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1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
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2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002,
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3 @c 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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4 @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions.
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5 @node Rmail, Dired, Sending Mail, Top
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6 @chapter Reading Mail with Rmail
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7 @cindex Rmail
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8 @cindex reading mail
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9 @findex rmail
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10 @findex rmail-mode
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11 @vindex rmail-mode-hook
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12
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13 Rmail is an Emacs subsystem for reading and disposing of mail that
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14 you receive. Rmail stores mail messages in files called Rmail files
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15 which use a special format. Reading the message in an Rmail file is
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16 done in a special major mode, Rmail mode, which redefines most letters
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17 to run commands for managing mail.
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18 @menu
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19 * Basic: Rmail Basics. Basic concepts of Rmail, and simple use.
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20 * Scroll: Rmail Scrolling. Scrolling through a message.
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21 * Motion: Rmail Motion. Moving to another message.
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22 * Deletion: Rmail Deletion. Deleting and expunging messages.
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23 * Inbox: Rmail Inbox. How mail gets into the Rmail file.
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24 * Files: Rmail Files. Using multiple Rmail files.
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25 * Output: Rmail Output. Copying message out to files.
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26 * Labels: Rmail Labels. Classifying messages by labeling them.
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27 * Attrs: Rmail Attributes. Certain standard labels, called attributes.
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28 * Reply: Rmail Reply. Sending replies to messages you are viewing.
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29 * Summary: Rmail Summary. Summaries show brief info on many messages.
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30 * Sort: Rmail Sorting. Sorting messages in Rmail.
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31 * Display: Rmail Display. How Rmail displays a message; customization.
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32 * Coding: Rmail Coding. How Rmail handles decoding character sets.
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33 * Editing: Rmail Editing. Editing message text and headers in Rmail.
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34 * Digest: Rmail Digest. Extracting the messages from a digest message.
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35 * Out of Rmail:: Converting an Rmail file to mailbox format.
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36 * Rot13: Rmail Rot13. Reading messages encoded in the rot13 code.
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37 * Movemail:: More details of fetching new mail.
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38 * Remote Mailboxes:: Retrieving Mail from Remote Mailboxes.
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39 * Other Mailbox Formats:: Retrieving Mail from Local Mailboxes in
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40 Various Formats
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41 @end menu
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42
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43 @node Rmail Basics
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44 @section Basic Concepts of Rmail
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45
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46 @cindex primary Rmail file
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47 @vindex rmail-file-name
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48 Using Rmail in the simplest fashion, you have one Rmail file
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49 @file{~/RMAIL} in which all of your mail is saved. It is called your
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50 @dfn{primary Rmail file}. The command @kbd{M-x rmail} reads your primary
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51 Rmail file, merges new mail in from your inboxes, displays the first
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52 message you haven't read yet, and lets you begin reading. The variable
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53 @code{rmail-file-name} specifies the name of the primary Rmail file.
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54
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55 Rmail uses narrowing to hide all but one message in the Rmail file.
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56 The message that is shown is called the @dfn{current message}. Rmail
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57 mode's special commands can do such things as delete the current
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58 message, copy it into another file, send a reply, or move to another
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59 message. You can also create multiple Rmail files and use Rmail to move
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60 messages between them.
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61
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62 @cindex message number
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63 Within the Rmail file, messages are normally arranged sequentially in
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64 order of receipt; you can specify other ways to sort them. Messages are
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65 identified by consecutive integers which are their @dfn{message numbers}.
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66 The number of the current message is displayed in Rmail's mode line,
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67 followed by the total number of messages in the file. You can move to
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68 a message by specifying its message number with the @kbd{j} key
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69 (@pxref{Rmail Motion}).
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70
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71 @kindex s @r{(Rmail)}
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72 @findex rmail-expunge-and-save
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73 Following the usual conventions of Emacs, changes in an Rmail file
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74 become permanent only when you save the file. You can save it with
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75 @kbd{s} (@code{rmail-expunge-and-save}), which also expunges deleted
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76 messages from the file first (@pxref{Rmail Deletion}). To save the
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77 file without expunging, use @kbd{C-x C-s}. Rmail also saves the Rmail
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78 file after merging new mail from an inbox file (@pxref{Rmail Inbox}).
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79
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80 @kindex q @r{(Rmail)}
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81 @findex rmail-quit
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82 @kindex b @r{(Rmail)}
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83 @findex rmail-bury
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84 You can exit Rmail with @kbd{q} (@code{rmail-quit}); this expunges
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85 and saves the Rmail file, then buries the Rmail buffer as well as its
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86 summary buffer, if present (@pxref{Rmail Summary}). But there is no
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87 need to ``exit'' formally. If you switch from Rmail to editing in
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88 other buffers, and never switch back, you have exited. Just make sure
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89 to save the Rmail file eventually (like any other file you have
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90 changed). @kbd{C-x s} is a suitable way to do this (@pxref{Save
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91 Commands}). The Rmail command @kbd{b}, @code{rmail-bury}, buries the
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92 Rmail buffer and its summary buffer without expunging and saving the
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93 Rmail file.
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94
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95 @node Rmail Scrolling
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96 @section Scrolling Within a Message
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97
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98 When Rmail displays a message that does not fit on the screen, you
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99 must scroll through it to read the rest. You could do this with
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100 @kbd{C-v}, @kbd{M-v} and @kbd{M-<}, but in Rmail scrolling is so
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101 frequent that it deserves to be easier.
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102
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103 @table @kbd
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104 @item @key{SPC}
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105 Scroll forward (@code{scroll-up}).
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106 @item @key{DEL}
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107 Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down}).
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108 @item .
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109 Scroll to start of message (@code{rmail-beginning-of-message}).
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110 @end table
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111
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112 @kindex SPC @r{(Rmail)}
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113 @kindex DEL @r{(Rmail)}
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114 Since the most common thing to do while reading a message is to scroll
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115 through it by screenfuls, Rmail makes @key{SPC} and @key{DEL} synonyms of
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116 @kbd{C-v} (@code{scroll-up}) and @kbd{M-v} (@code{scroll-down})
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117
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118 @kindex . @r{(Rmail)}
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119 @findex rmail-beginning-of-message
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120 The command @kbd{.} (@code{rmail-beginning-of-message}) scrolls back to the
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121 beginning of the selected message. This is not quite the same as @kbd{M-<}:
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122 for one thing, it does not set the mark; for another, it resets the buffer
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123 boundaries to the current message if you have changed them.
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124
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125 @node Rmail Motion
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126 @section Moving Among Messages
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127
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128 The most basic thing to do with a message is to read it. The way to
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129 do this in Rmail is to make the message current. The usual practice is
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130 to move sequentially through the file, since this is the order of
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131 receipt of messages. When you enter Rmail, you are positioned at the
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132 first message that you have not yet made current (that is, the first one
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133 that has the @samp{unseen} attribute; @pxref{Rmail Attributes}). Move
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134 forward to see the other new messages; move backward to re-examine old
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135 messages.
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136
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137 @table @kbd
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138 @item n
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139 Move to the next nondeleted message, skipping any intervening deleted
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140 messages (@code{rmail-next-undeleted-message}).
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141 @item p
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142 Move to the previous nondeleted message
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143 (@code{rmail-previous-undeleted-message}).
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144 @item M-n
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145 Move to the next message, including deleted messages
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146 (@code{rmail-next-message}).
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147 @item M-p
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148 Move to the previous message, including deleted messages
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149 (@code{rmail-previous-message}).
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150 @item j
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151 Move to the first message. With argument @var{n}, move to
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152 message number @var{n} (@code{rmail-show-message}).
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153 @item >
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154 Move to the last message (@code{rmail-last-message}).
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155 @item <
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156 Move to the first message (@code{rmail-first-message}).
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157
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158 @item M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET}
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159 Move to the next message containing a match for @var{regexp}
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160 (@code{rmail-search}).
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161
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162 @item - M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET}
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163 Move to the previous message containing a match for @var{regexp}.
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164 @end table
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165
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166 @kindex n @r{(Rmail)}
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167 @kindex p @r{(Rmail)}
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168 @kindex M-n @r{(Rmail)}
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169 @kindex M-p @r{(Rmail)}
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170 @findex rmail-next-undeleted-message
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171 @findex rmail-previous-undeleted-message
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172 @findex rmail-next-message
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173 @findex rmail-previous-message
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174 @kbd{n} and @kbd{p} are the usual way of moving among messages in
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175 Rmail. They move through the messages sequentially, but skip over
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176 deleted messages, which is usually what you want to do. Their command
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177 definitions are named @code{rmail-next-undeleted-message} and
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178 @code{rmail-previous-undeleted-message}. If you do not want to skip
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179 deleted messages---for example, if you want to move to a message to
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180 undelete it---use the variants @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p}
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181 (@code{rmail-next-message} and @code{rmail-previous-message}). A
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182 numeric argument to any of these commands serves as a repeat
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183 count.
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184
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185 In Rmail, you can specify a numeric argument by typing just the
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186 digits. You don't need to type @kbd{C-u} first.
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187
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188 @kindex M-s @r{(Rmail)}
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189 @findex rmail-search
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190 @cindex searching in Rmail
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191 The @kbd{M-s} (@code{rmail-search}) command is Rmail's version of
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192 search. The usual incremental search command @kbd{C-s} works in Rmail,
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193 but it searches only within the current message. The purpose of
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194 @kbd{M-s} is to search for another message. It reads a regular
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195 expression (@pxref{Regexps}) nonincrementally, then searches starting at
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196 the beginning of the following message for a match. It then selects
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197 that message. If @var{regexp} is empty, @kbd{M-s} reuses the regexp
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198 used the previous time.
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199
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200 To search backward in the file for another message, give @kbd{M-s} a
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201 negative argument. In Rmail you can do this with @kbd{- M-s}.
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202
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203 It is also possible to search for a message based on labels.
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204 @xref{Rmail Labels}.
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205
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206 @kindex j @r{(Rmail)}
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207 @kindex > @r{(Rmail)}
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208 @kindex < @r{(Rmail)}
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209 @findex rmail-show-message
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210 @findex rmail-last-message
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211 @findex rmail-first-message
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212 To move to a message specified by absolute message number, use @kbd{j}
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213 (@code{rmail-show-message}) with the message number as argument. With
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214 no argument, @kbd{j} selects the first message. @kbd{<}
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215 (@code{rmail-first-message}) also selects the first message. @kbd{>}
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216 (@code{rmail-last-message}) selects the last message.
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217
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218 @node Rmail Deletion
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219 @section Deleting Messages
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220
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221 @cindex deletion (Rmail)
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222 When you no longer need to keep a message, you can @dfn{delete} it. This
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223 flags it as ignorable, and some Rmail commands pretend it is no longer
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224 present; but it still has its place in the Rmail file, and still has its
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225 message number.
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226
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227 @cindex expunging (Rmail)
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228 @dfn{Expunging} the Rmail file actually removes the deleted messages.
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229 The remaining messages are renumbered consecutively. Expunging is the only
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230 action that changes the message number of any message, except for
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231 undigestifying (@pxref{Rmail Digest}).
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232
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233 @table @kbd
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234 @item d
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235 Delete the current message, and move to the next nondeleted message
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236 (@code{rmail-delete-forward}).
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237 @item C-d
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238 Delete the current message, and move to the previous nondeleted
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239 message (@code{rmail-delete-backward}).
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240 @item u
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241 Undelete the current message, or move back to a deleted message and
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242 undelete it (@code{rmail-undelete-previous-message}).
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243 @item x
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244 Expunge the Rmail file (@code{rmail-expunge}).
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245 @end table
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246
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247 @kindex d @r{(Rmail)}
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248 @kindex C-d @r{(Rmail)}
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249 @findex rmail-delete-forward
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250 @findex rmail-delete-backward
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251 There are two Rmail commands for deleting messages. Both delete the
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252 current message and select another message. @kbd{d}
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253 (@code{rmail-delete-forward}) moves to the following message, skipping
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254 messages already deleted, while @kbd{C-d} (@code{rmail-delete-backward})
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255 moves to the previous nondeleted message. If there is no nondeleted
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256 message to move to in the specified direction, the message that was just
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257 deleted remains current. @kbd{d} with a numeric argument is
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258 equivalent to @kbd{C-d}.
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259
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260 @vindex rmail-delete-message-hook
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261 Whenever Rmail deletes a message, it runs the hook
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262 @code{rmail-delete-message-hook}. When the hook functions are invoked,
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263 the message has been marked deleted, but it is still the current message
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264 in the Rmail buffer.
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265
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266 @cindex undeletion (Rmail)
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267 @kindex x @r{(Rmail)}
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268 @findex rmail-expunge
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269 @kindex u @r{(Rmail)}
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270 @findex rmail-undelete-previous-message
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271 To make all the deleted messages finally vanish from the Rmail file,
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272 type @kbd{x} (@code{rmail-expunge}). Until you do this, you can still
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273 @dfn{undelete} the deleted messages. The undeletion command, @kbd{u}
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274 (@code{rmail-undelete-previous-message}), is designed to cancel the
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275 effect of a @kbd{d} command in most cases. It undeletes the current
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276 message if the current message is deleted. Otherwise it moves backward
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277 to previous messages until a deleted message is found, and undeletes
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278 that message.
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279
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280 You can usually undo a @kbd{d} with a @kbd{u} because the @kbd{u}
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281 moves back to and undeletes the message that the @kbd{d} deleted. But
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282 this does not work when the @kbd{d} skips a few already-deleted messages
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283 that follow the message being deleted; then the @kbd{u} command
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284 undeletes the last of the messages that were skipped. There is no clean
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285 way to avoid this problem. However, by repeating the @kbd{u} command,
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286 you can eventually get back to the message that you intend to
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287 undelete. You can also select a particular deleted message with
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288 the @kbd{M-p} command, then type @kbd{u} to undelete it.
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289
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290 A deleted message has the @samp{deleted} attribute, and as a result
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291 @samp{deleted} appears in the mode line when the current message is
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292 deleted. In fact, deleting or undeleting a message is nothing more than
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293 adding or removing this attribute. @xref{Rmail Attributes}.
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294
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295 @node Rmail Inbox
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296 @section Rmail Files and Inboxes
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297 @cindex inbox file
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298
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299 When you receive mail locally, the operating system places incoming
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300 mail for you in a file that we call your @dfn{inbox}. When you start
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301 up Rmail, it runs a C program called @code{movemail} to copy the new
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302 messages from your local inbox into your primary Rmail file, which
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303 also contains other messages saved from previous Rmail sessions. It
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304 is in this file that you actually read the mail with Rmail. This
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305 operation is called @dfn{getting new mail}. You can get new mail at
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306 any time in Rmail by typing @kbd{g}.
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307
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308 @vindex rmail-primary-inbox-list
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309 @cindex @env{MAIL} environment variable
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310 The variable @code{rmail-primary-inbox-list} contains a list of the
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311 files which are inboxes for your primary Rmail file. If you don't set
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312 this variable explicitly, it is initialized from the @env{MAIL}
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313 environment variable, or, as a last resort, set to @code{nil}, which
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314 means to use the default inbox. The default inbox file depends on
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315 your operating system; often it is @file{/var/mail/@var{username}},
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316 @file{/usr/spool/mail/@var{username}}, or
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317 @file{/usr/mail/@var{username}}.
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318
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319 You can specify the inbox file(s) for any Rmail file with the
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320 command @code{set-rmail-inbox-list}; see @ref{Rmail Files}.
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321
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322 There are two reasons for having separate Rmail files and inboxes.
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323
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324 @enumerate
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325 @item
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326 The inbox file format varies between operating systems and according to
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327 the other mail software in use. Only one part of Rmail needs to know
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328 about the alternatives, and it need only understand how to convert all
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329 of them to Rmail's own format.
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330
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331 @item
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332 It is very cumbersome to access an inbox file without danger of losing
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333 mail, because it is necessary to interlock with mail delivery.
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334 Moreover, different operating systems use different interlocking
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335 techniques. The strategy of moving mail out of the inbox once and for
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336 all into a separate Rmail file avoids the need for interlocking in all
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337 the rest of Rmail, since only Rmail operates on the Rmail file.
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338 @end enumerate
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339
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340 Rmail was written to use Babyl format as its internal format. Since
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341 then, we have recognized that the usual inbox format on Unix and GNU
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342 systems is adequate for the job, and we plan to change Rmail to use that
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343 as its internal format. However, the Rmail file will still be separate
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344 from the inbox file, even when their format is the same.
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345
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346 @vindex rmail-preserve-inbox
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347 When getting new mail, Rmail first copies the new mail from the
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348 inbox file to the Rmail file; then it saves the Rmail file; then it
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349 clears out the inbox file. This way, a system crash may cause
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350 duplication of mail between the inbox and the Rmail file, but cannot
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351 lose mail. If @code{rmail-preserve-inbox} is non-@code{nil}, then
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352 Rmail does not clear out the inbox file when it gets new mail. You
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353 may wish to set this, for example, on a portable computer you use to
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354 check your mail via POP while traveling, so that your mail will remain
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355 on the server and you can save it later on your workstation.
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356
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357 In some cases, Rmail copies the new mail from the inbox file
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358 indirectly. First it runs the @code{movemail} program to move the mail
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359 from the inbox to an intermediate file called
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360 @file{~/.newmail-@var{inboxname}}. Then Rmail merges the new mail from
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361 that file, saves the Rmail file, and only then deletes the intermediate
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362 file. If there is a crash at the wrong time, this file continues to
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363 exist, and Rmail will use it again the next time it gets new mail from
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364 that inbox.
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365
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366 If Rmail is unable to convert the data in
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367 @file{~/.newmail-@var{inboxname}} into Babyl format, it renames the file
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368 to @file{~/RMAILOSE.@var{n}} (@var{n} is an integer chosen to make the
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369 name unique) so that Rmail will not have trouble with the data again.
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370 You should look at the file, find whatever message confuses Rmail
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371 (probably one that includes the control-underscore character, octal code
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372 037), and delete it. Then you can use @kbd{1 g} to get new mail from
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373 the corrected file.
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374
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375 @node Rmail Files
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376 @section Multiple Rmail Files
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377
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378 Rmail operates by default on your @dfn{primary Rmail file}, which is named
|
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379 @file{~/RMAIL} and receives your incoming mail from your system inbox file.
|
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380 But you can also have other Rmail files and edit them with Rmail. These
|
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381 files can receive mail through their own inboxes, or you can move messages
|
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382 into them with explicit Rmail commands (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
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383
|
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384 @table @kbd
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385 @item i @var{file} @key{RET}
|
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386 Read @var{file} into Emacs and run Rmail on it (@code{rmail-input}).
|
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387
|
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388 @item M-x set-rmail-inbox-list @key{RET} @var{files} @key{RET}
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|
389 Specify inbox file names for current Rmail file to get mail from.
|
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390
|
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391 @item g
|
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392 Merge new mail from current Rmail file's inboxes
|
|
393 (@code{rmail-get-new-mail}).
|
|
394
|
|
395 @item C-u g @var{file} @key{RET}
|
|
396 Merge new mail from inbox file @var{file}.
|
|
397 @end table
|
|
398
|
|
399 @kindex i @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
400 @findex rmail-input
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401 To run Rmail on a file other than your primary Rmail file, you can use
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402 the @kbd{i} (@code{rmail-input}) command in Rmail. This visits the file
|
|
403 in Rmail mode. You can use @kbd{M-x rmail-input} even when not in
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404 Rmail, but it is easier to type @kbd{C-u M-x rmail}, which does the
|
|
405 same thing.
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406
|
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407 The file you read with @kbd{i} should normally be a valid Rmail file.
|
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408 If it is not, Rmail tries to decompose it into a stream of messages in
|
|
409 various known formats. If it succeeds, it converts the whole file to an
|
|
410 Rmail file. If you specify a file name that doesn't exist, @kbd{i}
|
|
411 initializes a new buffer for creating a new Rmail file.
|
|
412
|
|
413 @vindex rmail-secondary-file-directory
|
|
414 @vindex rmail-secondary-file-regexp
|
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415 You can also select an Rmail file from a menu. In the Classify menu,
|
|
416 choose the Input Rmail File item; then choose the Rmail file you want.
|
|
417 The variables @code{rmail-secondary-file-directory} and
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418 @code{rmail-secondary-file-regexp} specify which files to offer in the
|
|
419 menu: the first variable says which directory to find them in; the
|
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420 second says which files in that directory to offer (all those that
|
|
421 match the regular expression). These variables also apply to choosing
|
|
422 a file for output (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
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423
|
|
424 @findex set-rmail-inbox-list
|
|
425 Each Rmail file can contain a list of inbox file names; you can specify
|
|
426 this list with @kbd{M-x set-rmail-inbox-list @key{RET} @var{files}
|
|
427 @key{RET}}. The argument can contain any number of file names, separated
|
|
428 by commas. It can also be empty, which specifies that this file should
|
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429 have no inboxes. Once you specify a list of inboxes in an Rmail file,
|
|
430 the Rmail file remembers it permanently until you specify a different list.
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431
|
|
432 As a special exception, if your primary Rmail file does not specify any
|
|
433 inbox files, it uses your standard system inbox.
|
|
434
|
|
435 @kindex g @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
436 @findex rmail-get-new-mail
|
|
437 The @kbd{g} command (@code{rmail-get-new-mail}) merges mail into the
|
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438 current Rmail file from its inboxes. If the Rmail file has no
|
|
439 inboxes, @kbd{g} does nothing. The command @kbd{M-x rmail} also
|
|
440 merges new mail into your primary Rmail file.
|
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|
441
|
|
442 To merge mail from a file that is not the usual inbox, give the
|
|
443 @kbd{g} key a numeric argument, as in @kbd{C-u g}. Then it reads a file
|
|
444 name and merges mail from that file. The inbox file is not deleted or
|
|
445 changed in any way when @kbd{g} with an argument is used. This is,
|
|
446 therefore, a general way of merging one file of messages into another.
|
|
447
|
|
448 @node Rmail Output
|
|
449 @section Copying Messages Out to Files
|
|
450
|
|
451 These commands copy messages from an Rmail file into another file.
|
|
452
|
|
453 @table @kbd
|
|
454 @item o @var{file} @key{RET}
|
|
455 Append a copy of the current message to the file @var{file}, using Rmail
|
|
456 file format by default (@code{rmail-output-to-rmail-file}).
|
|
457
|
|
458 @item C-o @var{file} @key{RET}
|
|
459 Append a copy of the current message to the file @var{file}, using
|
|
460 system inbox file format by default (@code{rmail-output}).
|
|
461
|
|
462 @item w @var{file} @key{RET}
|
|
463 Output just the message body to the file @var{file}, taking the default
|
|
464 file name from the message @samp{Subject} header.
|
|
465 @end table
|
|
466
|
|
467 @kindex o @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
468 @findex rmail-output-to-rmail-file
|
|
469 @kindex C-o @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
470 @findex rmail-output
|
|
471 The commands @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} copy the current message into a
|
|
472 specified file. This file may be an Rmail file or it may be in system
|
|
473 inbox format; the output commands ascertain the file's format and write
|
|
474 the copied message in that format.
|
|
475
|
|
476 The @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} commands differ in two ways: each has its
|
|
477 own separate default file name, and each specifies a choice of format to
|
|
478 use when the file does not already exist. The @kbd{o} command uses
|
|
479 Rmail format when it creates a new file, while @kbd{C-o} uses system
|
|
480 inbox format for a new file. The default file name for @kbd{o} is the
|
|
481 file name used last with @kbd{o}, and the default file name for
|
|
482 @kbd{C-o} is the file name used last with @kbd{C-o}.
|
|
483
|
|
484 If the output file is an Rmail file currently visited in an Emacs buffer,
|
|
485 the output commands copy the message into that buffer. It is up to you
|
|
486 to save the buffer eventually in its file.
|
|
487
|
|
488 @kindex w @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
489 @findex rmail-output-body-to-file
|
|
490 Sometimes you may receive a message whose body holds the contents of a
|
|
491 file. You can save the body to a file (excluding the message header)
|
|
492 with the @kbd{w} command (@code{rmail-output-body-to-file}). Often
|
|
493 these messages contain the intended file name in the @samp{Subject}
|
|
494 field, so the @kbd{w} command uses the @samp{Subject} field as the
|
|
495 default for the output file name. However, the file name is read using
|
|
496 the minibuffer, so you can specify a different name if you wish.
|
|
497
|
|
498 You can also output a message to an Rmail file chosen with a menu.
|
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|
499 In the Classify menu, choose the Output Rmail File menu item; then
|
|
500 choose the Rmail file you want. This outputs the current message to
|
|
501 that file, like the @kbd{o} command. The variables
|
|
502 @code{rmail-secondary-file-directory} and
|
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|
503 @code{rmail-secondary-file-regexp} specify which files to offer in the
|
|
504 menu: the first variable says which directory to find them in; the
|
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|
505 second says which files in that directory to offer (all those that
|
|
506 match the regular expression).
|
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|
507
|
|
508 @vindex rmail-delete-after-output
|
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|
509 Copying a message with @kbd{o} or @kbd{C-o} gives the original copy
|
|
510 of the message the @samp{filed} attribute, so that @samp{filed}
|
|
511 appears in the mode line when such a message is current. @kbd{w}
|
|
512 gives it the @samp{stored} attribute. If you like to keep just a
|
|
513 single copy of every mail message, set the variable
|
|
514 @code{rmail-delete-after-output} to @code{t}; then the @kbd{o},
|
|
515 @kbd{C-o} and @kbd{w} commands delete the original message after
|
|
516 copying it. (You can undelete the original afterward if you wish.)
|
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|
517
|
|
518 Copying messages into files in system inbox format uses the header
|
|
519 fields that are displayed in Rmail at the time. Thus, if you use the
|
|
520 @kbd{t} command to view the entire header and then copy the message, the
|
|
521 entire header is copied. @xref{Rmail Display}.
|
|
522
|
|
523 @vindex rmail-output-file-alist
|
|
524 The variable @code{rmail-output-file-alist} lets you specify
|
|
525 intelligent defaults for the output file, based on the contents of the
|
|
526 current message. The value should be a list whose elements have this
|
|
527 form:
|
|
528
|
|
529 @example
|
|
530 (@var{regexp} . @var{name-exp})
|
|
531 @end example
|
|
532
|
|
533 @noindent
|
|
534 If there's a match for @var{regexp} in the current message, then the
|
|
535 default file name for output is @var{name-exp}. If multiple elements
|
|
536 match the message, the first matching element decides the default file
|
|
537 name. The subexpression @var{name-exp} may be a string constant giving
|
|
538 the file name to use, or more generally it may be any Lisp expression
|
|
539 that returns a file name as a string. @code{rmail-output-file-alist}
|
|
540 applies to both @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o}.
|
|
541
|
|
542 @node Rmail Labels
|
|
543 @section Labels
|
|
544 @cindex label (Rmail)
|
|
545 @cindex attribute (Rmail)
|
|
546
|
|
547 Each message can have various @dfn{labels} assigned to it as a means
|
|
548 of classification. Each label has a name; different names are different
|
|
549 labels. Any given label is either present or absent on a particular
|
|
550 message. A few label names have standard meanings and are given to
|
|
551 messages automatically by Rmail when appropriate; these special labels
|
|
552 are called @dfn{attributes}.
|
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|
553 @ifnottex
|
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|
554 (@xref{Rmail Attributes}.)
|
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|
555 @end ifnottex
|
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|
556 All other labels are assigned only by users.
|
|
557
|
|
558 @table @kbd
|
|
559 @item a @var{label} @key{RET}
|
|
560 Assign the label @var{label} to the current message (@code{rmail-add-label}).
|
|
561 @item k @var{label} @key{RET}
|
|
562 Remove the label @var{label} from the current message (@code{rmail-kill-label}).
|
|
563 @item C-M-n @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
564 Move to the next message that has one of the labels @var{labels}
|
|
565 (@code{rmail-next-labeled-message}).
|
|
566 @item C-M-p @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
567 Move to the previous message that has one of the labels @var{labels}
|
|
568 (@code{rmail-previous-labeled-message}).
|
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|
569 @item l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
570 @itemx C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
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|
571 Make a summary of all messages containing any of the labels @var{labels}
|
|
572 (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}).
|
|
573 @end table
|
|
574
|
|
575 @kindex a @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
576 @kindex k @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
577 @findex rmail-add-label
|
|
578 @findex rmail-kill-label
|
|
579 The @kbd{a} (@code{rmail-add-label}) and @kbd{k}
|
|
580 (@code{rmail-kill-label}) commands allow you to assign or remove any
|
|
581 label on the current message. If the @var{label} argument is empty, it
|
|
582 means to assign or remove the same label most recently assigned or
|
|
583 removed.
|
|
584
|
|
585 Once you have given messages labels to classify them as you wish, there
|
|
586 are two ways to use the labels: in moving and in summaries.
|
|
587
|
|
588 @kindex C-M-n @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
589 @kindex C-M-p @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
590 @findex rmail-next-labeled-message
|
|
591 @findex rmail-previous-labeled-message
|
|
592 The command @kbd{C-M-n @var{labels} @key{RET}}
|
|
593 (@code{rmail-next-labeled-message}) moves to the next message that has
|
|
594 one of the labels @var{labels}. The argument @var{labels} specifies one
|
|
595 or more label names, separated by commas. @kbd{C-M-p}
|
|
596 (@code{rmail-previous-labeled-message}) is similar, but moves backwards
|
|
597 to previous messages. A numeric argument to either command serves as a
|
|
598 repeat count.
|
|
599
|
|
600 The command @kbd{C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}}
|
|
601 (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}) displays a summary containing only the
|
|
602 messages that have at least one of a specified set of labels. The
|
|
603 argument @var{labels} is one or more label names, separated by commas.
|
68698
|
604 @xref{Rmail Summary}, for information on summaries.
|
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|
605
|
|
606 If the @var{labels} argument to @kbd{C-M-n}, @kbd{C-M-p} or
|
|
607 @kbd{C-M-l} is empty, it means to use the last set of labels specified
|
|
608 for any of these commands.
|
|
609
|
|
610 @node Rmail Attributes
|
|
611 @section Rmail Attributes
|
|
612
|
|
613 Some labels such as @samp{deleted} and @samp{filed} have built-in
|
68698
|
614 meanings, and Rmail assigns them to messages automatically at
|
|
615 appropriate times; these labels are called @dfn{attributes}. Here is
|
|
616 a list of Rmail attributes:
|
25829
|
617
|
|
618 @table @samp
|
|
619 @item unseen
|
|
620 Means the message has never been current. Assigned to messages when
|
|
621 they come from an inbox file, and removed when a message is made
|
|
622 current. When you start Rmail, it initially shows the first message
|
|
623 that has this attribute.
|
|
624 @item deleted
|
|
625 Means the message is deleted. Assigned by deletion commands and
|
|
626 removed by undeletion commands (@pxref{Rmail Deletion}).
|
|
627 @item filed
|
|
628 Means the message has been copied to some other file. Assigned by the
|
61436
|
629 @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} file output commands (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
|
|
630 @item stored
|
|
631 Assigned by the @kbd{w} file output command (@pxref{Rmail Output}).
|
25829
|
632 @item answered
|
|
633 Means you have mailed an answer to the message. Assigned by the @kbd{r}
|
|
634 command (@code{rmail-reply}). @xref{Rmail Reply}.
|
|
635 @item forwarded
|
|
636 Means you have forwarded the message. Assigned by the @kbd{f} command
|
|
637 (@code{rmail-forward}). @xref{Rmail Reply}.
|
|
638 @item edited
|
|
639 Means you have edited the text of the message within Rmail.
|
|
640 @xref{Rmail Editing}.
|
|
641 @item resent
|
|
642 Means you have resent the message. Assigned by the command @kbd{M-x
|
|
643 rmail-resend}. @xref{Rmail Reply}.
|
|
644 @end table
|
|
645
|
68698
|
646 All other labels are assigned or removed only by users, and have no
|
25829
|
647 standard meaning.
|
|
648
|
|
649 @node Rmail Reply
|
|
650 @section Sending Replies
|
|
651
|
|
652 Rmail has several commands that use Mail mode to send outgoing mail.
|
|
653 @xref{Sending Mail}, for information on using Mail mode, including
|
|
654 certain features meant to work with Rmail. What this section documents
|
|
655 are the special commands of Rmail for entering Mail mode. Note that the
|
|
656 usual keys for sending mail---@kbd{C-x m}, @kbd{C-x 4 m}, and @kbd{C-x 5
|
68698
|
657 m}---also work normally in Rmail mode.
|
25829
|
658
|
|
659 @table @kbd
|
|
660 @item m
|
|
661 Send a message (@code{rmail-mail}).
|
|
662 @item c
|
|
663 Continue editing the already started outgoing message (@code{rmail-continue}).
|
|
664 @item r
|
|
665 Send a reply to the current Rmail message (@code{rmail-reply}).
|
|
666 @item f
|
|
667 Forward the current message to other users (@code{rmail-forward}).
|
|
668 @item C-u f
|
|
669 Resend the current message to other users (@code{rmail-resend}).
|
|
670 @item M-m
|
|
671 Try sending a bounced message a second time (@code{rmail-retry-failure}).
|
|
672 @end table
|
|
673
|
|
674 @kindex r @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
675 @findex rmail-reply
|
|
676 @cindex reply to a message
|
68698
|
677 The most common reason to send a message while in Rmail is to reply
|
|
678 to the message you are reading. To do this, type @kbd{r}
|
|
679 (@code{rmail-reply}). This displays the @samp{*mail*} buffer in
|
|
680 another window, much like @kbd{C-x 4 m}, but preinitializes the
|
|
681 @samp{Subject}, @samp{To}, @samp{CC}, @samp{In-reply-to} and
|
|
682 @samp{References} header fields based on the message you are replying
|
|
683 to. The @samp{To} field starts out as the address of the person who
|
|
684 sent the message you received, and the @samp{CC} field starts out with
|
|
685 all the other recipients of that message.
|
25829
|
686
|
|
687 @vindex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
|
|
688 You can exclude certain recipients from being placed automatically in
|
|
689 the @samp{CC}, using the variable @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names}. Its
|
|
690 value should be a regular expression (as a string); any recipient that
|
|
691 the regular expression matches, is excluded from the @samp{CC} field.
|
|
692 The default value matches your own name, and any name starting with
|
|
693 @samp{info-}. (Those names are excluded because there is a convention
|
|
694 of using them for large mailing lists to broadcast announcements.)
|
|
695
|
|
696 To omit the @samp{CC} field completely for a particular reply, enter
|
|
697 the reply command with a numeric argument: @kbd{C-u r} or @kbd{1 r}.
|
68698
|
698 This means to reply only to the sender of the original message.
|
25829
|
699
|
|
700 Once the @samp{*mail*} buffer has been initialized, editing and
|
|
701 sending the mail goes as usual (@pxref{Sending Mail}). You can edit the
|
68698
|
702 presupplied header fields if they are not what you want. You can also
|
25829
|
703 use the commands of Mail mode (@pxref{Mail Mode}), including @kbd{C-c
|
|
704 C-y} which yanks in the message that you are replying to. You can
|
68698
|
705 also switch to the Rmail buffer, select a different message there, switch
|
25829
|
706 back, and yank the new current message.
|
|
707
|
|
708 @kindex M-m @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
709 @findex rmail-retry-failure
|
|
710 @cindex retrying a failed message
|
|
711 @vindex rmail-retry-ignored-headers
|
|
712 Sometimes a message does not reach its destination. Mailers usually
|
|
713 send the failed message back to you, enclosed in a @dfn{failure
|
|
714 message}. The Rmail command @kbd{M-m} (@code{rmail-retry-failure})
|
|
715 prepares to send the same message a second time: it sets up a
|
|
716 @samp{*mail*} buffer with the same text and header fields as before. If
|
|
717 you type @kbd{C-c C-c} right away, you send the message again exactly
|
|
718 the same as the first time. Alternatively, you can edit the text or
|
|
719 headers and then send it. The variable
|
|
720 @code{rmail-retry-ignored-headers}, in the same format as
|
|
721 @code{rmail-ignored-headers} (@pxref{Rmail Display}), controls which
|
37577
|
722 headers are stripped from the failed message when retrying it.
|
25829
|
723
|
|
724 @kindex f @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
725 @findex rmail-forward
|
|
726 @cindex forwarding a message
|
|
727 Another frequent reason to send mail in Rmail is to @dfn{forward} the
|
|
728 current message to other users. @kbd{f} (@code{rmail-forward}) makes
|
|
729 this easy by preinitializing the @samp{*mail*} buffer with the current
|
|
730 message as the text, and a subject designating a forwarded message. All
|
|
731 you have to do is fill in the recipients and send. When you forward a
|
|
732 message, recipients get a message which is ``from'' you, and which has
|
|
733 the original message in its contents.
|
|
734
|
|
735 @findex unforward-rmail-message
|
|
736 Forwarding a message encloses it between two delimiter lines. It also
|
|
737 modifies every line that starts with a dash, by inserting @w{@samp{- }}
|
|
738 at the start of the line. When you receive a forwarded message, if it
|
|
739 contains something besides ordinary text---for example, program source
|
|
740 code---you might find it useful to undo that transformation. You can do
|
|
741 this by selecting the forwarded message and typing @kbd{M-x
|
|
742 unforward-rmail-message}. This command extracts the original forwarded
|
|
743 message, deleting the inserted @w{@samp{- }} strings, and inserts it
|
|
744 into the Rmail file as a separate message immediately following the
|
|
745 current one.
|
|
746
|
|
747 @findex rmail-resend
|
|
748 @dfn{Resending} is an alternative similar to forwarding; the
|
|
749 difference is that resending sends a message that is ``from'' the
|
|
750 original sender, just as it reached you---with a few added header fields
|
37577
|
751 @samp{Resent-From} and @samp{Resent-To} to indicate that it came via
|
25829
|
752 you. To resend a message in Rmail, use @kbd{C-u f}. (@kbd{f} runs
|
|
753 @code{rmail-forward}, which is programmed to invoke @code{rmail-resend}
|
|
754 if you provide a numeric argument.)
|
|
755
|
|
756 @kindex m @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
757 @findex rmail-mail
|
|
758 The @kbd{m} (@code{rmail-mail}) command is used to start editing an
|
|
759 outgoing message that is not a reply. It leaves the header fields empty.
|
|
760 Its only difference from @kbd{C-x 4 m} is that it makes the Rmail buffer
|
|
761 accessible for @kbd{C-c C-y}, just as @kbd{r} does. Thus, @kbd{m} can be
|
|
762 used to reply to or forward a message; it can do anything @kbd{r} or @kbd{f}
|
68698
|
763 can do.
|
25829
|
764
|
|
765 @kindex c @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
766 @findex rmail-continue
|
|
767 The @kbd{c} (@code{rmail-continue}) command resumes editing the
|
|
768 @samp{*mail*} buffer, to finish editing an outgoing message you were
|
68698
|
769 already composing, or to alter a message you have sent.
|
25829
|
770
|
|
771 @vindex rmail-mail-new-frame
|
|
772 If you set the variable @code{rmail-mail-new-frame} to a
|
|
773 non-@code{nil} value, then all the Rmail commands to start sending a
|
|
774 message create a new frame to edit it in. This frame is deleted when
|
37577
|
775 you send the message, or when you use the @samp{Cancel} item in the
|
25829
|
776 @samp{Mail} menu.
|
|
777
|
|
778 All the Rmail commands to send a message use the mail-composition
|
|
779 method that you have chosen (@pxref{Mail Methods}).
|
|
780
|
|
781 @node Rmail Summary
|
|
782 @section Summaries
|
|
783 @cindex summary (Rmail)
|
|
784
|
|
785 A @dfn{summary} is a buffer containing one line per message to give
|
|
786 you an overview of the mail in an Rmail file. Each line shows the
|
37577
|
787 message number and date, the sender, the line count, the labels, and
|
|
788 the subject. Moving point in the summary buffer selects messages as
|
|
789 you move to their summary lines. Almost all Rmail commands are valid
|
|
790 in the summary buffer also; when used there, they apply to the message
|
|
791 described by the current line of the summary.
|
25829
|
792
|
|
793 A summary buffer applies to a single Rmail file only; if you are
|
|
794 editing multiple Rmail files, each one can have its own summary buffer.
|
|
795 The summary buffer name is made by appending @samp{-summary} to the
|
|
796 Rmail buffer's name. Normally only one summary buffer is displayed at a
|
|
797 time.
|
|
798
|
|
799 @menu
|
|
800 * Rmail Make Summary:: Making various sorts of summaries.
|
|
801 * Rmail Summary Edit:: Manipulating messages from the summary.
|
|
802 @end menu
|
|
803
|
|
804 @node Rmail Make Summary
|
|
805 @subsection Making Summaries
|
|
806
|
|
807 Here are the commands to create a summary for the current Rmail file.
|
|
808 Once the Rmail file has a summary buffer, changes in the Rmail file
|
|
809 (such as deleting or expunging messages, and getting new mail)
|
|
810 automatically update the summary.
|
|
811
|
|
812 @table @kbd
|
|
813 @item h
|
|
814 @itemx C-M-h
|
|
815 Summarize all messages (@code{rmail-summary}).
|
|
816 @item l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
817 @itemx C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
818 Summarize messages that have one or more of the specified labels
|
|
819 (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}).
|
|
820 @item C-M-r @var{rcpts} @key{RET}
|
|
821 Summarize messages that have one or more of the specified recipients
|
|
822 (@code{rmail-summary-by-recipients}).
|
|
823 @item C-M-t @var{topic} @key{RET}
|
|
824 Summarize messages that have a match for the specified regexp
|
|
825 @var{topic} in their subjects (@code{rmail-summary-by-topic}).
|
37417
|
826 @item C-M-s @var{regexp}
|
|
827 Summarize messages whose headers and the subject line match the
|
|
828 specified regular expression @var{regexp}
|
|
829 (@code{rmail-summary-by-regexp}).
|
25829
|
830 @end table
|
|
831
|
|
832 @kindex h @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
833 @findex rmail-summary
|
|
834 The @kbd{h} or @kbd{C-M-h} (@code{rmail-summary}) command fills the summary buffer
|
|
835 for the current Rmail file with a summary of all the messages in the file.
|
|
836 It then displays and selects the summary buffer in another window.
|
|
837
|
|
838 @kindex l @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
839 @kindex C-M-l @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
840 @findex rmail-summary-by-labels
|
|
841 @kbd{C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}) makes
|
|
842 a partial summary mentioning only the messages that have one or more of the
|
|
843 labels @var{labels}. @var{labels} should contain label names separated by
|
68698
|
844 commas.
|
25829
|
845
|
|
846 @kindex C-M-r @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
847 @findex rmail-summary-by-recipients
|
|
848 @kbd{C-M-r @var{rcpts} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-recipients})
|
|
849 makes a partial summary mentioning only the messages that have one or more
|
|
850 of the recipients @var{rcpts}. @var{rcpts} should contain mailing
|
68698
|
851 addresses separated by commas.
|
25829
|
852
|
|
853 @kindex C-M-t @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
854 @findex rmail-summary-by-topic
|
|
855 @kbd{C-M-t @var{topic} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-topic})
|
|
856 makes a partial summary mentioning only the messages whose subjects have
|
|
857 a match for the regular expression @var{topic}.
|
|
858
|
37417
|
859 @kindex C-M-s @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
860 @findex rmail-summary-by-regexp
|
38065
|
861 @kbd{C-M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-regexp})
|
37417
|
862 makes a partial summary which mentions only the messages whose headers
|
|
863 (including the date and the subject lines) match the regular
|
|
864 expression @var{regexp}.
|
|
865
|
68698
|
866 Note that there is only one summary buffer for any Rmail file;
|
|
867 making any kind of summary discards any previous summary.
|
25829
|
868
|
|
869 @vindex rmail-summary-window-size
|
|
870 @vindex rmail-summary-line-count-flag
|
|
871 The variable @code{rmail-summary-window-size} says how many lines to
|
|
872 use for the summary window. The variable
|
|
873 @code{rmail-summary-line-count-flag} controls whether the summary line
|
|
874 for a message should include the line count of the message.
|
|
875
|
|
876 @node Rmail Summary Edit
|
|
877 @subsection Editing in Summaries
|
|
878
|
|
879 You can use the Rmail summary buffer to do almost anything you can do
|
|
880 in the Rmail buffer itself. In fact, once you have a summary buffer,
|
|
881 there's no need to switch back to the Rmail buffer.
|
|
882
|
|
883 You can select and display various messages in the Rmail buffer, from
|
|
884 the summary buffer, just by moving point in the summary buffer to
|
|
885 different lines. It doesn't matter what Emacs command you use to move
|
|
886 point; whichever line point is on at the end of the command, that
|
|
887 message is selected in the Rmail buffer.
|
|
888
|
|
889 Almost all Rmail commands work in the summary buffer as well as in the
|
|
890 Rmail buffer. Thus, @kbd{d} in the summary buffer deletes the current
|
61486
ead6069b170d
(Rmail Summary Edit): Explain numeric arguments to `d', `C-d' and `u'.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
diff
changeset
|
891 message, @kbd{u} undeletes, and @kbd{x} expunges. (However, in the
|
ead6069b170d
(Rmail Summary Edit): Explain numeric arguments to `d', `C-d' and `u'.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
diff
changeset
|
892 summary buffer, a numeric argument to @kbd{d}, @kbd{C-d} and @kbd{u}
|
ead6069b170d
(Rmail Summary Edit): Explain numeric arguments to `d', `C-d' and `u'.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
diff
changeset
|
893 serves as a repeat count. A negative argument reverses the meaning of
|
ead6069b170d
(Rmail Summary Edit): Explain numeric arguments to `d', `C-d' and `u'.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
diff
changeset
|
894 @kbd{d} and @kbd{C-d}.) @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} output the current
|
ead6069b170d
(Rmail Summary Edit): Explain numeric arguments to `d', `C-d' and `u'.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
diff
changeset
|
895 message to a file; @kbd{r} starts a reply to it. You can scroll the
|
ead6069b170d
(Rmail Summary Edit): Explain numeric arguments to `d', `C-d' and `u'.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
diff
changeset
|
896 current message while remaining in the summary buffer using @key{SPC}
|
ead6069b170d
(Rmail Summary Edit): Explain numeric arguments to `d', `C-d' and `u'.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
diff
changeset
|
897 and @key{DEL}.
|
25829
|
898
|
|
899 The Rmail commands to move between messages also work in the summary
|
|
900 buffer, but with a twist: they move through the set of messages included
|
|
901 in the summary. They also ensure the Rmail buffer appears on the screen
|
|
902 (unlike cursor motion commands, which update the contents of the Rmail
|
|
903 buffer but don't display it in a window unless it already appears).
|
|
904 Here is a list of these commands:
|
|
905
|
|
906 @table @kbd
|
|
907 @item n
|
|
908 Move to next line, skipping lines saying `deleted', and select its
|
|
909 message.
|
|
910 @item p
|
|
911 Move to previous line, skipping lines saying `deleted', and select
|
|
912 its message.
|
|
913 @item M-n
|
|
914 Move to next line and select its message.
|
|
915 @item M-p
|
|
916 Move to previous line and select its message.
|
|
917 @item >
|
|
918 Move to the last line, and select its message.
|
|
919 @item <
|
|
920 Move to the first line, and select its message.
|
61436
|
921 @item j
|
|
922 @itemx @key{RET}
|
|
923 Select the message on the current line (ensuring that the RMAIL buffer
|
|
924 appears on the screen). With argument @var{n}, select message number
|
|
925 @var{n} and move to its line in the summary buffer; this signals an
|
|
926 error if the message is not listed in the summary buffer.
|
25829
|
927 @item M-s @var{pattern} @key{RET}
|
|
928 Search through messages for @var{pattern} starting with the current
|
|
929 message; select the message found, and move point in the summary buffer
|
|
930 to that message's line.
|
|
931 @end table
|
|
932
|
|
933 @vindex rmail-redisplay-summary
|
|
934 Deletion, undeletion, and getting new mail, and even selection of a
|
|
935 different message all update the summary buffer when you do them in the
|
|
936 Rmail buffer. If the variable @code{rmail-redisplay-summary} is
|
|
937 non-@code{nil}, these actions also bring the summary buffer back onto
|
|
938 the screen.
|
|
939
|
|
940 @kindex Q @r{(Rmail summary)}
|
|
941 @findex rmail-summary-wipe
|
|
942 @kindex q @r{(Rmail summary)}
|
|
943 @findex rmail-summary-quit
|
|
944 When you are finished using the summary, type @kbd{Q}
|
|
945 (@code{rmail-summary-wipe}) to delete the summary buffer's window. You
|
|
946 can also exit Rmail while in the summary: @kbd{q}
|
|
947 (@code{rmail-summary-quit}) deletes the summary window, then exits from
|
|
948 Rmail by saving the Rmail file and switching to another buffer.
|
|
949
|
|
950 @node Rmail Sorting
|
|
951 @section Sorting the Rmail File
|
|
952
|
|
953 @table @kbd
|
|
954 @item M-x rmail-sort-by-date
|
|
955 Sort messages of current Rmail file by date.
|
|
956
|
|
957 @item M-x rmail-sort-by-subject
|
|
958 Sort messages of current Rmail file by subject.
|
|
959
|
|
960 @item M-x rmail-sort-by-author
|
|
961 Sort messages of current Rmail file by author's name.
|
|
962
|
|
963 @item M-x rmail-sort-by-recipient
|
|
964 Sort messages of current Rmail file by recipient's names.
|
|
965
|
|
966 @item M-x rmail-sort-by-correspondent
|
|
967 Sort messages of current Rmail file by the name of the other
|
|
968 correspondent.
|
|
969
|
|
970 @item M-x rmail-sort-by-lines
|
|
971 Sort messages of current Rmail file by size (number of lines).
|
|
972
|
|
973 @item M-x rmail-sort-by-keywords @key{RET} @var{labels} @key{RET}
|
|
974 Sort messages of current Rmail file by labels. The argument
|
|
975 @var{labels} should be a comma-separated list of labels. The order of
|
|
976 these labels specifies the order of messages; messages with the first
|
|
977 label come first, messages with the second label come second, and so on.
|
|
978 Messages which have none of these labels come last.
|
|
979 @end table
|
|
980
|
|
981 The Rmail sort commands perform a @emph{stable sort}: if there is no
|
|
982 reason to prefer either one of two messages, their order remains
|
|
983 unchanged. You can use this to sort by more than one criterion. For
|
|
984 example, if you use @code{rmail-sort-by-date} and then
|
|
985 @code{rmail-sort-by-author}, messages from the same author appear in
|
|
986 order by date.
|
|
987
|
|
988 With a numeric argument, all these commands reverse the order of
|
|
989 comparison. This means they sort messages from newest to oldest, from
|
|
990 biggest to smallest, or in reverse alphabetical order.
|
|
991
|
|
992 @node Rmail Display
|
|
993 @section Display of Messages
|
|
994
|
|
995 Rmail reformats the header of each message before displaying it for
|
|
996 the first time. Reformatting hides uninteresting header fields to
|
|
997 reduce clutter. You can use the @kbd{t} command to show the entire
|
|
998 header or to repeat the header reformatting operation.
|
|
999
|
|
1000 @table @kbd
|
|
1001 @item t
|
|
1002 Toggle display of complete header (@code{rmail-toggle-header}).
|
|
1003 @end table
|
|
1004
|
|
1005 @vindex rmail-ignored-headers
|
68698
|
1006 @vindex rmail-nonignored-headers
|
25829
|
1007 Reformatting the header involves deleting most header fields, on the
|
|
1008 grounds that they are not interesting. The variable
|
|
1009 @code{rmail-ignored-headers} holds a regular expression that specifies
|
68698
|
1010 which header fields to hide in this way---if it matches the beginning
|
|
1011 of a header field, that whole field is hidden. However, the variable
|
|
1012 @code{rmail-nonignored-headers} provides a further override: a header
|
|
1013 matching that regular expression is shown even if it matches
|
|
1014 @code{rmail-ignored-headers} too.
|
25829
|
1015
|
|
1016 @kindex t @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
1017 @findex rmail-toggle-header
|
|
1018 Rmail saves the complete original header before reformatting; to see
|
|
1019 it, use the @kbd{t} command (@code{rmail-toggle-header}). This
|
68698
|
1020 discards the reformatted headers of the current message and displays
|
|
1021 it with the original header. Repeating @kbd{t} reformats the message
|
|
1022 again, which shows only the interesting headers according to the
|
|
1023 current values of those variable. Selecting the message again also
|
|
1024 reformats it if necessary.
|
25829
|
1025
|
|
1026 One consequence of this is that if you edit the reformatted header
|
|
1027 (using @kbd{e}; @pxref{Rmail Editing}), subsequent use of @kbd{t} will
|
|
1028 discard your edits. On the other hand, if you use @kbd{e} after
|
|
1029 @kbd{t}, to edit the original (unreformatted) header, those changes are
|
|
1030 permanent.
|
|
1031
|
|
1032 When the @kbd{t} command has a prefix argument, a positive argument
|
|
1033 means to show the reformatted header, and a zero or negative argument
|
|
1034 means to show the full header.
|
|
1035
|
|
1036 @vindex rmail-highlighted-headers
|
36173
|
1037 When the terminal supports multiple fonts or colors, Rmail
|
25829
|
1038 highlights certain header fields that are especially interesting---by
|
|
1039 default, the @samp{From} and @samp{Subject} fields. The variable
|
|
1040 @code{rmail-highlighted-headers} holds a regular expression that
|
36173
|
1041 specifies the header fields to highlight; if it matches the beginning
|
|
1042 of a header field, that whole field is highlighted.
|
25829
|
1043
|
37577
|
1044 If you specify unusual colors for your text foreground and
|
|
1045 background, the colors used for highlighting may not go well with
|
68698
|
1046 them. If so, specify different colors by setting the variable
|
|
1047 @code{rmail-highlight-face} to a suitable face. To turn off
|
|
1048 highlighting entirely in Rmail, set @code{rmail-highlighted-headers}
|
|
1049 to @code{nil}.
|
25829
|
1050
|
36173
|
1051 You can highlight and activate URLs in incoming messages by adding
|
|
1052 the function @code{goto-address} to the hook
|
|
1053 @code{rmail-show-message-hook}. Then you can browse these URLs by
|
60435
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1054 clicking on them with @kbd{Mouse-2} (or @kbd{Mouse-1} quickly) or by
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1055 moving to one and typing @kbd{C-c @key{RET}}. @xref{Goto-address,
|
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(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
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diff
changeset
|
1056 Activating URLs, Activating URLs}.
|
36173
|
1057
|
|
1058 @node Rmail Coding
|
|
1059 @section Rmail and Coding Systems
|
28339
|
1060
|
35473
|
1061 @cindex decoding mail messages (Rmail)
|
52979
|
1062 Rmail automatically decodes messages which contain non-@acronym{ASCII}
|
38065
|
1063 characters, just as Emacs does with files you visit and with subprocess
|
|
1064 output. Rmail uses the standard @samp{charset=@var{charset}} header in
|
|
1065 the message, if any, to determine how the message was encoded by the
|
|
1066 sender. It maps @var{charset} into the corresponding Emacs coding
|
|
1067 system (@pxref{Coding Systems}), and uses that coding system to decode
|
38868
|
1068 message text. If the message header doesn't have the @samp{charset}
|
|
1069 specification, or if @var{charset} is not recognized,
|
38065
|
1070 Rmail chooses the coding system with the usual Emacs heuristics and
|
|
1071 defaults (@pxref{Recognize Coding}).
|
36173
|
1072
|
|
1073 @cindex fixing incorrectly decoded mail messages
|
|
1074 Occasionally, a message is decoded incorrectly, either because Emacs
|
|
1075 guessed the wrong coding system in the absence of the @samp{charset}
|
|
1076 specification, or because the specification was inaccurate. For
|
|
1077 example, a misconfigured mailer could send a message with a
|
|
1078 @samp{charset=iso-8859-1} header when the message is actually encoded
|
|
1079 in @code{koi8-r}. When you see the message text garbled, or some of
|
|
1080 its characters displayed as empty boxes, this may have happened.
|
35473
|
1081
|
|
1082 @findex rmail-redecode-body
|
36173
|
1083 You can correct the problem by decoding the message again using the
|
|
1084 right coding system, if you can figure out or guess which one is
|
|
1085 right. To do this, invoke the @kbd{M-x rmail-redecode-body} command.
|
|
1086 It reads the name of a coding system, encodes the message body using
|
|
1087 whichever coding system was used to decode it before, then redecodes
|
|
1088 it using the coding system you specified. If you specified the right
|
|
1089 coding system, the result should be readable.
|
35473
|
1090
|
36173
|
1091 Decoding and encoding using the wrong coding system is lossless for
|
|
1092 most encodings, in particular with 8-bit encodings such as iso-8859 or
|
35473
|
1093 koi8. So, if the initial attempt to redecode the message didn't
|
36173
|
1094 result in a legible text, you can try other coding systems until you
|
|
1095 succeed.
|
35473
|
1096
|
36173
|
1097 With some coding systems, notably those from the iso-2022 family,
|
|
1098 information can be lost in decoding, so that encoding the message
|
|
1099 again won't bring back the original incoming text. In such a case,
|
|
1100 @code{rmail-redecode-body} cannot work. However, the problems that
|
|
1101 call for use of @code{rmail-redecode-body} rarely occur with those
|
|
1102 coding systems. So in practice the command works when you need it.
|
35473
|
1103
|
25829
|
1104 @node Rmail Editing
|
|
1105 @section Editing Within a Message
|
|
1106
|
|
1107 Most of the usual Emacs commands are available in Rmail mode, though a
|
|
1108 few, such as @kbd{C-M-n} and @kbd{C-M-h}, are redefined by Rmail for
|
|
1109 other purposes. However, the Rmail buffer is normally read only, and
|
|
1110 most of the letters are redefined as Rmail commands. If you want to
|
|
1111 edit the text of a message, you must use the Rmail command @kbd{e}.
|
|
1112
|
|
1113 @table @kbd
|
|
1114 @item e
|
|
1115 Edit the current message as ordinary text.
|
|
1116 @end table
|
|
1117
|
|
1118 @kindex e @r{(Rmail)}
|
|
1119 @findex rmail-edit-current-message
|
|
1120 The @kbd{e} command (@code{rmail-edit-current-message}) switches from
|
|
1121 Rmail mode into Rmail Edit mode, another major mode which is nearly the
|
|
1122 same as Text mode. The mode line indicates this change.
|
|
1123
|
|
1124 In Rmail Edit mode, letters insert themselves as usual and the Rmail
|
|
1125 commands are not available. When you are finished editing the message and
|
|
1126 are ready to go back to Rmail, type @kbd{C-c C-c}, which switches back to
|
|
1127 Rmail mode. Alternatively, you can return to Rmail mode but cancel all the
|
|
1128 editing that you have done, by typing @kbd{C-c C-]}.
|
|
1129
|
|
1130 @vindex rmail-edit-mode-hook
|
|
1131 Entering Rmail Edit mode runs the hook @code{text-mode-hook}; then it
|
|
1132 runs the hook @code{rmail-edit-mode-hook} (@pxref{Hooks}). It adds the
|
|
1133 attribute @samp{edited} to the message. It also displays the full
|
|
1134 headers of the message, so that you can edit the headers as well as the
|
36345
|
1135 body of the message, and your changes in the headers will be
|
25829
|
1136 permanent.
|
|
1137
|
|
1138 @node Rmail Digest
|
|
1139 @section Digest Messages
|
|
1140 @cindex digest message
|
|
1141 @cindex undigestify
|
|
1142
|
|
1143 A @dfn{digest message} is a message which exists to contain and carry
|
|
1144 several other messages. Digests are used on some moderated mailing
|
|
1145 lists; all the messages that arrive for the list during a period of time
|
|
1146 such as one day are put inside a single digest which is then sent to the
|
|
1147 subscribers. Transmitting the single digest uses much less computer
|
|
1148 time than transmitting the individual messages even though the total
|
|
1149 size is the same, because the per-message overhead in network mail
|
|
1150 transmission is considerable.
|
|
1151
|
|
1152 @findex undigestify-rmail-message
|
|
1153 When you receive a digest message, the most convenient way to read it is
|
|
1154 to @dfn{undigestify} it: to turn it back into many individual messages.
|
|
1155 Then you can read and delete the individual messages as it suits you.
|
44326
|
1156 To do this, select the digest message and type the command @kbd{M-x
|
25829
|
1157 undigestify-rmail-message}. This extracts the submessages as separate
|
|
1158 Rmail messages, and inserts them following the digest. The digest
|
|
1159 message itself is flagged as deleted.
|
|
1160
|
|
1161 @node Out of Rmail
|
|
1162 @section Converting an Rmail File to Inbox Format
|
39303
|
1163 @cindex Babyl format to Inbox format
|
|
1164 @cindex converting Rmail file to mailbox format
|
25829
|
1165
|
|
1166 @findex unrmail
|
|
1167 The command @kbd{M-x unrmail} converts a file in Rmail format to inbox
|
39303
|
1168 format (also known as the system mailbox, or mbox, format), so that
|
|
1169 you can use it with other mail-editing tools. You must specify two
|
|
1170 arguments, the name of the Rmail file and the name to use for the
|
|
1171 converted file. @kbd{M-x unrmail} does not alter the Rmail file itself.
|
|
1172
|
|
1173 @pindex b2m
|
|
1174 @kbd{M-x unrmail} is useful if you can run Emacs on the machine
|
|
1175 where the Rmail file resides, or can access the Rmail file remotely
|
|
1176 (@pxref{Remote Files}) from a machine where Emacs is installed. If
|
|
1177 accessing Rmail files from Emacs is impossible, you can use the
|
|
1178 @command{b2m} program instead. @command{b2m} is part of the Emacs
|
|
1179 distribution, it is installed into the same directory where all the
|
|
1180 other auxiliary programs (@command{etags} etc.) are installed, and its
|
|
1181 source is available in the Emacs source distribution, so that you
|
|
1182 could copy the source to the target machine and compile it there.
|
|
1183
|
|
1184 To convert a file @file{@var{babyl-file}} into @file{@var{mbox-file}},
|
|
1185 invoke @command{b2m} like this:
|
|
1186
|
|
1187 @example
|
|
1188 b2m < @var{babyl-file} > @var{mbox-file}
|
|
1189 @end example
|
25829
|
1190
|
|
1191 @node Rmail Rot13
|
|
1192 @section Reading Rot13 Messages
|
|
1193 @cindex rot13 code
|
|
1194
|
|
1195 Mailing list messages that might offend some readers are sometimes
|
|
1196 encoded in a simple code called @dfn{rot13}---so named because it
|
|
1197 rotates the alphabet by 13 letters. This code is not for secrecy, as it
|
|
1198 provides none; rather, it enables those who might be offended to avoid
|
71593
|
1199 seeing the real text of the message.
|
25829
|
1200
|
|
1201 @findex rot13-other-window
|
71593
|
1202 To view a buffer which uses the rot13 code, use the command @kbd{M-x
|
25829
|
1203 rot13-other-window}. This displays the current buffer in another window
|
|
1204 which applies the code when displaying the text.
|
|
1205
|
|
1206 @node Movemail
|
59562
|
1207 @section @code{movemail} program
|
25829
|
1208 @cindex @code{movemail} program
|
|
1209
|
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diff
changeset
|
1210 When invoked for the first time, Rmail attempts to locate the
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1211 @code{movemail} program and determine its version. There are two
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1212 versions of @code{movemail} program: the native one, shipped with GNU
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1213 Emacs (the ``emacs version'') and the one included in GNU mailutils
|
60859
|
1214 (the ``mailutils version,'' @pxref{movemail,,,mailutils,GNU
|
60435
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1215 mailutils}). They support the same command line syntax and the same
|
71593
|
1216 basic subset of options. However, the Mailutils version offers
|
60435
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diff
changeset
|
1217 additional features.
|
59562
|
1218
|
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1219 The Emacs version of @code{movemail} is able to retrieve mail from
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1220 usual UNIX mailbox formats and from remote mailboxes using the POP3
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1221 protocol.
|
59562
|
1222
|
60435
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(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1223 The Mailutils version is able to handle a wide set of mailbox
|
59562
|
1224 formats, such as plain UNIX mailboxes, @code{maildir} and @code{MH}
|
60435
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1225 mailboxes, etc. It is able to retrieve remote mail using POP3 or
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1226 IMAP4 protocol, and can retrieve mail from them using a TLS encrypted
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1227 channel. It also accepts mailbox argument in the @acronym{URL} form.
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1228 The detailed description of mailbox @acronym{URL}s can be found in
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1229 @ref{URL,,,mailutils,Mailbox URL Formats}. In short, a @acronym{URL}
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1230 is:
|
59562
|
1231
|
|
1232 @smallexample
|
|
1233 @var{proto}://[@var{user}[:@var{password}]@@]@var{host-or-file-name}
|
|
1234 @end smallexample
|
|
1235
|
|
1236 @noindent
|
|
1237 where square brackets denote optional elements.
|
|
1238
|
|
1239 @table @var
|
|
1240 @item proto
|
|
1241 Specifies the @dfn{mailbox protocol}, or @dfn{format} to
|
|
1242 use. The exact semantics of the rest of @acronym{URL} elements depends
|
|
1243 on the actual value of @var{proto}.
|
|
1244
|
|
1245 @item user
|
|
1246 User name to access the remote mailbox.
|
|
1247
|
|
1248 @item password
|
|
1249 User password to access the remote mailbox.
|
|
1250
|
|
1251 @item host-or-file-name
|
|
1252 Hostname of the remote server for remote mailboxes or file name of a
|
|
1253 local mailbox.
|
|
1254 @end table
|
|
1255
|
|
1256 @var{Proto} can be one of:
|
|
1257
|
|
1258 @table @asis
|
|
1259 @item mbox
|
|
1260 Usual UNIX mailbox format. In this case, neither @var{user} nor
|
|
1261 @var{pass} are used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the file name of
|
|
1262 the mailbox file, e.g., @code{mbox://var/spool/mail/smith}.
|
|
1263
|
|
1264 @item mh
|
|
1265 A local mailbox in the @acronym{MH} format. @var{User} and
|
|
1266 @var{pass} are not used. @var{Host-or-file-name} denotes the name of
|
|
1267 @acronym{MH} folder, e.g., @code{mh://Mail/inbox}.
|
|
1268
|
|
1269 @item maildir
|
|
1270 A local mailbox in the @acronym{maildir} format. @var{User} and
|
|
1271 @var{pass} are not used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the name of
|
|
1272 @code{maildir} mailbox, e.g., @code{maildir://mail/inbox}.
|
|
1273
|
|
1274 @item file
|
|
1275 Any local mailbox format. Its actual format is detected automatically
|
|
1276 by @code{movemail}.
|
|
1277
|
|
1278 @item pop
|
|
1279 A remote mailbox to be accessed via POP3 protocol. @var{User}
|
|
1280 specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to
|
|
1281 specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP
|
|
1282 address of the remote mail server to connect to; e.g.,
|
|
1283 @code{pop://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}.
|
61436
|
1284
|
59562
|
1285 @item imap
|
|
1286 A remote mailbox to be accessed via IMAP4 protocol. @var{User}
|
|
1287 specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to
|
|
1288 specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP
|
|
1289 address of the remote mail server to connect to;
|
|
1290 e.g., @code{imap://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}.
|
|
1291 @end table
|
|
1292
|
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diff
changeset
|
1293 Alternatively, you can specify the file name of the mailbox to use.
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1294 This is equivalent to specifying the @samp{file} protocol:
|
59562
|
1295
|
|
1296 @smallexample
|
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b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1297 /var/spool/mail/@var{user} @equiv{} file://var/spool/mail/@var{user}
|
59562
|
1298 @end smallexample
|
|
1299
|
|
1300 @vindex rmail-movemail-program
|
|
1301 @vindex rmail-movemail-search-path
|
60435
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1302 The variable @code{rmail-movemail-program} controls which version of
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1303 @code{movemail} to use. If that is a string, it specifies the
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1304 absolute file name of the @code{movemail} executable. If it is
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1305 @code{nil}, Rmail searches for @code{movemail} in the directories
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1306 listed in @code{rmail-movemail-search-path} and @code{exec-path}, then
|
b8d2ec2a15e7
(Rmail Inbox): Move text from Remote Mailboxes that really belongs here.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
diff
changeset
|
1307 in @code{exec-directory}.
|
61436
|
1308
|
59562
|
1309 @node Remote Mailboxes
|
|
1310 @section Retrieving Mail from Remote Mailboxes
|
|
1311 @pindex movemail
|
|
1312
|
25829
|
1313 Some sites use a method called POP for accessing users' inbox data
|
59562
|
1314 instead of storing the data in inbox files. The @code{Emacs
|
|
1315 movemail} can work with POP if you compile it with the macro
|
|
1316 @code{MAIL_USE_POP} defined. (You can achieve that by specifying
|
|
1317 @samp{--with-pop} when you run @code{configure} during the
|
|
1318 installation of Emacs.)
|
|
1319
|
71593
|
1320 The Mailutils @code{movemail} by default supports POP, unless it was
|
|
1321 configured with @samp{--disable-pop} option.
|
59562
|
1322
|
|
1323 Both versions of @code{movemail} only work with POP3, not with older
|
25829
|
1324 versions of POP.
|
|
1325
|
29107
|
1326 @cindex @env{MAILHOST} environment variable
|
59562
|
1327 @cindex POP mailboxes
|
|
1328 No matter which flavor of @code{movemail} you use, you can specify
|
|
1329 POP inbox by using POP @dfn{URL} (@pxref{Movemail}). A POP
|
|
1330 @acronym{URL} is a ``file name'' of the form
|
|
1331 @samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}, where
|
|
1332 @var{hostname} is the host name or IP address of the remote mail
|
|
1333 server and @var{username} is the user name on that server.
|
|
1334 Additionally, you may specify the password in the mailbox @acronym{URL}:
|
|
1335 @samp{pop://@var{username}:@var{password}@@@var{hostname}}. In this
|
|
1336 case, @var{password} takes preference over the one set by
|
|
1337 @code{rmail-remote-password}. This is especially useful if you have
|
61436
|
1338 several remote mailboxes with different passwords.
|
25829
|
1339
|
71593
|
1340 For backward compatibility, Rmail also supports two alternative ways
|
|
1341 of specifying remote POP mailboxes. First, specifying an inbox name
|
|
1342 in the form @samp{po:@var{username}:@var{hostname}} is equivalent to
|
|
1343 @samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}. Alternatively, you may
|
|
1344 set a ``file name'' of @samp{po:@var{username}} in the inbox list of
|
|
1345 an Rmail file. @code{movemail} will handle such a name by opening a
|
|
1346 connection to the POP server. In this case, the @env{MAILHOST}
|
|
1347 environment variable specifies the machine on which to look for the
|
|
1348 POP server.
|
59562
|
1349
|
|
1350 @cindex IMAP mailboxes
|
|
1351 Another method for accessing remote mailboxes is IMAP. This method is
|
71597
|
1352 supported only by the Mailutils @code{movemail}. To specify an IMAP
|
59562
|
1353 mailbox in the inbox list, use the following mailbox @acronym{URL}:
|
|
1354 @samp{imap://@var{username}[:@var{password}]@@@var{hostname}}. The
|
61436
|
1355 @var{password} part is optional, as described above.
|
59562
|
1356
|
|
1357 @vindex rmail-remote-password
|
|
1358 @vindex rmail-remote-password-required
|
25829
|
1359 @vindex rmail-pop-password
|
|
1360 @vindex rmail-pop-password-required
|
59562
|
1361 Accessing a remote mailbox may require a password. Rmail uses the
|
|
1362 following algorithm to retrieve it:
|
|
1363
|
|
1364 @enumerate
|
61436
|
1365 @item
|
59564
|
1366 If the @var{password} is present in mailbox URL (see above), it is
|
|
1367 used.
|
61436
|
1368 @item
|
59564
|
1369 If the variable @code{rmail-remote-password} is non-@code{nil}, its
|
|
1370 value is used.
|
|
1371 @item
|
|
1372 Otherwise, if @code{rmail-remote-password-required} is non-@code{nil},
|
|
1373 then Rmail will ask you for the password to use.
|
|
1374 @item
|
|
1375 Otherwise, Rmail assumes no password is required.
|
59562
|
1376 @end enumerate
|
|
1377
|
|
1378 For compatibility with previous versions, @code{rmail-pop-password}
|
|
1379 and @code{rmail-pop-password-required} may be used instead of
|
|
1380 @code{rmail-remote-password} and @code{rmail-remote-password-required}.
|
25829
|
1381
|
|
1382 @vindex rmail-movemail-flags
|
|
1383 If you need to pass additional command-line flags to @code{movemail},
|
|
1384 set the variable @code{rmail-movemail-flags} a list of the flags you
|
|
1385 wish to use. Do not use this variable to pass the @samp{-p} flag to
|
|
1386 preserve your inbox contents; use @code{rmail-preserve-inbox} instead.
|
|
1387
|
|
1388 @cindex Kerberos POP authentication
|
|
1389 The @code{movemail} program installed at your site may support
|
|
1390 Kerberos authentication. If it is
|
|
1391 supported, it is used by default whenever you attempt to retrieve
|
|
1392 POP mail when @code{rmail-pop-password} and
|
|
1393 @code{rmail-pop-password-required} are unset.
|
|
1394
|
36263
|
1395 @cindex reverse order in POP inboxes
|
25829
|
1396 Some POP servers store messages in reverse order. If your server does
|
|
1397 this, and you would rather read your mail in the order in which it was
|
|
1398 received, you can tell @code{movemail} to reverse the order of
|
|
1399 downloaded messages by adding the @samp{-r} flag to
|
|
1400 @code{rmail-movemail-flags}.
|
52401
|
1401
|
59562
|
1402 @cindex TLS encryption (Rmail)
|
71597
|
1403 Mailutils @code{movemail} supports TLS encryption. If you wish to
|
59562
|
1404 use it, add the @samp{--tls} flag to @code{rmail-movemail-flags}.
|
|
1405
|
|
1406 @node Other Mailbox Formats
|
|
1407 @section Retrieving Mail from Local Mailboxes in Various Formats
|
|
1408
|
|
1409 If your incoming mail is stored on a local machine in a format other
|
71593
|
1410 than UNIX mailbox, you will need the Mailutils @code{movemail} to
|
|
1411 retrieve it. @xref{Movemail}, for the detailed description of
|
|
1412 @code{movemail} versions. For example, to access mail from a inbox in
|
|
1413 @code{maildir} format located in @file{/var/spool/mail/in}, you would
|
|
1414 include the following in the Rmail inbox list:
|
59562
|
1415
|
|
1416 @smallexample
|
|
1417 maildir://var/spool/mail/in
|
|
1418 @end smallexample
|
|
1419
|
52401
|
1420 @ignore
|
|
1421 arch-tag: 034965f6-38df-47a2-a9f1-b8bc8ab37e23
|
|
1422 @end ignore
|