vacation(1)

NAME

     vacation - reply to mail automatically

SYNOPSIS

     vacation [-I]

     vacation   [-a alias]   [-f    database_file]    [-j]    [-m
     message_file] [-s sender] [-tN] username

DESCRIPTION

     The vacation utility automatically replies to incoming mail.

  Installation
     The installation consists of an  interactive  program  which
     sets up vacation's basic configuration.

     To install vacation,  type it with no arguments on the  com-
     mand  line.  The program creates a .vacation.msg file, which
     contains the message  that  is  automatically  sent  to  all
     senders  when  vacation is enabled, and starts an editor for
     you to modify the message. (See USAGE section.) Which editor
     is invoked is determined by the VISUAL or EDITOR environment
     variable, or vi(1) if neither of those environment variables
     are set.

     A .forward file is also created if one  does  not  exist  in
     your  home  directory.  Once created, the .forward file will
     contain a line of the form:

     \username, "|/usr/bin/vacation username"

     One copy of an incoming message is sent to the username  and
     another copy is piped into vacation.

     If a .forward file is present in  your  home  directory,  it
     will ask whether you want to remove it, which disables vaca-
     tion and ends the installation.

     The  program   automatically   creates   .vacation.pag   and
     .vacation.dir, which contain a list of senders when vacation
     is enabled.

  Activation and Deactivation
     The presence of the .forward file determines whether or  not
     vacation is disabled or enabled. To disable vacation, remove
     the .forward file, or move it to a new name.

  Initialization
     The -I option clears the vacation log  files,  .vacation.pag
     and .vacation.dir, erasing the list of senders from a previ-
     ous vacation session. (See OPTIONS section.)

  Additional Configuration
     vacation provides configuration options that are not part of
     the  installation,  these  being -a, -f, -j, -m, -s, and -t.
     (See OPTIONS section.)

OPTIONS

     The following options are supported:

     -I    Initializes the .vacation.pag and .vacation.dir  files
           and enables vacation. If the -I flag is not specified,
           and a user argument is given, vacation reads the first
           line  from  the  standard  input (for a From: line, no
           colon). If absent, it produces an error message.

     Options -a, -f, -j, -m, -t, and -s are configuration options
     to  be  used  in  conjunction  with vacation in the .forward
     file, not on the command line.  For example,

     \username, "|/usr/bin/vacation -t1m username"

     repeats replies to the sender every minute.

     -a alias
           Indicates that alias is one of the valid  aliases  for
           the  user  running vacation, so that mail addressed to
           that alias generates a reply.

     -f file
           Uses file instead of .vacation as the  base  name  for
           the database file.

     -j    Does not check whether the recipient  appears  in  the
           To:  or  the Cc: line. Warning: use of this option can
           result in vacation replies being sent to mailing lists
           and  other  inappropriate places; its use is therefore
           strongly discouraged.

     -m file
           Uses file instead of .vacation.msg as the  message  to
           send for the reply.

     -s sender
           Replies to sender instead of the value read  from  the
           UNIX From line of the incoming message.

     -tN   Changes the interval between  repeat  replies  to  the
           same  sender.  The default is 1 week. A trailing s, m,
           h, d, or w scales N to seconds, minutes, hours,  days,
           or weeks, respectively.

USAGE

  Files
     .vacation.msg should include a header with at least  a  Sub-
     ject: line (it should not include a To: line). For example:

     Subject: I am on vacation
     I am on vacation until July 22.  If you have something urgent,
     please contact Joe Jones (jones@fB0).
          --John

     If the string $SUBJECT appears in the .vacation.msg file, it
     is  replaced  with  the subject of the original message when
     the reply is sent; thus, a .vacation.msg file such as

     Subject: I am on vacation
     I am on vacation until July 22.
     Your mail regarding "$SUBJECT" will be read when I return.
     If you have something urgent, please contact
     Joe Jones (jones@fB0).
          --John

     will include the subject of the message in the reply.

     No message is sent if the To: or the Cc: line does not  list
     the  user  to whom the original message was sent or one of a
     number of  aliases  for  them,  if  the  initial  From  line
     includes  the  string -REQUEST@, or if a Precedence: bulk or
     Precedence: junk line is included in the header.

     vacation will also not respond to mail from either  postmas-
     ter or Mailer-Daemon.

FILES

          ~/.forward

          ~/.vacation.msg

     A  list  of  senders  is  kept  in  the  dbm  format   files
     .vacation.pag  and  .vacation.dir  in  your  home directory.
     These files are dbm files and cannot be viewed directly with
     text editors.

ATTRIBUTES

     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWcsu                     |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|

SEE ALSO

     vi(1),    sendmail(1M),     dbm(3UCB),     getusershell(3C),
     aliases(4), shells(4), attributes(5)