-s\f1
option.
Enabled by default.
.V autoprint
Enable automatic printing of messages after
\f4d\f1elete
and
\f4u\f1ndelete
commands.
Default is
\f4noautoprint\f1.
.V bang
Enable the special-casing of exclamation points (!) in shell escape
command lines
as in
\f4vi\fP(1).
Default is
\f4nobang\f1.
.Va cmd \*(sh
Set the default command for the
\f4pi\f1pe
command.
No default value.
.Va conv \f2conversion\f1
Convert uucp addresses to the specified
address style.
The only valid conversion now is
\f4internet\f1,
which uses domain-style addressing.
Conversion is disabled by default.
See also the
\f4\-U\f1
command-line option.
.Va crt \*(nu
Pipe messages having more than \f2number\f1 lines
through the command specified by the value of the
.Ev PAGER
variable
.RI 
[\f4pg\f1(1) by default].
Disabled by default.
.Va DEAD \*(fn
The name of the file in which to save partial letters
in case of untimely interrupt. 
Default is
\f4$HOME/dead.letter\f1.
.V debug
Enable verbose diagnostics for debugging.
Messages are not delivered.
Default is
\f4nodebug\f1.
.V dot
Take a period on a line by itself during input from a terminal as end-of-file.
Default is
\f4nodot\f1.
.Va EDITOR \*(sh
The command to run when the
\f4e\f1dit
or
\f4~e\f1
command is used.
Default is
\f4ed\fP(1).
.Va escape \f2c\f1
Substitute
.I c
for the ~ escape character.
Takes effect with next message sent.
.Va folder \*(dr
The directory for saving standard mail files.
User-specified file names beginning with a plus (+)
are expanded by preceding the file name with
this directory name to obtain the real file name.
If \*(dr does not start with a slash (/),
\f4$HOME\f1
is prepended to it.
In order to use the plus (+) construct on a
\*(Ma command line,
.Ev folder
must be an exported
\f4sh\fP
environment variable.
There is no default for the
.Ev folder
variable.
See also
.Ev outfolder
below.
.V header
Enable printing of the header summary when entering \*(Ma.
Enabled by default.
.V hold
Preserve all messages that are read in the \*(mx instead of putting them
in the standard \*(mb save file.
Default is
\f4nohold\f1.
.V ignore
Ignore interrupts while entering messages.
Handy for noisy dial-up lines.
Default is
\f4noignore\f1.
.V ignoreeof
Ignore end-of-file during message input.
Input must be terminated by a period (.) on a line by itself
or by the
\f4~.\f1
command.
Default is
\f4noignoreeof\f1.
See also
.Ev dot
above.
.V keep
When the \*(mx is empty,
truncate it to zero length instead of removing it.
Disabled by default.
.V keepsave
Keep messages that have been saved in other files in the \*(mx
instead of deleting them.
Default is
\f4nokeepsave\f1.
.Va \s-1MBOX\s+1 \*(fn
The name of the file to save messages which have been read.
The
\f4x\f1it
command overrides this function,
as does saving the message explicitly in another file.
Default is
\f4$HOME/mbox\f1.
.V metoo
If your login appears as a recipient,
do not delete it from the list.
Default is
\f4nometoo\f1.
.Va \s-1LISTER\s+1 \*(sh
The command (and options) to use when listing the contents of the
.Ev folder
directory.
The default is
\f4ls\fP(1).
.V onehop
When responding to a message that was originally sent to several
recipients,
the other recipient addresses are normally forced to be relative to the
originating author's machine for the response.
This flag disables alteration of the recipients' addresses,
improving efficiency in a network where all machines can send directly
to all other machines (i.e., one hop away).
.V outfolder
Causes the files used to record outgoing messages to be located
in the directory specified by the
.Ev folder
variable unless the
path name is absolute.
Default is
\f4nooutfolder\f1.
See
.Ev folder
above and the
\f4S\f1ave,
\f4C\f1opy,
\f4fo\f1llowup,
and
\f4F\f1ollowup
commands.
.V page
Used with the
\f4pi\f1pe
command to insert a form feed after each message sent through the pipe.
Default is
\f4nopage\f1.
.Va \s-1PAGER\s+1 \*(sh
The command to use as a filter for paginating output.
This can also be used to specify the options to be used.
Default is
\f4pg\fP(1).
.Va prompt \*(st
Set the \f2command mode\f1 prompt to \*(st.
Default is
\f1``\f4?\ \f1''.
.V quiet
Refrain from printing the opening message and version when entering \*(Ma.
Default is
\f4noquiet\f1.
.Va record \*(fn
Record all outgoing mail in \*(fn.
Disabled by default.
See also
.Ev outfolder
above.
If you have the
.Ev record
and
.Ev outfolder
variables set but the
.Ev folder
variable not set, messages are saved in
\f4+\f1\*(fn instead of \*(fn.
.V save
Enable saving of messages in \*(dl on interrupt or delivery error.
See
.Ev DEAD
for a description of this file.
Enabled by default.
.Va screen \*(nu
Sets the number of lines in a screen\-full of headers for the
\f4h\f1eaders
command.
It must be a positive number.
.Va sendmail \*(sh
Alternate command for delivering messages.
Default is
\f4/usr/bin/rmail\f1.
.V sendwait
Wait for background mailer to finish before returning.
Default is
\f4nosendwait\f1.
.Va SHELL \*(sh
The name of a preferred command interpreter.
Default is
\f4sh\fP(1).
.V showto
When displaying the header summary and the message is from you,
print the recipient's name instead of the author's name.
.Va sign \*(st
The variable inserted into the text of a message when the
\f4~a\f1
(autograph) command is given.
No default
[see also
\f4~i\f1
(\*(TX)].
.Va Sign \*(st
The variable inserted into the text of a message when the
\f4~A\f1
command is given.
No default
[see also
\f4~i\f1
(\*(TX)].
.Va toplines \*(nu
The number of lines of header to print with the
\f4to\f1p
command.
Default is 5.
.Va \s-1VISUAL\s+1 \*(sh
The name of a preferred screen editor.
Default is
\f4vi\fP(1).
.SH FILES
.TS
l l.
\f4$HOME/.mailrc\f1	personal start-up file
\f4$HOME/mbox\f1	secondary storage file
\f4/var/mail/*\f1	post office directory
\f4/usr/share/lib/mailx/mailx.help*\f1	help message files
\f4/etc/mail/mailx.rc\f1	optional global start-up file
\f4/tmp/R[emqsx]*\f1	temporary files
.TE
.SH SEE ALSO
\f4ls\fP(1),
\f4mail\fP(1),
\f4pg\fP(1).
.SH NOTES
The \f4\-h\f1 and \f4\-r\f1 options can be used only
if \*(Ma is using a delivery program other than
\f4/usr/bin/rmail\f1.
.PP
Where \*(sh
is shown as valid,
arguments are not always allowed.
Experimentation is recommended.
.PP
Internal variables imported from the execution environment cannot be
\f4uns\f1et.
.PP
The full internet addressing is not fully supported by \*(Ma.
The new standards need some time to settle down.
.PP
Attempts to send a message having a line consisting only of a ``.''
are treated as the end of the message by \f4mail\fP(1) (the standard
mail delivery program).
.\"	@(#)mailx.1	6.2 of 9/2/83
.Ee