WRITE(1) COMMAND REFERENCE WRITE(1)
NAME
write - write to another user
SYNOPSIS
write [-v]user(s)...
write user ttyname
DESCRIPTION
Write sends messages from your terminal to another user.
The user can be either a local user or user@host in which
case the message is sent or the network. Write operates in
two modes. If write is called with more than one user or
the user is remote, write will read the whole message before
sending it. With one argument which is a local user or two
arguments the second of which is a ttyname, write copies
lines from your terminal to that of another user.
The recipient of the message should write back at this
point. Communication continues until an end-of-file is read
from the terminal or an interrupt is sent. At that point
write writes EOT on the other terminal and exits.
If you want to write to a user who is logged in more than
once, the ttyname argument may be used to indicate the
appropriate terminal name.
In either mode, before printing the message, write will
print a header
Message from yourname@yourhost on yourttyname...
Permission to write may be denied or granted by use of the
mesg command. At the outset writing is allowed. Certain
commands, in particular nroff(1) and pr(1) disallow messages
in order to prevent messy output.
If the ! character is found at the beginning of a line,
write calls the shell to execute the rest of the line as a
command.
The following protocol is suggested for using write in line
at a time mode: when you first write to another user, wait
for him or her to write back before starting to send. Each
party should end each message with a distinctive signal that
the other may reply to:
(o) This is conventional for "over".
(oo) This means "over and out", and is suggested when
conversation is about to be terminated.
Printed 10/17/86 1
WRITE(1) COMMAND REFERENCE WRITE(1)
OPTIONS
-v Write when in "message" mode will show each user that
receives the message.
EXAMPLES
The following example simulates a session with the user
johndoe:
write johndoe
(johndoe initiates a write to you and acknowledges your write)
Message from johndoe on tty?? at 10:15 ...
(You type your message.)
...
(o)
(johndoe possibly responds and signals that conversation be terminated.)
...
(oo)
(You agree to terminate conversation.)
(oo)
(You exit write by sending end-of-file.)
^D
The following shows sending a message to a user john on
another host fuzzy:
write john@fuzzy
Enter message, terminated with ^D or '.'
(You type your message.)
^D
-Eot-
FILES
/etc/utmp To find user.
/bin/sh To execute the ! character.
RETURN VALUE
[USAGE] Incorrect command line syntax. Execution
terminated.
[P_ERR] A system error occurred. Execution
terminated. See intro(2) for more
information on system errors.
[NP_ERR] An error occurred that was not a system
error. Execution terminated.
Printed 10/17/86 2
WRITE(1) COMMAND REFERENCE WRITE(1)
[INTERNAL] An unexpected error occurred. Execution was
terminated. Record the message and save the
core file for analysis. Contact service
personnel at your Tektronix field office.
[NP_WARN] An error warranting a warning message
occurred. Execution continues.
CAVEATS
The remote host must have an SMTP server that allows the
SEND command. This function is not part of 4.2BSD UNIX
sendmail, but is provided with UTek sendmail.
To prevent "letter-bombs", write silently eats control
characters other than tab and backspace.
In message mode, messages are limited to 4 kbytes.
SEE ALSO
mail(1mh), mesg(1), who(1n), talk(1n).
Printed 10/17/86 3
%%index%%
na:72,65;
sy:137,192;
de:329,2327;
op:2800,187;
ex:2987,923;
fi:3910,170;
rv:4080,456;4680,364;
ca:5044,419;
se:5463,173;
%%index%%000000000155