programs.texi 67.1 KB
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 1168 1169 1170 1171 1172 1173 1174 1175 1176 1177 1178 1179 1180 1181 1182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 1188 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200 1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 1209 1210 1211 1212 1213 1214 1215 1216 1217 1218 1219 1220 1221 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 1240 1241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 1256 1257 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 1266 1267 1268 1269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1276 1277 1278 1279 1280 1281 1282 1283 1284 1285 1286 1287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300 1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 1400 1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1411 1412 1413 1414 1415 1416 1417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450 1451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 1480 1481 1482 1483 1484 1485 1486 1487 1488 1489 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500 1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1550 1551 1552 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571 1572 1573 1574 1575 1576 1577 1578 1579 1580 1581 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590 1591 1592 1593 1594 1595 1596 1597 1598 1599 1600 1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1619 1620 1621 1622 1623 1624 1625 1626 1627 1628 1629 1630 1631 1632 1633 1634 1635 1636 1637 1638 1639 1640 1641 1642 1643 1644 1645 1646 1647 1648 1649 1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1668 1669 1670 1671 1672 1673 1674 1675 1676 1677 1678 1679 1680 1681 1682 1683 1684 1685 1686 1687 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 2050 2051 2052 2053 2054 2055 2056 2057 2058 2059 2060 2061 2062 2063 2064 2065 2066 2067 2068 2069 2070 2071 2072 2073 2074 2075 2076 2077 2078 2079 2080 2081 2082 2083 2084 2085 2086 2087 2088 2089 2090 2091 2092 2093 2094 2095 2096 2097 2098 2099 2100 2101 2102 2103 2104 2105 2106 2107 2108 2109 2110 2111 2112 2113 2114 2115 2116 2117 2118 2119 2120 2121 2122 2123 2124 2125 2126 2127 2128 2129 2130 2131 2132 2133 2134 2135 2136 2137 2138 2139 2140 2141 2142 2143 2144 2145 2146 2147 2148 2149 2150 2151 2152 2153 2154 2155 2156 2157 2158 2159 2160 2161 2162 2163 2164 2165 2166 2167 2168 2169 2170 2171 2172 2173 2174 2175 2176 2177 2178 2179 2180 2181 2182 2183 2184 2185 2186 2187 2188 2189 2190 2191 2192 2193 2194 2195 2196 2197 2198 2199 2200 2201 2202 2203 2204 2205 2206 2207 2208 2209 2210 2211 2212 2213 2214 2215 2216 2217 2218 2219 2220 2221 2222 2223 2224 2225 2226 2227 2228 2229 2230 2231 2232 2233 2234 2235 2236 2237 2238 2239 2240 2241 2242 2243 2244 2245 2246 2247 2248 2249 2250 2251 2252 2253 2254 2255 2256 2257 2258 2259 2260 2261 2262 2263 2264 2265 2266 2267 2268 2269 2270 2271 2272 2273 2274 2275 2276 2277 2278 2279 2280 2281 2282 2283 2284 2285 2286 2287 2288 2289
@c This is part of the GNU Mailutils manual.
@c Copyright (C) 1999,2000,2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See file mailutils.texi for copying conditions.
@comment *******************************************************************

GNU Mailutils provides a set of programs for handling the email.

@menu
* imap4d::      IMAP4 daemon.
* pop3d::       POP3 daemon.
* frm::         List headers from a mailbox.
* mail::        Send and receive mail.
* mail.local::  Deliver mail to the local mailbox.
* messages::    Count the number of messages in a mailbox.
* readmsg::     Extract messages from a folder.
* sieve::       Filter a mailbox.
* guimb::       Mailbox scanning and processing language.
* comsatd::     Comsat daemon.
@end menu

@page
@node imap4d
@section IMAP4 daemon
@pindex imap4d

@command{imap4d} has two operation modes:

@table @asis
@item Inetd
The server is started from @file{/etc/inetd.conf} file:

@example
imap4  stream tcp nowait  root  /usr/local/sbin/imap4d imap4d
@end example

This is the default operation mode.

@item Standalone
The server runs as daemon, forking a child for each new connection. This
mode is triggered by @option{-d} command line switch.
@end table

@subheading Command line options

@table @option
@item -d[@var{number}]
@itemx --daemon[=@var{number}]
Run in standalone mode. An optional @var{number} specifies the maximum number
of child processes the daemon is allowed to fork. When it is omitted,
it defaults to 20 processes.
@emph{Please note}, that there should be no whitespace between the
@option{-d} and its parameter.
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display short help message and exit.
@item -i
@itemx --inetd
Run in inetd mode.
@item -m @var{path}
@itemx --maildir=@var{path}
Set path to the mailspool directory
@item -O @var{pathlist}
@itemx --other-namespace=@var{pathlist}
Set the list of directories forming the ``Other User's'' namespace.
@var{pathlist} is a list of directory names separated by colons.
@item -p @var{number}
@itemx --port @var{number}
Listen on given port @var{number}. This option is meaningful only in
standalone mode. It defaults to port 143.
@item -S @var{pathlist}
@itemx --shared-namespace=@var{pathlist}
Set the list of directories, forming the ``Shared''
namespace. @var{pathlist} is a list of directory names separated by colons.
@item -t @var{number}
@itemx --timeout @var{number}
Set idle timeout to given @var{number} of seconds. Default is 1800 seconds (30
minutes).  The daemon breaks the connection if it receives no commands
from the client within that number of seconds.
@item -v
@itemx --version
Display program version and exit.
@end table

@page
@node pop3d
@section POP3 daemon
@pindex pop3d

The @command{pop3d} daemon implements the Post Office Protocol server.

pop3d has two operation modes:

@table @asis
@item Inetd
The server is started from @file{/etc/inetd.conf} file:

@example
pop3  stream tcp nowait  root  /usr/local/sbin/pop3d pop3d
@end example

This is the default operation mode.

@item Standalone
The server runs as daemon, forking a child for each new connection. This
mode is triggered by @option{-d} command line switch.
@end table

@subheading Command line options

@table @option
@item -d[@var{number}]
@itemx --daemon[=@var{number}]
Run in standalone mode. An optional @var{number} specifies the maximum number
of child processes the daemon is allowed to fork. When it is omitted,
it defaults to 10 processes.
@emph{Please note}, that there should be no whitespace between the
@option{-d} and its parameter.
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display short help message and exit.
@item -i
@itemx --inetd
Run in inetd mode.
@item -m @var{path}
@itemx --maildir=@var{path}
Set path to the mailspool directory
@item -p @var{number}
@itemx --port @var{number}
Listen on given port @var{number}. This option is meaningful only in
standalone mode. It defaults to port 110.
@item -t @var{number}
@itemx --timeout @var{number}
Set idle timeout to given @var{number} of seconds. Default is 600 seconds (10
minutes).  The daemon breaks the connection if it receives no commands
from the client within that number of seconds.
@item -v
@itemx --version
Display program version and exit.
@end table

@page
@node frm
@section frm --- List headers from a mailbox.
@pindex frm

The @command{frm} command outputs a header information of
the selected messages in a mailbox. By default, @command{frm} reads the
user's system mailbox and outputs the contents of @code{From} and
@code{Subject} headers for each message. If a folder is specified in
the command line, the program reads that folder rather than the default
mailbox.

The following command line options alter the behavior of the program:

@table @option
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display short help message and exit.
@item -f STRING
@item --field STRING
Display the header named by STRING instead of @code{From} @code{Subject} pair.
@item -l
@itemx --to
Include the contents of @code{To} header to the output. The output field
order is then: @code{To} @code{From} @code{Subject}.
@item -n
@itemx --number
Prefix each line with corresponding message number.
@item -Q
@itemx --Quiet
Be very quiet. Nothing is output except error messages. This is useful
in shell scripts where only the return status of the program is
important.
@item -q
@itemx --query
Print a message only if there are unread messages in the mailbox.
@item -S
@itemx --summary
Print a summary line.
@item -s ATTR
@itemx --status ATTR
Only display headers from messages with the given status.
ATTR may be one of the following: @samp{new}, @samp{read},
@samp{unread}. It is sufficient to specify only first letter of
an ATTR. Multiple @option{-s} options are allowed.
@item -t
@itemx --align
Tidy mode. Currently is not implemented. Included for compatibility with
@command{frm} program from Elm package.
@item -v
@itemx --version
Display version information and exit
@end table

@page
@node mail
@section mail ---  send and receive mail.
@pindex mail

@command{Mail} is an enhanced version of standard @command{/bin/mail} program.
As well as its predecessor, it can be used either in sending mode or
in reading mode. @command{Mail} enters sending mode when one or more
email addresses were specified in this command line. In this mode the
program waits until user finishes composing the message, then attempts
to send it to the specified addresses and exits.
See @ref{Composing Mail}, for a detailed description of this behavior.

If the command line contained no email addresses, @command{mail} switches
to reading mode. In this mode it allows to read and manipulate the
contents of a mailbox. The URL of the mailbox to operate upon is
taken from the argument of @option{--file} command line option. If it
is not specified, the user's system mailbox is assumed. For more
detail, see @ref{Reading Mail}.

@menu
* Invoking Mail::            Command line options.
* Specifying Messages::      How to specify message sets.
* Composing Mail::           Composing mail.
* Reading Mail::             Reading mail.
* Mail Variables::           How to alter the behavior of mail.
* Mail Configuration Files:: Personal and system-wide configuration files.
@end menu

@node Invoking Mail
@subsection Command line options

General usage of @command{mail} program is:

@example
      mail [OPTION...] [address...]
@end example
@noindent
If [address...] part is present, @command{mail} switches to mail sending
mode, otherwise it operates in mail reading mode.

@command{Mail} understands following command line options:

@table @option
@item -e
@itemx --exist
Return true if the mailbox contains some messages. Return false
otherwise.
This is useful for writing shell scripts.
@item -f[FILE]
@itemx --file[=FILE]
Operate on mailbox FILE. If this option is not specified, the default
is user's system mailbox. If it is specified without argument, the
default is $HOME/mbox.
@emph{Please note}, that there should be no whitespace between the
short variant of the option (@option{-f}), and its parameter. Similarly,
when using long option (@option{--file}), its argument must be preceded by
equal sign.
@item -F
@itemx --byname
Save messages according to sender. Currently this option is not implemented.
@item -H
@itemx --headers
Print header summary to stdout and exit.
@item -i
@itemx --ignore
Ignore interrupts.
@item -m @var{path}
@itemx --maildir=@var{path}
Set path to the mailspool directory
@item -n
@itemx --norc
Do not read the system-wide mailrc file. @xref{Mail Configuration Files}.
@item -N
@itemx --nosum
Do not display initial header summary.
@item -p
@itemx --print
@itemx -r
@itemx --read
Print all mail to standard output. It is equivalent to issuing following
commands after starting @samp{mail -N}:

@example
 print *
 quit
@end example
@item -q
@itemx --quit
Cause interrupts to terminate program.
@item -s SUBJ
@itemx --subject=SUBJ
Send a message with a Subject of SUBJ. Valid only in sending mode.
@item -t
@itemx --to
Switch to sending mode.
@item -u USER
@itemx --user=USER
Operate on USER's mailbox. This is equivalent to:

@example
        mail -f/@var{spool_path}/USER
@end example
@noindent
with @var{spool_path} being the full path to your mailspool directory
@*(@file{/var/spool/mail} or @file{/var/mail} on most systems).
@item -?
@itemx --help
Display a help message.
@itemx --usage
Display a short usage summary.
@item -V
@itemx --version
Print program version and exit.
@end table

@node Specifying Messages
@subsection How to specify message sets

Many mail commands such as print and delete can be given a @dfn{message list}
to operate upon. Wherever the message list is omitted, the command
operates on the current message.

The @dfn{message list} in its simplest form is one of:

@table @asis
@item .
Selects current message. It is equivalent to empty message list.
@item *
Selects all messages in the mailbox.
@item ^
Selects first non-deleted message.
@item $
Selects last non-deleted message.
@end table

In its complex form, the @dfn{message list} is a comma or whitespace-separated
list of @dfn{message specifiers}. A @dfn{message specifier} is one
of

@table @asis
@item Message Number
This specifier addresses the message with the given ordinal number
in the mailbox.
@item Message range
@dfn{Message range} is specified as two message numbers separated by
a dash. It selects all messages with the number lying within that range.
@item Attribute specifier
An @dfn{Attribute specifier} is a colon followed by a single
letter. The @dfn{Attribute specifier} addresses all messages in the
mailbox that have the given attribute. These are the valid attribute
specifiers:

@table @samp
@item :d
Selects all deleted messages.
@item :n
Selects all recent messages, i.e. the messages that have not been
neither read not seen so far.
@item :o
Selects all messages that have been seen.
@item :r
Selects all messages that have been read.
@item :u
Selects all messages that have @emph{not} been read.
@item :t
Selects all tagged messages (@pxref{Marking Messages}).
@item :T
Selects all untagged messages.
@end table
@item Header match
The @dfn{header match} is a string in the form:

@example
[@var{header}:]/@var{string}/
@end example
@noindent

It selects all messages that contain header field @var{header}
matching given @var{regexp}. If the variable @code{regexp} is set,
the @var{string} is assumed to be a POSIX regexp. Otherwise, a
header is considered to match @var{string} if the latter constitutes
a substring of the former (comparison is case-insensitive).

If @var{header}: part is omitted, it is assumed to be @samp{Subject:}.
@item Message body match
The @dfn{message body match} is a string in the form:

@example
:/@var{string}/
@end example
@noindent

It selects all messages whose body matches the string. The matching
rules are the same as described under ``Header match''.

@end table

A @dfn{message specifier} can be followed by @dfn{message part
specifier}, enclosed in a pair of brackets. A @dfn{message part
specifier} controls which part of a message should be operated upon.
It is meaningful only for multipart messages. A @dfn{message part
specifier} is a comma or whitespace - separated list of part numbers
or ranges. Each part number can in turn be @dfn{message part specifier},
thus allowing for operating upon multiply-encoded messages.

The following are the examples of valid message lists:



@node Composing Mail
@subsection Composing mail

You can compose the message by simply typing the contents of it, line
by line. But usually this is not enough, you would need to edit
your text, to quote some messages, etc. @command{Mail} provides these
capabilities through @dfn{compose escapes}. The @dfn{compose escapes}
are single-character commands, preceded by special @dfn{escape character},
which defaults to @samp{~}. The combination @code{escape character + command}
is recognized as a compose escape only if it occurs at the beginning of
a line. If the escape character must appear at the beginning of a
line, enter it twice.
The actual escape character may be changed by setting the value of
@code{escape} mail variable (@pxref{Mail Variables}).

@menu
* Quitting Compose Mode::
* Getting Help on Compose Escapes::
* Editing the Message::
* Modifying the Headers::
* Enclosing Another Message::
* Adding a File to the Message::
* Printing And Saving the Message::
* Signing the Message::
* Printing Another Message::
* Inserting Value of a Mail Variable::
* Executing Other Mail Commands::
* Executing Shell Commands::
@end menu

@node Quitting Compose Mode
@subsubsection Quitting Compose Mode

There are several commands allowing you to quit the compose mode.

Typing the end-of-file character (@samp{C-D}) on a line alone finishes
compose mode and sends the message to its destination. The @samp{C-D}
character looses its special meaning if @code{ignoreeof} mail variable
is set.

If mail variable @code{dot} is set, typing dot (@samp{.}) on a line
alone achieves the same effect as @samp{C-D} above.

Finally, using @samp{~.} escape always quits compose mode and sends
out the composed message.

To abort composing of a message without sending it, type interrupt
character (by default, @samp{C-C}) twice. This behavior is disabled
when mail variable @code{ignore} is set. In this case, you can use
@samp{~x} escape to achieve the same effect.

@node Getting Help on Compose Escapes
@subsubsection Getting Help on Compose Escapes: ~?

The @samp{~?} escape prints on screen a brief summary of the available
compose escapes. @emph{Please note}, that @samp{~h} escape prompts
for changing the header values, and does @emph{not} give help.

@node Editing the Message
@subsubsection Editing the Message: ~e and ~v.

If you are not satisfied with the message as it is, you can edit it
using a text editor specified either by @code{EDITOR} or by
@code{VISUAL} environment variables. The @samp{~e} uses the former,
and @samp{~v} uses the latter.

@emph{Please note}, that both commands allow you to edit the body of the
message, and not its headers. To change message headers, see
@ref{Modifying the Headers}.

@node Modifying the Headers
@subsubsection Modifying the Headers: ~h, ~t, ~c, ~b, ~s

To add new addresses to the list of message recipients, use @samp{~t}
command, e.g.:

@example
~t name1@@domain.net name2
@end example

To add addresses to @code{Cc} or @code{Bcc}, use @samp{~c} or @samp{~b}
escapes respectively.

To change the @code{Subject} header, use @samp{~s} escape, e.g.:

@example
~s "Re: your message"
@end example

Finally, to edit all headers, type @samp{~h} escape. This will present
you with the values of @code{To}, @code{Cc}, @code{Bcc}, and
@code{Subject} headers allowing to edit them with normal text editing
commands.

@node Enclosing Another Message
@subsubsection Enclosing Another Message: ~m and ~M

If you are sending mail from within mail command mode, you can enclose
the contents of any message sent to you by using @samp{~m} or @samp{~M}
commands. Typing @samp{~m} alone will enclose the contents of the
current message, typing @samp{~m 12} will enclose the contents of
message #12 and so on.

The @samp{~m} uses retained and ignored lists when enclosing headers,
the @samp{~M} encloses all header fields
(@pxref{Controlling Header Display}).

In both cases, the contents of @code{indentprefix} mail variable is
prepended to each line enclosed.

@node Adding a File to the Message
@subsubsection Adding a File to the Message: ~r and ~d

To append the contents of file @var{filename} to the message, type

@example
~r @var{filename}
@end example
@noindent
or

@example
~< @var{filename}
@end example
@noindent

The @samp{~d} escape is a shorthand for

@example
~r dead.letter
@end example

@node Printing And Saving the Message
@subsubsection Printing And Saving the Message

The @samp{~p} escape types the contents of the message entered so far,
including headers, on your terminal. You can save the message to
an arbitrary file using @samp{~w} escape. It takes the filename as its
argument.

@node Signing the Message
@subsubsection Signing the Message: ~a and ~A

To save you the effort of typing your signature at the end of each
message, you can use @samp{~a} or @samp{~A} escapes. If your signature
occupies one line only, save it to the variable @code{sign} and use
@samp{~a} escape to insert it. Otherwise, if it is longer than one
line, save it to a file, store the name of this file in the
variable @code{Sign}, and use @samp{~A} escape to insert it into
the message.

@node Printing Another Message
@subsubsection Printing Another Message: ~f and ~F

Sometimes it is necessary to view the contents of another message,
while composing. These two escapes allow it. Both take the message
list as their argument. If they are used without argument, the
contents of the current message is printed. The difference between
@samp{~f} and @samp{~F} is that the former uses ignored and retained
lists to select headers to be displayed, whereas the latter prints
all headers (@pxref{Controlling Header Display}).

@node Inserting Value of a Mail Variable
@subsubsection Inserting Value of a Mail Variable: ~i

The @samp{~i} escape enters the value of the named mail variable into
the body of the message being composed.

@node Executing Other Mail Commands
@subsubsection Executing Other Mail Commands: ~: and ~-

You can execute a mail command from within compose mode using @samp{~:}
or @samp{~-} escapes. For example, typing

@example
~: from :t
@end example
@noindent

will display the from lines of all tagged messages. Note, that executing
mail-sending commands (@pxref{Replying}) from within the compose mode is
not allowed. An attempt to execute such a command will result in
diagnostic message ``Command not allowed in an escape sequence'' being
displayed. Also, when starting compose mode immediately from the shell
(e.g. running @samp{mail address@@domain}), most mail commands are
meaningless, since there is no mailbox to operate upon. In this case,
the only commands that can reasonably be used are: @code{alias},
@code{unalias}, @code{alternate}, @code{set}, and @code{unset}.


@node Executing Shell Commands
@subsubsection Executing Shell Commands: ~! and ~|

The @samp{~!} escape executes specified command and returns you to
@command{mail} compose mode without altering your message. When used without
arguments, it starts your login shell. The @samp{~|} escape pipes the
message composed so far through the given shell command and replaces the
message with the output the command produced. If the command produced
no output, @command{mail} assumes that something went wrong and retains
the old contents of your message.

@c *********************************************************************

@node Reading Mail
@subsection Reading mail

To read messages from a given mailbox, use one of the following ways of
invoking @command{mail}:

@table @code
@item mail
To read messages from your system mailbox.
@item mail --file
To read messages from your mailbox ($HOME/mbox).
@item mail --file=@var{path_to_mailbox}
To read messages from the specified mailbox.
@item mail --user=@var{user}
To read messages from the system mailbox belonging to @var{user}.
@end table

@emph{Please note}, that usual mailbox permissions won't allow you
to use the last variant of invocation, unless you are a super-user.
Similarly, the last but one variant is also greatly affected by the
permissions the target mailbox has.

Unless you have started mail with @option{--norc} command line option,
it will read the contents of the system-wide configuration file.
Then it reads the contents of user configuration file, if any.
For detailed description of these files, see @ref{Mail Configuration Files}.
After this initial setup, @command{mail} displays the first page of header
lines and enters interactive mode. In interactive mode, @command{mail}
displays its prompt (@samp{?}, if not set otherwise) and executes the
commands the user enters.

@menu
* Quitting the Program::
* Obtaining Online Help::
* Moving Within a Mailbox::
* Changing mailbox/directory::
* Controlling Header Display::
* Displaying Information::
* Displaying Messages::
* Marking Messages::
* Disposing of Messages::
* Saving Messages::
* Editing Messages::
* Scripting::
* Aliasing::
* Replying::
* Incorporating New Mail::
* Shell Escapes::
@end menu

@c **********************************
@node Quitting the Program
@subsubsection Quitting the program

Following commands quit the program:

@table @samp
@item quit
Terminates the session. If @command{mail} was operating upon user's system
mailbox, then all undeleted and unsaved messages that have been read and
are not marked with hold flag are saved to the user's mbox file
(@file{$HOME/mbox}). The messages, marked with @code{delete} are removed.
The program exits to the Shell, unless saving the mailbox fails, in
which case user can escape with the exit command.

@item exit
@itemx ex
@itemx xit
Program exits to the Shell without modifying the mailbox it operates
upon.
@end table

Typing EOF (@samp{C-D}) alone is equivalent to @samp{quit}.

@node Obtaining Online Help
@subsubsection Obtaining online help

Following commands can be used during the session to request online
help:

@table @samp
@item help [@var{command}]
@itemx hel [@var{command}]
@itemx ? [@var{command}]
Display detailed command synopsis. If no @var{command} is given, help for
all available commands is displayed.
@item list
@itemx *
Print a list of available commands.
@item version
@itemx ve
Display program version.
@item warranty
@itemx wa
Display program warranty statement.
@end table

@node Moving Within a Mailbox
@subsubsection Moving within a mailbox

@table @samp
@item next
@itemx n
Move to the next message.
@item previous
@itemx prev
Move to the previous message.
@end table

@node Changing mailbox/directory
@subsubsection Changing mailbox/directory

@table @samp
@item cd [@var{dir}]
@itemx chdir [@var{dir}]
@itemx ch [@var{dir}]
Change to the specified directory. If @var{dir} is omitted, $HOME is
assumed.
@item file [@var{mailbox}]
@itemx fi [@var{mailbox}]
@itemx folder [@var{mailbox}]
@itemx fold [@var{mailbox}]
Read in the contents of the specified @var{mailbox}. The current mailbox
is updated as if @code{quit} command has been issued.
If @var{mailbox} is omitted, the command prints the current mailbox
name followed by the summary information regarding it, e.g.:

@example
& fold
"/var/spool/mail/gray": 23 messages 22 unread
@end example
@end table

@node Controlling Header Display
@subsubsection Controlling header display

To control which headers in the message should be displayed, @command{mail}
keeps two lists: a @dfn{retained} header list and an @dfn{ignored}
header list. If @dfn{retained} header list is not empty, only the
header fields listed in it are displayed when printing the message.
Otherwise, if @dfn{ignored} header list is not empty, only the headers
@emph{not listed} in this list are displayed. The uppercase variants
of message-displaying commands can be used to print all the headers.

The following commands modify and display the contents of both lists.

@table @samp
@item discard [@var{header-field-list}]
@itemx di [@var{header-field-list}]
@itemx ignore [@var{header-field-list}]
@itemx ig [@var{header-field-list}]
Add @var{header-field-list} to the ignored list. When used without
arguments, this command prints the contents of ignored list.
@item retain [@var{header-field-list}]
@itemx ret [@var{header-field-list}]
Add @var{header-field-list} to the retained list. When used without
arguments, this command prints the contents of retained list.
@end table

@node Displaying Information
@subsubsection Displaying information

@table @samp
@item =
Displays the current message number.
@item headers [@var{msglist}]
@itemx h [@var{msglist}]
Lists the current pageful of headers.
@item from [@var{msglist}]
@itemx f [@var{msglist}]
Lists the contents of @samp{From} headers for a given set of messages.
@item z [@var{arg}]
Presents message headers in pagefuls as described for @code{headers}
command. When @var{arg} is @samp{.}, it is generally equivalent to
@code{headers}. When @var{arg} is omitted or is @samp{+}, the next
pageful of headers is displayed. If @var{arg} is @samp{-}, the
previous pageful of headers is displayed. The latter two forms
of @code{z} command may also take a numerical argument meaning the
number of pages to skip before displaying the headers. For
example:

@example
& z +2
@end example
@noindent
will skip two pages of messages before displaying the header summary.
@item size [@var{msglist}]
@itemx si [@var{msglist}]
Lists the message number and message size in bytes for each message in
@var{msglist}.
@item folders
Displays the value of @code{folder} variable.
@item summary
@itemx su
Displays current mailbox summary. E.g.:

@example
& summary
"/var/spool/mail/gray": 23 messages 22 unread
@end example
@end table

@node Displaying Messages
@subsubsection Displaying messages

@table @samp
@item print [@var{msglist}]
@itemx p [@var{msglist}]
@item type [@var{msglist}]
@itemx t [@var{msglist}]
Prints out the messages from @var{msglist}. If the variable @code{crt}
is set and the number of lines in the message is greater than the number
of lines on screen, the message is piped through pager command specified
by environment variable @code{PAGER}. The number of lines on screen is
controlled by @code{screen} variable.
@item Print [@var{msglist}]
@itemx P [@var{msglist}]
@itemx Type [@var{msglist}]
@itemx T [@var{msglist}]
Like print but also prints out ignored header fields.
For detailed description of ignored header lists, see @ref{Controlling Header Display}.
@item decode [@var{msglist}]
@itemx dec [@var{msglist}]
Print a multipart message. The @code{decode} command decodes and prints
out specified message parts. E.g.
@example
& decode 15[2]
+---------------------------------------
| Message=15[2]
| Type=message/delivery-status
| encoding=7bit
+---------------------------------------
Content-Type: message/delivery-status
...
@end example
@item top [@var{msglist}]
@itemx to [@var{msglist}]
Prints the top few lines of each message in @var{msglist}.  The number
of lines printed is controlled by the variable @code{toplines} and
defaults to five.
@item pipe [@var{msglist}] [@var{shell-command}]
@itemx | [@var{msglist}] [@var{shell-command}]
Pipe the contents of specified messages through @var{shell-command}. If
@var{shell-command} is empty but the string variable @code{cmd} is set,
the value of this variable is used as a command name.
@end table

@node Marking Messages
@subsubsection Marking messages

@table @samp
@item tag [@var{msglist}]
@itemx ta [@var{msglist}]
Tag messages. The tagged messages can be referred to in message list
using @samp{:t} notation.
@item untag [@var{msglist}]
@itemx unt [@var{msglist}]
Clear tags from specified messages. To untag all messages tagged so far
type
@example
& untag :t
@end example
@item hold [@var{msglist}]
@itemx ho [@var{msglist}]
@itemx preserve [@var{msglist}]
@itemx pre [@var{msglist}]
Marks each message to be held in user's system mailbox. This command
does not override the effect of @code{delete} command.
@end table

@node Disposing of Messages
@subsubsection Disposing of messages

@table @samp
@item delete [@var{msglist}]
@itemx d [@var{msglist}]
Mark messages as deleted. Upon exiting with @code{quit} command these
messages will be deleted from the mailbox. Until the end of current
session the deleted messages can be referred to in message lists using
:d notation.
@item undelete [@var{msglist}]
@itemx u [@var{msglist}]
Clear delete mark from the specified messages.
@item dp [@var{msglist}]
@itemx dt [@var{msglist}]
Deletes the current message and prints the next message. If
@var{msglist} is specified, deletes all messages from the list and
prints the message, immediately following last deleted one.
@end table

@node Saving Messages
@subsubsection Saving messages

@table @samp
@item save [[@var{msglist}] @var{file}]
@itemx s [[@var{msglist}] @var{file}]
Takes a message list and a file name and appends each message in turn to
the end of the file. The name of file and number of characters appended
to it is echoed on the terminal. Each saved message is marked for
deletion as if with @code{delete} command, unless the variable
@code{keepsave} is set.
@item Save [@var{msglist}]
@itemx S [@var{msglist}]
Like @code{save}, but the file to append messages to is named after the
sender of the first message in @var{msglist}. For example:

@example
@group
& from 14 15
 U  14 smith@@noldor.org Fri Jun 30 18:11  14/358   The Save c
 U  15 gray@@noldor.org  Fri Jun 30 18:30  8/245    Re: The Sa
& Save 14 15
"smith" 22/603
@end group
@end example
@noindent

i.e., 22 lines (603 characters) have been appended to the file ``smith''.
If the file does not exist, it is created.

@item write [[@var{msglist}] @var{file}]
@itemx w [[@var{msglist}] @var{file}]
Similar to @code{save}, except that only message body (without the
header) is saved.
@item Write [@var{msglist}]
@itemx W [@var{msglist}]
Similar to @code{Save}, except that only message body (without the
header) is saved.
@item mbox [@var{msglist}]
@itemx mb [@var{msglist}]
@itemx touch [@var{msglist}]
@itemx tou [@var{msglist}]
Mark list of messages to be saved in the user's mailbox ($HOME/mbox)
upon exiting via @code{quit} command. This is the default action for
all read messages, unless you have variable @code{hold} set.
@item copy [[@var{msglist}] @var{file}]
@itemx c [[@var{msglist}] @var{file}]
Similar to @code{save}, except that saved messages are not marked for
deletion.
@item Copy [@var{msglist}]
@itemx C [@var{msglist}]
Similar to @code{Save}, except that saved messages are not marked for
deletion.
@end table

@node Editing Messages
@subsubsection Editing messages

These command allow to edit messages in a mailbox. @emph{Please note},
that modified messages currently do not replace original ones. i.e.
you have to save them explicitly using your editor's @code{save}
command if you do not want the effects of your editing to be lost.

@table @samp
@item edit [@var{msglist}]
@itemx e [@var{msglist}]
Edits each message in @var{msglist} with the editor, specified in
@code{EDITOR} environment variable.
@item visual [@var{msglist}]
@itemx v [@var{msglist}]
Edits each message in @var{msglist} with the editor, specified in
@code{VISUAL} environment variable.
@end table

@node Scripting
@subsubsection Scripting

@subheading Comments
The @samp{#} character introduces an end-of-line comment. All characters
until and including the end of line are ignored.

@subheading Displaying arbitrary text
The @samp{echo} (@samp{ec}) command prints its arguments to stdout.

@subheading Sourcing external command files
The command @samp{source @var{filename}} reads commands from the named
file. Its minimal abbreviation is @samp{so}.

@subheading Setting and unsetting the variables.

The mail variables may be set using @samp{set} (@samp{se}) command. The
command takes a list of assignments. The syntax of an assignment is

@table @samp
@item @var{name}=@var{string}
Assign a string value to the variable. If @var{string} contains
whitespace characters it must be enclosed in a pair of
double-quote characters (@samp{"})
@item @var{name}=@var{number}
Assign a numeric value to the variable.
@item @var{name}
Assign boolean @code{True} value.
@item no@var{name}
Assign boolean @code{False} value.
@end table

Example:

@example
& set askcc nocrt indentprefix="> "
@end example
@noindent

This statement sets @code{askcc} to @code{True}, @code{crt} to
@code{False}, and @code{indentprefix} to ``> ''.

To unset mail variables use @samp{unset}(@samp{uns}) command. The
command takes a list of variable names to unset.

Example:
To undo the effect of the previous example, do:

@example
& unset askcc crt indentprefix
@end example

@subheading Conditional statements

The conditional statement allows to execute a set of mail commands
depending on the mode the @command{mail} program is in. The conditional
statement is:

@example
if @var{cond}
...
else
...
endif
@end example
@noindent

where @samp{...} represents the set of commands to be executed in each
branch of the statement. @var{cond} can be one of the following:

@table @samp
@item s
True if @command{mail} is operating in mail sending mode.
@item r
True if @command{mail} is operating in mail reading mode.
@item t
True if stdout is a terminal device (as opposed to a regular file).
@end table

The conditional statements can be nested to arbitrary depth. The minimal
abbreviations for @samp{if}, @samp{else} and @samp{endif} commands are
@samp{i}, @samp{el} and @samp{en}.

Example:

@example
if t
set crt prompt="& "
else
unset prompt
endif
if s
alt gray@@farlep.net gray@@mirddin.farlep.net
set
@end example

@node Aliasing
@subsubsection Aliasing

@table @samp
@item alias [alias [address...]]
@itemx a [alias [address...]]
@itemx group [alias [address...]]
@itemx g [alias [address...]]
With no arguments, prints out all currently-defined aliases.
With one argument, prints out that alias.
With more than one argument, creates a new alias or changes an old one.
@item unalias [alias...]
@itemx una [alias...]
Takes a list of names defined by alias commands and discards the
remembered groups of users.  The alias names no longer have any
significance.
@item alternates name...
@itemx alt name...
The alternates command is useful if you have accounts on several
machines. It can be used to inform mail that the listed addresses are
really you.  When you reply to messages, mail will not send a copy of
the message to any of the addresses listed on the alternates list.
If the alternates command is given with no argument, the current set of
alternate names is displayed.
@end table

@node Replying
@subsubsection Replying

@table @samp
@item mail [address...]
@itemx m [address...]
Switches to compose mode. After composing the message, sends messages to
the specified addresses.

@item reply [@var{msglist}]
@itemx respond [@var{msglist}]
@itemx r [@var{msglist}]

For each message in @var{msglist}, switches to compose mode and sends
the composed message to the sender and all recipients of the message.

@item Reply [@var{msglist}]
@itemx Respond [@var{msglist}]
@itemx R [@var{msglist}]

Like @code{reply}, except that the composed message is sent only to
originators of the specified messages.

@item followup [@var{msglist}]
@itemx fo [@var{msglist}]

Switches to compose mode. After composing, sends the message to the
originators and recipients of all messages in @var{msglist}.

@item Followup [@var{msglist}]
@itemx F [@var{msglist}]

Similar to @code{followup}, but reply message is sent only to
originators of messages in @var{msglist}.
@end table

@node Incorporating New Mail
@subsubsection Incorporating new mail

The @code{incorporate} (@code{inc}) command incorporates newly arrived
messages to the displayed list of messages. This is done automatically
before returning to @command{mail} command prompt if the variable
@code{autoinc} is set.

@node Shell Escapes
@subsubsection Shell escapes

To run arbitrary shell command from @command{mail} command prompt, use
@code{shell} (@code{sh}) command. If no arguments are specified, the
command starts the user login shell. Otherwise, it uses its first
argument as a file name to execute and all subsequent arguments are
passed as positional parameters to this command. The @code{shell}
command can also be spelled as @code{!}.

@c **********************************

@node Mail Variables
@subsection How to alter the behavior of mail

Following variables control the behavior of GNU @command{mail}:

@table @code
@item Sign
@*Type: String.
@*Default: Unset.

Contains the filename holding users signature. The contents of this
file is appended to the end of a message being composed by @code{~A}
escape.
@item appenddeadletter
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

If this variable is @code{True}, the contents of canceled letter is
appended to the user's @file{dead.letter} file. Otherwise it overwrites
its contents.

@item askbcc
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

When set to @code{True} the user will be prompted to enter @code{Bcc}
field before composing the message.

@item askcc
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: True.

When set to @code{True} the user will be prompted to enter @code{Cc}
field before composing the message.

@item asksub
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: True in interactive mode, False otherwise.

When set to @code{True} the user will be prompted to enter @code{Subject}
field before composing the message.

@item autoinc
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: True.

Automatically incorporate newly arrived messages.

@item autoprint
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

Causes the delete command to behave like dp - thus, after deleting a
message, the next one will be typed automatically.

@item cmd
@*Type: String.
@*Default: Unset.

Contains default shell command for @code{pipe}.

@item columns
@*Type: Numeric.
@*Default: Detected at startup by querying the terminal device. If this
fails, the value of environment variable @code{COLUMNS} is used.

This variable contains the number of columns on terminal screen.

@item crt
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: True in interactive mode, False otherwise.

If @code{True}, any messages with number of lines greater than number of
lines on terminal screen (as determined by @code{screen} variable) will
be printed using program set in the environment variable @code{ENVIRON}.

@item dot
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

If @code{True}, causes @command{mail} to interpret a period alone on a line as the
terminator of a message you are sending.

@item escape
@*Type: String.
@*Default: ~

If defined, the first character of this option gives the character to
denoting escapes.

@item folder
@*Type: String.
@*Default: Unset.

The name of the directory to use for storing folders of messages. If
unset, $HOME is assumed.

@item header
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: True, unless started with @option{--nosum} (@option{-N}) option.

Whether to run @code{headers} command automatically after entering
interactive mode.

@item hold
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

When set to @code{True}, the read or saved messages will be stored in
user's mailbox (@file{$HOME/mbox}). Otherwise, they will be held in
system mailbox also. This option is in effect only when operating
upon user's system mailbox.

@item ignore
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

When set to @code{True}, @command{mail} will ignore keyboard interrupts
when composing messages. Otherwise an interrupt will be taken as a
signal to abort composing.

@item ignoreeof
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

Controls whether typing EOF character terminates the letter being
composed.

@item indentprefix
@*Type: String.
@*Default: "\t" (a tab character).

String used by the @code{~m} tilde escape for indenting quoted messages.

@item keepsave
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

Controls whether saved messages should be kept in system mailbox too.
This variable is in effect only when operating upon a user's system
mailbox.

@item metoo
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

Usually, when an alias is expanded that contains the sender, the sender
is removed from the expansion.  Setting this option causes the sender to
be included in the group.

@item mode
@*Type: String.
@*Default: The name of current operation mode.

Setting this variable does not affect the operation mode of the program.

@item noregex
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

Setting this to @code{True} enables use of regular expressions in
@samp{/.../} message specifications.

@item outfolder
@*Type: String.
@*Default: Unset.

Contains the directory in which files created by @code{save},
@code{write}, etc. commands will be stored. When unset, current
directory is assumed.

@item page
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

If set to @code{True}, the @code{pipe} command will emit a linefeed
character after printing each message.

@item prompt
@*Type: String.
@*Default: "? "

Contains the command prompt sequence.

@item quiet
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

When set, suppresses the output of the startup banner.

@item quit
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False, unless started with @option{--quit} (@option{-q}) option.

When set, causes keyboard interrupts to terminate the program.

@item rc
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: True, unless started with @option{--norc} (@option{-N}) option.

When this variable is set, @command{mail} will read the system-wide
configuration file upon startup. See @ref{Mail Configuration Files}.

@item record
@*Type: String.
@*Default: Unset.

When set, any outgoing message will be saved to the named file.

@item save
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: True.

When set, the aborted messages will be stored in the user's
@file{dead.file}. See also @code{appenddeadletter}.

@item screen
@*Type: Numeric.
@*Default: Detected at startup by querying the terminal device. If this
fails, the value of environment variable @code{LINES} is used.

This variable contains the number of lines on terminal screen.

@item sendmail
@*Type: String.
@*Default: sendmail:/usr/lib/sendmail

Contains the URL of mail transport agent.

@item sign
@*Type: String.
@*Default: Unset.

Contains the user's signature. The contents of this variable is appended
to the end of a message being composed by @code{~a} escape. Use
@code{Sign} variable, if your signature occupies more than one line.

@item subject
@*Type: String.
@*Default: Unset.

Contains default subject line. This will be used when @code{asksub} is
off.

@item toplines
@*Type: Numeric.
@*Default: 5

Number of lines to be displayed by @code{top} and @code{Top} commands.

@item verbose
@*Type: Boolean.
@*Default: False.

When set, the actual delivery of messages is displayed on the user's terminal.
@end table

@node Mail Configuration Files
@subsection Personal and system-wide configuration files

Upon startup, @command{mail} reads the contents of the two command files:
the system-wide configuration file, and the user's configuration
file. Each line read from these files is processed like a usual
@command{mail} command.

When run with @option{--norc} (@option{-N}) option, @command{mail} does
not read the contents of system-wide configuration file. The user's
file, if it exists, is always processed.

The user's configuration file is located in the user's home
directory and is named @file{.mailrc}. The location and name of
the system-wide configuration file is determined when configuring the
package via @option{--with-mail-rc} option. It defaults to
@file{@var{sysconfdir}/mail.rc}.

@page
@node mail.local
@section mail.local --- Deliver mail to the local mailbox.
@pindex mail.local

@command{mail.local} reads the standard input up to an end-of-file
and appends the received data to the local mailboxes.

@menu
* Invocation::     Mail.local options
* MTA::            Using mail.local with various MTAs
* Mailbox Quotas:: Setting up mailbox quotas. 
* Filters::        Implementing user-defined mail filters. 
@end menu

@node Invocation
@subsection Invoking mail.local

@table @option
@item -f @var{addr}
@itemx --from @var{addr}
Specify the sender's name. This option forces @command{mail.local} to
add @samp{From } envelope to the beginning of the message. If it is
not specified, @command{mail.local} first looks into the first line
from the standard input. If it starts with @samp{From }, it is assumed
to contain a valid envelope. If it does not, @command{mail.local}
creates the envelope by using current user name and date.
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display this help and exit.
@item -L
@itemx --license
Display GNU General Public License and exit.
@item -m @var{path}
@itemx --maildir @var{path}
Specify path to mailspool directory.
@item -q
@itemx --quota-db @var{file}
Specify path to mailbox quota database (@pxref{Mailbox Quotas}). 
@item -s @var{pattern}
@itemx --source @var{pattern}
Set name pattern for user-defined mail filters (@pxref{Filters}). The
metacharacters @samp{%u} and @samp{%h} in the pattern are expanded to
the current recipient user name and home directory correspondingly.
@item -t @var{number}
@itemx --timeout @var{number}
Wait @var{number} seconds for acquiring the lockfile. If it doesn't
become available after that amount of time, return failure. The timeout
defaults to 5 minutes.
@item -x guile
@itemx --debug guile
Start with guile debugging evaluator and backtraces. This is convenient
for debugging user-defined filters (@pxref{Filters}).
@item -x @var{number}
@itemx --debug @var{number}
Set debugging level.
@item -v
@itemx --version
Display program version and exit.
@item --ex-multiple-delivery-success
Don't return errors when delivering to multiple recipients.
@item --ex-quota-tempfail
Return temporary failure if disk or mailbox quota is exceeded. By
default, 'service unavailable' is returned if the message exceeds
the mailbox quota.
@end table

@node MTA
@subsection Using mail.local with various MTAs

This section explains how to invoke @command{mail.local} from
configuration files of various Mail Transport Agents.

All examples in this section suppose that @command{mail.local}
must receive following command line switches:

@example
  -s %h/.filter.scm -q /etc/mail/userquota
@end example

@menu
* sendmail::    Using mail.local with sendmail.
* exim::        Using mail.local with exim.
@end menu

@node sendmail
@subsubsection Using mail.local with sendmail.

The @command{mail.local} must be invoked from the local mailer
definition in the @file{sendmail.cf} file. It must have the
following flags set @samp{lswS}, meaning the mailer is local,
the quote characters should be stripped off the address before
invoking the mailer, the user must have a valid account on this
machine and the userid should not be reset before calling the
mailer. Additionally, @samp{fn} flags may be specified to allow
@command{mail.local} to generate usual @samp{From } envelope
instead of the one supplied by sendmail.

Here is an example of mailer definition in @file{sendmail.cf}

@example 
Mlocal, P=/usr/local/libexec/mail.local,
        F=lsDFMAw5:/|@@qSPfhn9,
        S=EnvFromL/HdrFromL, R=EnvToL/HdrToL,
        T=DNS/RFC822/X-Unix,
        A=mail -s %h/.filter.scm -q /etc/mail/userquota $u
@end example

To define local mailer in @samp{mc} source file, it will suffice to
set:

@example
define(`LOCAL_MAILER_PATH', `/usr/local/libexec/mail.local')
define(`LOCAL_MAILER_ARGS',
       `mail -s %h/.filter.scm -q /etc/mail/userquota $u')
@end example

@node exim
@subsubsection Using mail.local with exim.

Using @command{mail.local} with exim is quite straightforward. The
following example illustrates the definition of appropriate transport
and director in @file{exim.conf}:

@example
# transport
mail_local_pipe:
  driver = pipe
  command = /usr/local/libexec/mail.local -s %h/.filter.scm \
              -q /etc/mail/userquota $local_part
  return_path_add
  delivery_date_add
  envelope_to_add
  
# director
mail_local:
  driver = localuser
  transport = mail_local_pipe
@end example

@node Mailbox Quotas
@subsection Setting up mailbox quotas

@node Filters
@subsection Implementing user-defined mail filters.

@page
@node messages
@section messages --- Count the number of messages in a mailbox.
@pindex messages

@command{Messages} prints on standard output the number of messages
contained in each folder specified in command line. If no folders
are specified, it operates upon user's system mailbox. For each
folder, the following output line is produced:

@example
     Number of messages in @var{folder}: @var{number}
@end example
@noindent
where @var{folder} represents the folder name, @var{number} represents
the number of messages.

The program accepts following command line options:

@table @option
@item -q
@itemx --quite
@itemx -s
@itemx --silent
Be quiet. Display only number of messages per mailbox, without leading text.
@item -?
@itemx --help
Output help message and exit.
@item --usage
Output short usage summary and exit.
@item -V
@itemx --version
Output program version and exit.
@end table

@page
@node readmsg
@section readmsg --- Extract messages from a folder.
@pindex readmsg

The program, readmsg, extracts with the selection argument messages from
a mailbox.  Selection can be specify by:

@enumerate

@item
A lone ``*'' means select all messages in the mailbox.

@item
A list of message numbers may be specified.  Values
of  ``0''  and ``$'' in the list both mean the last
message in the mailbox.  For example:
@example
     readmsg 1 3 0
@end example
extracts  three messages from the folder:  the first, the third, and the last.

@item
Finally, the selection may be some text to match.  This  will  select  a  mail
message which exactly matches the specified text.  For example,
@example
     readmsg staff meeting
@end example
extracts the message which contains the words ``staff meeting.''  Note that it
will not match a message containing ``Staff Meeting'' - the matching  is  case
sensitive.   Normally only the first message which matches the pattern will be
printed.

@end enumerate

@subheading Command line options

@table @option

@item -a
@itemx --show-all
If a pattern is use for selection show all messages that match pattern
by default only the first one is presented.

@item -d
@itemx --debug
Display mailbox debuging information.

@item -f @var{MAILBOX}
@itemx --folder=@var{MAILBOX}
Specified the default mailbox.

@item -h
@itemx --header
Show the entire header and ignore the weedlist.

@item -n
@itemx --no-header
Do not print the message header.

@item -p
@itemx --form-feed
Put form-feed (Control-L) between messages instead of newline.

@item  -w @var{weedlist}
@itemx --weedlist=@var{weedlist}
A whitespace or coma separated list of header names to show per message.
Default is --weedlist=''From Subject Date To CC Apparently-''

@end table

@page
@node sieve
@section sieve
@pindex sieve

The program is currently in development

@page
@node guimb
@section guimb --- A mailbox scanning and processing language.
@pindex guimb

@command{Guimb} is for mailboxes what @command{awk} is for text files.
It processes mailboxes, applying the user-supplied scheme procedures
to each of them in turn and saves the resulting output in mailbox
format.

@menu
* Specifying Scheme Program to Execute::
* Specifying Mailboxes to Operate Upon::
* Passing Options to Scheme::
* Guimb Invocation Summary::
* Scheme Procedures and Variables::
@end menu

@node Specifying Scheme Program to Execute
@subsection Specifying Scheme Program to Execute

The Scheme program or expression to be executed is passed to
@command{guimb} via the following options:

@table @option
@item -s @var{file}
@itemx --source @var{file}
Load Scheme source code from @var{file}.
@item -c @var{expr}
@itemx --code @var{expr}
Execute given scheme expression.
@end table

The above switches stop further argument processing, and pass all
remaining arguments as the value of @code{(command-line)}.

If the remaining arguments must be processed by @command{guimb} itself,
use following options:

@table @option
@item -e @var{expr}
@itemx --expression @var{expr}
Execute scheme expression.
@item -f @var{file}
@itemx --file @var{file}
Load Scheme source code from @var{file}.
@end table

You can specify both of them. In this case, the @var{file} is read
first, then @var{expr} is executed. You may still pass any additional
arguments to the script using @option{--guile-arg} option
(@pxref{Passing Options to Scheme}).

@node Specifying Mailboxes to Operate Upon
@subsection Specifying Mailboxes to Operate Upon

There are four basic ways of passing mailboxes to @command{guimb}.

@table @code
@item guimb [@var{options}] [@var{mailbox}...]
The resulting mailbox is not saved, unless the user-supplied
scheme program saves it.
@item guimb [@var{options}] --mailbox @var{defmbox}
The contents of @var{defmbox} is processed and is replaced with the resulting
mailbox contents. Useful for applying filters to user's mailbox.
@item guimb [@var{options}] --mailbox @var{defmbox} mailbox [mailbox...]
The contents of specified mailboxes is processed, and the resulting
mailbox contents is appended to @var{defmbox}.
@item guimb [@var{options}] --user @var{username} [mailbox...]
The contents of specified mailboxes is processed, and the resulting
mailbox contents is appended to the user's system mailbox. This allows
to use @command{guimb} as a mail delivery agent.
@end table

If no mailboxes are specified in the command line, @command{guimb} reads
and processes the system mailbox of the current user.

@node Passing Options to Scheme
@subsection Passing Options to Scheme

Sometimes it is necessary to pass some command line options to the
scheme procedure. There are three ways of doing so.

When using @option{--source} (@option{-s}) or @option{--code}
(@option{-c}) options, all the rest of the command line following
the option's argument is passed to Scheme program verbatim. This
allows for making guimb scripts executable by the shell. If your system
supports @samp{#!} magic at the start of scripts, add the following two
lines to the beginning of your script to allow for its immediate execution:

@example
#! /usr/local/bin/guimb -s
!#
@end example

@noindent
(replace @samp{/usr/local/bin/} with the actual path to the @command{guimb}).

Otherwise, if you use @option{--file} or @option{--expression} oprions,
the additional arguments may be passed to the Scheme program @option{-g}
(@option{--guile-arg}) command line option. For example:

@example
guimb --guile-arg -opt --guile-arg 24 --file progfile
@end example

In this example, the scheme procedure will see the following command line:

@example
progfile -opt 24
@end example

Finally, if there are many arguments to be passed to Scheme, it is more
convenient to enclose them in @option{-@{} and @option{-@}} escapes:

@example
guimb -@{ -opt 24 -@} --file progfile
@end example

@node Guimb Invocation Summary
@subsection Guimb Invocation Summary

This is a short summary of the command line options available to
@command{guimb}.

@table @option
@item -d
@itemx --debug
Start with debugging evaluator and backtraces.
@item -e EXPR
@itemx --expression EXPR
Execute given Scheme expression.
@item -m @var{path}
@itemx --maildir=@var{path}
Set path to the mailspool directory
@item -f PROGFILE
@itemx --file PROGFILE
Read Scheme program from PROGFILE.
@item -g ARG
@itemx --guile-command ARG
Append ARG to the command line passed to Scheme program.
@item -@{ ... -@}
Pass all command line options enclosed between @option{-@{} and @option{-@}}
to Scheme program.
@item -m
@itemx --mailbox MBOX
Set default mailbox name.
@item -u
@itemx --user NAME
Act as local MDA for user NAME.
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display help message.
@item  -v
@itemx --version
Display program version.
@end table

@node Scheme Procedures and Variables
@subsection Scheme Procedures and Variables

@menu
* Address Functions::
* Mailbox Functions::
* Message Functions::
* MIME Functions::
* Log Functions::
@end menu


@node Address Functions
@subsubsection Address Functions

@deffn Function mu-address-get-personal ADDRESS NUM
Return personal part of an email address.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-address-get-comments ADDRESS NUM
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-address-get-email ADDRESS NUM
Return email part of an email address.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-address-get-domain ADDRESS NUM
Return domain part of an email address
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-address-get-local ADDRESS NUM
Return local part of an email address.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-address-get-count ADDRESS
Return number of parts in email address.
@end deffn

@node Mailbox Functions
@subsubsection Mailbox Functions

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-open URL MODE
Opens a mailbox specified by URL.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-close MBOX
Closes mailbox MBOX
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-get-url MBOX
Returns the URL of the mailbox.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-get-port MBOX MODE
Returns a port associated with the contents of the MBOX.
MODE is a string defining operation mode of the stream. It may
contain any of the two characters: @samp{r} for reading, @samp{w} for
writing.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-get-message MBOX MSGNO
Retrieve from MBOX message # MSGNO.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-messages-count MBOX
Returns number of messages in the mailbox.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-expunge MBOX
Expunges deleted messages from the mailbox.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-url MBOX
Returns the URL of the mailbox
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mailbox-append-message MBOX MESG
Appends the message to the mailbox
@end deffn

@node Message Functions
@subsubsection Message Functions

@deffn Function mu-message-copy MESG
Creates the copy of the given message.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-set-header MESG HEADER VALUE REPLACE
Sets new VALUE to the header HEADER of the message MESG.
If the HEADER is already present in the message its value
is replaced with the supplied one if the optional REPLACE is
#t. Otherwise new header is created and appended.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-size MESG
Returns the size of the given message.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-lines MESG
Returns number of lines in the given message.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-sender MESG
Returns the sender email address for the message MESG.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-header MESG HEADER
Returns the header value of the HEADER in the MESG.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-header-fields MESG HEADERS
Returns the list of headers in the MESG. If optional HEADERS is
specified it should be a list of header names to restrict return
value to.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-set-header-fields MESG LIST REPLACE
Set the headers in the message MESG from LIST
LIST is a list of (cons HEADER VALUE)
Optional parameter REPLACE specifies whether the new header
values should replace the headers already present in the
message.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-delete MESG FLAG
Mark given message as deleted. Optional FLAG allows to toggle deleted mark
The message is deleted if it is #t and undeleted if it is #f
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-flag MESG FLAG
Return value of the attribute FLAG.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-set-flag MESG FLAG VALUE
Set the given attribute of the message. If optional VALUE is #f, the
attribute is unset.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-user-flag MESG FLAG
Returns value of the user attribute FLAG.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-set-user-flag MESG FLAG VALUE
Set the given user attribute of the message. If optional VALUE is
#f, the attribute is unset.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-port MESG MODE FULL
Returns a port associated with the given MESG. MODE is a string
defining operation mode of the stream. It may contain any of the
two characters: @samp{r} for reading, @samp{w} for writing.
If optional FULL argument specified, it should be a boolean value.
If it is #t then the returned port will allow access to any
part of the message (including headers). If it is #f then the port
accesses only the message body (the default).
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-get-body MESG
Returns the message body for the message MESG.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-message-send MESG MAILER
Sends the message MESG. Optional MAILER overrides default
mailer settings in mu-mailer.
@end deffn

@node MIME Functions
@subsubsection MIME Functions

@deffn Function mu-mime-create FLAGS MESG
Creates a new MIME object.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mime-multipart? MIME
Returns #t if MIME is a multipart object.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mime-get-num-parts MIME
Returns number of parts in a MIME object.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mime-get-part MIME PART
Returns part number PART from a MIME object.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mime-add-part MIME MESG
Adds MESG to the MIME object.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-mime-get-message MIME
Converts MIME object to a message.
@end deffn

@node Log Functions
@subsubsection Log Functions

@deffn Function mu-openlog IDENT OPTION FACILITY
Opens a connection to the system logger for Guile program.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-logger PRIO TEXT
Generates a log message to be distributed via syslogd.
@end deffn

@deffn Function mu-closelog
Closes the channel to the system logger open by mu-openlog.
@end deffn

@page
@node comsatd
@section Comsat daemon
@pindex comsatd

Comsatd is the server which receives reports of incoming mail and
notifies users, wishing to get this service. It can be started
either from @file{inetd.conf} or as a standalone daemon.

@menu
* Starting comsatd::       Invocation.
* Configuring comsatd::    Configuration of comsatd.
* dot.biffrc::             A per-user configuration file.
@end menu

@node Starting comsatd
@subsection Starting comsatd

@table @option
@item -c @var{file}
@itemx --config @var{file}
Read configuration from given @var{file}. For more information about
comsatd configuration files, see @ref{Configuring comsatd}.
@item -d
@itemx --daemon
Run as a standalone daemon.
@item -i
@itemx --inetd
The server is started from @file{/etc/inetd.conf} file:

@example
comsat dgram  udp wait  root  /usr/sbin/comsatd \
comsatd -c /etc/comsat.conf
@end example

This is the default operation mode.
@item -m @var{path}
@itemx --maildir=@var{path}
Set path to the mailspool directory
@item -p @var{number}
@itemx --port @var{number}
Specify the port number to listen on. Default is 512.
@item -v
@itemx --version
Output version and exit successfully.
@item -h
@itemx --help
Display short help message and exit.
@end table

@node Configuring comsatd
@subsection Configuring comsatd

The configuration parameters for comsatd are kept in a single
configuration file. The file uses line-oriented format: each line
contains a single statement. Comments are introduced with the @samp{#}
sign and empty lines are ignored. You can specify the configuration
file to use by using @option{-c} or @option{--config} command line switch.

The configuration file statements can logically be subdivided into
@dfn{General Settings}, @dfn{Security Settings} and @dfn{Access Control
Lists}. The following sections address each of these statement group in
detail.

@menu
* General Settings::
* Security Settings::
* Access Control Lists::
@end menu

@node General Settings
@subsubsection General Settings

These statements control the general behavior of the comsat daemon:

@table @asis
@item max-lines @var{number}
Set maximum number of message body lines to be output.
@item allow-biffrc ( yes | no )
Enable or disable processing of user's @file{.biffrc} file. By default,
it is enabled.
@end table

@node Security Settings
@subsubsection Security Settings

These statements control the way @command{comsatd} fights possible
flooding attacks.

@table @asis
@item max-requests @var{number}
Set maximum number of incoming requests per @samp{request-control-interval}.
@item request-control-interval @var{number}
Set the request control interval (seconds).
@item overflow-delay-time @var{number}
Set the initial amount of time to sleep, after the first overflow occurs.
@item overflow-control-interval @var{number}
Set the overflow control interval. If two consecutive overflows happen
within @var{number} seconds, the overflow-delay-time is doubled.
@end table

@node Access Control Lists
@subsubsection Access Control Lists

Access control lists determine from which addresses @command{comsatd}
will receive mail notification messages.

The access control lists are introduced in configuration file using
keyword @samp{acl}. General format for an ACL rule is

@example
acl @var{action} @var{netlist}
@end example

@noindent
Here, @var{action} specifies the action to be taken when a request
arrives from one of the networks, listed in @var{netlist}. There are
two possible actions: @samp{allow} and @samp{deny}.

The @var{netlist} is a whitespace-separated list of network numbers.
Each network number may be specified in one of the following forms:

@table @asis
@item @var{netnum}
Means a single host with IP address @var{netnum}.
@item @var{netnum}/@var{netmask}
@item @var{netnum}/@var{masklen}
@item @samp{any}
Denotes any IP address. It is equivalent to @samp{0.0.0.0/0}.
@end table

Upon receiving a notification message, @command{comsatd} compares its
source address against each ACL rule in the order of their appearance
in the configuration file. The first rule that matches the packet
determines whether the message will be processed or rejected. If
no matching rule was found, the default rule applies. Currently, default
rule is

@example
acl allow any
@end example

@noindent
If you don't need such behavior, specify the default rule explicitly.
For example, the common use would be:

@example
@group
acl allow 127.0.0.1
acl deny any
@end group
@end example

@noindent
which makes @command{comsatd} receive the notification messages from
localhost only.

@node dot.biffrc
@subsection A per-user configuration file.

By default, when a notification arrives, @command{comsatd} prints subject,
from headers and the first five lines from the new message to the user's
tty. The user is allowed to change this behavior by using his own
configuration file. This file should be located in the user's home
directory and should be named @file{.biffrc}. It must be owned by the
user and have its permissions bits set to 0600. (@emph{Please note},
that the use of per-user configuration files may be disabled, by
specifying @samp{allow-biffrc no} in the main configuration file, see
@pxref{Configuring comsatd}).

The @file{.biffrc} file consists of a series of statements. Each
statement occupies one line and defines an action to be taken upon
arrival of a new mail. Very long lines may be split using @samp{\} as
the last character on the line. As usual, comments may be introduced with
@samp{#} character.

The actions specified in @file{.biffrc} file are executed in turn.
The following actions are defined:

@table @asis
@item beep
Produce an audible signal.
@item echo @var{string}
Output @var{string} to user's terminal device.
@item exec @var{prog} @var{arglist}
Execute program @var{prog} with arguments from @var{arglist}. @var{prog}
must be specified with absolute pathname. It may not be a setuid or
setgid program.
@end table

In the description above, @var{string} denotes any sequence of
characters. This sequence must be enclosed in a pair of double-quotes,
if it contains whitespace characters. The @samp{\} character inside a
string starts a C escape sequence. Following meta-characters may be
used in strings:

@table @asis
@item $u
Expands to username
@item $h
Expands to hostname
@item $H@{name@}
Expands to value of message header @samp{name}.
@item $B(@var{c},@var{l})
Expands to message body. @var{c} and @var{l} give maximum number of
characters and lines in the expansion. When omitted, they default to 400, 5.
@end table

@subsubsection Example I.

Dump to the user's terminal the contents of @samp{From} and
@samp{Subject} headers followed by at most 5 lines of message body.
@example
@group
echo "Mail to \a$u@@$h\a\n---\n\
From: $H@{from@}\n\
Subject: $H@{Subject@}\n\
---\n\
$B(,5)\
---\n"
@end group
@end example

@subsubsection Example II.

Produce a bell, then pop up the xmessage window on display :0.0 with
the text formatted in the same manner as in the previous example.

@example
@group
beep
exec /usr/X11R6/bin/xmessage \
-display :0.0 -timeout 10 "Mail to $u@@$h \n---\n\
From: $H@{from@}\n\
Subject: $H@{Subject@}\n\
---\n\
$B(,5)\
---\n"
@end group
@end example