VACATION(1)                  BSD Reference Manual                  VACATION(1)

NAME
     vacation - return ``I am not here'' indication

SYNOPSIS
     vacation -i [-r interval]
     vacation [-a alias] login

DESCRIPTION
     Vacation returns a message to the sender of a message telling them that
     you are currently not reading your mail.  The intended use is in a
     .forward file.  For example, your .forward file might have:

           \eric, "|/usr/bin/vacation -a allman eric"
     which would send messages to you (assuming your login name was eric) and
     reply to any messages for ``eric'' or ``allman''.

     Available options:

     -a alias
             Handle messages for alias in the same manner as those received
             for the user's login name.

     -i      Initialize the vacation database files.  It should be used before
             you modify your .forward file.

     -r      Set the reply interval to interval days.  The default is one
             week.  An interval of ``0'' means that a reply is sent to each
             message, and an interval of ``infinite'' (actually, any non-
             numeric character) will never send more than one reply.  It
             should be noted that intervals of ``0'' are quite dangerous, as
             it allows mailers to get into ``I am on vacation'' loops.

     No message will be sent unless login (or an alias supplied using the -a
     option) is part of either the ``To:'' or ``Cc:'' headers of the mail.  No
     messages from ``???-REQUEST'', ``Postmaster'', ``UUCP'', ``MAILER'', or
     ``MAILER-DAEMON'' will be replied to (where these strings are case insen-
     sitive) nor is a notification sent if a ``Precedence: bulk'' or
     ``Precedence: junk'' line is included in the mail headers.  The people
     who have sent you messages are maintained as a database in the file
     .vacation.db in your home directory.

     Vacation expects a file .vacation.msg, in your home directory, containing
     a message to be sent back to each sender.  It should be an entire message
     (including headers).  For example, it might contain:

           From: eric@ucbmonet.Berkeley.EDU (Eric Allman)
           Subject: I am on vacation
           Delivered-By-The-Graces-Of: The Vacation program
           Precedence: bulk

           I am on vacation until July 22.  If you have something urgent,
           please contact Joe Kalash <kalash@ucbingres.Berkeley.EDU>.
           --eric

     Vacation reads the first line from the standard input for a UNIX ``From''
     line to determine the sender.  Sendmail(8) includes this ``From'' line
     automatically.

     Fatal errors, such as calling vacation with incorrect arguments, or with
     non-existent logins, are logged in the system log file, using syslog(8).

FILES

     ~/.vacation.dir  database file
     ~/.vacation.msg  message to send
     ~/.vacation.pag  database file

SEE ALSO
     sendmail(8),  syslog(8)

HISTORY
     The vacation command appeared in 4.3BSD.

4.3 Berkeley Distribution       March 27, 1993                               2