Linux in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition

Name

mailto

Synopsis

                  mailto [options] recipients
               

Send mail with MIME types and text formatting. This program has a very similar interface to that of the mail program, with two differences: it only sends mail, and it adds a number of text formatting and MIME handling features, described here. For features not covered here, check the mail command. mailto uses the metamail backend and relies on the mailcap configuration files.

Text formatting

Mail formatting is handled with escape sequences that begin with the tilde (~) character. Those for text formatting are:

~b

Turn bold text on or off.

~i

Turn italic text on or off.

~jc, ~jl, ~jr

Set justification to center, left, or right.

~k

Toggle whether to send a blind copy to yourself.

~n

Hard line break (newline).

~>, ~<

Increase or decrease left margin.

~<R, ~>R

Increase or decrease right margin.

~Q

Quotation mode (indent and mark selection as excerpt).

~z

Append ~/.signature as the signature for this message.

Including objects in mail

You can include a variety of objects in your messages, again using tilde escape sequences. To do so, enter ~*, and the program will prompt you for the type of data you wish to add. The available content types will vary from installation to installation.