Library /sys$common/syshlp/mailhelp.hlb DELETE  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

    Deletes either the message you are currently reading or the
    message you just read. Deleted messages are usually moved
    to a folder called WASTEBASKET; however, you can rename your
    WASTEBASKET folder by entering the SET WASTEBASKET_NAME command.

    If you enter the SET AUTO_PURGE command, your WASTEBASKET folder
    is emptied automatically when you exit from Mail or select a
    different Mail file. Otherwise, you must enter the PURGE command
    to empty your WASTEBASKET folder.

    To recover a message accidentally deleted (while it is still in
    the WASTEBASKET folder), select the WASTEBASKET folder, read the
    desired message, and enter the MOVE command to move it to another
    folder.

    Usually you delete only one mail message at a time, but you may
    also delete several mail messages at one time using one DELETE
    command. You may specify a range or a list of messages to be
    deleted.

    Format

      DELETE  [message-number][-message-number][,message-number]

1 - Parameter

 message-number

    Indicates the number of the message to be deleted. The message
    number represents the position of a message in a folder. If
    you specify a number greater than the number of messages in the
    folder, Mail deletes the last message in the folder.

2 - Qualifier

 2.1 - /ALL

    Deletes all of the currently selected messages. Select messages
    by entering the SELECT command. See the SELECT command for more
    information.

3 - Examples

    1.MAIL> DIRECTORY

                                                        MAIL
      #   From    Date             Subject

      1   MOON    11-DEC-1994      Asteroids

         .
         .
         .

      5   MARK    11-DEC-1994      The Yen
      6   MARK    11-DEC-1994      The Buck

      MAIL> 5
      MAIL> DELETE
      MAIL> 6
      MAIL> DELETE
      MAIL> DIRECTORY
                                                        MAIL
      # From      Date             Subject

      1 MOON      11-DEC-1994      Asteroids
         .
         .
         .
      5 (Deleted)
      6 (Deleted)

      This example shows how to delete messages 5 and 6 from the MAIL
      folder after reading them.

    2.MAIL> DELETE 1,3,5-7,9:11
      MAIL>

      This example shows how to delete mail messages 1, 3, 5, 6, 7,
      9, 10, and 11. The hyphen and colon are used to designate a
      range of numbers.

    3.MAIL> DELETE 24

      MAIL>

      This example shows how to delete message number 24 by entering
      the number of the message after the DELETE command.