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answer(1)

HP-UX 11i Version 3: February 2007
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NAME

answer — phone message transcription system

SYNOPSIS

answer [-pu]

DESCRIPTION

The answer interactive program helps you to transcribe telephone (and other) messages into electronic mail.

The program uses your personal elm alias database and the system elm alias database, allowing you to use aliases to address the messages.

Options

answer supports the following options:

-p

Prompt for phone-slip-type message fields.

-u

Allow addresses that are not aliases.

Operation

answer begins with the Message to: prompt. Enter a one-word alias or a two-word user name ("Words" are separated by spaces.) The user name is converted to an alias in the form f_lastword, where f is the first character of the first word, lastword is the second word, and all letters are shifted to lowercase. For example, Dave Smith is converted to the alias d_smith.

Without the -u option, the specified or converted alias must exist in the alias databases. With the -u option, if the processed "alias" is not in the alias databases, it is used for the address as is.

The fully expanded address is displayed.

With the -p option, you are asked for typical message slip data:

Caller: of: Phone: TELEPHONED - CALLED TO SEE YOU - WANTS TO SEE YOU - RETURNED YOUR CALL - PLEASE CALL - WILL CALL AGAIN - *****URGENT****** -

Enter the appropriate data. You can put just an X or nothing after the pertinent dash prompts, or you can type longer comments. Whatever you enter becomes part of the message. Lines with no added text are omitted from the message.

Finally, you are prompted for a message. Enter a message, if any, ending with a blank line. The message is sent and the Message to: prompt is repeated.

To end the program, enter any one of bye, done, exit, or quit, at the Message to: prompt.

EXAMPLES

User input is in normal type.

With No Options

This example shows a valid alias, an invalid user name, and a valid user name. In the invalid case, the converted alias is displayed in square brackets.

----------------------------------------------------------------- Message to: oswald address 'oswaldr@mycompany.com (Oswald Rarebit)' Enter message for oswald ending with a blank line. > And here is the message. > ----------------------------------------------------------------- Message to: albert einstein Sorry, could not find 'albert einstein' [a_einstein] in list! Message to: john jones address 'mrjones@companybee.com (John P. Jones)' Enter message for john jones ending with a blank line. > A nice message > ----------------------------------------------------------------- Message to: quit

With the -u Option

If you enter answer -u, the previous error is treated differently.

----------------------------------------------------------------- Message to: albert einstein address 'a_einstein' Enter message for albert einstein ending with a blank line. > About your theory ... >

With the -p Option

If you enter answer -p, the phone-slip prompts are added. The three lines with no added text are deleted from the message.

----------------------------------------------------------------- Message to: George Dancer address 'g_dancer@cup.hp.com (George B. Dancer)' Caller: Harold Maudlin of: Terpsichore Inc. Phone: 123 456 7890 TELEPHONED - at 4:30pm CALLED TO SEE YOU - WANTS TO SEE YOU - X RETURNED YOUR CALL - PLEASE CALL - X WILL CALL AGAIN - *****URGENT****** - very very! Enter message for George Dancer ending with a blank line. > He said that you would ... >

FILES

$HOME/.elm/aliases

User alias database data table

$HOME/.elm/aliases.dir

User alias database directory table

$HOME/.elm/aliases.pag

User alias database hash table

$HOME/.elm/aliases.text

User alias source text

/var/mail/.elm/aliases

System alias database data table

/var/mail/.elm/aliases.dir

System alias database directory table

/var/mail/.elm/aliases.pag

System alias database hash table

/var/mail/.elm/aliases.text

System alias source text

/tmp/snd.pid

Outbound mail message edit buffer

AUTHOR

answer was developed by HP.

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