SUMMARY: vacation mail for alias (two people)

From: Rasana Atreya (atreya@library.ucsf.edu)
Date: Fri Jan 24 1997 - 10:14:47 CST


Hi,

This was my question:

>
> Two of my users get email under one alias. I want to know if I can set
> something up that sends an informational message (via vacation mail?) back
> when someone sends mail to this alias.
>
> Thanks,
> Rasana

Thanks to the following:

From: "Marcelo N. Halpern" <mhalpern@ultrix.ramapo.edu>
From: randy@essex.ac.uk (Banks B J)
From: "Sidaway, Tony" <tonys%gsipo@mmq-gw.uk.gsi.fr>
From: Jim Harmon <jim@telecnnct.com>
From: fpardo@tisny.com (Frank Pardo)
From: Rich Casto <rich@loopexpert.com>
Sheri <tonys%gsipo@mmq-gw.uk.gsi.fr>

I ended up using "procmail". It worked great for me.

Thank you very much!
Rasana

The responses:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check if you have 'filter' on your machine. With that package you can reply,
filter out the mail and do other fancy stuff. Warning: As of Ultrix4.4, it's
somewhat buggy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This can be done at mail transport level by most mail transport agents.
I have just installed smail on my linux system, so I know you can
selectively route mail to a process, which can do whatever it likes with
the mail--this can also be used to implement mailing lists. I'm sure
sendmail also allows something of the sort to be done, but the maintenance
of sendmail is one of the few remaining true "black arts" of system
administration, as that intimidatingly thick O'Reilly book indicates.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes. Read the manpage for vacation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would research how to use "filter" with Sendmail.

The Alias must point ultimately to a login directory.

In that directory, you would created a filter file that redirects mail
for one person to his "vacation" mailbox, and the mail for the other to
that person's "vacation" mailbox.

Filter gives you lots of flexibility in how to redirect mail. You can
automatically file incoming mail, discard known junkmail, even create
special handling routines (such as page you or ring your keyboard bell)
when urgent messages or "system emergency" messages come in.

I'd like to give details, but I can't put my hands on my records of
using filter at this location. I used it extensively at previous ones.

:)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I tried to get vacation to work once and failed miserably. Thanfully
I found something called procmail, a general mail filter, which will
do all vacation will and a lot more besides.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Rasana Atreya Voice: (415) 476-3623 ~
~ System Administrator Fax: (415) 476-4653 ~
~ Library & Ctr for Knowledge Mgmt, Univ. of California at San Francisco ~
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