Electronic Mail (Email)

New users should read section Internet Tools: Email before attempting these tutorials. You should also be familiar with the style of these tutorials.

How to Access Email Using Pine

Pine is a menu-driven Electronic Mail program.

  1. At the % prompt type: pine [RET] to access the Pine software. You will be sent to the Main Menu screen. All options are displayed vertically on the left of the screen, and across the bottom. All other menus have the options displayed across the bottom. To select an option press the letter next to the option you wish to use.

How to Send a Mail Message

  1. From the Main Menu, press c to select the Compose Menu.
  2. At the To: field, type the user's Email address that you wish to send the message. For the purposes of this tutorial, send a message to yourself. Do this by typing your own user ID number, and then pressing the [TAB] key.
  3. Press [TAB] to the appropriate fields and complete as you wish. If you do not want to complete the field just [TAB] to the next one. It is important to complete the subject field as this message will appear in the in-basket of the recipient (in this case, your own in-basket). After the subject field press [TAB] to the text area to type in your text.
  4. After completing your message press ^x ([Ctrl] x) to send the message. You will be asked "Send message?" [y] press y to confirm that you want to send the message.

How to Read, Reply to, and Delete Your Mail

  1. From the Main Menu press i for the Mail Index menu. If you sent a message to yourself, you should see it appear in your in- basket, but don't worry if there is a short time delay.
  2. You can use the arrow keys to highlight the message you wish to read (if you have more than one), press v (or [RET]) to view the message.
  3. After reading the message press i to return to the Mail Index menu.
  4. If you wish to delete a message press d to delete it. You can do this while you are in the Mail Index menu, using the arrow keys, or when you are reading the message. If you delete the message while you are reading it, type i to return to the Mail Index menu.
  5. Now press u, this will undelete the message.
  6. You can reply to a message from the Mail Index menu by highlighting the message you wish to reply to and typing r. You will be asked if you want to reply to all recipients, type y or n. You will be given the option to add to the text of the original message to the reply. You will then only need to add your text and press ^x ([Ctrl] x) to send. You will be asked if you want to send the message, type: y. You may want to wait and try this part after you receive a message from someone other than yourself. Perhaps you could use the finger command to find the user number of a class mate and Email each other to practice sending messages and replying.

How to File Your Mail

For messages that you want to save, you are able to file them in new or existing file folders.

  1. From the Mail Index menu use the arrow key to highlight the message you wish to file. Type s to save the message. You will be asked for a folder name. If you just press [RET], the message will be saved in the file folder saved-messages. Alternatively you can create a new file folder by just typing in a name and then pressing [RET]. The message will be automatically deleted from the in-basket when you quit the pine software, and it will be added to the file-folder you designate.
  2. To read an old message in an existing file-folder type: l for the folder list.
  3. Use the arrow keys to highlight the appropriate file-folder. Press: [RET] to open the folder.
  4. Use the arrow keys to highlight the appropriate message, press v (or [RET]) to view the message.
  5. Press i to return to the Mail Index menu for the folder you have just viewed. To return to the in-basket folder, you will need to press l again, and select the in-basket folder.

How to Create a Mailing List

The following illustrates how you would send an Email message to a group of people, perhaps your fellow group members. Before you do this, you need to know the Email addresses of your fellow group members in a class. If you do not know them, you will need to use the finger command to find them.

  1. From the Main Mail menu type: a You are accessing the address option.
  2. Press s to create a new address list.
  3. You will be asked to give a description of the new list. Type: "an appropriate description of the group members" [RET]
  4. You will be asked to give your list a nickname. Type: group [RET]
    This is the nickname you will use to send mail to the entire mailing list.
  5. You will be asked to enter the first address, you need to know your group members ID user #s (or usernames). Type: "first ID" [RET], keep doing this until you have entered all your group members' IDs, after the last one, press [RET] twice.
  6. Press: m to return to the main pine menu.
  7. To send a note to group members, do as you would to an individual, but replace the individual's ID with the group nickname you specified (group).

How to Print a Message

Unfortunately the B&E Lab is not configured to accept UNIX print output. You can use the print screen option, or you can send your print output to Smith Hall's laser printer. To select Smith's laser printer as your default print option do the following:

  1. From the main menu press: s for other commands.
  2. Press: p to print.
  3. Press: 2
  4. Type: lpr [RET]
  5. In the future, when you want to print, press: y (to print) when you are in the body of the message that you want to print. The computer will ask if you want to print the printer you previously identified, which is the laser printer in Smith Hall. Press: y, the note will print to the online printer.

How to Log Out of Pine

  1. From the Main Mail menu type: q to quit the pine mail program.
  2. You will be asked if you want to quit pine, type: y.
  3. If you have deleted messages during your current work session you will be asked if you want to expunge the deleted messages from the in-basket, type: y.
  4. Last, you will be asked if you want to save read messages to the folder "read mail". If you wish to do this, then press: y, else press: n. This moves messages from your In-basket folder to your Read-mail folder.
  5. You will be returned to the % prompt.
Index to Demystifying the Internet UD Home Page
Index to Internet Tools Index to Internet Tutorials
The University of Delaware
August, 1996