newalias(1) newalias(1)
NAME [Toc] [Back]
newalias - install new elm aliases for user or system
SYNOPSIS [Toc] [Back]
newalias [-g]
Remarks [Toc] [Back]
newalias replaces the former functionality of the elmalias command.
DESCRIPTION [Toc] [Back]
The newalias command creates new alias database files from an alias
text file for use by elm and other programs. For user aliases, this
functionality can also be performed from the Alias Menu of the elm
program (see elm(1)).
Options [Toc] [Back]
newalias recognizes the following option:
-g Global. The program updates the system alias files instead
of a user's alias files.
Operation [Toc] [Back]
Without the -g option, newalias updates a user's alias files, based on
an input file named
$HOME/.elm/aliases.text
Upon finding the file, it creates the output files named
$HOME/.elm/aliases
$HOME/.elm/aliases.dir
$HOME/.elm/aliases.pag
With the -g option, newalias updates the system alias files, based on
an input file named
/var/mail/.elm/aliases.text
Upon finding the file, it creates the output files named
/var/mail/.elm/aliases
/var/mail/.elm/aliases.dir
/var/mail/.elm/aliases.pag
In either case, you need read access to the aliases.text file and
write access to the other files and the .elm directory.
Text File Entries [Toc] [Back]
Each entry in either aliases.text file is expected to be in the
following format:
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alias-list = [lastname [; firstname]] [, comment] = address-list
Field Names [Toc] [Back]
The field names are defined as follows:
address-list A blank- or comma-separated list of one or more
mail addresses, personal alias names, and/or group
alias names.
In practice, each item is tested first as an alias
name. If it is not an alias name, it is assumed
to be a mail address. A mail address can be in
Internet form ([email protected]ain), in UUCP form
(host.domain!user), or in sendmail alias form (see
sendmail(1M)). It can also be the name of a local
mail user, which is appended with the local host
name in Internet form.
alias-list A blank- or comma-separated list of alias names.
Each name identifies the same alias entry. An
alias name can be made up of letters (A-Z, a-z),
digits (0-9), underscores (_), dashes (-), and
periods (.). Alias names are not case-sensitive,
so dave and Dave are equivalent.
comment A string containing any information you wish about
the entry, such as location and phone numbers. It
is displayed in the Alias Menu of the elm program,
but elm does not transmit it in a mail message.
This field can contain any characters except an
unquoted equal sign (=). See the Quoting
Characters subsection.
firstname The first name of the person (or group). It is
combined with lastname to form the fullname. This
field can contain any characters except an
unquoted equal sign (=) or an unquoted comma (,).
See the Quoting Characters subsection.
The only first name under the Personal or Group
Aliases subheading below is: John in Smith; John.
lastname The last name of the person (or group). It is
combined with firstname to form the fullname.
This field can contain any characters except an
unquoted equal sign (=), an unquoted semicolon
(;), or an unquoted comma (,). See the Quoting
Characters subsection.
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The last names under the Personal or Group Aliases
subheading below are: Dave Taylor, Smith,
Unix Gurus, and Unix people.
fullname The combination of firstname lastname. It is
usually sent in a mail header in parentheses after
the address. It is also displayed in the Alias
Menu of the elm program and by the elmalias
command (see elm(1) and elmalias(1)).
Delimiters [Toc] [Back]
The delimiters have the following precedence:
+ The first and second equal signs (=) mark the end of the alias-
list and the beginning of the address-list, respectively. Both
equal signs are required.
+ The first comma (,) after the first equal sign and before the
second equal sign marks the beginning of the comment field.
+ The first semicolon (;) after the first equal sign and before the
next comma or second equal sign marks the beginning of the
firstname field.
Personal or Group Aliases [Toc] [Back]
A personal or individual alias has only one address in address-list,
as in:
dave, taylor = Dave Taylor = [email protected]
j_smith = Smith; John, 408-555-1212 =[email protected]
A group alias has two or more addresses in address-list, as in:
gurus = Unix Gurus = alan, john, dave, mike,
richard, larry, t_richardson
unix = Unix people = gurus, taylor, jonboy
Other Rules [Toc] [Back]
Entries can be continued over several lines; the continuation lines
must start with a blank (a space or tab).
A comment is any line starting with a number sign (#). It is ignored.
Blank lines and comments can be interspersed within entries.
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Quoting Characters [Toc] [Back]
You can include normally excluded characters in firstname, lastname,
comment, and mail addresses in address-list by escaping each character
with a backslash (\) or by enclosing the string in quotation marks
("). To include a quotation mark or a backslash, escape it with a
backslash, whether inside or outside quotation marks.
FILES [Toc] [Back]
$HOME/.elm/aliases User alias database data table
$HOME/.elm/aliases.dir User alias database directory table
$HOME/.elm/aliases.pag User alias database hash table
$HOME/.elm/aliases.text User alias source text
/var/mail/.elm/aliases System alias database data table
/var/mail/.elm/aliases.dir System alias database directory table
/var/mail/.elm/aliases.pag System alias database hash table
/var/mail/.elm/aliases.text System alias source text
AUTHOR [Toc] [Back]
newalias was developed by HP.
SEE ALSO [Toc] [Back]
elm(1), elmalias(1), mail(1), mailx(1).
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