D Customizing Your mailx Session

You can customize your mailx session permanently by including in your .mailrc file any of the settings described in Table D-1. See the unset command in Appendix F for information about temporary settings.

Table D-1: Variables for Customizing Your mailx Session

Variable	Type	Description
`allnet`	Binary	All network names with the same login name are treated the same.
`append`	Binary	Saves messages in your `mbox` file in the order of arrival; the earliest message is the first message in the file. When this variable is unset, messages are saved in reverse order; the first message in the file is the most recent. The `mailx` program runs faster if `append` is set.
`ask`	Binary	Prompts you for a subject line when you send a message. Enter a blank line to send a message with no subject.
`askcc`	Binary	Prompts you for carbon-copy recipients for each message you send.
`autoprint`	Binary	Automatically displays the next message when you delete the current message. When `autoprint` is unset, `mailx` does not display the next message when you delete a message. In either case, the next message becomes your new current message.
`bang`	String	Enables the special-case treatment of the exclamation point (!) in escape command lines as in `vi`.
`cmd`	String	Allows the user to specify the default command to be used when using the vertical bar or pipe ( \| ) command.
`conv`	String	Allows the user to specify how to convert UUCP style addresses for sendmail.
`crt`	Numeric	For use with a video display (CRT) terminal. Reads your mail one screenful at a time using the `more` program. The value tells `mailx` how many lines of the message to display before invoking the pager. For example: `set crt=20`
`DEAD`	String	Allows the user to specify a different location for dead.letter. A dead letter will be written to `$HOME/dead.letter` by default.
`debug`	Binary	Displays debugging information.
`dot`	Binary	Interprets a period on a line by itself to be the end of a message. Do not unset `dot` and also set `ignoreeof`.
`EDITOR`	String	Specifies the pathname for the text editor to be used when you use the `edit` command or the `~e` escape. For example: `set EDITOR=/usr/ucb/ex`
		If your terminal is a CRT terminal, you can specify a screen editor for this variable. See the `VISUAL` variable later in this table.
`escape`	String	Allows you to specify the escape character (the character that starts an escape command when you are in the middle of writing a message). The default is the tilde (`~`). You must specify a single character.
`excode`	String	Allows the user to specify the locale to be used when doing character conversion on outgoing mail messages.
`folder`	String	Specifies the directory for storing mail folders. A name beginning with a slash, such as `/usr/users/hale`, is an absolute pathname. A name without an initial slash is a pathname relative to your home directory. For example, the command `set folder=folder` indicates the directory `/usr/users/hale/folder`.
`header`	Binary	Prints the message header of messages when `mailx` is invoked.
`hold`	Binary	Prevents messages from being moved to your `mbox` file after you read them. Messages you have read are held in your system mailbox.
`ignore`	Binary	Ignores Ctrl/c interrupts, echoing them as "at" signs (`@`). Note that this variable is different from the `ignore` command described in Appendix F.
`ignoreeof`	Binary	Ignores Ctrl/d as the end of an outgoing message. Do not set `ignoreeof` and also unset `dot`.
`indentprefix`	String	Allows the user to specify a string to be inserted at the beginning of each line of text of a mail message that was included using the `~m` command.
`keep`	Binary	Allows `mailx` to truncate your system mailbox instead of deleting it when it is empty. This is useful if you have set special permissions on your system mailbox for security reasons. If `keep` is unset, your system mailbox is deleted when it becomes empty; the next time it is created, you must reestablish your desired permissions.
`keepsave`	Binary	Prevents deletion of saved messages when you quit mail. Normally, the `mailx` program marks messages when you save them in other files or folders, and then deletes them from your system mailbox when you leave `mailx.` Setting `keepsave` makes `mailx` leave these messages in your system mailbox.
`lang`	String	Allows the user to specify the locale to be used for displaying the mail message.
`LISTER`	String	Allows the user to specify the command used by the folders commands.
`MBOX`	String	Allows the user to specify the location for the mbox folder. The mbox folder will normally be located in `$HOME/mbox`.
`metoo`	Binary	Includes you in the list of recipients when you send mail to an alias of which you are a member. If `metoo` is unset, you will not receive copies of messages sent to aliases of which you are a member.
`noheader`	Binary	Inhibits display of the header and version identification when you invoke `mailx`.
`nosave`	Binary	Prevents `mailx` from saving aborted messages as `dead.letter` in your home directory.
`onehop`	Binary	When responding to a message which contains other recipients, sometimes the addresses of the recipients are relative to the originator's address. The `onehop` option forces the delivery to not follow the path by which the message arrived and deliver it directly, thereby improving performance.
`outfolder`	Binary	Causes `mailx` to save outgoing mail messages in the directory specified in `folder`.
`page`	Binary	Causes a form feed to be inserted between messages that are processed by the pipe ( \| ) command.
`PAGER`	String	Allows the user to specify the paging program of their choice to be used when displaying their messages. For example: `PAGER=/usr/bin/more` or `PAGER=/usr/bin/pg`
`prompt`	String	Allows the user to change the `mailx` prompt when `mailx` is invoked. For example: `prompt=>>>`
`quiet`	Binary	Supresses printing the version when first invoked and the message number when you use the `type` command.
`record`	String	Specifies the name of a file into which `mailx` will save copies of all outgoing messages.
`Replayall`	Binary	Reverses the function of the `reply` and `Reply` commands.
`save`	Binary	Allows the user to save mail messages into `dead.letter`.
`sendwait`	Binary	Causes `mailx` to wait until the message has been processed by the mailer. This option can cause some performance degradation from the users point of view since the user will have to wait until the message has been delivered.
`SHELL`	String	Allows the user to specify the shell to use when invoking the `~` or `~!` commands.
`screen`	Numeric	Specifies the number of messages to be displayed in one screenful when you enter the `headers` command.
`sendmail`	String	Specifies the pathname of the program to use to send mail messages. If this variable is not specified, `mailx` uses the default delivery system. See your system administrator for information about alternate delivery systems.
`showto`	Binary	Displays the recipient's name instead of the author's name in message headers.
`sign`	String	Allows the user to specify a string to be inserted in the mail message when using the `~a` command.
`Sign`	String	Allows the user to specify a string to be inserted in the mail message when using the `~A` command.
`toplines`	Numeric	Specifies the number of lines the `top` command prints; the default is 5.
`verbose`	Binary	Invokes `top` in verbose mode; `mailx` then announces expansion of aliases as messages are sent.
`VISUAL`	String	Specifies the pathname for the screen editor that will be used when you use the `visual` command or the `~v` escape. For example: `set VISUAL=/usr/ucb/vi` If your only terminal is a CRT, you can specify a screen editor for the `EDITOR` variable, too; then either `edit (~e)` or `visual (~v)` will invoke the same editor.

The following example shows the use of the verbose variable, discussed in the previous table, that causes mailx to display expansion of aliases as messages are sent:

& set verbose & mail eve Subject: Meeting this afternoon Enter message. Use Ctrl/d to terminate the letter. Just a reminder, we're meeting at 2. [Ctrl/d]

Cc:
/usr/users/debra/.forward: line 0: debra...
forwarding to debra@orange
debra... Connecting to .local...
debra... Sent