Pine Quick Reference Guide

The University of Reading

Pine Quick Reference Guide

http://www.reading.ac.uk/ITS/Topic/Email/EmGPine_02/

(no longer updated)

This guide gives a brief summary of Pine, an electronic mail program used to send and read Email on Computing Service UNIX systems. Context sensitive help is available by choosing the help option from the menu wherever you are.

Starting Pine

Login to the University network. For help, use a WWW browser (e.g. Netscape) to look at http://www.rdg.ac.uk/ITS/Topic/LocalNet/LoGLogin01/

To display Pine's Main Menu, at the % prompt enter the command:

	 pine

Pine commands are single characters or control keystrokes (ie Hold down the <Ctrl> key while pressing the second key); the <Return> key should not be pressed after typing the command. Commands available at any time are shown in the Command Menu at the bottom of the screen.

Reading Mail

	To...			   Do this...

	list your messages		give the command I from the
 					Main Menu to enter Folder Index screen 

	display a message  		use the arrow keys to highlight the
	 			        message, then press v or <Return>

	display next page 		space bar 
	
	display previous page 		-

	display next message		n

        display previous message        p

	return to the list of messages 	i 

	delete a message		d

	save a message to a folder 	s

	print a message			y

Sending Mail

	To...			   Do this...

	write a message		 	c (also on Main Menu)

	reply to a message		r

	forward a message 		f

	send mail from the Unix prompt	pine email_address

Whichever method you use to send a message, you will be taken to the Compose Message screen. If you are replying to a message the To: field will already be filled in, otherwise type in the username or mail address of the recipient. Two or more recipients can be given by separating their mail addresses with commas.

Use the arrow keys to move to the Subject: field and give a short (one line) summary of the message.

Move the cursor down into the Message Text area and enter the text of the message.

To send the message type <Ctrl x>. To cancel the message type <Ctrl c>.

Managing Your Mail

Pine uses folders to hold and organise your messages. A special folder, called INBOX, holds your incoming mail. Messages stay in the INBOX folder until you delete them or move them into another folder. To save disk space and time when using Pine, you should keep your INBOX as small as possible.

Messages can be saved in other folders using the s (Save) command. You can type in the name of a new or already existing folder and press <Return>. Alternatively you can use the <Ctrl t> command to show all your existing folders and select one using the arrow keys.

To read saved mail, open a folder within Pine by giving the l (List folders) command. Choose a folder using the arrow keys and press <Return>.

N.B. Check through your folders from time to time and delete any messages you no longer want. This avoids wasting disk space.

Leaving Pine

When you have finished using Pine, type q (Quit). Pine will ask you if you really want to quit. Answer y.

If you have marked any messages to be deleted, Pine will ask whether you really want to expunge - ie permanently erase - them. Answer y or n.

Some Other Features

Address Books

Pine has an Address Book facility to let you store Email addresses. It can also store distribution lists, which let you send messages to several people just by using the name of the list.

The address book can be opened by using the a (Address book) command on the Main Menu.

If you are composing a message you can use an entry from your address book simply by typing its nickname into the To: or Cc: lines. Alternatively you can use the <Ctrl t> (To Address Book) command, locate the entry you require, and type s (Select) to enter it.

Saving Copies of Messages You Send

Here are two ways of keeping copies of outgoing mail:

Send the message to yourself.
From the Main Menu, choose Setup, Config and enter a folder name by default-fcc. Copies of all mail you send will then be saved in that folder.

Further Information

Further information on the use of Pine can be found in its built-in help system and in the IT Services document Electronic Mail Using Pine available on the World Wide Web at
URL http://www.rdg.ac.uk/ITS/Topic/Email/EmGPine_01/

Acknowledgement: Thanks to University of York Computing Services
FEB
© Copyright: University of Reading 1995
Last Revised: 4/12/95
For further information contact: ITS-Help (x6262 or e-mail ITS-Help@reading.ac.uk)
Comments to: ITSWebbie@reading.ac.uk

To: The University of Reading main page or IT Services main page.