Node:Mail Variables, Next:Mail Configuration Files, Previous:Reading Mail, Up:mail
Following variables control the behavior of GNU mail:
Sign
Contains the filename holding users signature. The contents of this
file is appended to the end of a message being composed by ~A
escape.
appenddeadletter
If this variable is True, the contents of canceled letter is
appended to the user's dead.letter file. Otherwise it overwrites
its contents.
askbcc
When set to True the user will be prompted to enter Bcc
field before composing the message.
askcc
When set to True the user will be prompted to enter Cc
field before composing the message.
asksub
When set to True the user will be prompted to enter Subject
field before composing the message.
autoinc
Automatically incorporate newly arrived messages.
autoprint
Causes the delete command to behave like dp - thus, after deleting a
message, the next one will be typed automatically.
cmd
Contains default shell command for pipe.
columns
COLUMNS is used.
This variable contains the number of columns on terminal screen.
crt
The variable crt determines the minimum number of lines the body
of the message must contain in order to be piped through pager command
specified by environment variable PAGER. If crt is set
to a numeric value, this value is taken as the threshold. Otherwise,
if crt is set without a value, then the height of the terminal
screen is used to compute the threshold. The number of lines on
screen is controlled by screen variable.
dot
If True, causes mail to interpret a period alone on a line as the
terminator of a message you are sending.
editheaders
When set, mail will include message headers in the text to
be the ~e and ~v escapes, thus allowing you to customize
the headers.
escape
If defined, the first character of this option gives the character to
denoting escapes.
folder
The name of the directory to use for storing folders of messages. If
unset, $HOME is assumed.
header
--nosum (-N) option.
Whether to run headers command automatically after entering
interactive mode.
hold
When set to True, the read or saved messages will be stored in
user's mailbox ($HOME/mbox). Otherwise, they will be held in
system mailbox also. This option is in effect only when operating
upon user's system mailbox.
ignore
When set to True, mail will ignore keyboard interrupts
when composing messages. Otherwise an interrupt will be taken as a
signal to abort composing.
ignoreeof
Controls whether typing EOF character terminates the letter being
composed.
indentprefix
String used by the ~m tilde escape for indenting quoted messages.
keepsave
Controls whether saved messages should be kept in system mailbox too.
This variable is in effect only when operating upon a user's system
mailbox.
metoo
Usually, when an alias is expanded that contains the sender, the sender
is removed from the expansion. Setting this option causes the sender to
be included in the group.
mode
Setting this variable does not affect the operation mode of the program.
noregex
Setting this to True enables use of regular expressions in
/.../ message specifications.
outfolder
Contains the directory in which files created by save,
write, etc. commands will be stored. When unset, current
directory is assumed.
page
If set to True, the pipe command will emit a linefeed
character after printing each message.
prompt
Contains the command prompt sequence.
quiet
When set, suppresses the output of the startup banner.
quit
--quit (-q) option.
When set, causes keyboard interrupts to terminate the program.
rc
--norc (-N) option.
When this variable is set, mail will read the system-wide
configuration file upon startup. See Mail Configuration Files.
record
When set, any outgoing message will be saved to the named file.
save
When set, the aborted messages will be stored in the user's
dead.file. See also appenddeadletter.
screen
LINES is used.
This variable contains the number of lines on terminal screen.
sendmail
Contains the URL of mail transport agent.
sign
Contains the user's signature. The contents of this variable is appended
to the end of a message being composed by ~a escape. Use
Sign variable, if your signature occupies more than one line.
subject
Contains default subject line. This will be used when asksub is
off.
toplines
Number of lines to be displayed by top and Top commands.
verbose
When set, the actual delivery of messages is displayed on the user's terminal.