PMDF User's Guide
UNIX Edition
PMDF-USR-UNIX-6.0

pmdf qm is a utility program which allows inspection and manipulation of queued messages. While pmdf qm has two modes, maintenance mode and user mode, unprivileged users may only use the user mode. From user mode, you can obtain listings of all "queued" messages which you have sent but which are still on your system awaiting delivery.¹ You can read or return any of your queued messages.

Note that this utility merely reports on messages in PMDF's delivery queues. That a message you have sent no longer appears in PMDF's queues, does not imply that it has reached its final destination. All that it means is that the message has left the PMDF system and is no longer under PMDF's control. For example, it is not uncommon for a message to make an intermediate stop on another system such as a mail hub. In such cases, PMDF will consider the message to be "delivered" when it hands the message and responsibility for it off to the intermediate system.

To run pmdf qm, issue the command

% pmdf qm

Table 5-2 Summary of pmdf qm user mode commands

date	Show current date and time
directory	List currently queued messages
exit	Exit the utility
help	Obtain help
history	Display message delivery history information
quit	Exit the utility
read	Display message envelope and header information
return	Return a message to its originator
run	Execute file of commands

Note

¹ Usually, when you send a message an immediate attempt is made to deliver it. Should that attempt fail owing to a temporary problem such as a network outage, the message will be queued in the mail system's delivery queues. Subsequent, periodic attempts will be made to deliver the message until either it is delivered or it is determined to be undeliverable in which case it is returned to you. Messages are typically returned as undeliverable because the address turns out to be incorrect; e.g., the destination system does not recognize the recipient address or the destination system is unreachable.