ARCHIVED: In Unix, how can I tell if the recipient of my mail message has read it yet?
In Unix, depending upon the email system you and your correspondent use, it may or may not be possible to tell if the recipient of a mail message has read it yet. Few email systems offer explicit information about whether or not a recipient has read a message. If your correspondent uses a LAN-based email system, such as Pegasus, it may be impossible to determine if your correspondent has read your message.
If you and your correspondent use a Unix system for email, the finger command may be able to tell you when people last logged in and if they have new mail. For example, at the Unix shell prompt, enter:
finger username@host
Replace username
with your correspondent's username, and
replace host
with your correspondent's host computer.
The results of the finger
command vary among different
Unix installations,
but on some, the command reveals when a person last logged into that
computer. It may also reveal whether there is new mail in that
account.
If your correspondent uses a POP mail system, such as
Pegasus for Windows, the finger
command may reveal
whether mail has been retrieved from the host computer, but will not
indicate whether the individual has actually read the message.
For more information on the finger
command, at the
Unix prompt, enter:
man finger
If you and your correspondent use the same computer for email, you
might try the Unix command last
. It shows when someone
last logged in.
At the Unix shell prompt, enter:
last -1 username
Replace username
with your correspondent's username.
Note that this command will only show you the last time that the
user you are checking logged into the workstation on which you
enter the command.
For more information on the last
command, at the Unix
prompt, enter:
man last
Alternatively, if your correspondent maintains a mailbox on the same machine as you, to determine whether your message has been read, at the Unix prompt, enter:
ls -lu /var/mail/username
Replace username
with your correspondent's username.
At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see Get help for Linux or Unix at IU.
This is document aabr in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 08:46:48.