VACATION(1)                 386BSD 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
     insensitive) 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 an ndbm(3) database in the
     files .vacation.pag and .vacation.dir 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        July 30, 1991                               2