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Manual page for BINMAIL(1)

binmail - send or receive mail among users

SYNOPSIS

/bin/mail [ + ] [ -i ] [ person ] ...
/bin/mail [ + ] [ -i ] -f file

DESCRIPTION

Note: This is the old version 7 UNIX system mail program. The default mail command is described in mail.1 and its binary is in the directory /usr/ucb.

mail with no argument prints a user's mail, message-by-message, in last-in, first-out order; the optional argument + displays the mail messages in first-in, first-out order. For each message, it reads a line from the standard input to direct disposition of the message.

newline
Go on to next message.
d
Delete message and go on to the next.
p
Print message again.
-
Go back to previous message.
s [ file ] ...
Save the message in the named files (`mbox' default).
w [ file ] ...
Save the message, without a header, in the named files (`mbox' default).
m [ person ] ...
Mail the message to the named persons (yourself is default).
EOT (control-D)
Put unexamined mail back in the mailbox and stop.
q
Same as EOT.
!command
Escape to the Shell to do command.
*
Print a command summary.

An interrupt normally terminates the mail command; the mail file is unchanged. The optional argument -i tells mail to continue after interrupts.

When persons are named, mail takes the standard input up to an end-of-file (or a line with just `.') and adds it to each person's `mail' file. The message is preceded by the sender's name and a postmark. Lines that look like postmarks are prepended with `>'. A person is usually a user name recognized by login.1 To denote a recipient on a remote system, prefix person by the system name and exclamation mark (see uucp.1c

The -f option causes the named file, for example, `mbox', to be printed as if it were the mail file.

When a user logs in he is informed of the presence of mail.

FILES

/etc/passwd to identify sender and locate persons
/usr/spool/mail/* incoming mail for user *
mbox saved mail
/tmp/ma* temp file
/usr/spool/mail/*.lock lock for mail directory
dead.letter unmailable text

SEE ALSO

mail(1), write(1), uucp(1C), uux(1C), xsend(1), sendmail(8)

BUGS

Race conditions sometimes result in a failure to remove a lock file.

Normally anybody can read your mail, unless it is sent by xsend.1 An installation can overcome this by making mail a set-user-id command that owns the mail directory.


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Created by unroff & hp-tools. © somebody (See intro for details). All Rights Reserved. Last modified 11/5/97