Before we go into detail on Sendmail's role as an MTA let's take a very brief look at using Sendmail as an MUA.

If you're a user logged onto the machine where your mail is stored you can read your messages by running:

/usr/lib/sendmail

If you want to write messages, type:

/usr/lib/sendmail address or

/usr/lib/sendmail address1, address2 , etc.

just ensure that each address is separated by a comma.

To add a subject to your message write the word Subject as shown followed by a colon, followed by a space, and then the message subject.

/usr/lib/sendmail someuser@somewhere.com
Subject: This is a test

After you've entered your subject, press enter twice to begin typing your message. After you're done typing your message, enter a period on a line by itself to tell Sendmail that you're done typing and it can now send the message.

If you want to use the contents of a file as the message body, use:

/usr/lib/sendmail address < /path/to/filename

You can use Subject: as the first line of your file but you need to leave a blank line between the subject and the first line of your message. In the text file be sure to place a period on a line by itself so Sendmail knows that the message is finished and it's ok to send it on its way.

As I've mentioned before you will be better off using something other then Sendmail to read or write your e-mail messages.

Next Section: Message Submission Program - 4 of 12