HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

OpenVMS User's Manual

The OpenVMS Mail utility (MAIL) lets you send messages to other users on your system or on any other computer that is connected to your system with Compaq TCP/IP for OpenVMS or a DECnet network. This chapter describes:

• Invoking and exiting mail
• Reading messages
• Sending messages
• Sending mail over networks
• Sending messages to multiple users
• Manipulating files in mail
• Other ways to send messages
• Organizing messages
• Deleting messages
• Printing mail messages
• Protecting mail files
• Using text editors in Mail
• Customizing your Mail environment
• Summary of Mail commands
• Using the MIME Utility

For additional information, refer to the following:

• Enter the HELP MAIL command at the DCL prompt or enter the HELP command at the MAIL> prompt, for more information about Mail commands and qualifiers.
• The OpenVMS System Manager's Manual, for more information about controlling the use of Mail through user accounts.
• Enter HELP TCPIP_SERVICES at the DCL prompt, for more information about TCP/IP mail commands and qualifiers.
• The Digital TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS User's Guide, for more information about sending and receiving mail using TCP/IP services.

The following figure shows a sample mail message and its components.

The following sections describe how to invoke and exit Mail.

7.1.1 Invoking Mail

To invoke the Mail utility, enter the DCL command MAIL, as follows:

$ MAIL
MAIL>

• Read a mail message
• Send a mail message
• Reply to a mail message
• Forward a mail message
• Organize mail messages into files and folders
• Delete a mail message
• Print a mail message

To exit from Mail, enter the EXIT command at the MAIL> prompt, as follows:

MAIL> EXIT
$

You can also exit from Mail by pressing Ctrl/Z or by using the QUIT command.

7.2 Reading Messages

Mail stores the messages you receive in mail files, which have the default file type .MAI. In this file, by default, Mail provides two folders that store old and new messages. New messages are automatically placed in a folder called NEWMAIL; old messages are placed in a folder called MAIL. After you read a new message, the message automatically moves from the NEWMAIL folder to the MAIL folder, unless you enter the FILE, MOVE, or DELETE command. Mail deletes the NEWMAIL folder after you have read all new mail messages and either select another folder or exit from Mail.

7.2.1 Reading New Mail

When you are logged in to your account and receive a mail message, Mail notifies you. For example, notification of a message sent by user FELLINI is displayed as follows:

New mail on node DOODAH from STONE::FELLINI     (10:02:23)

To read a new message, invoke Mail and press the Enter key at the MAIL> prompt, as follows:

$  MAIL
You have 1 new message.
MAIL>

If you have more than one new message, press Enter at the MAIL> prompt to read the other messages. When you have read all your new messages, Mail issues the message "%MAIL-E-NOMOREMSG, no more messages" and continues to prompt for commands until you exit Mail.

If you receive a mail message while you are in Mail, enter the READ/NEW command to read the new message.

7.2.2 Reading Old Messages

To reread old mail messages in your default Mail folder, use the following procedure:

MAIL> SELECT MAIL

To read a particular message in your default MAIL folder, use the following procedure:

In the following example, the DIRECTORY command is used to display old messages and then the message labeled 2 is selected for reading:

MAIL> DIRECTORY
                                                          MAIL
# From              Date              Subject
1 STONE::FELLINI    11-DEC-1999       Sales presentation on May 11
2 DOODAH::JONES     11-DEC-1999       Status
MAIL> 2

If you have many messages, you can locate a particular message by using the SEARCH command to find a string in one or more of the messages. To search for a string, specify that string as a parameter to the SEARCH command.

Each time you specify a new string, the SEARCH command starts the search at message number 1. To continue searching the folder for messages that contain the specified string, use the SEARCH command without specifying a parameter. To search for the same string in a different folder, enter the SELECT or SET FOLDER folder-name command and continue using the SEARCH command without specifying a parameter.

In the following example, messages in the current folder are searched for the first message that contains the string appointment:

MAIL> SEARCH "appointment"

To send a mail message to any user on your system, do the following:

In the following example, a message is sent to a user named THOMPSON:

MAIL> SEND
To: THOMPSON
Subj: Meeting on April 20
Enter your message below. Press CTRL/Z when complete, or CTRL/C to quit:
I have some new ideas about the Hubbub Cola account.
Let me know  when you are available to talk about them.


--Jeff

The following sections describe how to send mail across the network.

7.4.1 Specifying Your Network Protocol

When you receive a message, Mail interprets the specified address as follows:

• If the node component of the address contains a period (.), the address is interpreted as an Internet address. Mail uses the SMTP protocol by default unless you have previously set up your system to use a different Internet protocol by defining that alternate protocol with the MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT logical name.
• If the node component of the address does not contain a period, the address is interpreted as a DECnet address.

However, you can customize your Mail environment to force the system to choose a specific protocol. This option is helpful in cases where a mail address can be interpreted as valid for either the Internet or DECnet protocol.

To specify protocols, you can define the MAIL$INTERNET_MODE logical name as follows:

• HYBRID (the default)
  If the node component of the address contains a period (.), Mail uses an Internet protocol. If there are no periods, Mail uses the DECnet protocol.
• DECNET
  Mail always interprets the node component of the address as a DECnet node specification.
• SMTP
  Mail always interprets the node component of the address as an Internet address specification. The default transport is SMTP unless you use the MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT logical to define an alternate Internet transport.

To modify your Mail environment in any of these ways, Compaq recommends that you define the MAIL$INTERNET_MODE and MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT logical names in your LOGIN.COM file. (See Chapter 11 for complete information about using and defining logical names.)

For example, if your system is set up to use the default (HYBRID), the Mail address smith@pluto is interpreted as a DECnet address because there are no periods in that address. However, if you want Mail to use SMTP instead of DECnet, you can add the following line to your LOGIN.COM file:

$ DEFINE MAIL$INTERNET_MODE SMTP

When you then specify smith@pluto, Mail interprets this address as an Internet address and uses the SMTP protocol (for example, SMTP%"smith@pluto.xyz.dec.com").

7.4.2 Specifying Node Names

If your computer system is part of a network, you can send mail to any other user on the network. If you are sending mail to someone on a different node, enter the user's node name and user name at the To: prompt. If the user name contains special characters or spaces, you must enclose the user name in quotation marks (""). Use the following format:

Mail displays a message if the network connection to the remote node is not available. Wait a while, and then try again to send the message.

For additional information on specifying node names, refer to Section 3.1.6.

In the following example, a message is sent to user HIGGINS on node CHEETA:

MAIL> SEND
To: CHEETA::HIGGINS

You can also use full Internet mail addresses to send mail to users over a network. These addresses are common, especially if you are sending mail outside your organization.

At the To: prompt, enter the full Internet address of the user you want to send mail to. These addresses are seldom case-sensitive.

MAIL> SEND
To: J_SMITH@COMPANYNAME.COM, Kate.Muir@school.edu

You can use a logical name to represent a user's name and node; then you can use the logical name to send mail. Note that Mail ignores any access control information in the node name or logical name.

In the following example, HENRY is used in place of CHEETA::HIGGINS. First, the logical name (HENRY) is defined, then it is used in place of the user name and node:

$ DEFINE HENRY CHEETA::HIGGINS
$ MAIL
MAIL> SEND
To: HENRY

The following sections describe how to send mail to more than one user.

7.5.1 Using Individual Names

You can send mail to several users at the same time in one of two ways: using individual user names at the To: prompt or using a distribution list. To send the same message to several users on the same node by using their user names, enter the user names at the To: prompt and separate them with commas or spaces.

In the following example, a message is sent to Thompson, Jones, and Barney:

MAIL> SEND
To:      THOMPSON,JONES,BARNEY
Subj:    Meeting on January 9

A distribution list is a file that contains a list of users and their node names. You must use a text editor to create distribution lists. Distribution lists are not created within the Mail utility.

Your open file quota (a limit associated with your account) determines the number of different nodes to which you can send mail (at one time) and the depth to which you can nest distribution lists. If you exceed the quota, Mail displays an error message. Ask your system manager to increase your quota or send mail in batches to fewer nodes at one time.

By default, the system looks for a distribution list file with the file type .DIS. If the file containing your distribution list has a different file type, specify the file name and file type at the To: prompt. If you invoke Mail while in one directory and the file containing the distribution list is in another, enter the distribution list's full directory name at the To: prompt.

To create a distribution list, use the following procedure:

The following example shows a distribution list file:

! ALLBUDGET.DIS
!
! Budget Committee Members
@BUDGET         ! listed in BUDGET.DIS.
! Staff
  Thompson
  BRUTUS::JONES
  PORTIA::BARNEY

If the file BUDGET.DIS is not in the same directory as the new distribution list file you are creating (ALLBUDGET.DIS), include the file specification for BUDGET.DIS in the new distribution file. Depending on where you create ALLBUDGET.DIS, you might have to specify the device and directory in which BUDGET.DIS is located. (See Chapter 3 for more information about file specifications.)

7.5.3 Sending Messages to Distribution Lists

To send mail to several users by using a distribution list, use the following procedure:

In the following example, a message is sent to the distribution list ALLBUDGET.DIS:

MAIL> SEND
To: @ALLBUDGET
Subj: Tomorrow's Meeting
Enter your message below. Press CTRL/Z when complete, or CTRL/C to quit:

The meeting about the Hubbub Cola account is tomorrow at 2:00.

--Jeff

You can also send a file to a distribution list from DCL level. If you omit the file type .DIS, place quotation marks ("") around the at sign (@) and file name to identify the file as a distribution list. To include a subject, use the /SUBJECT qualifier with the MAIL command.

The following example sends the file MEETING.TXT to the user THOMAS and the distribution list FRIENDS.DIS:

$ MAIL/SUBJECT="update" MEETING THOMAS,"@FRIENDS.DIS"

The following example sends the file NOTICE.TXT to the distribution list WRITERS.DIS. Here, the /SUBJECT qualifier is not included so the message is sent without a subject notation.

$ MAIL NOTICE "@WRITERS"

You can send a file to other users from within Mail or from DCL level. Use the following procedure to send a file from within Mail:

In the following example, the file MEMO.TXT is sent to user EDGELL:

MAIL> SEND MEMO.TXT
To: EDGELL
Subj: Another memo

When sending files though mail, note the following restrictions:

• When files are copied using the COPY command, the operating system performs data-integrity checking. This check does not occur when sending a file through mail and can cause corrupted files to occur when sending foreign (such as executable) files.
• Use discretion when sending large files. Users on some systems may not be able to receive large files (such as POSTSCRIPT files).

If the file is a compound document structured according to the DIGITAL Document Interchange Format (DDIF) specification, Mail preserves the OpenVMS RMS file tags and DDIF semantics, for OpenVMS AXP Version 1.0 or VAX/VMS Version 5.2-2 or later systems only. If you try to send mail messages containing DDIF files to operating systems other than OpenVMS or to OpenVMS systems earlier than OpenVMS AXP Version 1.0 or VAX/VMS Version 5.2-2, Mail returns an error message.

7.6.2 Sending Files from DCL

When you send a file from DCL level, Mail is invoked but you do not enter an interactive session, nor do you see the MAIL> prompt. When the file is sent, you return to DCL level automatically. After you have typed the MAIL command with the appropriate qualifiers, press Enter to send the file or press Ctrl/C to cancel the send operation.

Note the following as well:

• No wildcard characters are allowed in the file specification. If you omit the file type, the default file type is .TXT.
• If you specify SYS$INPUT as the file specification, you are prompted for the text of the message (while still remaining at the DCL level). For more information on using SYS$INPUT, see Chapter 11.
• When you are sending a file from DCL level, the argument to the optional /SUBJECT qualifier must be enclosed in quotation marks if it contains any spaces or nonalphanumeric characters.

In the following example, the file MEMO.TXT is sent to user EDGELL on node CHEETA from the DCL level:

$ MAIL/SUBJECT="Another memo" MEMO.TXT CHEETA::EDGELL

In the following example, the user is prompted to input the text of the message because the file name specified is SYS$INPUT:

$ MAIL SYS$INPUT:
To: ARMSTRONG
Enter your message below.  Press CTRL/Z when complete, or CTRL/C to quit:
The text of the message is here.
[Ctrl/Z]
$