7.6.1 Saving and Copying Letters in Files

To save a letter into a file, the command form at the mailx prompt is:

s number filename

where number is the number of the letter to be saved and filename is the file where you want to save the letter. For example, to save letter 3 into a file called ~/notes/finance, you would type:

& s 3 ~/notes/finance

(Remember that in a path name, the ~ represents your home directory.)

You can also save several letters at once to the same file. For example, to save letters 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 to ~/notes/finance, you would type:

& s 3 5-8 ~/notes/finance

If the file you specify does not exist, mailx creates it. If the file does exist, mailx appends the letter you are saving to the end of the file.

Saving a file removes it from your mailbox; mailx displays an asterisk (*) next to the header of any letter than has been saved.

To leave the letter in your mailbox while appending it to another file, use the copy command, as follows:

& c 3 ~/notes/finance