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Using
the Virtual Server e-mail system, you can create e-mail
aliases (or forwarding addresses). An e-mail alias takes
a piece of incoming mail and immediately resends it to
one or more recipients. You can point many aliases to
a single recipient or point a single alias to many recipients.
Aliases are used to create
handy replacements for difficult-to-remember or long
addresses. Aliases can also be used to establish a set
of generic addresses such as webmaster@yourcompany.com
or info@yourcompany.com. Establishing a set of aliases
like the following promotes an image of professionalism
(even if each alias points to the same recipient):
- sales@yourcompany.com
- service@yourcompany.com
- jobs@yourcompany.com
Since a single alias
can point to multiple recipients, aliases can be used
to create simple mailing lists or announcement boards
that point to appropriate sets of individuals, allowing
the alias address to be used as a "broadcast"
address for the group:
- everyone@yourcompany.com
- marketing@yourcompany.com
- engineering@yourcompany.com
If you have a large alias
file, add comments to avoid confusion. Any lines that
begins with the "#" character are considered
a comment and are ignored.
Creating aliases involves
just two easy steps:
- Edit the ~/etc/aliases
files and add the alias.
- Run vnewaliases
from a command prompt to generate the aliases.db
file.
Creating an Alias for
a Local User
- Edit the ~/etc/aliases
file and add the following line:
alias: recipient
Note: alias
is replaced with the alias name, and recipient
is replaced with a simple username.
For example:
webmaster: ted
- From the command-prompt
enter vnewaliases. This action generates the
~/etc/aliases.db file to activate the alias.
Creating an Alias for
an Off-Site Recipient
- Edit the ~/etc/aliases
file, type:
alias: recipient
- alias
is replaced with the alias name, and recipient
is replaced with a full e-mail address. For example:
sales: tony@hotshotmail.com
- From the command-prompt
enter vnewaliases. This action generates the
~/etc/aliases.db file to activate the alias.
Note: Do not worry
about multiple aliases, or one alias actually pointing
to another alias. Sendmail performs multiple
lookups to determine the recipient.
You should begin each
alias at the start of the line, because lines that begin
with a space or tab are considered continuation lines.
The colon separating the alias and the recipient should
be on the same line as the alias, and it may be preceded
or followed by spaces or tabs.
Creating Mailing Lists
Using the ~/etc/aliases
file, you can create mailing lists that include many
recipients. Mailing lists save time. You can either
create a simple mailing list, or you can create a more
sophisticated mailing list that you are able to edit
independent of the alias file itself.
The :include:
statement causes the contents of a separate file to
be read in, or included, in the aliases file.
This allows the recipient list to be stored in an outside
file where it can be manipulated independently of the
aliases file.
Creating a Mailing List
Edit the ~/etc/aliases file and enter (where "..." signifies
that the sequence can be continued for as long as necessary):
alias: recipient1,
recipient2, recipient3, recipient4, ...
Creating a Mailing List
with :include:
- Edit the ~/etc/aliases
file and type:
alias: :include:/pathname
- The /pathname
is the virtual pathname of the file. For example:
subscribers: :include:/etc/subscribers.list
Note: Because
the contents of included files are not stored in the
~/etc/aliases.db database, it is not necessary
to run the vnewaliases command to activate editing
changes.
The file referenced by
:include: is a text file containing a list of
recipient addresses. Each line is a list of one or more
recipient addresses. Multiple addresses appearing on
a line should be separated by commas. Like the ~/etc/aliases
file, any line that begins with a "#"
character is considered a comment and is ignored, as
are blank lines.
For more information
about software that enables you to create automated
mailing lists, see Majordomo (http://www.majordomo.com).
Majordomo works in conjunction with the ~/etc/aliases
file to automate address addition and removal of recipients
included through the use of the :include: statement.
Creating Autoresponders
Autoresponders automatically
send a predetermined reply to anyone that sends e-mail
to a specific e-mail address, and autoresponders can
disseminate information that is commonly requested such
as a product list or FAQ document. Autoresponders provide
confirmation of message delivery. Mail addressed to
an important address may be routed first through an
autoresponder to let your clients know that you have
received their message.
Installing Autoresponder
Software
From the command-prompt,
type:
% cp /usr/local/contrib/autoreply
~/usr/bin/autoreply
% chmod 755 ~/usr/bin/autoreply
Creating Autoresponder
Addresses
Edit the ~/etc/aliases
file, type the following (all on one line):
alias: recipient,
"|/usr/bin/autoreply -f name -m message
-a address"
Alias - Replace
alias with the name of your autoresponder,
such as "info."
Recipient - Replace
with the recipient address that receives copies of incoming
messages (in a fashion similar to a normal alias).
| Passes
the incoming message to the autoreply program
and sends back the text of a predetermined message in
reply.
Name - Replace
name with the name you want to use in
the "From:" line of the message your autoresponder
sends.
Message - Contains
the pathname of your desired message text. If the -m
option is not specified, the reply text is taken from
a file named .autoreply in the Virtual Server
root directory. The pathname is your home directory
on the system (~) that has become the new root
directory (/). The -a option specifies
a user that an autoreply can reply for. The user specified
should be the same as the user (alias) configured
for the autoreply.
The following is a sample
autoresponder:
info: bob@yourcompany.com,
"|/usr/bin/autoreply -f info-reply -a info"
Note: The autoreply
program searches the "To:" and "Cc:"
header lines for the text specified by the address value.
Autoreply replies to the message if "address"
is found. If "address" is not found, autoreply
ignores the message.
Customizing Autoresponder
Text
You can customize both
the content of the header lines and the body lines of
the autoresponder message. When preparing the message
text, place your customized header lines ("Subject"
or "Reply-To") at the start of the file, one
after another. Separate them from the body portion of
the message by a single blank line. The first blank
line signals the start of the body of the message. Remove
any blank lines that might cause an intended header
line to be considered part of the body.
The following is a sample
autoresponder message:
Reply-To: sales-reply@yourcompany.com
Subject: Your Information Request
Greetings!
Thank you for your interest
in Enetrics Communications. We appreciate your consideration
and ...
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