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VACATION Mail Service

Going away for awhile?

Presenting a paper?

Attending a conference?

Taking a few well earned "fun days"?

While you are away, let UNIX assist with your mail. The UNIX program vacation is a thoughtful convenience that allows you to inform people who send you electronic mail that you are not ignoring them, rather you are away and unable to read their mail message at the moment.

The vacation program returns a pre-determined "I'm on vacation" message to each E-mail sender who sends you mail while you are away. This can be a real blessing if the incoming mail has a deadline that requires action before your return. The return vacation message would inform the sender of the timing problem and allow the sender to make adjustments.

How to activate a vacation message

1. Create a .vacation.msg file. This file contains the message that will be returned to those individuals who send you mail. This file is placed in your HOME directory. The first two line are required.

        From: your.login@ei.ecn.purdue.edu(name)
        Subject:  out of the office
   
             I am attending a XYZ conference;  will  return  to  the
        office Monday, Sept 11.  Your mail is being saved and I will
        read it upon my return.  Contact Sally  Secretary  at  44600
        with emergencies.
   

2. Type "vacation -I" to activate the program.
3. Create a .forward file. This file is used by UNIX to process the vacation mail response. It must be in place before the vacation program will function.

        \your.login, "|vacation your.login"
   

4. Send yourself some junk mail to test everything is working correctly.
5. The files .vacation.pag and .vacation.dir are generated by the vacation program. These files keep a record of who sends you mail while you are away, and uses this listing to determine that a person who communicates with you frequently will receive only one "I'm on vacation" message per week.

How to de-activate a vacation message

1. Remove the .forward file after you return. You might move your .forward to a file called save.forward for future use.
2. Remove the .vacation.pag file.
3. Remove the .vacation.dir file.

How to re-activate a vacation message

1. Update your .vacation.msg file with current information.
2. Type "vacation -I" to activate the program.
3. Move save.forward to .forward or create a new .forward file.

For more information, type "help vacation".

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