Sending Mail
$ mail user@host.domain Subject: HI
After you enter the subject, you can hit return, then type in the words and sentences of your message. You can use the following mail composing commands, also.
| Command (starts in column 1) | Purpose |
|---|---|
| . | (period) end your mail message; if this doesn't work hold down the Control and D keys at the same time. |
| ~p | display the entire contents of your message |
| ~r filename.txt | read in the contents of the file named filename.txt into the mail message |
| ~vi | enter a vi editor session on the mail message so that you can edit it using vi; when you exit vi, you'll be back in mail program |
Reading Mail
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ? | list all mail commands available; if this doesn't work, enter help |
| n | (n is a number) display message number n |
| d | delete the current message |
| x | exit, but don't preserve any deletions |
| q | exit, preserving any deletions |
| h | list all mail messages and header information |
| s filename.txt | save the current message into a file named filename.txt |
For more Web-based instruction on Unix mail, see "UNIX Support--Generic Mail," from the Computer Help Desk, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.