.TH autoreply "" "" "Command"
.PC "Automatically reply to a mail message"
\fBautoreply\fR
\fBautoreply off\fR
\fBautoreply \fIfilename\fR
.PP
.B autoreply
is a part of the
.B elm
mail system.
It automatically replies to every mail message you receive.
You can use
.B autoreply
during some time during which you cannot reply to mail (e.g., when
you're away on vacation); it is also useful if you run a business
and wish to acknowledge the receipt of messages automatically.
.PP
The system is quite easy to use.
To turn on autoreplying, simply compose a message, save it in
.IR file ,
then type the command \fBautoreply \fIfile\fR.
(Be careful that you do not accidentally mail users a sensitive file,
e.g., your credit-card records.)
To turn off autoreplying, simply type
.BR "autoreply off" .
If you type
.BR autoreply
without an argument, it displays your current status (off or on).
After you have turned off autoreplying, you should send yourself
mail, just to make sure that it is really off.
.SH "See Also"
.B
commands,
elm,
mail (overview)
.R
.SH Notes
.II arepdaemon
For
.B autoreply
to function correctly, the program
.B arepdaemon
must be running as a daemon.
This program automatically checks all the currently enrolled
users for new mail in their mailboxes.
To launch
.BR arepdaemon ,
log in as the superuser
.BR root ,
and type:
.DM
	arepdaemon
.DE
.PP
If you intend to make autoreplying available on your system routinely,
you should consider embedding this command in the script
.BR /etc/rc .
.PP
Please note that
.B arepdaemon
reads and replies to mail fairly infrequently \(em once approximately
every 20 minutes.
This is to give you a chance to read your mail and reply to it yourself
before the autoreply daemon bombards the sender with automatically
generated replies.
Therefore, if you are testing the autoreply mechanism, you should wait
up to half an hour before you expect to see a reply.
.PP
Release 2.4 of
.B elm
is copyright \(co 1988-1992 by The USENET Community Trust.
It is derived from
.B elm
release 2.0, which is copyright \(co 1986, 1987 by Dave Taylor.
.PP
.B autoreply
was ported to \*(CO by Mark Williams Company.
Please send bug reports concerning the \*(CO version of
.B autoreply
to support@mwc.com.
.B autoreply
in general is maintained by the Elm Development Group.
.II "Weinstein, Syd"
Please send messages concerning the general design of
.B autoreply
to Syd Weinstein (elm@DSI.COM).
