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1421 lines
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1421 lines
61 KiB
Plaintext
@c This is part of the Emacs manual.
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@c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002,
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@c 2003, 2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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@c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
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@node Rmail, Dired, Sending Mail, Top
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@chapter Reading Mail with Rmail
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@cindex Rmail
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@cindex reading mail
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@findex rmail
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@findex rmail-mode
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@vindex rmail-mode-hook
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Rmail is an Emacs subsystem for reading and disposing of mail that you
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receive. Rmail stores mail messages in files called Rmail files.
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Reading the message in an Rmail file is done in a special major mode,
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Rmail mode, which redefines most letters to run commands for managing
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mail. The command @code{rmail-mode} is used to switch into Rmail mode,
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and it runs the hook @code{rmail-mode-hook} as usual, but don't run this
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command by hand; it can't do a reasonable job unless the buffer is
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visiting a proper Rmail file.
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@menu
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* Basic: Rmail Basics. Basic concepts of Rmail, and simple use.
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* Scroll: Rmail Scrolling. Scrolling through a message.
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* Motion: Rmail Motion. Moving to another message.
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* Deletion: Rmail Deletion. Deleting and expunging messages.
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* Inbox: Rmail Inbox. How mail gets into the Rmail file.
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* Files: Rmail Files. Using multiple Rmail files.
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* Output: Rmail Output. Copying message out to files.
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* Labels: Rmail Labels. Classifying messages by labeling them.
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* Attrs: Rmail Attributes. Certain standard labels, called attributes.
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* Reply: Rmail Reply. Sending replies to messages you are viewing.
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* Summary: Rmail Summary. Summaries show brief info on many messages.
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* Sort: Rmail Sorting. Sorting messages in Rmail.
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* Display: Rmail Display. How Rmail displays a message; customization.
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* Coding: Rmail Coding. How Rmail handles decoding character sets.
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* Editing: Rmail Editing. Editing message text and headers in Rmail.
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* Digest: Rmail Digest. Extracting the messages from a digest message.
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* Out of Rmail:: Converting an Rmail file to mailbox format.
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* Rot13: Rmail Rot13. Reading messages encoded in the rot13 code.
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* Movemail:: More details of fetching new mail.
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* Remote Mailboxes:: Retrieving Mail from Remote Mailboxes.
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* Other Mailbox Formats:: Retrieving Mail from Local Mailboxes in
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Various Formats
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@end menu
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@node Rmail Basics
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@section Basic Concepts of Rmail
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@cindex primary Rmail file
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@vindex rmail-file-name
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Using Rmail in the simplest fashion, you have one Rmail file
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@file{~/RMAIL} in which all of your mail is saved. It is called your
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@dfn{primary Rmail file}. The command @kbd{M-x rmail} reads your primary
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Rmail file, merges new mail in from your inboxes, displays the first
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message you haven't read yet, and lets you begin reading. The variable
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@code{rmail-file-name} specifies the name of the primary Rmail file.
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Rmail uses narrowing to hide all but one message in the Rmail file.
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The message that is shown is called the @dfn{current message}. Rmail
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mode's special commands can do such things as delete the current
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message, copy it into another file, send a reply, or move to another
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message. You can also create multiple Rmail files and use Rmail to move
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messages between them.
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@cindex message number
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Within the Rmail file, messages are normally arranged sequentially in
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order of receipt; you can specify other ways to sort them. Messages are
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assigned consecutive integers as their @dfn{message numbers}. The
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number of the current message is displayed in Rmail's mode line,
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followed by the total number of messages in the file. You can move to a
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message by specifying its message number with the @kbd{j} key
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(@pxref{Rmail Motion}).
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@kindex s @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-expunge-and-save
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Following the usual conventions of Emacs, changes in an Rmail file
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become permanent only when the file is saved. You can save it with
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@kbd{s} (@code{rmail-expunge-and-save}), which also expunges deleted
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messages from the file first (@pxref{Rmail Deletion}). To save the
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file without expunging, use @kbd{C-x C-s}. Rmail also saves the Rmail
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file after merging new mail from an inbox file (@pxref{Rmail Inbox}).
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@kindex q @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-quit
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@kindex b @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-bury
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You can exit Rmail with @kbd{q} (@code{rmail-quit}); this expunges
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and saves the Rmail file, then buries the Rmail buffer as well as its
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summary buffer, if present (@pxref{Rmail Summary}). But there is no
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need to ``exit'' formally. If you switch from Rmail to editing in
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other buffers, and never happen to switch back, you have exited. Just
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make sure to save the Rmail file eventually (like any other file you
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have changed). @kbd{C-x s} is a good enough way to do this
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(@pxref{Save Commands}). The Rmail command @kbd{b}, @code{rmail-bury},
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buries the Rmail buffer and its summary buffer without expunging and
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saving the Rmail file.
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@node Rmail Scrolling
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@section Scrolling Within a Message
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When Rmail displays a message that does not fit on the screen, you
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must scroll through it to read the rest. You could do this with
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@kbd{C-v}, @kbd{M-v} and @kbd{M-<}, but in Rmail scrolling is so
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frequent that it deserves to be easier to type.
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@table @kbd
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@item @key{SPC}
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Scroll forward (@code{scroll-up}).
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@item @key{DEL}
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Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
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@item .
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Scroll to start of message (@code{rmail-beginning-of-message}).
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@end table
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@kindex SPC @r{(Rmail)}
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@kindex DEL @r{(Rmail)}
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Since the most common thing to do while reading a message is to scroll
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through it by screenfuls, Rmail makes @key{SPC} and @key{DEL} synonyms of
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@kbd{C-v} (@code{scroll-up}) and @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down})
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@kindex . @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-beginning-of-message
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The command @kbd{.} (@code{rmail-beginning-of-message}) scrolls back to the
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beginning of the selected message. This is not quite the same as @kbd{M-<}:
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for one thing, it does not set the mark; for another, it resets the buffer
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boundaries to the current message if you have changed them.
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@node Rmail Motion
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@section Moving Among Messages
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The most basic thing to do with a message is to read it. The way to
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do this in Rmail is to make the message current. The usual practice is
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to move sequentially through the file, since this is the order of
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receipt of messages. When you enter Rmail, you are positioned at the
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first message that you have not yet made current (that is, the first one
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that has the @samp{unseen} attribute; @pxref{Rmail Attributes}). Move
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forward to see the other new messages; move backward to re-examine old
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messages.
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@table @kbd
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@item n
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Move to the next nondeleted message, skipping any intervening deleted
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messages (@code{rmail-next-undeleted-message}).
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@item p
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Move to the previous nondeleted message
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(@code{rmail-previous-undeleted-message}).
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@item M-n
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Move to the next message, including deleted messages
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(@code{rmail-next-message}).
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@item M-p
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Move to the previous message, including deleted messages
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(@code{rmail-previous-message}).
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@item j
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Move to the first message. With argument @var{n}, move to
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message number @var{n} (@code{rmail-show-message}).
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@item >
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Move to the last message (@code{rmail-last-message}).
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@item <
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Move to the first message (@code{rmail-first-message}).
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@item M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET}
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Move to the next message containing a match for @var{regexp}
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(@code{rmail-search}).
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@item - M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET}
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Move to the previous message containing a match for @var{regexp}.
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@end table
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@kindex n @r{(Rmail)}
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@kindex p @r{(Rmail)}
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@kindex M-n @r{(Rmail)}
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@kindex M-p @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-next-undeleted-message
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@findex rmail-previous-undeleted-message
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@findex rmail-next-message
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@findex rmail-previous-message
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@kbd{n} and @kbd{p} are the usual way of moving among messages in
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Rmail. They move through the messages sequentially, but skip over
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deleted messages, which is usually what you want to do. Their command
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definitions are named @code{rmail-next-undeleted-message} and
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@code{rmail-previous-undeleted-message}. If you do not want to skip
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deleted messages---for example, if you want to move to a message to
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undelete it---use the variants @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p}
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(@code{rmail-next-message} and @code{rmail-previous-message}). A
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numeric argument to any of these commands serves as a repeat
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count.@refill
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In Rmail, you can specify a numeric argument by typing just the
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digits. You don't need to type @kbd{C-u} first.
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@kindex M-s @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-search
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@cindex searching in Rmail
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The @kbd{M-s} (@code{rmail-search}) command is Rmail's version of
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search. The usual incremental search command @kbd{C-s} works in Rmail,
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but it searches only within the current message. The purpose of
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@kbd{M-s} is to search for another message. It reads a regular
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expression (@pxref{Regexps}) nonincrementally, then searches starting at
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the beginning of the following message for a match. It then selects
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that message. If @var{regexp} is empty, @kbd{M-s} reuses the regexp
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used the previous time.
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To search backward in the file for another message, give @kbd{M-s} a
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negative argument. In Rmail you can do this with @kbd{- M-s}.
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It is also possible to search for a message based on labels.
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@xref{Rmail Labels}.
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@kindex j @r{(Rmail)}
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@kindex > @r{(Rmail)}
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@kindex < @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-show-message
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@findex rmail-last-message
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@findex rmail-first-message
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To move to a message specified by absolute message number, use @kbd{j}
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(@code{rmail-show-message}) with the message number as argument. With
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no argument, @kbd{j} selects the first message. @kbd{<}
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(@code{rmail-first-message}) also selects the first message. @kbd{>}
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(@code{rmail-last-message}) selects the last message.
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@node Rmail Deletion
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@section Deleting Messages
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@cindex deletion (Rmail)
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When you no longer need to keep a message, you can @dfn{delete} it. This
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flags it as ignorable, and some Rmail commands pretend it is no longer
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present; but it still has its place in the Rmail file, and still has its
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message number.
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@cindex expunging (Rmail)
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@dfn{Expunging} the Rmail file actually removes the deleted messages.
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The remaining messages are renumbered consecutively. Expunging is the only
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action that changes the message number of any message, except for
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undigestifying (@pxref{Rmail Digest}).
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@table @kbd
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@item d
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Delete the current message, and move to the next nondeleted message
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(@code{rmail-delete-forward}).
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@item C-d
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Delete the current message, and move to the previous nondeleted
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message (@code{rmail-delete-backward}).
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@item u
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Undelete the current message, or move back to a deleted message and
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undelete it (@code{rmail-undelete-previous-message}).
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@item x
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Expunge the Rmail file (@code{rmail-expunge}).
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@end table
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@kindex d @r{(Rmail)}
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@kindex C-d @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-delete-forward
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@findex rmail-delete-backward
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There are two Rmail commands for deleting messages. Both delete the
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current message and select another message. @kbd{d}
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(@code{rmail-delete-forward}) moves to the following message, skipping
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messages already deleted, while @kbd{C-d} (@code{rmail-delete-backward})
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moves to the previous nondeleted message. If there is no nondeleted
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message to move to in the specified direction, the message that was just
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deleted remains current. @kbd{d} with a numeric argument is
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equivalent to @kbd{C-d}.
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@vindex rmail-delete-message-hook
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Whenever Rmail deletes a message, it runs the hook
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@code{rmail-delete-message-hook}. When the hook functions are invoked,
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the message has been marked deleted, but it is still the current message
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in the Rmail buffer.
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@cindex undeletion (Rmail)
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@kindex x @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-expunge
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@kindex u @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-undelete-previous-message
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To make all the deleted messages finally vanish from the Rmail file,
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type @kbd{x} (@code{rmail-expunge}). Until you do this, you can still
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@dfn{undelete} the deleted messages. The undeletion command, @kbd{u}
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(@code{rmail-undelete-previous-message}), is designed to cancel the
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effect of a @kbd{d} command in most cases. It undeletes the current
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message if the current message is deleted. Otherwise it moves backward
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to previous messages until a deleted message is found, and undeletes
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that message.
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You can usually undo a @kbd{d} with a @kbd{u} because the @kbd{u}
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moves back to and undeletes the message that the @kbd{d} deleted. But
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this does not work when the @kbd{d} skips a few already-deleted messages
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that follow the message being deleted; then the @kbd{u} command
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undeletes the last of the messages that were skipped. There is no clean
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way to avoid this problem. However, by repeating the @kbd{u} command,
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you can eventually get back to the message that you intend to
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undelete. You can also select a particular deleted message with
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the @kbd{M-p} command, then type @kbd{u} to undelete it.
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A deleted message has the @samp{deleted} attribute, and as a result
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@samp{deleted} appears in the mode line when the current message is
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deleted. In fact, deleting or undeleting a message is nothing more than
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adding or removing this attribute. @xref{Rmail Attributes}.
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@node Rmail Inbox
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@section Rmail Files and Inboxes
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@cindex inbox file
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When you receive mail locally, the operating system places incoming
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mail for you in a file that we call your @dfn{inbox}. When you start
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up Rmail, it runs a C program called @code{movemail} to copy the new
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messages from your local inbox into your primary Rmail file, which
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also contains other messages saved from previous Rmail sessions. It
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is in this file that you actually read the mail with Rmail. This
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operation is called @dfn{getting new mail}. You can get new mail at
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any time in Rmail by typing @kbd{g}.
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@vindex rmail-primary-inbox-list
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@cindex @env{MAIL} environment variable
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The variable @code{rmail-primary-inbox-list} contains a list of the
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files which are inboxes for your primary Rmail file. If you don't set
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this variable explicitly, it is initialized from the @env{MAIL}
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environment variable, or, as a last resort, set to @code{nil}, which
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means to use the default inbox. The default inbox is
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@file{/var/mail/@var{username}}, @file{/usr/spool/mail/@var{username}},
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or @file{/usr/mail/@var{username}}, depending on your operating system.
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To see what the default is on your system, use @kbd{C-h v
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rmail-primary-inbox-list @key{RET}}. You can specify the inbox file(s) for
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any Rmail file with the command @code{set-rmail-inbox-list}; see
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@ref{Rmail Files}.
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There are two reasons for having separate Rmail files and inboxes.
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@enumerate
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@item
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The inbox file format varies between operating systems and according to
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the other mail software in use. Only one part of Rmail needs to know
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about the alternatives, and it need only understand how to convert all
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of them to Rmail's own format.
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@item
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It is very cumbersome to access an inbox file without danger of losing
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mail, because it is necessary to interlock with mail delivery.
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Moreover, different operating systems use different interlocking
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techniques. The strategy of moving mail out of the inbox once and for
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all into a separate Rmail file avoids the need for interlocking in all
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the rest of Rmail, since only Rmail operates on the Rmail file.
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@end enumerate
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Rmail was written to use Babyl format as its internal format. Since
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then, we have recognized that the usual inbox format on Unix and GNU
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systems is adequate for the job, and we plan to change Rmail to use that
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as its internal format. However, the Rmail file will still be separate
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from the inbox file, even on systems where their format is the same.
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@vindex rmail-preserve-inbox
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When getting new mail, Rmail first copies the new mail from the inbox
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file to the Rmail file; then it saves the Rmail file; then it truncates
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the inbox file. This way, a system crash may cause duplication of mail
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between the inbox and the Rmail file, but cannot lose mail. If
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@code{rmail-preserve-inbox} is non-@code{nil}, then Rmail will copy new
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mail from the inbox file to the Rmail file without truncating the inbox
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file. You may wish to set this, for example, on a portable computer you
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use to check your mail via POP while traveling, so that your mail will
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remain on the server and you can save it later on your workstation.
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In some cases, Rmail copies the new mail from the inbox file
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indirectly. First it runs the @code{movemail} program to move the mail
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from the inbox to an intermediate file called
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@file{~/.newmail-@var{inboxname}}. Then Rmail merges the new mail from
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that file, saves the Rmail file, and only then deletes the intermediate
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file. If there is a crash at the wrong time, this file continues to
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exist, and Rmail will use it again the next time it gets new mail from
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that inbox.
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If Rmail is unable to convert the data in
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@file{~/.newmail-@var{inboxname}} into Babyl format, it renames the file
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to @file{~/RMAILOSE.@var{n}} (@var{n} is an integer chosen to make the
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name unique) so that Rmail will not have trouble with the data again.
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You should look at the file, find whatever message confuses Rmail
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(probably one that includes the control-underscore character, octal code
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037), and delete it. Then you can use @kbd{1 g} to get new mail from
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the corrected file.
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@node Rmail Files
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@section Multiple Rmail Files
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Rmail operates by default on your @dfn{primary Rmail file}, which is named
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@file{~/RMAIL} and receives your incoming mail from your system inbox file.
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But you can also have other Rmail files and edit them with Rmail. These
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files can receive mail through their own inboxes, or you can move messages
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into them with explicit Rmail commands (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
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@table @kbd
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@item i @var{file} @key{RET}
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Read @var{file} into Emacs and run Rmail on it (@code{rmail-input}).
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@item M-x set-rmail-inbox-list @key{RET} @var{files} @key{RET}
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Specify inbox file names for current Rmail file to get mail from.
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@item g
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Merge new mail from current Rmail file's inboxes
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(@code{rmail-get-new-mail}).
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@item C-u g @var{file} @key{RET}
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Merge new mail from inbox file @var{file}.
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@end table
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@kindex i @r{(Rmail)}
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@findex rmail-input
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To run Rmail on a file other than your primary Rmail file, you may use
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the @kbd{i} (@code{rmail-input}) command in Rmail. This visits the file
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in Rmail mode. You can use @kbd{M-x rmail-input} even when not in
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Rmail.
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The file you read with @kbd{i} should normally be a valid Rmail file.
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If it is not, Rmail tries to decompose it into a stream of messages in
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various known formats. If it succeeds, it converts the whole file to an
|
|
Rmail file. If you specify a file name that doesn't exist, @kbd{i}
|
|
initializes a new buffer for creating a new Rmail file.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-secondary-file-directory
|
|
@vindex rmail-secondary-file-regexp
|
|
You can also select an Rmail file from a menu. Choose first the menu
|
|
bar Classify item, then from the Classify menu choose the Input Rmail
|
|
File item; then choose the Rmail file you want. The variables
|
|
@code{rmail-secondary-file-directory} and
|
|
@code{rmail-secondary-file-regexp} specify which files to offer in the
|
|
menu: the first variable says which directory to find them in; the
|
|
second says which files in that directory to offer (all those that match
|
|
the regular expression). These variables also apply to choosing a file
|
|
for output (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
|
|
|
|
@findex set-rmail-inbox-list
|
|
Each Rmail file can contain a list of inbox file names; you can specify
|
|
this list with @kbd{M-x set-rmail-inbox-list @key{RET} @var{files}
|
|
@key{RET}}. The argument can contain any number of file names, separated
|
|
by commas. It can also be empty, which specifies that this file should
|
|
have no inboxes. Once a list of inboxes is specified, the Rmail file
|
|
remembers it permanently until you specify a different list.
|
|
|
|
As a special exception, if your primary Rmail file does not specify any
|
|
inbox files, it uses your standard system inbox.
|
|
|
|
@kindex g @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-get-new-mail
|
|
The @kbd{g} command (@code{rmail-get-new-mail}) merges mail into the
|
|
current Rmail file from its specified inboxes. If the Rmail file
|
|
has no inboxes, @kbd{g} does nothing. The command @kbd{M-x rmail}
|
|
also merges new mail into your primary Rmail file.
|
|
|
|
To merge mail from a file that is not the usual inbox, give the
|
|
@kbd{g} key a numeric argument, as in @kbd{C-u g}. Then it reads a file
|
|
name and merges mail from that file. The inbox file is not deleted or
|
|
changed in any way when @kbd{g} with an argument is used. This is,
|
|
therefore, a general way of merging one file of messages into another.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Output
|
|
@section Copying Messages Out to Files
|
|
|
|
These commands copy messages from an Rmail file into another file.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item o @var{file} @key{RET}
|
|
Append a copy of the current message to the file @var{file}, using Rmail
|
|
file format by default (@code{rmail-output-to-rmail-file}).
|
|
|
|
@item C-o @var{file} @key{RET}
|
|
Append a copy of the current message to the file @var{file}, using
|
|
system inbox file format by default (@code{rmail-output}).
|
|
|
|
@item w @var{file} @key{RET}
|
|
Output just the message body to the file @var{file}, taking the default
|
|
file name from the message @samp{Subject} header.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@kindex o @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-output-to-rmail-file
|
|
@kindex C-o @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-output
|
|
The commands @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} copy the current message into a
|
|
specified file. This file may be an Rmail file or it may be in system
|
|
inbox format; the output commands ascertain the file's format and write
|
|
the copied message in that format.
|
|
|
|
The @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} commands differ in two ways: each has its
|
|
own separate default file name, and each specifies a choice of format to
|
|
use when the file does not already exist. The @kbd{o} command uses
|
|
Rmail format when it creates a new file, while @kbd{C-o} uses system
|
|
inbox format for a new file. The default file name for @kbd{o} is the
|
|
file name used last with @kbd{o}, and the default file name for
|
|
@kbd{C-o} is the file name used last with @kbd{C-o}.
|
|
|
|
If the output file is an Rmail file currently visited in an Emacs buffer,
|
|
the output commands copy the message into that buffer. It is up to you
|
|
to save the buffer eventually in its file.
|
|
|
|
@kindex w @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-output-body-to-file
|
|
Sometimes you may receive a message whose body holds the contents of a
|
|
file. You can save the body to a file (excluding the message header)
|
|
with the @kbd{w} command (@code{rmail-output-body-to-file}). Often
|
|
these messages contain the intended file name in the @samp{Subject}
|
|
field, so the @kbd{w} command uses the @samp{Subject} field as the
|
|
default for the output file name. However, the file name is read using
|
|
the minibuffer, so you can specify a different name if you wish.
|
|
|
|
You can also output a message to an Rmail file chosen with a menu.
|
|
Choose first the menu bar Classify item, then from the Classify menu
|
|
choose the Output Rmail File menu item; then choose the Rmail file you want.
|
|
This outputs the current message to that file, like the @kbd{o} command.
|
|
The variables @code{rmail-secondary-file-directory} and
|
|
@code{rmail-secondary-file-regexp} specify which files to offer in the
|
|
menu: the first variable says which directory to find them in; the
|
|
second says which files in that directory to offer (all those that match
|
|
the regular expression).
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-delete-after-output
|
|
Copying a message with @kbd{o} or @kbd{C-o} gives the original copy
|
|
of the message the @samp{filed} attribute, so that @samp{filed}
|
|
appears in the mode line when such a message is current. @kbd{w}
|
|
gives it the @samp{stored} attribute. If you like to keep just a
|
|
single copy of every mail message, set the variable
|
|
@code{rmail-delete-after-output} to @code{t}; then the @kbd{o},
|
|
@kbd{C-o} and @kbd{w} commands delete the original message after
|
|
copying it. (You can undelete the original afterward if you wish.)
|
|
|
|
Copying messages into files in system inbox format uses the header
|
|
fields that are displayed in Rmail at the time. Thus, if you use the
|
|
@kbd{t} command to view the entire header and then copy the message, the
|
|
entire header is copied. @xref{Rmail Display}.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-output-file-alist
|
|
The variable @code{rmail-output-file-alist} lets you specify
|
|
intelligent defaults for the output file, based on the contents of the
|
|
current message. The value should be a list whose elements have this
|
|
form:
|
|
|
|
@example
|
|
(@var{regexp} . @var{name-exp})
|
|
@end example
|
|
|
|
@noindent
|
|
If there's a match for @var{regexp} in the current message, then the
|
|
default file name for output is @var{name-exp}. If multiple elements
|
|
match the message, the first matching element decides the default file
|
|
name. The subexpression @var{name-exp} may be a string constant giving
|
|
the file name to use, or more generally it may be any Lisp expression
|
|
that returns a file name as a string. @code{rmail-output-file-alist}
|
|
applies to both @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o}.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Labels
|
|
@section Labels
|
|
@cindex label (Rmail)
|
|
@cindex attribute (Rmail)
|
|
|
|
Each message can have various @dfn{labels} assigned to it as a means
|
|
of classification. Each label has a name; different names are different
|
|
labels. Any given label is either present or absent on a particular
|
|
message. A few label names have standard meanings and are given to
|
|
messages automatically by Rmail when appropriate; these special labels
|
|
are called @dfn{attributes}.
|
|
@ifinfo
|
|
(@xref{Rmail Attributes}.)
|
|
@end ifinfo
|
|
All other labels are assigned only by users.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item a @var{label} @key{RET}
|
|
Assign the label @var{label} to the current message (@code{rmail-add-label}).
|
|
@item k @var{label} @key{RET}
|
|
Remove the label @var{label} from the current message (@code{rmail-kill-label}).
|
|
@item C-M-n @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
Move to the next message that has one of the labels @var{labels}
|
|
(@code{rmail-next-labeled-message}).
|
|
@item C-M-p @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
Move to the previous message that has one of the labels @var{labels}
|
|
(@code{rmail-previous-labeled-message}).
|
|
@item l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
@itemx C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
Make a summary of all messages containing any of the labels @var{labels}
|
|
(@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}).
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@kindex a @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@kindex k @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-add-label
|
|
@findex rmail-kill-label
|
|
The @kbd{a} (@code{rmail-add-label}) and @kbd{k}
|
|
(@code{rmail-kill-label}) commands allow you to assign or remove any
|
|
label on the current message. If the @var{label} argument is empty, it
|
|
means to assign or remove the same label most recently assigned or
|
|
removed.
|
|
|
|
Once you have given messages labels to classify them as you wish, there
|
|
are two ways to use the labels: in moving and in summaries.
|
|
|
|
@kindex C-M-n @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@kindex C-M-p @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-next-labeled-message
|
|
@findex rmail-previous-labeled-message
|
|
The command @kbd{C-M-n @var{labels} @key{RET}}
|
|
(@code{rmail-next-labeled-message}) moves to the next message that has
|
|
one of the labels @var{labels}. The argument @var{labels} specifies one
|
|
or more label names, separated by commas. @kbd{C-M-p}
|
|
(@code{rmail-previous-labeled-message}) is similar, but moves backwards
|
|
to previous messages. A numeric argument to either command serves as a
|
|
repeat count.
|
|
|
|
The command @kbd{C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}}
|
|
(@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}) displays a summary containing only the
|
|
messages that have at least one of a specified set of labels. The
|
|
argument @var{labels} is one or more label names, separated by commas.
|
|
@xref{Rmail Summary}, for information on summaries.@refill
|
|
|
|
If the @var{labels} argument to @kbd{C-M-n}, @kbd{C-M-p} or
|
|
@kbd{C-M-l} is empty, it means to use the last set of labels specified
|
|
for any of these commands.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Attributes
|
|
@section Rmail Attributes
|
|
|
|
Some labels such as @samp{deleted} and @samp{filed} have built-in
|
|
meanings and are assigned to or removed from messages automatically at
|
|
appropriate times; these labels are called @dfn{attributes}. Here is a
|
|
list of Rmail attributes:
|
|
|
|
@table @samp
|
|
@item unseen
|
|
Means the message has never been current. Assigned to messages when
|
|
they come from an inbox file, and removed when a message is made
|
|
current. When you start Rmail, it initially shows the first message
|
|
that has this attribute.
|
|
@item deleted
|
|
Means the message is deleted. Assigned by deletion commands and
|
|
removed by undeletion commands (@pxref{Rmail Deletion}).
|
|
@item filed
|
|
Means the message has been copied to some other file. Assigned by the
|
|
@kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} file output commands (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
|
|
@item stored
|
|
Assigned by the @kbd{w} file output command (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
|
|
@item answered
|
|
Means you have mailed an answer to the message. Assigned by the @kbd{r}
|
|
command (@code{rmail-reply}). @xref{Rmail Reply}.
|
|
@item forwarded
|
|
Means you have forwarded the message. Assigned by the @kbd{f} command
|
|
(@code{rmail-forward}). @xref{Rmail Reply}.
|
|
@item edited
|
|
Means you have edited the text of the message within Rmail.
|
|
@xref{Rmail Editing}.
|
|
@item resent
|
|
Means you have resent the message. Assigned by the command @kbd{M-x
|
|
rmail-resend}. @xref{Rmail Reply}.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
All other labels are assigned or removed only by the user, and have no
|
|
standard meaning.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Reply
|
|
@section Sending Replies
|
|
|
|
Rmail has several commands that use Mail mode to send outgoing mail.
|
|
@xref{Sending Mail}, for information on using Mail mode, including
|
|
certain features meant to work with Rmail. What this section documents
|
|
are the special commands of Rmail for entering Mail mode. Note that the
|
|
usual keys for sending mail---@kbd{C-x m}, @kbd{C-x 4 m}, and @kbd{C-x 5
|
|
m}---are available in Rmail mode and work just as they usually do.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item m
|
|
Send a message (@code{rmail-mail}).
|
|
@item c
|
|
Continue editing the already started outgoing message (@code{rmail-continue}).
|
|
@item r
|
|
Send a reply to the current Rmail message (@code{rmail-reply}).
|
|
@item f
|
|
Forward the current message to other users (@code{rmail-forward}).
|
|
@item C-u f
|
|
Resend the current message to other users (@code{rmail-resend}).
|
|
@item M-m
|
|
Try sending a bounced message a second time (@code{rmail-retry-failure}).
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@kindex r @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-reply
|
|
@cindex reply to a message
|
|
The most common reason to send a message while in Rmail is to reply to
|
|
the message you are reading. To do this, type @kbd{r}
|
|
(@code{rmail-reply}). This displays the @samp{*mail*} buffer in another
|
|
window, much like @kbd{C-x 4 m}, but preinitializes the @samp{Subject},
|
|
@samp{To}, @samp{CC} and @samp{In-reply-to} header fields based on the
|
|
message you are replying to. The @samp{To} field starts out as the
|
|
address of the person who sent the message you received, and the
|
|
@samp{CC} field starts out with all the other recipients of that
|
|
message.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
|
|
You can exclude certain recipients from being placed automatically in
|
|
the @samp{CC}, using the variable @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names}. Its
|
|
value should be a regular expression (as a string); any recipient that
|
|
the regular expression matches, is excluded from the @samp{CC} field.
|
|
The default value matches your own name, and any name starting with
|
|
@samp{info-}. (Those names are excluded because there is a convention
|
|
of using them for large mailing lists to broadcast announcements.)
|
|
|
|
To omit the @samp{CC} field completely for a particular reply, enter
|
|
the reply command with a numeric argument: @kbd{C-u r} or @kbd{1 r}.
|
|
|
|
Once the @samp{*mail*} buffer has been initialized, editing and
|
|
sending the mail goes as usual (@pxref{Sending Mail}). You can edit the
|
|
presupplied header fields if they are not right for you. You can also
|
|
use the commands of Mail mode (@pxref{Mail Mode}), including @kbd{C-c
|
|
C-y} which yanks in the message that you are replying to. You can
|
|
switch to the Rmail buffer, select a different message there, switch
|
|
back, and yank the new current message.
|
|
|
|
@kindex M-m @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-retry-failure
|
|
@cindex retrying a failed message
|
|
@vindex rmail-retry-ignored-headers
|
|
Sometimes a message does not reach its destination. Mailers usually
|
|
send the failed message back to you, enclosed in a @dfn{failure
|
|
message}. The Rmail command @kbd{M-m} (@code{rmail-retry-failure})
|
|
prepares to send the same message a second time: it sets up a
|
|
@samp{*mail*} buffer with the same text and header fields as before. If
|
|
you type @kbd{C-c C-c} right away, you send the message again exactly
|
|
the same as the first time. Alternatively, you can edit the text or
|
|
headers and then send it. The variable
|
|
@code{rmail-retry-ignored-headers}, in the same format as
|
|
@code{rmail-ignored-headers} (@pxref{Rmail Display}), controls which
|
|
headers are stripped from the failed message when retrying it.
|
|
|
|
@kindex f @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-forward
|
|
@cindex forwarding a message
|
|
Another frequent reason to send mail in Rmail is to @dfn{forward} the
|
|
current message to other users. @kbd{f} (@code{rmail-forward}) makes
|
|
this easy by preinitializing the @samp{*mail*} buffer with the current
|
|
message as the text, and a subject designating a forwarded message. All
|
|
you have to do is fill in the recipients and send. When you forward a
|
|
message, recipients get a message which is ``from'' you, and which has
|
|
the original message in its contents.
|
|
|
|
@findex unforward-rmail-message
|
|
Forwarding a message encloses it between two delimiter lines. It also
|
|
modifies every line that starts with a dash, by inserting @w{@samp{- }}
|
|
at the start of the line. When you receive a forwarded message, if it
|
|
contains something besides ordinary text---for example, program source
|
|
code---you might find it useful to undo that transformation. You can do
|
|
this by selecting the forwarded message and typing @kbd{M-x
|
|
unforward-rmail-message}. This command extracts the original forwarded
|
|
message, deleting the inserted @w{@samp{- }} strings, and inserts it
|
|
into the Rmail file as a separate message immediately following the
|
|
current one.
|
|
|
|
@findex rmail-resend
|
|
@dfn{Resending} is an alternative similar to forwarding; the
|
|
difference is that resending sends a message that is ``from'' the
|
|
original sender, just as it reached you---with a few added header fields
|
|
@samp{Resent-From} and @samp{Resent-To} to indicate that it came via
|
|
you. To resend a message in Rmail, use @kbd{C-u f}. (@kbd{f} runs
|
|
@code{rmail-forward}, which is programmed to invoke @code{rmail-resend}
|
|
if you provide a numeric argument.)
|
|
|
|
@kindex m @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-mail
|
|
The @kbd{m} (@code{rmail-mail}) command is used to start editing an
|
|
outgoing message that is not a reply. It leaves the header fields empty.
|
|
Its only difference from @kbd{C-x 4 m} is that it makes the Rmail buffer
|
|
accessible for @kbd{C-c C-y}, just as @kbd{r} does. Thus, @kbd{m} can be
|
|
used to reply to or forward a message; it can do anything @kbd{r} or @kbd{f}
|
|
can do.@refill
|
|
|
|
@kindex c @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-continue
|
|
The @kbd{c} (@code{rmail-continue}) command resumes editing the
|
|
@samp{*mail*} buffer, to finish editing an outgoing message you were
|
|
already composing, or to alter a message you have sent.@refill
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-mail-new-frame
|
|
If you set the variable @code{rmail-mail-new-frame} to a
|
|
non-@code{nil} value, then all the Rmail commands to start sending a
|
|
message create a new frame to edit it in. This frame is deleted when
|
|
you send the message, or when you use the @samp{Cancel} item in the
|
|
@samp{Mail} menu.
|
|
|
|
All the Rmail commands to send a message use the mail-composition
|
|
method that you have chosen (@pxref{Mail Methods}).
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Summary
|
|
@section Summaries
|
|
@cindex summary (Rmail)
|
|
|
|
A @dfn{summary} is a buffer containing one line per message to give
|
|
you an overview of the mail in an Rmail file. Each line shows the
|
|
message number and date, the sender, the line count, the labels, and
|
|
the subject. Moving point in the summary buffer selects messages as
|
|
you move to their summary lines. Almost all Rmail commands are valid
|
|
in the summary buffer also; when used there, they apply to the message
|
|
described by the current line of the summary.
|
|
|
|
A summary buffer applies to a single Rmail file only; if you are
|
|
editing multiple Rmail files, each one can have its own summary buffer.
|
|
The summary buffer name is made by appending @samp{-summary} to the
|
|
Rmail buffer's name. Normally only one summary buffer is displayed at a
|
|
time.
|
|
|
|
@menu
|
|
* Rmail Make Summary:: Making various sorts of summaries.
|
|
* Rmail Summary Edit:: Manipulating messages from the summary.
|
|
@end menu
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Make Summary
|
|
@subsection Making Summaries
|
|
|
|
Here are the commands to create a summary for the current Rmail file.
|
|
Once the Rmail file has a summary buffer, changes in the Rmail file
|
|
(such as deleting or expunging messages, and getting new mail)
|
|
automatically update the summary.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item h
|
|
@itemx C-M-h
|
|
Summarize all messages (@code{rmail-summary}).
|
|
@item l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
@itemx C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
Summarize messages that have one or more of the specified labels
|
|
(@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}).
|
|
@item C-M-r @var{rcpts} @key{RET}
|
|
Summarize messages that have one or more of the specified recipients
|
|
(@code{rmail-summary-by-recipients}).
|
|
@item C-M-t @var{topic} @key{RET}
|
|
Summarize messages that have a match for the specified regexp
|
|
@var{topic} in their subjects (@code{rmail-summary-by-topic}).
|
|
@item C-M-s @var{regexp}
|
|
Summarize messages whose headers and the subject line match the
|
|
specified regular expression @var{regexp}
|
|
(@code{rmail-summary-by-regexp}).
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@kindex h @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-summary
|
|
The @kbd{h} or @kbd{C-M-h} (@code{rmail-summary}) command fills the summary buffer
|
|
for the current Rmail file with a summary of all the messages in the file.
|
|
It then displays and selects the summary buffer in another window.
|
|
|
|
@kindex l @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@kindex C-M-l @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-summary-by-labels
|
|
@kbd{C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}) makes
|
|
a partial summary mentioning only the messages that have one or more of the
|
|
labels @var{labels}. @var{labels} should contain label names separated by
|
|
commas.@refill
|
|
|
|
@kindex C-M-r @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-summary-by-recipients
|
|
@kbd{C-M-r @var{rcpts} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-recipients})
|
|
makes a partial summary mentioning only the messages that have one or more
|
|
of the recipients @var{rcpts}. @var{rcpts} should contain mailing
|
|
addresses separated by commas.@refill
|
|
|
|
@kindex C-M-t @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-summary-by-topic
|
|
@kbd{C-M-t @var{topic} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-topic})
|
|
makes a partial summary mentioning only the messages whose subjects have
|
|
a match for the regular expression @var{topic}.
|
|
|
|
@kindex C-M-s @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-summary-by-regexp
|
|
@kbd{C-M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-regexp})
|
|
makes a partial summary which mentions only the messages whose headers
|
|
(including the date and the subject lines) match the regular
|
|
expression @var{regexp}.
|
|
|
|
Note that there is only one summary buffer for any Rmail file; making one
|
|
kind of summary discards any previously made summary.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-summary-window-size
|
|
@vindex rmail-summary-line-count-flag
|
|
The variable @code{rmail-summary-window-size} says how many lines to
|
|
use for the summary window. The variable
|
|
@code{rmail-summary-line-count-flag} controls whether the summary line
|
|
for a message should include the line count of the message.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Summary Edit
|
|
@subsection Editing in Summaries
|
|
|
|
You can use the Rmail summary buffer to do almost anything you can do
|
|
in the Rmail buffer itself. In fact, once you have a summary buffer,
|
|
there's no need to switch back to the Rmail buffer.
|
|
|
|
You can select and display various messages in the Rmail buffer, from
|
|
the summary buffer, just by moving point in the summary buffer to
|
|
different lines. It doesn't matter what Emacs command you use to move
|
|
point; whichever line point is on at the end of the command, that
|
|
message is selected in the Rmail buffer.
|
|
|
|
Almost all Rmail commands work in the summary buffer as well as in the
|
|
Rmail buffer. Thus, @kbd{d} in the summary buffer deletes the current
|
|
message, @kbd{u} undeletes, and @kbd{x} expunges. (However, in the
|
|
summary buffer, a numeric argument to @kbd{d}, @kbd{C-d} and @kbd{u}
|
|
serves as a repeat count. A negative argument reverses the meaning of
|
|
@kbd{d} and @kbd{C-d}.) @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} output the current
|
|
message to a file; @kbd{r} starts a reply to it. You can scroll the
|
|
current message while remaining in the summary buffer using @key{SPC}
|
|
and @key{DEL}.
|
|
|
|
The Rmail commands to move between messages also work in the summary
|
|
buffer, but with a twist: they move through the set of messages included
|
|
in the summary. They also ensure the Rmail buffer appears on the screen
|
|
(unlike cursor motion commands, which update the contents of the Rmail
|
|
buffer but don't display it in a window unless it already appears).
|
|
Here is a list of these commands:
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item n
|
|
Move to next line, skipping lines saying `deleted', and select its
|
|
message.
|
|
@item p
|
|
Move to previous line, skipping lines saying `deleted', and select
|
|
its message.
|
|
@item M-n
|
|
Move to next line and select its message.
|
|
@item M-p
|
|
Move to previous line and select its message.
|
|
@item >
|
|
Move to the last line, and select its message.
|
|
@item <
|
|
Move to the first line, and select its message.
|
|
@item j
|
|
@itemx @key{RET}
|
|
Select the message on the current line (ensuring that the RMAIL buffer
|
|
appears on the screen). With argument @var{n}, select message number
|
|
@var{n} and move to its line in the summary buffer; this signals an
|
|
error if the message is not listed in the summary buffer.
|
|
@item M-s @var{pattern} @key{RET}
|
|
Search through messages for @var{pattern} starting with the current
|
|
message; select the message found, and move point in the summary buffer
|
|
to that message's line.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-redisplay-summary
|
|
Deletion, undeletion, and getting new mail, and even selection of a
|
|
different message all update the summary buffer when you do them in the
|
|
Rmail buffer. If the variable @code{rmail-redisplay-summary} is
|
|
non-@code{nil}, these actions also bring the summary buffer back onto
|
|
the screen.
|
|
|
|
@kindex Q @r{(Rmail summary)}
|
|
@findex rmail-summary-wipe
|
|
@kindex q @r{(Rmail summary)}
|
|
@findex rmail-summary-quit
|
|
When you are finished using the summary, type @kbd{Q}
|
|
(@code{rmail-summary-wipe}) to delete the summary buffer's window. You
|
|
can also exit Rmail while in the summary: @kbd{q}
|
|
(@code{rmail-summary-quit}) deletes the summary window, then exits from
|
|
Rmail by saving the Rmail file and switching to another buffer.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Sorting
|
|
@section Sorting the Rmail File
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item M-x rmail-sort-by-date
|
|
Sort messages of current Rmail file by date.
|
|
|
|
@item M-x rmail-sort-by-subject
|
|
Sort messages of current Rmail file by subject.
|
|
|
|
@item M-x rmail-sort-by-author
|
|
Sort messages of current Rmail file by author's name.
|
|
|
|
@item M-x rmail-sort-by-recipient
|
|
Sort messages of current Rmail file by recipient's names.
|
|
|
|
@item M-x rmail-sort-by-correspondent
|
|
Sort messages of current Rmail file by the name of the other
|
|
correspondent.
|
|
|
|
@item M-x rmail-sort-by-lines
|
|
Sort messages of current Rmail file by size (number of lines).
|
|
|
|
@item M-x rmail-sort-by-keywords @key{RET} @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
Sort messages of current Rmail file by labels. The argument
|
|
@var{labels} should be a comma-separated list of labels. The order of
|
|
these labels specifies the order of messages; messages with the first
|
|
label come first, messages with the second label come second, and so on.
|
|
Messages which have none of these labels come last.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
The Rmail sort commands perform a @emph{stable sort}: if there is no
|
|
reason to prefer either one of two messages, their order remains
|
|
unchanged. You can use this to sort by more than one criterion. For
|
|
example, if you use @code{rmail-sort-by-date} and then
|
|
@code{rmail-sort-by-author}, messages from the same author appear in
|
|
order by date.
|
|
|
|
With a numeric argument, all these commands reverse the order of
|
|
comparison. This means they sort messages from newest to oldest, from
|
|
biggest to smallest, or in reverse alphabetical order.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Display
|
|
@section Display of Messages
|
|
|
|
Rmail reformats the header of each message before displaying it for
|
|
the first time. Reformatting hides uninteresting header fields to
|
|
reduce clutter. You can use the @kbd{t} command to show the entire
|
|
header or to repeat the header reformatting operation.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item t
|
|
Toggle display of complete header (@code{rmail-toggle-header}).
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-ignored-headers
|
|
Reformatting the header involves deleting most header fields, on the
|
|
grounds that they are not interesting. The variable
|
|
@code{rmail-ignored-headers} holds a regular expression that specifies
|
|
which header fields to hide in this way---if it matches the beginning of
|
|
a header field, that whole field is hidden.
|
|
|
|
@kindex t @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-toggle-header
|
|
Rmail saves the complete original header before reformatting; to see
|
|
it, use the @kbd{t} command (@code{rmail-toggle-header}). This
|
|
discards the reformatted headers of the current message and displays it
|
|
with the original header. Repeating @kbd{t} reformats the message
|
|
again. Selecting the message again also reformats.
|
|
|
|
One consequence of this is that if you edit the reformatted header
|
|
(using @kbd{e}; @pxref{Rmail Editing}), subsequent use of @kbd{t} will
|
|
discard your edits. On the other hand, if you use @kbd{e} after
|
|
@kbd{t}, to edit the original (unreformatted) header, those changes are
|
|
permanent.
|
|
|
|
When the @kbd{t} command has a prefix argument, a positive argument
|
|
means to show the reformatted header, and a zero or negative argument
|
|
means to show the full header.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-highlighted-headers
|
|
When the terminal supports multiple fonts or colors, Rmail
|
|
highlights certain header fields that are especially interesting---by
|
|
default, the @samp{From} and @samp{Subject} fields. The variable
|
|
@code{rmail-highlighted-headers} holds a regular expression that
|
|
specifies the header fields to highlight; if it matches the beginning
|
|
of a header field, that whole field is highlighted.
|
|
|
|
If you specify unusual colors for your text foreground and
|
|
background, the colors used for highlighting may not go well with
|
|
them. If so, specify different colors for the face
|
|
@code{rmail-highlight-face}. @xref{Faces}, for how to do this. To
|
|
turn off highlighting entirely in Rmail, set
|
|
@code{rmail-highlighted-headers} to @code{nil}.
|
|
|
|
You can highlight and activate URLs in incoming messages by adding
|
|
the function @code{goto-address} to the hook
|
|
@code{rmail-show-message-hook}. Then you can browse these URLs by
|
|
clicking on them with @kbd{Mouse-2} (or @kbd{Mouse-1} quickly) or by
|
|
moving to one and typing @kbd{C-c @key{RET}}. @xref{Goto-address,
|
|
Activating URLs, Activating URLs}.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Coding
|
|
@section Rmail and Coding Systems
|
|
|
|
@cindex decoding mail messages (Rmail)
|
|
Rmail automatically decodes messages which contain non-@acronym{ASCII}
|
|
characters, just as Emacs does with files you visit and with subprocess
|
|
output. Rmail uses the standard @samp{charset=@var{charset}} header in
|
|
the message, if any, to determine how the message was encoded by the
|
|
sender. It maps @var{charset} into the corresponding Emacs coding
|
|
system (@pxref{Coding Systems}), and uses that coding system to decode
|
|
message text. If the message header doesn't have the @samp{charset}
|
|
specification, or if @var{charset} is not recognized,
|
|
Rmail chooses the coding system with the usual Emacs heuristics and
|
|
defaults (@pxref{Recognize Coding}).
|
|
|
|
@cindex fixing incorrectly decoded mail messages
|
|
Occasionally, a message is decoded incorrectly, either because Emacs
|
|
guessed the wrong coding system in the absence of the @samp{charset}
|
|
specification, or because the specification was inaccurate. For
|
|
example, a misconfigured mailer could send a message with a
|
|
@samp{charset=iso-8859-1} header when the message is actually encoded
|
|
in @code{koi8-r}. When you see the message text garbled, or some of
|
|
its characters displayed as empty boxes, this may have happened.
|
|
|
|
@findex rmail-redecode-body
|
|
You can correct the problem by decoding the message again using the
|
|
right coding system, if you can figure out or guess which one is
|
|
right. To do this, invoke the @kbd{M-x rmail-redecode-body} command.
|
|
It reads the name of a coding system, encodes the message body using
|
|
whichever coding system was used to decode it before, then redecodes
|
|
it using the coding system you specified. If you specified the right
|
|
coding system, the result should be readable.
|
|
|
|
Decoding and encoding using the wrong coding system is lossless for
|
|
most encodings, in particular with 8-bit encodings such as iso-8859 or
|
|
koi8. So, if the initial attempt to redecode the message didn't
|
|
result in a legible text, you can try other coding systems until you
|
|
succeed.
|
|
|
|
With some coding systems, notably those from the iso-2022 family,
|
|
information can be lost in decoding, so that encoding the message
|
|
again won't bring back the original incoming text. In such a case,
|
|
@code{rmail-redecode-body} cannot work. However, the problems that
|
|
call for use of @code{rmail-redecode-body} rarely occur with those
|
|
coding systems. So in practice the command works when you need it.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Editing
|
|
@section Editing Within a Message
|
|
|
|
Most of the usual Emacs commands are available in Rmail mode, though a
|
|
few, such as @kbd{C-M-n} and @kbd{C-M-h}, are redefined by Rmail for
|
|
other purposes. However, the Rmail buffer is normally read only, and
|
|
most of the letters are redefined as Rmail commands. If you want to
|
|
edit the text of a message, you must use the Rmail command @kbd{e}.
|
|
|
|
@table @kbd
|
|
@item e
|
|
Edit the current message as ordinary text.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@kindex e @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
@findex rmail-edit-current-message
|
|
The @kbd{e} command (@code{rmail-edit-current-message}) switches from
|
|
Rmail mode into Rmail Edit mode, another major mode which is nearly the
|
|
same as Text mode. The mode line indicates this change.
|
|
|
|
In Rmail Edit mode, letters insert themselves as usual and the Rmail
|
|
commands are not available. When you are finished editing the message and
|
|
are ready to go back to Rmail, type @kbd{C-c C-c}, which switches back to
|
|
Rmail mode. Alternatively, you can return to Rmail mode but cancel all the
|
|
editing that you have done, by typing @kbd{C-c C-]}.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-edit-mode-hook
|
|
Entering Rmail Edit mode runs the hook @code{text-mode-hook}; then it
|
|
runs the hook @code{rmail-edit-mode-hook} (@pxref{Hooks}). It adds the
|
|
attribute @samp{edited} to the message. It also displays the full
|
|
headers of the message, so that you can edit the headers as well as the
|
|
body of the message, and your changes in the headers will be
|
|
permanent.
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Digest
|
|
@section Digest Messages
|
|
@cindex digest message
|
|
@cindex undigestify
|
|
|
|
A @dfn{digest message} is a message which exists to contain and carry
|
|
several other messages. Digests are used on some moderated mailing
|
|
lists; all the messages that arrive for the list during a period of time
|
|
such as one day are put inside a single digest which is then sent to the
|
|
subscribers. Transmitting the single digest uses much less computer
|
|
time than transmitting the individual messages even though the total
|
|
size is the same, because the per-message overhead in network mail
|
|
transmission is considerable.
|
|
|
|
@findex undigestify-rmail-message
|
|
When you receive a digest message, the most convenient way to read it is
|
|
to @dfn{undigestify} it: to turn it back into many individual messages.
|
|
Then you can read and delete the individual messages as it suits you.
|
|
To do this, select the digest message and type the command @kbd{M-x
|
|
undigestify-rmail-message}. This extracts the submessages as separate
|
|
Rmail messages, and inserts them following the digest. The digest
|
|
message itself is flagged as deleted.
|
|
|
|
@node Out of Rmail
|
|
@section Converting an Rmail File to Inbox Format
|
|
@cindex Babyl format to Inbox format
|
|
@cindex converting Rmail file to mailbox format
|
|
|
|
@findex unrmail
|
|
The command @kbd{M-x unrmail} converts a file in Rmail format to inbox
|
|
format (also known as the system mailbox, or mbox, format), so that
|
|
you can use it with other mail-editing tools. You must specify two
|
|
arguments, the name of the Rmail file and the name to use for the
|
|
converted file. @kbd{M-x unrmail} does not alter the Rmail file itself.
|
|
|
|
@pindex b2m
|
|
@kbd{M-x unrmail} is useful if you can run Emacs on the machine
|
|
where the Rmail file resides, or can access the Rmail file remotely
|
|
(@pxref{Remote Files}) from a machine where Emacs is installed. If
|
|
accessing Rmail files from Emacs is impossible, you can use the
|
|
@command{b2m} program instead. @command{b2m} is part of the Emacs
|
|
distribution, it is installed into the same directory where all the
|
|
other auxiliary programs (@command{etags} etc.) are installed, and its
|
|
source is available in the Emacs source distribution, so that you
|
|
could copy the source to the target machine and compile it there.
|
|
|
|
To convert a file @file{@var{babyl-file}} into @file{@var{mbox-file}},
|
|
invoke @command{b2m} like this:
|
|
|
|
@example
|
|
b2m < @var{babyl-file} > @var{mbox-file}
|
|
@end example
|
|
|
|
@node Rmail Rot13
|
|
@section Reading Rot13 Messages
|
|
@cindex rot13 code
|
|
|
|
Mailing list messages that might offend some readers are sometimes
|
|
encoded in a simple code called @dfn{rot13}---so named because it
|
|
rotates the alphabet by 13 letters. This code is not for secrecy, as it
|
|
provides none; rather, it enables those who might be offended to avoid
|
|
ever seeing the real text of the message.
|
|
|
|
@findex rot13-other-window
|
|
To view a buffer using the rot13 code, use the command @kbd{M-x
|
|
rot13-other-window}. This displays the current buffer in another window
|
|
which applies the code when displaying the text.
|
|
|
|
@node Movemail
|
|
@section @code{movemail} program
|
|
@cindex @code{movemail} program
|
|
|
|
When invoked for the first time, Rmail attempts to locate the
|
|
@code{movemail} program and determine its version. There are two
|
|
versions of @code{movemail} program: the native one, shipped with GNU
|
|
Emacs (the ``emacs version'') and the one included in GNU mailutils
|
|
(the ``mailutils version,'' @pxref{movemail,,,mailutils,GNU
|
|
mailutils}). They support the same command line syntax and the same
|
|
basic subset of options. However, the @samp{mailutils} version offers
|
|
additional features.
|
|
|
|
The Emacs version of @code{movemail} is able to retrieve mail from
|
|
usual UNIX mailbox formats and from remote mailboxes using the POP3
|
|
protocol.
|
|
|
|
The Mailutils version is able to handle a wide set of mailbox
|
|
formats, such as plain UNIX mailboxes, @code{maildir} and @code{MH}
|
|
mailboxes, etc. It is able to retrieve remote mail using POP3 or
|
|
IMAP4 protocol, and can retrieve mail from them using a TLS encrypted
|
|
channel. It also accepts mailbox argument in the @acronym{URL} form.
|
|
The detailed description of mailbox @acronym{URL}s can be found in
|
|
@ref{URL,,,mailutils,Mailbox URL Formats}. In short, a @acronym{URL}
|
|
is:
|
|
|
|
@smallexample
|
|
@var{proto}://[@var{user}[:@var{password}]@@]@var{host-or-file-name}
|
|
@end smallexample
|
|
|
|
@noindent
|
|
where square brackets denote optional elements.
|
|
|
|
@table @var
|
|
@item proto
|
|
Specifies the @dfn{mailbox protocol}, or @dfn{format} to
|
|
use. The exact semantics of the rest of @acronym{URL} elements depends
|
|
on the actual value of @var{proto}.
|
|
|
|
@item user
|
|
User name to access the remote mailbox.
|
|
|
|
@item password
|
|
User password to access the remote mailbox.
|
|
|
|
@item host-or-file-name
|
|
Hostname of the remote server for remote mailboxes or file name of a
|
|
local mailbox.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
@var{Proto} can be one of:
|
|
|
|
@table @asis
|
|
@item mbox
|
|
Usual UNIX mailbox format. In this case, neither @var{user} nor
|
|
@var{pass} are used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the file name of
|
|
the mailbox file, e.g., @code{mbox://var/spool/mail/smith}.
|
|
|
|
@item mh
|
|
A local mailbox in the @acronym{MH} format. @var{User} and
|
|
@var{pass} are not used. @var{Host-or-file-name} denotes the name of
|
|
@acronym{MH} folder, e.g., @code{mh://Mail/inbox}.
|
|
|
|
@item maildir
|
|
A local mailbox in the @acronym{maildir} format. @var{User} and
|
|
@var{pass} are not used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the name of
|
|
@code{maildir} mailbox, e.g., @code{maildir://mail/inbox}.
|
|
|
|
@item file
|
|
Any local mailbox format. Its actual format is detected automatically
|
|
by @code{movemail}.
|
|
|
|
@item pop
|
|
A remote mailbox to be accessed via POP3 protocol. @var{User}
|
|
specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to
|
|
specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP
|
|
address of the remote mail server to connect to; e.g.,
|
|
@code{pop://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}.
|
|
|
|
@item imap
|
|
A remote mailbox to be accessed via IMAP4 protocol. @var{User}
|
|
specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to
|
|
specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP
|
|
address of the remote mail server to connect to;
|
|
e.g., @code{imap://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}.
|
|
@end table
|
|
|
|
Alternatively, you can specify the file name of the mailbox to use.
|
|
This is equivalent to specifying the @samp{file} protocol:
|
|
|
|
@smallexample
|
|
/var/spool/mail/@var{user} @equiv{} file://var/spool/mail/@var{user}
|
|
@end smallexample
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-movemail-program
|
|
@vindex rmail-movemail-search-path
|
|
The variable @code{rmail-movemail-program} controls which version of
|
|
@code{movemail} to use. If that is a string, it specifies the
|
|
absolute file name of the @code{movemail} executable. If it is
|
|
@code{nil}, Rmail searches for @code{movemail} in the directories
|
|
listed in @code{rmail-movemail-search-path} and @code{exec-path}, then
|
|
in @code{exec-directory}.
|
|
|
|
@node Remote Mailboxes
|
|
@section Retrieving Mail from Remote Mailboxes
|
|
@pindex movemail
|
|
|
|
Some sites use a method called POP for accessing users' inbox data
|
|
instead of storing the data in inbox files. The @code{Emacs
|
|
movemail} can work with POP if you compile it with the macro
|
|
@code{MAIL_USE_POP} defined. (You can achieve that by specifying
|
|
@samp{--with-pop} when you run @code{configure} during the
|
|
installation of Emacs.)
|
|
|
|
The @code{Mailutils movemail} by default supports POP, unless configured
|
|
with @samp{--disable-pop} option.
|
|
|
|
Both versions of @code{movemail} only work with POP3, not with older
|
|
versions of POP.
|
|
|
|
@cindex @env{MAILHOST} environment variable
|
|
@cindex POP mailboxes
|
|
No matter which flavor of @code{movemail} you use, you can specify
|
|
POP inbox by using POP @dfn{URL} (@pxref{Movemail}). A POP
|
|
@acronym{URL} is a ``file name'' of the form
|
|
@samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}, where
|
|
@var{hostname} is the host name or IP address of the remote mail
|
|
server and @var{username} is the user name on that server.
|
|
Additionally, you may specify the password in the mailbox @acronym{URL}:
|
|
@samp{pop://@var{username}:@var{password}@@@var{hostname}}. In this
|
|
case, @var{password} takes preference over the one set by
|
|
@code{rmail-remote-password}. This is especially useful if you have
|
|
several remote mailboxes with different passwords.
|
|
|
|
For backward compatibility Rmail also supports two alternative ways
|
|
of specifying remote POP mailboxes. Specifying inbox name in the form
|
|
@samp{po:@var{username}:@var{hostname}} is equivalent to
|
|
@samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}. Alternatively, you may set
|
|
a ``file name'' of @samp{po:@var{username}} in the inbox list of an
|
|
Rmail file. @code{Movemail} will handle such a name by opening a
|
|
connection to the POP server. The @env{MAILHOST} environment variable
|
|
will in this case specify the machine to look for the server on.
|
|
|
|
@cindex IMAP mailboxes
|
|
Another method for accessing remote mailboxes is IMAP. This method is
|
|
supported only by the @code{mailutils movemail}. To specify an IMAP
|
|
mailbox in the inbox list, use the following mailbox @acronym{URL}:
|
|
@samp{imap://@var{username}[:@var{password}]@@@var{hostname}}. The
|
|
@var{password} part is optional, as described above.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-remote-password
|
|
@vindex rmail-remote-password-required
|
|
@vindex rmail-pop-password
|
|
@vindex rmail-pop-password-required
|
|
Accessing a remote mailbox may require a password. Rmail uses the
|
|
following algorithm to retrieve it:
|
|
|
|
@enumerate
|
|
@item
|
|
If the @var{password} is present in mailbox URL (see above), it is
|
|
used.
|
|
@item
|
|
If the variable @code{rmail-remote-password} is non-@code{nil}, its
|
|
value is used.
|
|
@item
|
|
Otherwise, if @code{rmail-remote-password-required} is non-@code{nil},
|
|
then Rmail will ask you for the password to use.
|
|
@item
|
|
Otherwise, Rmail assumes no password is required.
|
|
@end enumerate
|
|
|
|
For compatibility with previous versions, @code{rmail-pop-password}
|
|
and @code{rmail-pop-password-required} may be used instead of
|
|
@code{rmail-remote-password} and @code{rmail-remote-password-required}.
|
|
|
|
@vindex rmail-movemail-flags
|
|
If you need to pass additional command-line flags to @code{movemail},
|
|
set the variable @code{rmail-movemail-flags} a list of the flags you
|
|
wish to use. Do not use this variable to pass the @samp{-p} flag to
|
|
preserve your inbox contents; use @code{rmail-preserve-inbox} instead.
|
|
|
|
@cindex Kerberos POP authentication
|
|
The @code{movemail} program installed at your site may support
|
|
Kerberos authentication. If it is
|
|
supported, it is used by default whenever you attempt to retrieve
|
|
POP mail when @code{rmail-pop-password} and
|
|
@code{rmail-pop-password-required} are unset.
|
|
|
|
@cindex reverse order in POP inboxes
|
|
Some POP servers store messages in reverse order. If your server does
|
|
this, and you would rather read your mail in the order in which it was
|
|
received, you can tell @code{movemail} to reverse the order of
|
|
downloaded messages by adding the @samp{-r} flag to
|
|
@code{rmail-movemail-flags}.
|
|
|
|
@cindex TLS encryption (Rmail)
|
|
@code{Mailutils movemail} supports TLS encryption. If you wish to
|
|
use it, add the @samp{--tls} flag to @code{rmail-movemail-flags}.
|
|
|
|
@node Other Mailbox Formats
|
|
@section Retrieving Mail from Local Mailboxes in Various Formats
|
|
|
|
If your incoming mail is stored on a local machine in a format other
|
|
than UNIX mailbox, you will need the @code{mailutils movemail} to retrieve
|
|
it. @xref{Movemail}, for the detailed description of @code{movemail}
|
|
versions.
|
|
|
|
For example, to retrieve mail from a @code{maildir} inbox located in
|
|
@file{/var/spool/mail/in}, you would set the following in Rmail inbox list:
|
|
|
|
@smallexample
|
|
maildir://var/spool/mail/in
|
|
@end smallexample
|
|
|
|
@ignore
|
|
arch-tag: 034965f6-38df-47a2-a9f1-b8bc8ab37e23
|
|
@end ignore
|