General Information
- What is my email address? Which email address should I give out to people?
- What are my incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) email server settings?
- Where can I find more information on setting up my email program to access my U-M email?
- Should I use IMAP or POP to access my email?
- Will I lose my old email if I switch from POP to IMAP?
- What is Secure Socket Layer (SSL)?
- Where does my email go? What do I need to know when modifying my E-Mail Forwarding Address in the U-M Online Directory (UMOD)?
- How do I set my U-M email to forward to a another address?
- Why aren't any email programs installed on CAEN computers?
- What are headers? How do I view the full headers of an email message?
- What is Spam? How can I reduce the amount of Spam I receive?
- What are email viruses, and how do I combat them?
- I received a message from my friend/colleague, but they say they did not send it; also, why do I keep getting these 'Returned Mail' messages when I never sent the message? What is going on?
- I am going on vacation. How can I notify everyone?
- How do I use /usr/um/bin/mail?
What is my email address? Which email address should I give out to people?
Your email address at the University of Michigan is uniqname@umich.edu, provided by ITCS. Every College of Engineering student, faculty and staff member also receives a uniqname@engin.umich.edu email address, which delivers to the same location as uniqname@umich.edu listed in the U-M Online Directory.
What are my incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) email server settings?
The default settings for IMAP (incoming) email servers for most U-M users are listed below, depending on where your email is delivered. Several scenarios are then given to help you choose your SMTP (outgoing) email server, based on how and where you connect to the Internet.
IMAP servers: mail.umich.edu (for ITCS IMAP email)
exchange.umich.edu (for U-M Exchange accounts)
Information on configuring your email program to access the U-M email servers can be found at: http://www.itcs.umich.edu/e-mail/
-
SMTP at the University of Michigan
If you are anywhere on the University of Michigan network, including Residence Halls or Family Housing Ethernet, you should use smtp.mail.umich.edu as you SMTP server. For more information on using this server, please see the ITCS help documentation for your email program, or contact Residential Computing (ResComp) if you are in a Residence Hall.
-
SMTP for Commercial Internet Service Providers (ISP)
If you are connecting to the University network through a commercial ISP (such as DSL, or a Comcast cable modem), you may need to use that ISP's SMTP server to send email over their network. Some ISPs block SMTP access to anywhere located outside of their network. Contact your ISP for further information on SMTP restrictions, and help with email program SMTP settings.
Where can I find more information on setting up my email program to access my U-M email?
Detailed information on setting up many popular email programs using SSL is available on the ITCS web page at:
Should I use IMAP or POP to access my email?
For the vast majority of U-M, IMAP is a better choice than POP for checking email. IMAP is strongly recommended if you ever check your email on different computers, if you travel often, or if you wish to keep your email centrally stored on the server.
POP should only be used in locations where IMAP and webmail access are not available. POP is designed to download messages from the server and delete them afterwards. Most email clients have options to leave messages on the server or only delete messages from server when deleted locally, but these are strongly discouraged. Using these options make POP much slower, and consume significantly more server resources. Also, those who use these settings run the risk of exceeding their email space quota, preventing delivery of new messages. POP may also prevent useful backups of your email account, since the messages could be downloaded before a backup copy can be made.
IMAP is designed for optimal online performance, where messages are always left on the server. Many IMAP clients also support disconnected use, where messages are replicated, or cached, on your local computer for offline viewing. IMAP handles large folders and messages with far greater efficiency than POP, and includes the ability to manage multiple mail folders on multiple servers. IMAP is recommended for everyone who wishes to access their inbox and/or email folders from more than one computer, as well as anyone who wishes to leave email on the server for any reason.
Note: No matter what email program you use, regardless of if you use POP or IMAP, you should always make sure your email program is set up to use SSL.
Will I lose my old email if I switch from POP to IMAP?
No. By using POP, all of your messages have been saved to a file on your hard drive, and you will have continued access to them via your email program. Also, it is very easy to incorporate these messages into your new IMAP setup, and store them back on the email server. Most major email programs have the option to import messages from a POP account, or an archived data file, to an IMAP account. Some programs with graphical interfaces will also allow you to drag your messages from locally stored folders and drop them into IMAP folders on the server.
What is Secure Socket Layer (SSL)?
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is the industry-standard method for protecting web communications. The SSL security protocol provides data encryption, server authentication, message integrity, and optional client authentication for a TCP/IP connection. SSL is built into all major web browsers, email clients, and servers.
Note: Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is different from Transport Layer Security (TLS). SSL and TLS use different ports and behave differently on a failed negotiation, but accomplish the same desired encryption. TLS is available in some major email clients, but CAEN recommends using SSL as the default option.
Why use SSL?
In order to protect passwords, U-M has required SSL security on all ITCS email servers. Most users will use the main U-M email server (mail.umich.edu), while some faculty and staff use the U-M Exchange server (exchange.umich.edu). As a result, both servers accept IMAPS (IMAP over SSL) and POP3S (POP3 over SSL) connections. If you are not already using a Kerberos-enabled email client (such as Pine), CAEN strongly encourages you to start using an SSL-compatible client to protect your password.
How do I begin Using SSL?
Most email clients come with the ability to use SSL built-in:
Example: Outlook Express using SSL when sending and receiving email.
For example, Outlook Express or Mozilla users can enable SSL by simply checking the requires a secure connection (SSL) option in the mail server settings. Most email programs provide similar options. Depending on whether your want to use IMAPS or POP3S, you will need to verify the server ports are set to these specific values:
IMAPS - 993
POP3S - 995
When I connect to the U-M email server, I get a security certificate error. What should I do?
If you connect to the U-M server to access your email and your email program presents an error message similar to "The server you are connected to is using a security certificate that could not be verified," you should make sure you have the most up-to-date SSL certificate installed on your computer. You can download the latest certificate here:
To install the certificate, follow these steps:
Windows
-
Download the GTECyberTrustGlobalRoot2018.crt certificate from the site above.
-
Go to: Start >> Settings >> Control Panel >> Internet Options
-
Click the Content tab.
-
Click the Certificates... button.
-
Click the Import... button.
-
Browse to where you saved the certificate, and double-click its icon.
-
You may need to restart your email program, or reboot your PC, for the changes to take effect.
Mac OS
-
Download the GTECyberTrustGlobalRoot2018.crt certificate from the site above. Note: When you download the certificates, Mac OS may add a .txt extension to the end of the file names. You will need to remove this, leaving only the .crt extension, before importing the certificate.
-
Go to: Applications >> Utilities >> Keychain Access
-
In the Keychains menu on the left of the Keychain Access window, click X509Anchors.
-
From the File menu, choose Import...
-
Browse to where you saved the certificate, and double-click its icon to import it into Keychain Access.
-
You may need to restart your email program, or reboot your Mac, for the changes to take effect.
Where to go for further help
Again, most email clients have options for implementing SSL connections. For more information on using SSL for a specific program, consult the program’s Help menu. For detailed information on setting up an SSL connection to the U-M email server, please see the following ITCS web page:
Where does my email go? What do I need to know when modifying my E-Mail Forwarding Address in the U-M Online Directory (UMOD)?
To determine the server where your email is delivered, look at the E-Mail Forwarding Address field of your UMOD entry. The server will be listed in email address form. For example:
uniqname@mail.umich.edu
where uniqname is your U-M uniqname. This means your email is delivered to the main U-M email server: mail.umich.edu. If your E-Mail Forwarding Address looks like this:
uniqname@adsroot.itcs.umich.edu
then it means that your email is delivered to the U-M Exchange server.
As a result of the way email is routed at U-M, the E-Mail Forwarding Address field in UMOD entries may not contain uniqname@umich.edu or uniqname@engin.umich.edu. UMOD entries containing such an address will cause email to loop and be returned to the senders. Instead, this field must be set to uniqname@server, where server is the exact name of the email server from which you access your email. CAEN will often modify UMOD entries for College of Engineeing users who have uniqname@umich.edu in the E-Mail Forwarding Address field, so email delivery will continue as expected, and notify them about this change.
Below are some common questions related to modifying one's UMOD entry; click here for instructions on forwarding your email to another address. Any further questions can be directed to Contact CAEN:
What is the E-Mail Forwarding Address in UMOD used for?
It is used by ITCS email hubs to route all email addressed to your uniqname@umich.edu and uniqname@engin.umich.edu addresses to the specific email server which contains your inbox.
What do I do if I want to keep my CAEN and ITCS email separate?
You can filter your email based on the To: and Cc: field to keep your email separate.
How do I change my UMOD entry?
The UMOD can be accessed on the web at directory.umich.edu. If you modify your UMOD entry, please make sure the E-Mail Forwarding Address field is uniqname@server, where server is the exact server from which you access your mail. If you read your email at ITCS, the server is mail.umich.edu. If you read your email using the U-M Exchange server, the server is adsroot.itcs.umich.edu.
Do I have to announce to others that my email address is, for example, uniqname@mail.umich.edu?
No. CAEN recommends that users simply give out uniqname@umich.edu as their email address.
Should I use uniqname@mail.umich.edu as the From: address in my email program when I am sending email?
No. You should configure your email program to use uniqname@umich.edu as the From: address.
Why should I care about my E-Mail Forwarding Address?
Nearly all students, faculty and staff with a stable email environment will not care. You will only care about this if you ever change the specific email server that holds your "inbox." This is especially important for students who do tend to change their email address, either to use a different ISP during the summer or during internships, or after changing majors in to or out of the College of Engineering.
What address will others see if they get my information from http://directory.umich.edu?
They will only see uniqname@umich.edu, which is the “E-Mail Address” field in the directory. The contents of the “E-Mail Forwarding Address” field will not be viewable to others.
How should I enter email addresses in groups that I maintain in http://directory.umich.edu?
For people with umich.edu addresses, just enter their uniqname and let the directory find their email address. You do not need to enter the email address with an @ sign. For example just use joeuser and not joeuser@umich.edu. For people from other sites, enter their complete email addresses (for example, joeuser@berkeley.edu).
How do I set my U-M email to forward to a another address?
Please see:
Why aren't any email programs installed on CAEN computers?
While CAEN supports several email programs for use on personal computers, CAEN does not install any programs on its PCs in the CAEN computer labs. Installing email clients with POP capabilities is dangerous in a public computing environment such as CAEN's. If configured improperly, this could allow users to mistakenly download their entire inbox to the hard drive of the computer.
If you need to check your email on a CAEN PC, or any publicly-used computer, CAEN recommends using the Webmail program available online at:
Webmail can be accessed from any platform using a web browser.
What are headers? How do I view the full headers of an email message?
Email headers allow a message to be traced from its origin to its destination. Each server that a message passes through will attach identifying information in a Received: line (where it came from, the hostname, date, and time the mail was relayed). There can be one Received: line, or there can be many. Since newer headers are placed on top, the first Received: line (the one closest to the From: line) will usually show the origin of the message.
Most email clients give you options to view the headers of a message. For examples, please see:
What is Spam? How can I reduce the amount of Spam I receive?
Spam (also known as Bulk Email) and U.C.E. (Unsolicited Commercial Email), are email that flood the Internet with many copies of the same message in an attempt to force it on those who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is unsolicited, commercial advertising. It is often disguised as get-rich-quick schemes, "revolutionary" products, or other scams to take your money. Spamming is also used to spread computer viruses, so one should be very careful when opening or replying to unfamiliar messages. It has become major problem worldwide, since it costs the sender very little to produce while most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or network carriers.
Spam email can take many forms. University of Michigan students may not realize that messages stating "I have extra football tickets!" or "Textbook for sale!" are spam. Typically, students who send these types of messages do not consider it to be spam until they are on the receiving end, when their mailbox is flooded with numerous messages. Note: When you receive this type of spam, if you reply, make sure that your response is to the sender only, not to the entire recipient list (i.e. do not Reply-to-all). This will help reduce the amount of traffic on the network, and irritation of the recipients.
Until stricter laws are passed, combating Spam can be difficult. There are two schools of thought on the issue of spam:
- Spam is one of life's little annoyances, and is not very different than telemarketers calling your home or people sending piles of solicitations/coupons to your residential mailbox. The only real differences are that Spam costs nothing for the sender and can often contain lewd material. Spam, however, is easier to deal with and better for the environment.
- Spam email is theft of service. Users pay for their connections and the time it takes to read/delete messages. Spam not only consumes massive amounts of disk space, but it also bogs down servers and eats up a network's bandwidth, slowing down everyone's service.
How do I keep from getting spammed?
Spammers pull (or harvest) email addresses from newsgroup posts, web pages, IM clients, web browsers, and other Internet software. Whenever you shop online, apply for a credit card...whenever you give out your email address (or even if you do not!), you can be sure your address will be sought out, and given or sold to third parties. If your email address is posted anywhere on the web, spammers will find it. The best way to prevent getting spam or being added to commercial email lists is to keep your email address private, especially from those you do not know. Give your email address out only when absolutely necessary, as you would with any personal information. For example:
- Never respond to the spam's instructions to reply with the word remove or unsubscribe in the Subject: field in order to remove yourself from their list. This is a common method spammers use to validate an email address. If you reply, your address will likely be placed on more lists, and you may receive more spam.
- Never sign up with sites that promise to remove your name from spam lists. They are only trying to validate your email address. Even though they may appear to be sincere, they are primarily spam address collectors. When you respond, a higher value is placed on your address because you have identified it as being an address that is actually read by a person.
- Never "mail-bomb" spam sites or engage in hacking to stop spammers. This only increases the amount of wasted Internet traffic. It is also in violation of the U-M Proper Use Policy and can ultimately prove detrimental to you.
Phishing & Identity Theft
Another form of Spam, known as Phishing or Spoofing, asks recipients to visit a web page and/or provide personal, financial information over the Internet. These types of email messages often appear to be genuine; using text and images from legitimate web sites (e.g. banks, charities, credit cards, etc.). But they are more likely an attempt to gain your personal information; anything from your Social Security Number, to your mother's maiden name. These messages are not from the institutions they claim to be from; most reputable financial institutions explicitly state that they do not send out email notifications regarding personal information.
These messages are most likely sent by someone trying to obtain your personal information for illegal use. If you are uncertain about such a request, check with the institution by calling their customer service phone number or visiting their offices directly, but never blindly respond to any solicitation for personal information over the Internet. Never reply to these email messages, never click on web links in the messages, and never open attachments in any Spam message.
You can read more about Phishing and other scams on the Protect Yourself! page of the U-M Identity Misrepresentation and Theft web site. Also, please visit the Federal Trade Commission site for more information:
Why do I keep getting these Returned Mail messages when I never sent the message?
This is likely the result of a common spamming practice to forge the From: field, or header, of a message to make it look like it comes from someone else. This can be a real or fake email address, and it could be yours. For more information, refer to the following page:
I've been spammed. What do I do?
The first step is to find out where the spam came from. You can look for the server that the spammer used to send out the junk email. To find this information, you need to view the email's header information. This is a trace of the servers the message went through to get into your inbox. Normally, an email's header is hidden because it contains information that is used for computer-to-computer routing. The only information you usually see is the Subject:, Date:, and the From: address. Spammers are generally clever enough to forge the From: address to either a fake address or an innocent victim, so a reply will usually not work in contacting the spammer.
The best course of action for students who have been spammed is to notify the proper University organization. If you were illegally Spammed at your University email address, you should contact the Information Technology User Advocate at itua @ umich.edu; please include the header information from the Spam messages:
Spam Busters
Spam Busters provides a comprehensive approach to spam management at U-M. For information on these anti-spam services, please see:
Where can I find more help with spam?
Listed below are links to more useful sites that provide information and instructions on dealing with spam:
What are email viruses, and how do I combat them?
What is an email virus?
An email, or computer, virus is an executable file (typically distributed as an attachment in an email message) that can cause harm to your computer if opened. One should never open an unsolicited email attachment if they are unsure of the sender's identity. Viruses typically are not found in the body of an email message. They also do not simply float around the Internet. Viruses and other system-destroying software can only exist in executable form (e.g. *.exe, *.bat), and cannot cause harm until they are executed.
While simply reading email, you are not executing any malicious code, thus the virus cannot do damage. However, if you or your computer automatically download the files attached to an email and run them, there is a chance that files containing viruses could damage your computer. So, it is important that you do not allow your email program to automatically execute an attached file. You run a much greater of risk infection if so.
Viruses are generally operating system-specific. Viruses created for a Windows computer cannot damage a Macintosh, and vice-versa. In the future, we may see more viruses cross these boundaries as programming languages break OS-specific rules.
Where do email viruses come from?
Email viruses originate from malicious people who would like to destroy, damage, or take advantage of computer systems or their owner's personal information. These individuals accomplish this by sending viruses in Bulk Email, or Spam (not to be confused with Unsolicited Commercial Email). If you ever receive an email virus, your email address (along with thousands of others) was probably selected from the computer of an already-infected user. Viruses find possible recipients by scanning hard drives for "email-like" addresses. They look in .html, text, Windows Address Books. Some addresses may be chosen randomly by a web-crawler.
One of the current virus-sending techniques is to forge the From: field, or header, to look like the message comes from someone it does not. The reason they forge the email headers is they hope to fool email filters, confuse the recipient or obscure their identity. It is quite easy to forge the From: header. This is why you cannot always trust email on the basis of looking at whom it is from, and the infected party is difficult to discern, causing much confusion along the way.
Are viruses spread other than by email?
You can get a virus only by downloading and executing a file which is infected. There are many ways (in addition to email attachments) this can happen:
-
If you download an infected file from the Internet or a website and execute it.
-
If your computer is on a network, and not updated with the latest operating system patches, viruses can be transmitted directly using OS vulnerabilities and other processes (e.g. messenger services).
-
If you use someone else's removable media (i.e. CD-R) without scanning it for viruses it first, or if you were to boot a computer with infected media (boot virus).
What you CAN do
- Keep your operating system (OS) updated as often as possible. Most vendors provide free, online updates to their OS. For example, Windows users should visit the Microsoft web site as often as possible to keep their computers updated and protected from vulnerabilities: http://update.microsoft.com/. Linux and Mac OS users should also make sure to keep up with the most recent patches by visiting their vendor's web site.
- CAEN strongly recommends that all users install VirusScan on their computers, and make sure it is updated daily. For more information about VirusScan, including links to download the installer, refer to the U-M Virus Busters at: http://virusbusters.itcs.umich.edu/
- If you ever receive an email that you do not recognize, especially if it contains an attachment, your best course of action is to just delete it.
- Many viruses come with standardized subjects, tempting you to open them (e.g. You win! or Your Password!). Your email program may have the ability to filter, and designing filters wisely may save a lot of time.
- If your computer is on a network, make sure you have security steps in place to prevent unauthorized users from putting files on your computer. Networks are ideal virus transmitters since there usually is a great deal of interaction between computers.
- Always run CDs or other removable media through an anti-virus program before using them, and be extremely cautious when booting your computer from rewritable media.
- Keep your email program updated! Software companies are always finding problems with their software and will post patches to update your email software. Continually check your software company's website for updates to your email program.
What NOT to do
- Do not reply to the sender. This will more than likely return your email back to your inbox as Address unknown, but could also spread the virus to others (e.g. the forged address).
- If you ever receive an email that you do not recognize, especially if it contains an attachment, do not open it! Your best course of action is to just delete it, and forget about it.
- Never download and/or run an attached file in an email from a stranger or unknown address. Be very cautious when downloading/running attachments from friends (most likely if they passed you a virus, they won't know they did!).
- Never have your email program set to run attached files automatically. This is especially true for browsers and/or email programs which automatically execute Microsoft Word after opening an email.
- Never run an executable file you have just received without first running it through an updated anti-virus utility.
Where can I find more help with email viruses?
Virus Busters provides a comprehensive approach to computer virus management. Check the their page for up-to-date anti-virus software, and if you need further help with any and all virus questions/problems:
Also, listed below are links to useful sites providing more information on email viruses:
I received a message from my friend/colleague, but they say they did not send it; also, why do I keep getting these 'Returned Mail' messages when I never sent the message? What is going on?
In general, you and your friend's accounts probably were not "hacked." This is more likely the result of a common practice used to propagate spam and email viruses. One of the current spamming techniques is to forge the From: field, or header, of an email message to make it appear to come from someone else. This can be a real address, and it could be yours. If your email address was used, it (along with others) was probably chosen at random by a spammer’s web-crawler, or possibly a virus on someone's computer who had your address in their address book. The spammer's forge the email headers in the hope to fool spam filters and/or obscure their identity.
This is why you cannot always trust email on the basis of who it appears to be from. There is an audit trail available that shows which machine relayed this message. This information is contained in the mail headers. Spammers like to forge the IP addresses of the relaying email servers, as well as email addresses, so this information cannot always be trusted.
In interpreting the random 'Returned Mail' messages you may receive, it is usually the case that the message was not actually sent from your account; instead the From: header was simply forged as described above. You received the bounced message because if the email server cannot deliver the message (user does not exist, user over quota, etc.), it is sent back to the sender which has fraudulently been set to be you. Every day, users all over the world receive bounced messages like these. You are best served by hitting the Delete button and forgetting about it.
For more information on forged email, see these useful links:
I am going on vacation. How can I notify everyone?
U-M email users can easily use the U-M Online Directory to notify people that they are away. Follow these steps:
- Visit the U-M Online Directory (http://directory.umich.edu/)
- Choose Bind, and log in with your U-M uniqname and password
- Search for yourself (i.e. your uniqname or full name), and when your entry appears, select Modify
- Set the On Vacation option to True, and enter your Vacation Message
- Click Save Changes at the bottom-left of the page
- If you have any problems please contact help@umich.edu
For U-M Exchange/Outlook users
For users of the U-M Exchange server, you can easily set your vacation message from within Microsoft Outlook. Just go to the Tools menu and select Out of Office Assistant. See the Microsoft Outlook Help menu for further assistance with specific steps for entering your message.
Note to Exchange users: Setting your vacation message through the Outlook Assistant will only provide vacation messages to other Exchange users. To make sure that everyone who sends you an email receives your vacation message, please also follow the instructions above, for general U-M email.
How do I use /usr/um/bin/mail?
The /usr/um/bin/mail email reader is available on every Linux lab machine on the CAEN network. In order to check if any new messages have arrived, type mail at the Linux prompt. Please note that for email to work correctly, you need to have your MAILSERVER environment variable set correctly. This is done automatically for you if your .login file sources /usr/local/skel/sys.login. To make sure you have the correct dotfiles, you can use the /usr/caen/bin/redot command to update them to defaults.
Receiving Email
When the mail command is invoked, if there are new messages in your inbox, a list of the message headers will appear. If there are no new messages, you are notified that there is no mail:
example% mail
Connecting to mail server..
Password (example.engin.umich.edu:uniqname):
Retrieving messages..
Mail version 5.6.2.caen.pop 17-Sep-95. Type ? for help.
"/var/tmp/mailAAAQSaGcQ": 6 messages 5 unread
1 - Mon Oct 7 11:34 0/1400
U 2 - Mon Oct 7 11:34 0/33106
U 3 - Mon Oct 7 11:34 0/1822
U 4 - Mon Oct 7 11:34 0/3354
U 5 - Mon Oct 7 11:34 0/1126520
U 6 - Mon Oct 7 11:34 0/33894
>
In the above example, the user has six pieces of email. Each header gives the message status, sender, day, date and time posted, the number of lines/bytes, and the subject (if the sender supplied one). The mail system right bracket (>) prompt follows. To read a message, simply type the message number that appears at the far left of every message listed.
Messages that are not deleted are appended to a file called mbox in the user’s home directory. To access these messages, type:
mail -f mbox
The mailer will use the file mbox as the mailbox instead of the system mailbox. Messages from mailbox formatted files, (e.g. messages saved using s command) can also be retrieved. Reading your email from the mbox is the same process as reading the mail in your inbox. Just type the message number.
/usr/um/bin/mail commands
?
Prints a brief summary of commands
n
Goes on to the next message (same as pressing )
-
Goes back to the previous message
d
Deletes the current message and continue to the next
p
Prints the current message
pre
Preserves the current message as if it were not yet read
touch
Marks a message as having been read
u #
Un-deletes messages listed in place of #
z
Moves to the next range of messages
z-
Moves to the previous range
s filename
Saves the current message in the named filename; If no file name is given, save the message in the file mbox
h
Prints the current list of mail headers
r
Replies to all recipients of the current message
R
Replies to originator only, not to other recipients
q
Quits—all undeleted and unsaved messages are stored in mbox
x
Exits—return to shell without modifying the system mailbox or mbox file
Ctrl-c
Aborts message being composed and returns to shell
!
Executes the Linux command which follows
Sending Email
In order to send email to another CAEN user, type mail uniqname, where uniqname is the user’s login. You will be prompted for text one line at a time. End a message by typing a period (.) on a line by itself, or entering the End-Of-File character (Ctrl-d). The message will then be sent. A message cannot be edited once it has been sent.
When composing a message, certain escape sequences may be useful. These commands must be typed at the beginning of a line:
~v
Edit the message using the vi editor.
~e
Edit the message using the editor defined by the EDITOR variable.
~p
Print out the message typed in so far.
~s sub
Make sub the current subject field.
~r file
Read file into the current message buffer.
~m #
Read the message number specified by # into the current message buffer; If no message number is given, use the last message.
~q
Abort the message without sending.
For More Information
For additional information, type man mail at the Linux prompt. If you have any questions or difficulties, go to Contact CAEN. CAEN staff members will make every possible effort to answer each message quickly.
