If you will be away from the office for a while, you can set up vacation mode. This means that anyone who emails you will receive a message telling them that you are on vacation and will read your mail when you get back.
Setting up vacation mode requires minor UNIX usage; if you are not familiar with UNIX, we would be happy to set this up for you; simply E-mail us at request@cs.fiu.edu.
There are two ways to set up vacation mode. The simplest way is to just use the "vacation" command. However, if you have a complex .procmailrc file (and you will know if you do), you may want to use the .procmailrc method.
To set this up, simply ssh into leopard.cs.fiu.edu and run the command:
vacation
You will be presented with a text editor containing a default vacation message. Edit it to your tastes, then save the message. That's it! Vacation mode is now set up. Feel free to test it by sending an E-mail to yourself; you should get an immediate response with your vacation message.
When you return, to turn off vacation mode, simply ssh into UNIX and type:
rm -f ~/.forward
This will remove the vacation script from your .forward file and return you to normal mail processing.
If you have a .procmailrc file to sort your E-mail, you will want to use this method. It will work the same way for folks that E-mail you, but your mail sorting will be preserved.
To set this up, simply add this section before the first rule in your .procmailrc file:
# # vacation handler # :0 Whc:.vacation.lock *!^FROM_DAEMON *!^X-loopity-loop: yourusername@cs.fiu.edu *^TOyourusername.* | formail -rD 8192 $HOME/.vacation.cache :0 ehc | ( formail -rA"Precedence: Junk" \ -A"X-loopity-loop: yourusername@cs.fiu.edu";\ cat $HOME/vacation-message.txt ) | /usr/lib/sendmail -oi -t
Replace all instances of 'yourusername' with your actual SCS username.
Then, edit the file vacation-message.txt in your home directory, and place your vacation message in it.
That's all there is to it! Vacation mode is now set up. When you return from vacation, simply edit your .procmailrc file and remove or comment out the above section, and delete the file ~/.vacation.cache and you will return to normal mail processing.
We would be happy to assist you with any problems you have setting this up. Simply send us a note at request@cs.fiu.edu and we will set this up for you. Enjoy your vacation!