The CDE interface has its own mailer which is invoked by clicking on the mail icon on the front panel (to the left of the center four workspace buttons).
In addition, the commonly used mailer "PINE," is also available for use. More information about PINE may be found by referencing the on-line information by typing: man pine.
Further detailed information regarding the mailx is contained at this link on on-line via the command
man mailx
A quick overview follows.
To mail a message to another user, one invokes
math 34:mailx dsmolarski@ricci.scu.eduand you will be prompted for the Subject:. To send messages to people on math, one only needs to use the username.
After indicating the subject, one types the message. A message is ended via a period as the first character on a line.
Before ending the message, one can include a list of "carbon copy" individuals or "blind carbon copy" individuals by typing
~h
as the first item in a line. You will then be prompted
again for the To: and Subject: fields, as well as CC: and BCC:
fields.
If one is reading within the mailer (for example, reading messages), one can initiate a message merely by typing the letter m at the mailer prompt, ?, and then entering the username and address, and other information.
Mailx is exited by entering quit or q at the internal mailx ? prompt.
To read a message one invokes the mailer by typing
math 35:mailxImmediately the list of messages (both read and new) in the incoming mail file are listed. If there are more messages than can fit on the screen, type z+ for the next 20 message headers (or z- for the previous 20 headers).
One reads a message by typing its message number at the mailer prompt. To re-read the current message, type a period.
To delete a message one types d after reading the message. To delete message other than the one just read, add the message number after the letter d.
The mailers keep messages in two places on the system. New messages are directed to an incoming mail file with a name identical to your username in the directory /var/mail. If the mailer "environment (or internal)" variable hold has been set, new messages remain in a user's incoming mailbox until deleted or specifically saved. (NOTE: on math each read message automatically is saved in mbox after it is read unless a user specifies that it is saved in another archive mail folder.)
Messages may be saved in a standard file called mbox by entering the command save or s after reading a message. If you wish to save a message in a specially named file, one indicate the filename after the s. This file can then be printed out or edited. Messages can be saved in more than one file. Saved messages are automatically deleted from the incoming mail file after leaving the mailer by the quit (or q) command.
As a matter of standard practice, you should not leave messages in the incoming mail file after reading them. They should either be deleted, saved in your "mbox" file, or saved in another file.
To leave mailx without changing the incoming mail file, use the command x instead. (This will not expunge otherwise "deleted" messages.)
Previously saved messages in mbox may be read again (or deleted or forwarded) by invoking the mailer as follows:
math 36:mailx -fTo read messages saved in a specific file, e.g., saved in parents, one can go into mailx and then invoke the "folder" by typing folder parents at the mailer prompt. One can also indicate the filename after the -f switch on the command line.
NOTE: any file containing saved messages is a pure text file which can be printed out or edited as with any such text file.
One replies to a message by entering the command Reply or R. This will automatically start a message to the sender of the original message just read.
If you wish to reply to everyone to whom the original message was sent, use a lower case r. NOTE: on some Unix systems the function of uppercase R/lowercase r is reversed and can be set by the user.
To forward automatically all email sent to math to some other machine on which a user has an email account, the user should create a file named .forward (yes, the first character of the filename is a period!), and include, on a single line, the email address to which all email should be forwarded. This should be in the user's root directory.
To forward (or include) a specific message to someone else, first read the message. Then begin sending a message to another person and when prompted for the text of the message, type (at the beginning of a line)
~m
This will insert the message just read, indented.
To edit a message being written, type (at the beginning of a line)
~v
and one will be given an editing screen. The default editor
is vi, but this can be changed to another editor by using
a mailer initialization file, .mailrc
Mailx also permits the use of an initialization file in which frequently used addresses may be stored as "aliases," a "signature" may be included for optional use, the editor of choice defined, and other options determined. For more information, see a Unix manual.
math 37:mailx dsmolarski@ricci.scu.edu < filename.ext
If one is already in mailx, one can initiate a message to another
user and when prompted for the input message, type
~< filename.ext
(followed by the period at the beginning of the next line, or
other information before the final period).
NOTE: The ability to save messages to a file, then to edit the message, then to send the file to another user, makes it very convenient for several people to work together on a text and transfer the text back and forth with additions and changes.
This page is maintained by Dennis C. Smolarski, S.J.
dsmolarski@math.scu.edu
© Copyright 1998, 1999 Dennis C. Smolarski, SJ, All rights reserved.
Last changed: 14 April 1999.