ARCHIVED: What are some equivalent commands in the electronic mail programs Berkeley mail, Pine, and Elm?

Below is a list of some roughly equivalent commands in three commonly used Unix email programs. It is intended as an aid for someone who knows one of the mail programs and wishes to learn another.

Please use this list with discretion; it is not a replacement for other mail documentation, such as the online help. This list does not explain exactly what each command does, and it assumes knowledge of many aspects of Unix. Many features of each mail program have been omitted because they do not have equivalents in the others.

Notes on the non-standard notation used:

• A semicolon (;) separates commands and represents the Enter key.
• Items enclosed in curly brackets ({}) are not meant to be typed literally. Replace the generic term in the brackets with a specific name.
• For items preceded by the percent sign (%), enter the command at the command line prompt of your account. (The % represents the Unix prompt. The prompt on your account may look different if you have made changes to your account.) Type all other commands within the mail program at the mail prompt.

"Berkeley Mail" refers to the mailer usually invoked on most Unix systems by entering mailx or Mail. On BSD systems, you may also invoke it with the mail command.

General commands

Navigating folders

  Berkeley                  Pine                   Elm
  ------------------------  ---------------------  -------------------
  folders                   l (for folder list,    c =* or ! ls ~/Mail
  folder {folder}; header      then use arrows to  c ={folder}
  mail -f {folder}; header     choose and Enter    c >
  headers                      to select)          c !
                                                   c <; *

Selecting a subset of messages in a folder

  Berkeley                 Pine                     Elm
  -----------------------  -----------------------  -------------------
                           ;  (then T for text,     l from {string}
                                or N for number,    l to {string}
                               or A for all, etc.)  l subject {string}

Selecting and reading a single message

  Berkeley                 Pine                     Elm
  -----------------------  -----------------------  -------------------
  {number}                 {number} {return}        {number} {return}
  + or next                n                        {down arrow key} or J
  -                        p                        {up arrow key} or K
                           w Ctrl-y                 =
                           w Ctrl-v                 *
                           w {string}               / {string} or
                                                    // {string}

Sending mail

  Berkeley                 Pine                     Elm
  -----------------------  -----------------------  -------------------
  mail {user}; ~e; Ctrl-D  c                        m {user}
  reply or Reply           r                        r or g
                           f                        f y {user}
                                                    f n {user}

Creating and using aliases and distribution lists

  Berkeley                 Pine                     Elm
  -----------------------  -----------------------  -------------------
  alias {name} {addr}      m a a {name} {addr}      a n {name} {addr}
  mail {alias-name}        c {alias-name}           m {alias-name}

Filing messages

  Berkeley                 Pine                     Elm
  -----------------------  -----------------------  -------------------
  touch                    *                        t or Ctrl-t
  copy +{folder}                                    C ={folder}
  save +{folder}           s {foldername}           s ={folder}
                                                    or > ={folder}
  s {msg-list} {filename}  e                        s {filename}
  delete {message-list}    d                        d or Ctrl-d
  undelete {message-list}  u                        u or Ctrl-u

Viewing and setting some miscellaneous preferences

  Berkeley                     Pine                        Elm
  -----------------------      -----------------------     -------------------
  % emacs ~/.mailrc            m s c                       % emacs ~/.elm/elmrc
                               m s c                       o
  set EDITOR (and VISUAL)      m s c (then change          o e (and o v)
   /usr/local/bin/emacs        editor value to emacs)      /usr/local/bin/emacs
  alternates                   m s c (then change          o y
                                value for personal-name)
                               (automatic in Pine)         o o =sent
  set askcc                    (automatic in Pine)         askcc = ON (in elmrc)
  set folder                   m s c                       o f
  % echo {addr} > ~/.forward   % echo {addr} > ~/.forward  % echo {addr} > ~/.forward                     
  % rm ~/.forward              % rm ~/.forward             % rm ~/.forward
  % cat ~/.forward             % cat ~/.forward            % cat ~/.forward

Sending mail from the command prompt

  Berkeley: mailx -s {subject} {user} < {file}
  Elm: % elm -s {subject} {user} < {file}