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8.1 OverviewThe following command runs sendmail in rule-testing mode:[1]
% /usr/sbin/sendmail -bt At first, the output produced by this command line prompts you like this: ADDRESS TEST MODE (ruleset 3 NOT automatically invoked) Enter <ruleset> <address> > The "ruleset 3" statement says that, beginning with V8 (and IDA) sendmail, the canonify rule set 3 is no longer automatically called when rule sets are listed at the prompt. We cover this property in detail in Section 8.6.2. Prior to V8 sendmail, rule-testing mode could be used only to test addresses. But beginning with V8.7 sendmail new functions were added. To see a summary of those functions, enter a ? character followed by a RETURN at the > prompt. The output, which we reproduce next, lists and gives a brief description of each function. Note that the numbers to the right refer to sections in this chapter and are not a part of sendmail's output: > ? Help for test mode: ? :this help message. .Dmvalue :define macro `m' to `value'. This help output is contained in the helpfile[2] file, the location of which is defined by the HelpFile option (HelpFile). If that option is not defined, or if the file specified does not exist, you will get the following error message instead of help:
Sendmail 8.12 -- HELP not implemented Help for rule-testing mode requires that the helpfile both exist and contain lines that begin with: -bt If you installed a new sendmail but did not install the new help file (thus causing the old file to be used), you might see this error: HELP topic "-bt" unknown The solution here is to upgrade your helpfile file to the newest version. Note that each function listed in the help output will also produce a usage message if it is executed with no arguments. Consider the /try function, for example: > /try Usage: /try mailer address > This parallels the syntax shown in the earlier help output. These mini-usage messages can effectively replace the helpfile file in case it is missing. Finally, note that, although address testing was not listed in the help output for V8.7 sendmail, it still existed. ![]() |
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