How To Setup email: vacation auto reply

• Communication group email server is tesla.comm.utoronto.ca
• PSI of comm group email server is email.psi.utoronto.ca
• EM/waves group email server is emserver.waves.utoronto.ca
• control group email server is alfheim.control.utoronto.ca
• photonics group email server is photonics.light.utoronto.ca
• energy group email server is energy.ele.utoronto.ca
• eecg group email server is picton.eecg.toronto.edu

There are various ways to setup vacation message. The following is one of the common methods to setup vacation email :

1. SSH to your email server with your email username and your email password. If you are from home or wireless network, you may have to ssh to research group SSH server first (alpha.comm for commnunication group), and then you can SSH to email server from ssh server.

(Windows users can download the free SSH client program PuTTY from Here)

2. create a file named .vacation.msg (Notice: There is a dot in the beginning of the file name) in your home directory in your email server, containing a message to be sent back to each sender. It should be an entire message (including headers/subject). For example, it might contain:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Out of Office

I am on vacation until xxxx. If you have something urgent,
please contact xxxx.

xxxx
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. After creating the file, please run/type "/usr/bin/vacation -I" . At this
time you have two files in your home direcotry: .vacation.msg and
.vacation.db

4. Create a file named .forward (Again, the file name has a dot in the beginning) and add the line below to the file (Replace the two jli with your email username):
-----------------------------------------------
\jli, "|/usr/bin/vacation jli "
-----------------------------------------------

5. send yourself a testing email.

6. After coming back from vacation, please ssh to your email server and type/run "mv .forward forward" to rename the .forward to forward so that the system will stop the vacation email message.

7. Next time when you need the vacation message , just change the .vacation.msg file(step 2), run step 3 and then rename file forward to file .forward by typing/runing "mv forward .forward"