---
name: "Rnmail"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "trn"
version: "3.6-9.3.1"
release: "Debian 2.1 (Slink)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/Rnmail"
---

# Rnmail(1)

a program for replying via mail

## NAME

Rnmail - a program for replying via mail

## SYNOPSIS

**Rnmail destination\_list**\
\
   or\
 **Rnmail -h headerfile \[oldarticle\]**\
\
   or\
 **Rnmail**

## DESCRIPTION

Rnmail is a friendly interface for mailing replies to news articles. It will ask several questions, then allow you to enter your letter, and then mail it off. If you type h and a carriage return at any point, *Rnmail* will tell you what it wants to know.

If you put a *.signature* file in your home directory, Rnmail will append it to your message after you are done editing it. If you prefer to see your signature while you are editing, rename your .signature file to be .mail\_sig and it will be appended before you begin to edit. Note that both .mail\_sig and .signature obey the setting of DOTDIR unless Rnmail was modified to take the .signature appending out of Rnmail's control and that if both files exist you get two signatures appended.

The -h form is used when invoked from *trn* or *rn*. If your editor can edit multiple files, and you want the article to which you are replying to show up as an alternate file, define the environment variable MAILPOSTER as "Rnmail -h %h %A". You can also modify the the MAILHEADER environment variable to change the header file that *\[t\]rn* passes to Rnmail.

## ENVIRONMENT

- DOTDIR

  If defined, specifies a place other than your home directory where 'dot' files may be stored. This is primarily for accounts which are shared by more than one person.

  Default: $HOME

- EDITOR

  The editor you want to use, if VISUAL is undefined.

  Default: whatever your news administrator installed, usually vi.

- HOME

  Your home directory.

  Default: $LOGDIR

- LOGDIR

  Your home directory if HOME is undefined.

- LOGNAME

  Your login name, if USER is undefined.

  Default: value of "whoami".

- MAILRECORD

  If defined, contains the name of a file to which the finished message will be appended.

  Default: message not saved

- NEWSORG

  Either the name of your organization, or the name of a file containing the name of your organization. (For use at organizations where the ORGANIZATION environmental variable is in use for other purposes). If both NEWSORG and  ORGANIZATION are set, NEWSORG will override ORGANIZATION.

  Default: whatever your news administrator chose.

- ORGANIZATION

  Either the name of your organization, or the name of a file containing the name of your organization.

  Default: whatever your news administrator chose.

- REPLYTO

  The contents of a "Reply-To:" header line to insert into your message.

  Default: header line not inserted.

- USER

  Your login name.

  Default: $LOGNAME

- VISUAL

  The editor you want to use.

  Default: $EDITOR

## FILES

$DOTDIR/.letter\
 $DOTDIR/.signature\
 $DOTDIR/.mail\_sig\
 \~/dead.letter

## SEE ALSO

[trn(1)](/trn/1.md), rn(1), [Pnews(1)](/Pnews/1.md), [mail(1)](/mail/1.md)

## DIAGNOSTICS

## BUGS

Uses /bin/mail in the absence of sendmail.