Using the "finger" command

Finger is a program you use to find information about other users when you know their login name or their e-mail address. Note: although you can use finger to find some information about Purdue students, faculty, and staff, you can get a more complete listing using Purdue's Online Directory or PH.

If you know someone's login, you can use finger at your terminal prompt to get additional information about them:

	finger jruser

This command would return something like:

	A)

	Login name: jruser			In real life: Joe R. User

	Office: MSEE 104, 49-44550		Home Phone:

	Directory: /home/yake/a/jruser		Shell: /bin/csh

	Affilications: ECN			Uid: 888

	Expires: December 1999			Login group: other (1)

	Department: Engineering			Classification: Student

	Member of groups: staff

	On since Sep 23 10:52:53 on console

	Mail forwarded to jruser@yake.ecn.purdue.edu

	Plan:

		To graduate and make lots of money.

or something like:

	B)
	Login name: jruser			In real life: ?????

	Mail forwarded to jruser@yake.purdue.edu

Depending on which machine you are on, you will get one version or the other. If you get version B and you want more information (as in version A), type the finger command and attach the user's mail machine name:

	finger jruser@yake.ecn.purdue.edu

To use finger to search outside of the Purdue University domain, type:

	finger curry@stanford.edu
			or
	finger curry@<machine-name>@stanford.edu