| 1 | @c This is part of the Emacs manual. |
| 2 | @c Copyright (C) 1985-1987, 1993-1995, 1997, 2001-2013 Free Software |
| 3 | @c Foundation, Inc. |
| 4 | @c See file emacs.texi for copying conditions. |
| 5 | @node Rmail |
| 6 | @chapter Reading Mail with Rmail |
| 7 | @cindex Rmail |
| 8 | @cindex reading mail |
| 9 | @findex rmail |
| 10 | @findex rmail-mode |
| 11 | @vindex rmail-mode-hook |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Rmail is an Emacs subsystem for reading and disposing of mail that |
| 14 | you receive. Rmail stores mail messages in files called Rmail files. |
| 15 | Reading the messages in an Rmail file is done in a special major mode, |
| 16 | Rmail mode, which redefines most letters to run commands for managing mail. |
| 17 | @menu |
| 18 | * Basic: Rmail Basics. Basic concepts of Rmail, and simple use. |
| 19 | * Scroll: Rmail Scrolling. Scrolling through a message. |
| 20 | * Motion: Rmail Motion. Moving to another message. |
| 21 | * Deletion: Rmail Deletion. Deleting and expunging messages. |
| 22 | * Inbox: Rmail Inbox. How mail gets into the Rmail file. |
| 23 | * Files: Rmail Files. Using multiple Rmail files. |
| 24 | * Output: Rmail Output. Copying messages out to files. |
| 25 | * Labels: Rmail Labels. Classifying messages by labeling them. |
| 26 | * Attrs: Rmail Attributes. Certain standard labels, called attributes. |
| 27 | * Reply: Rmail Reply. Sending replies to messages you are viewing. |
| 28 | * Summary: Rmail Summary. Summaries show brief info on many messages. |
| 29 | * Sort: Rmail Sorting. Sorting messages in Rmail. |
| 30 | * Display: Rmail Display. How Rmail displays a message; customization. |
| 31 | * Coding: Rmail Coding. How Rmail handles decoding character sets. |
| 32 | * Editing: Rmail Editing. Editing message text and headers in Rmail. |
| 33 | * Digest: Rmail Digest. Extracting the messages from a digest message. |
| 34 | * Rot13: Rmail Rot13. Reading messages encoded in the rot13 code. |
| 35 | * Movemail:: More details of fetching new mail. |
| 36 | * Remote Mailboxes:: Retrieving mail from remote mailboxes. |
| 37 | * Other Mailbox Formats:: Retrieving mail from local mailboxes in |
| 38 | various formats. |
| 39 | @end menu |
| 40 | |
| 41 | @node Rmail Basics |
| 42 | @section Basic Concepts of Rmail |
| 43 | |
| 44 | @cindex primary Rmail file |
| 45 | @vindex rmail-file-name |
| 46 | Using Rmail in the simplest fashion, you have one Rmail file |
| 47 | @file{~/RMAIL} in which all of your mail is saved. It is called your |
| 48 | @dfn{primary Rmail file}. The command @kbd{M-x rmail} reads your primary |
| 49 | Rmail file, merges new mail in from your inboxes, displays the first |
| 50 | message you haven't read yet, and lets you begin reading. The variable |
| 51 | @code{rmail-file-name} specifies the name of the primary Rmail file. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | Rmail displays only one message in the Rmail file at a time. |
| 54 | The message that is shown is called the @dfn{current message}. Rmail |
| 55 | mode's special commands can do such things as delete the current |
| 56 | message, copy it into another file, send a reply, or move to another |
| 57 | message. You can also create multiple Rmail files and use Rmail to move |
| 58 | messages between them. |
| 59 | |
| 60 | @cindex message number |
| 61 | Within the Rmail file, messages are normally arranged sequentially in |
| 62 | order of receipt; you can specify other ways to sort them (@pxref{Rmail |
| 63 | Sorting}). Messages are identified by consecutive integers which are |
| 64 | their @dfn{message numbers}. The number of the current message is |
| 65 | displayed in Rmail's mode line, followed by the total number of messages |
| 66 | in the file. You can move to a message by specifying its message number |
| 67 | with the @kbd{j} key (@pxref{Rmail Motion}). |
| 68 | |
| 69 | @kindex s @r{(Rmail)} |
| 70 | @findex rmail-expunge-and-save |
| 71 | Following the usual conventions of Emacs, changes in an Rmail file |
| 72 | become permanent only when you save the file. You can save it with |
| 73 | @kbd{s} (@code{rmail-expunge-and-save}), which also expunges deleted |
| 74 | messages from the file first (@pxref{Rmail Deletion}). To save the |
| 75 | file without expunging, use @kbd{C-x C-s}. Rmail also saves the Rmail |
| 76 | file after merging new mail from an inbox file (@pxref{Rmail Inbox}). |
| 77 | |
| 78 | @kindex q @r{(Rmail)} |
| 79 | @findex rmail-quit |
| 80 | @kindex b @r{(Rmail)} |
| 81 | @findex rmail-bury |
| 82 | You can exit Rmail with @kbd{q} (@code{rmail-quit}); this expunges |
| 83 | and saves the Rmail file, then buries the Rmail buffer as well as its |
| 84 | summary buffer, if present (@pxref{Rmail Summary}). But there is no |
| 85 | need to ``exit'' formally. If you switch from Rmail to editing in |
| 86 | other buffers, and never switch back, you have exited. Just make sure |
| 87 | to save the Rmail file eventually (like any other file you have |
| 88 | changed). @kbd{C-x s} is a suitable way to do this (@pxref{Save |
| 89 | Commands}). The Rmail command @kbd{b}, @code{rmail-bury}, buries the |
| 90 | Rmail buffer and its summary without expunging and saving the Rmail file. |
| 91 | |
| 92 | @node Rmail Scrolling |
| 93 | @section Scrolling Within a Message |
| 94 | |
| 95 | When Rmail displays a message that does not fit on the screen, you |
| 96 | must scroll through it to read the rest. You could do this with |
| 97 | @kbd{C-v}, @kbd{M-v} and @kbd{M-<}, but in Rmail scrolling is so |
| 98 | frequent that it deserves to be easier. |
| 99 | |
| 100 | @table @kbd |
| 101 | @item @key{SPC} |
| 102 | Scroll forward (@code{scroll-up-command}). |
| 103 | @item @key{DEL} |
| 104 | Scroll backward (@code{scroll-down-command}). |
| 105 | @item . |
| 106 | Scroll to start of message (@code{rmail-beginning-of-message}). |
| 107 | @item / |
| 108 | Scroll to end of message (@code{rmail-end-of-message}). |
| 109 | @end table |
| 110 | |
| 111 | @kindex SPC @r{(Rmail)} |
| 112 | @kindex DEL @r{(Rmail)} |
| 113 | Since the most common thing to do while reading a message is to |
| 114 | scroll through it by screenfuls, Rmail makes @key{SPC} and @key{DEL} |
| 115 | do the same as @kbd{C-v} (@code{scroll-up-command}) and @kbd{M-v} |
| 116 | (@code{scroll-down-command}) respectively. |
| 117 | |
| 118 | @kindex . @r{(Rmail)} |
| 119 | @kindex / @r{(Rmail)} |
| 120 | @findex rmail-beginning-of-message |
| 121 | @findex rmail-end-of-message |
| 122 | The command @kbd{.} (@code{rmail-beginning-of-message}) scrolls back to the |
| 123 | beginning of the selected message. This is not quite the same as @kbd{M-<}: |
| 124 | for one thing, it does not set the mark; for another, it resets the buffer |
| 125 | boundaries of the current message if you have changed them. Similarly, |
| 126 | the command @kbd{/} (@code{rmail-end-of-message}) scrolls forward to the end |
| 127 | of the selected message. |
| 128 | @c The comment about buffer boundaries is still true in mbox Rmail, if |
| 129 | @c less likely to be relevant. |
| 130 | |
| 131 | @node Rmail Motion |
| 132 | @section Moving Among Messages |
| 133 | |
| 134 | The most basic thing to do with a message is to read it. The way to |
| 135 | do this in Rmail is to make the message current. The usual practice is |
| 136 | to move sequentially through the file, since this is the order of |
| 137 | receipt of messages. When you enter Rmail, you are positioned at the |
| 138 | first message that you have not yet made current (that is, the first one |
| 139 | that has the @samp{unseen} attribute; @pxref{Rmail Attributes}). Move |
| 140 | forward to see the other new messages; move backward to re-examine old |
| 141 | messages. |
| 142 | |
| 143 | @table @kbd |
| 144 | @item n |
| 145 | Move to the next nondeleted message, skipping any intervening deleted |
| 146 | messages (@code{rmail-next-undeleted-message}). |
| 147 | @item p |
| 148 | Move to the previous nondeleted message |
| 149 | (@code{rmail-previous-undeleted-message}). |
| 150 | @item M-n |
| 151 | Move to the next message, including deleted messages |
| 152 | (@code{rmail-next-message}). |
| 153 | @item M-p |
| 154 | Move to the previous message, including deleted messages |
| 155 | (@code{rmail-previous-message}). |
| 156 | @item C-c C-n |
| 157 | Move to the next message with the same subject as the current one |
| 158 | (@code{rmail-next-same-subject}). |
| 159 | @item C-c C-p |
| 160 | Move to the previous message with the same subject as the current one |
| 161 | (@code{rmail-previous-same-subject}). |
| 162 | @item j |
| 163 | Move to the first message. With argument @var{n}, move to |
| 164 | message number @var{n} (@code{rmail-show-message}). |
| 165 | @item > |
| 166 | Move to the last message (@code{rmail-last-message}). |
| 167 | @item < |
| 168 | Move to the first message (@code{rmail-first-message}). |
| 169 | |
| 170 | @item M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET} |
| 171 | Move to the next message containing a match for @var{regexp} |
| 172 | (@code{rmail-search}). |
| 173 | |
| 174 | @item - M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET} |
| 175 | Move to the previous message containing a match for @var{regexp}. |
| 176 | @end table |
| 177 | |
| 178 | @kindex n @r{(Rmail)} |
| 179 | @kindex p @r{(Rmail)} |
| 180 | @kindex M-n @r{(Rmail)} |
| 181 | @kindex M-p @r{(Rmail)} |
| 182 | @findex rmail-next-undeleted-message |
| 183 | @findex rmail-previous-undeleted-message |
| 184 | @findex rmail-next-message |
| 185 | @findex rmail-previous-message |
| 186 | @kbd{n} and @kbd{p} are the usual way of moving among messages in |
| 187 | Rmail. They move through the messages sequentially, but skip over |
| 188 | deleted messages, which is usually what you want to do. Their command |
| 189 | definitions are named @code{rmail-next-undeleted-message} and |
| 190 | @code{rmail-previous-undeleted-message}. If you do not want to skip |
| 191 | deleted messages---for example, if you want to move to a message to |
| 192 | undelete it---use the variants @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p} |
| 193 | (@code{rmail-next-message} and @code{rmail-previous-message}). A |
| 194 | numeric argument to any of these commands serves as a repeat |
| 195 | count. |
| 196 | |
| 197 | In Rmail, you can specify a numeric argument by typing just the |
| 198 | digits. You don't need to type @kbd{C-u} first. |
| 199 | |
| 200 | @kindex M-s @r{(Rmail)} |
| 201 | @findex rmail-search |
| 202 | @cindex searching in Rmail |
| 203 | The @kbd{M-s} (@code{rmail-search}) command is Rmail's version of |
| 204 | search. The usual incremental search command @kbd{C-s} works in Rmail, |
| 205 | but it searches only within the current message. The purpose of |
| 206 | @kbd{M-s} is to search for another message. It reads a regular |
| 207 | expression (@pxref{Regexps}) nonincrementally, then searches starting at |
| 208 | the beginning of the following message for a match. It then selects |
| 209 | that message. If @var{regexp} is empty, @kbd{M-s} reuses the regexp |
| 210 | used the previous time. |
| 211 | |
| 212 | To search backward in the file for another message, give @kbd{M-s} a |
| 213 | negative argument. In Rmail you can do this with @kbd{- M-s}. This |
| 214 | begins searching from the end of the previous message. |
| 215 | |
| 216 | It is also possible to search for a message based on labels. |
| 217 | @xref{Rmail Labels}. |
| 218 | |
| 219 | @kindex C-c C-n @r{(Rmail)} |
| 220 | @kindex C-c C-p @r{(Rmail)} |
| 221 | @findex rmail-next-same-subject |
| 222 | @findex rmail-previous-same-subject |
| 223 | The @kbd{C-c C-n} (@code{rmail-next-same-subject}) command moves to |
| 224 | the next message with the same subject as the current one. A prefix |
| 225 | argument serves as a repeat count. With a negative argument, this |
| 226 | command moves backward, acting like @kbd{C-c C-p} |
| 227 | (@code{rmail-previous-same-subject}). When comparing subjects, these |
| 228 | commands ignore the prefixes typically added to the subjects of replies. |
| 229 | |
| 230 | @kindex j @r{(Rmail)} |
| 231 | @kindex > @r{(Rmail)} |
| 232 | @kindex < @r{(Rmail)} |
| 233 | @findex rmail-show-message |
| 234 | @findex rmail-last-message |
| 235 | @findex rmail-first-message |
| 236 | To move to a message specified by absolute message number, use @kbd{j} |
| 237 | (@code{rmail-show-message}) with the message number as argument. With |
| 238 | no argument, @kbd{j} selects the first message. @kbd{<} |
| 239 | (@code{rmail-first-message}) also selects the first message. @kbd{>} |
| 240 | (@code{rmail-last-message}) selects the last message. |
| 241 | |
| 242 | @node Rmail Deletion |
| 243 | @section Deleting Messages |
| 244 | |
| 245 | @cindex deletion (Rmail) |
| 246 | When you no longer need to keep a message, you can @dfn{delete} it. This |
| 247 | flags it as ignorable, and some Rmail commands pretend it is no longer |
| 248 | present; but it still has its place in the Rmail file, and still has its |
| 249 | message number. |
| 250 | |
| 251 | @cindex expunging (Rmail) |
| 252 | @dfn{Expunging} the Rmail file actually removes the deleted messages. |
| 253 | The remaining messages are renumbered consecutively. |
| 254 | @c The following is neither true (there is also unforward, sorting, |
| 255 | @c etc), nor especially interesting. |
| 256 | @c Expunging is the only action that changes the message number of any |
| 257 | @c message, except for undigestifying (@pxref{Rmail Digest}). |
| 258 | |
| 259 | @table @kbd |
| 260 | @item d |
| 261 | Delete the current message, and move to the next nondeleted message |
| 262 | (@code{rmail-delete-forward}). |
| 263 | @item C-d |
| 264 | Delete the current message, and move to the previous nondeleted |
| 265 | message (@code{rmail-delete-backward}). |
| 266 | @item u |
| 267 | Undelete the current message, or move back to the previous deleted |
| 268 | message and undelete it (@code{rmail-undelete-previous-message}). |
| 269 | @item x |
| 270 | Expunge the Rmail file (@code{rmail-expunge}). |
| 271 | @end table |
| 272 | |
| 273 | @kindex d @r{(Rmail)} |
| 274 | @kindex C-d @r{(Rmail)} |
| 275 | @findex rmail-delete-forward |
| 276 | @findex rmail-delete-backward |
| 277 | There are two Rmail commands for deleting messages. Both delete the |
| 278 | current message and select another. @kbd{d} |
| 279 | (@code{rmail-delete-forward}) moves to the following message, skipping |
| 280 | messages already deleted, while @kbd{C-d} (@code{rmail-delete-backward}) |
| 281 | moves to the previous nondeleted message. If there is no nondeleted |
| 282 | message to move to in the specified direction, the message that was just |
| 283 | deleted remains current. @kbd{d} with a prefix argument is equivalent |
| 284 | to @kbd{C-d}. Note that the Rmail summary versions of these commands |
| 285 | behave slightly differently (@pxref{Rmail Summary Edit}). |
| 286 | |
| 287 | @c mention other hooks, e.g., show message hook? |
| 288 | @vindex rmail-delete-message-hook |
| 289 | Whenever Rmail deletes a message, it runs the hook |
| 290 | @code{rmail-delete-message-hook}. When the hook functions are invoked, |
| 291 | the message has been marked deleted, but it is still the current message |
| 292 | in the Rmail buffer. |
| 293 | |
| 294 | @cindex undeletion (Rmail) |
| 295 | @kindex x @r{(Rmail)} |
| 296 | @findex rmail-expunge |
| 297 | @kindex u @r{(Rmail)} |
| 298 | @findex rmail-undelete-previous-message |
| 299 | To make all the deleted messages finally vanish from the Rmail file, |
| 300 | type @kbd{x} (@code{rmail-expunge}). Until you do this, you can still |
| 301 | @dfn{undelete} the deleted messages. The undeletion command, @kbd{u} |
| 302 | (@code{rmail-undelete-previous-message}), is designed to cancel the |
| 303 | effect of a @kbd{d} command in most cases. It undeletes the current |
| 304 | message if the current message is deleted. Otherwise it moves backward |
| 305 | to previous messages until a deleted message is found, and undeletes |
| 306 | that message. |
| 307 | |
| 308 | You can usually undo a @kbd{d} with a @kbd{u} because the @kbd{u} |
| 309 | moves back to and undeletes the message that the @kbd{d} deleted. But |
| 310 | this does not work when the @kbd{d} skips a few already-deleted messages |
| 311 | that follow the message being deleted; then the @kbd{u} command |
| 312 | undeletes the last of the messages that were skipped. There is no clean |
| 313 | way to avoid this problem. However, by repeating the @kbd{u} command, |
| 314 | you can eventually get back to the message that you intend to |
| 315 | undelete. You can also select a particular deleted message with |
| 316 | the @kbd{M-p} command, then type @kbd{u} to undelete it. |
| 317 | |
| 318 | A deleted message has the @samp{deleted} attribute, and as a result |
| 319 | @samp{deleted} appears in the mode line when the current message is |
| 320 | deleted. In fact, deleting or undeleting a message is nothing more than |
| 321 | adding or removing this attribute. @xref{Rmail Attributes}. |
| 322 | |
| 323 | @node Rmail Inbox |
| 324 | @section Rmail Files and Inboxes |
| 325 | @cindex inbox file |
| 326 | |
| 327 | When you receive mail locally, the operating system places incoming |
| 328 | mail for you in a file that we call your @dfn{inbox}. When you start |
| 329 | up Rmail, it runs a C program called @code{movemail} to copy the new |
| 330 | messages from your local inbox into your primary Rmail file, which |
| 331 | also contains other messages saved from previous Rmail sessions. It |
| 332 | is in this file that you actually read the mail with Rmail. This |
| 333 | operation is called @dfn{getting new mail}. You can get new mail at |
| 334 | any time in Rmail by typing @kbd{g}. |
| 335 | |
| 336 | @vindex rmail-primary-inbox-list |
| 337 | @cindex @env{MAIL} environment variable |
| 338 | The variable @code{rmail-primary-inbox-list} contains a list of the |
| 339 | files that are inboxes for your primary Rmail file. If you don't set |
| 340 | this variable explicitly, Rmail uses the @env{MAIL} environment |
| 341 | variable, or, as a last resort, a default inbox based on |
| 342 | @code{rmail-spool-directory}. The default inbox file depends on your |
| 343 | operating system; often it is @file{/var/mail/@var{username}}, |
| 344 | @file{/var/spool/mail/@var{username}}, or |
| 345 | @file{/usr/spool/mail/@var{username}}. |
| 346 | |
| 347 | You can specify the inbox file(s) for any Rmail file for the current |
| 348 | session with the command @code{set-rmail-inbox-list}; see @ref{Rmail |
| 349 | Files}. |
| 350 | |
| 351 | There are two reasons for having separate Rmail files and inboxes. |
| 352 | |
| 353 | @enumerate |
| 354 | @item |
| 355 | The inbox file format varies between operating systems and according to |
| 356 | the other mail software in use. Only one part of Rmail needs to know |
| 357 | about the alternatives, and it need only understand how to convert all |
| 358 | of them to Rmail's own format. |
| 359 | |
| 360 | @item |
| 361 | It is very cumbersome to access an inbox file without danger of losing |
| 362 | mail, because it is necessary to interlock with mail delivery. |
| 363 | Moreover, different operating systems use different interlocking |
| 364 | techniques. The strategy of moving mail out of the inbox once and for |
| 365 | all into a separate Rmail file avoids the need for interlocking in all |
| 366 | the rest of Rmail, since only Rmail operates on the Rmail file. |
| 367 | @end enumerate |
| 368 | |
| 369 | @c FIXME remove this in Emacs 25; won't be relevant any more. |
| 370 | Rmail was originally written to use the Babyl format as its internal |
| 371 | format. Since then, we have recognized that the usual inbox format |
| 372 | (@samp{mbox}) on Unix and GNU systems is adequate for the job, and so |
| 373 | since Emacs 23 Rmail uses that as its internal format. The Rmail file |
| 374 | is still separate from the inbox file, even though their format is the |
| 375 | same. |
| 376 | |
| 377 | @vindex rmail-preserve-inbox |
| 378 | When getting new mail, Rmail first copies the new mail from the |
| 379 | inbox file to the Rmail file; then it saves the Rmail file; then it |
| 380 | clears out the inbox file. This way, a system crash may cause |
| 381 | duplication of mail between the inbox and the Rmail file, but cannot |
| 382 | lose mail. If @code{rmail-preserve-inbox} is non-@code{nil}, then |
| 383 | Rmail does not clear out the inbox file when it gets new mail. You |
| 384 | may wish to set this, for example, on a portable computer you use to |
| 385 | check your mail via POP while traveling, so that your mail will remain |
| 386 | on the server and you can save it later on your workstation. |
| 387 | |
| 388 | In some cases, Rmail copies the new mail from the inbox file |
| 389 | indirectly. First it runs the @code{movemail} program to move the mail |
| 390 | from the inbox to an intermediate file called |
| 391 | @file{.newmail-@var{inboxname}}, in the same directory as the Rmail |
| 392 | file. Then Rmail merges the new mail from that file, saves the Rmail |
| 393 | file, and only then deletes the intermediate file. If there is a crash |
| 394 | at the wrong time, this file continues to exist, and Rmail will use it |
| 395 | again the next time it gets new mail from that inbox. |
| 396 | |
| 397 | If Rmail is unable to convert the data in |
| 398 | @file{.newmail-@var{inboxname}} into mbox format, it renames the file to |
| 399 | @file{RMAILOSE.@var{n}} (@var{n} is an integer chosen to make the name |
| 400 | unique) so that Rmail will not have trouble with the data again. You |
| 401 | should look at the file, find whatever message confuses Rmail (probably |
| 402 | one that includes the control-underscore character, octal code 037), and |
| 403 | delete it. Then you can use @kbd{1 g} to get new mail from the |
| 404 | corrected file. |
| 405 | |
| 406 | @node Rmail Files |
| 407 | @section Multiple Rmail Files |
| 408 | |
| 409 | Rmail operates by default on your @dfn{primary Rmail file}, which is named |
| 410 | @file{~/RMAIL} and receives your incoming mail from your system inbox file. |
| 411 | But you can also have other Rmail files and edit them with Rmail. These |
| 412 | files can receive mail through their own inboxes, or you can move messages |
| 413 | into them with explicit Rmail commands (@pxref{Rmail Output}). |
| 414 | |
| 415 | @table @kbd |
| 416 | @item i @var{file} @key{RET} |
| 417 | Read @var{file} into Emacs and run Rmail on it (@code{rmail-input}). |
| 418 | |
| 419 | @item M-x set-rmail-inbox-list @key{RET} @var{files} @key{RET} |
| 420 | Specify inbox file names for current Rmail file to get mail from. |
| 421 | |
| 422 | @item g |
| 423 | Merge new mail from current Rmail file's inboxes |
| 424 | (@code{rmail-get-new-mail}). |
| 425 | |
| 426 | @item C-u g @var{file} @key{RET} |
| 427 | Merge new mail from inbox file @var{file}. |
| 428 | @end table |
| 429 | |
| 430 | @kindex i @r{(Rmail)} |
| 431 | @findex rmail-input |
| 432 | To run Rmail on a file other than your primary Rmail file, you can use |
| 433 | the @kbd{i} (@code{rmail-input}) command in Rmail. This visits the file |
| 434 | in Rmail mode. You can use @kbd{M-x rmail-input} even when not in |
| 435 | Rmail, but it is easier to type @kbd{C-u M-x rmail}, which does the |
| 436 | same thing. |
| 437 | |
| 438 | The file you read with @kbd{i} should normally be a valid mbox file. |
| 439 | If it is not, Rmail tries to convert its text to mbox format, and |
| 440 | visits the converted text in the buffer. If you save the buffer, that |
| 441 | converts the file. |
| 442 | |
| 443 | If you specify a file name that doesn't exist, @kbd{i} initializes a |
| 444 | new buffer for creating a new Rmail file. |
| 445 | |
| 446 | @vindex rmail-secondary-file-directory |
| 447 | @vindex rmail-secondary-file-regexp |
| 448 | You can also select an Rmail file from a menu. In the Classify menu, |
| 449 | choose the Input Rmail File item; then choose the Rmail file you want. |
| 450 | The variables @code{rmail-secondary-file-directory} and |
| 451 | @code{rmail-secondary-file-regexp} specify which files to offer in the |
| 452 | menu: the first variable says which directory to find them in; the |
| 453 | second says which files in that directory to offer (all those that match |
| 454 | the regular expression). If no files match, you cannot select this menu |
| 455 | item. These variables also apply to choosing a file for output |
| 456 | (@pxref{Rmail Output}). |
| 457 | @c FIXME matches only checked when Rmail file first visited? |
| 458 | |
| 459 | @ignore |
| 460 | @findex set-rmail-inbox-list |
| 461 | Each Rmail file can contain a list of inbox file names; you can specify |
| 462 | this list with @kbd{M-x set-rmail-inbox-list @key{RET} @var{files} |
| 463 | @key{RET}}. The argument can contain any number of file names, separated |
| 464 | by commas. It can also be empty, which specifies that this file should |
| 465 | have no inboxes. Once you specify a list of inboxes in an Rmail file, |
| 466 | the Rmail file remembers it permanently until you specify a different list. |
| 467 | @end ignore |
| 468 | |
| 469 | @vindex rmail-inbox-list |
| 470 | The inbox files to use are specified by the variable |
| 471 | @code{rmail-inbox-list}, which is buffer-local in Rmail mode. As a |
| 472 | special exception, if you have specified no inbox files for your primary |
| 473 | Rmail file, it uses the @env{MAIL} environment variable, or your |
| 474 | standard system inbox. |
| 475 | |
| 476 | @kindex g @r{(Rmail)} |
| 477 | @findex rmail-get-new-mail |
| 478 | The @kbd{g} command (@code{rmail-get-new-mail}) merges mail into the |
| 479 | current Rmail file from its inboxes. If the Rmail file has no |
| 480 | inboxes, @kbd{g} does nothing. The command @kbd{M-x rmail} also |
| 481 | merges new mail into your primary Rmail file. |
| 482 | |
| 483 | To merge mail from a file that is not the usual inbox, give the |
| 484 | @kbd{g} key a numeric argument, as in @kbd{C-u g}. Then it reads a file |
| 485 | name and merges mail from that file. The inbox file is not deleted or |
| 486 | changed in any way when @kbd{g} with an argument is used. This is, |
| 487 | therefore, a general way of merging one file of messages into another. |
| 488 | |
| 489 | @node Rmail Output |
| 490 | @section Copying Messages Out to Files |
| 491 | |
| 492 | These commands copy messages from an Rmail file into another file. |
| 493 | |
| 494 | @table @kbd |
| 495 | @item o @var{file} @key{RET} |
| 496 | Append a full copy of the current message to the file @var{file} |
| 497 | (@code{rmail-output}). |
| 498 | |
| 499 | @item C-o @var{file} @key{RET} |
| 500 | Append a copy of the current message, as displayed, to the file |
| 501 | @var{file} (@code{rmail-output-as-seen}). |
| 502 | |
| 503 | @item w @var{file} @key{RET} |
| 504 | Output just the message body to the file @var{file}, taking the default |
| 505 | file name from the message @samp{Subject} header. |
| 506 | @end table |
| 507 | |
| 508 | @kindex o @r{(Rmail)} |
| 509 | @findex rmail-output-as-seen |
| 510 | @kindex C-o @r{(Rmail)} |
| 511 | @findex rmail-output |
| 512 | The commands @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} copy the current message into a |
| 513 | specified file, adding it at the end. The two commands differ mainly |
| 514 | in how much to copy: @kbd{o} copies the full message headers, even if |
| 515 | they are not all visible, while @kbd{C-o} copies exactly the headers |
| 516 | currently displayed and no more. @xref{Rmail Display}. In addition, |
| 517 | @kbd{o} converts the message to Babyl format (used by Rmail in Emacs |
| 518 | version 22 and before) if the file is in Babyl format; @kbd{C-o} |
| 519 | cannot output to Babyl files at all. |
| 520 | @c FIXME remove BABYL mention in Emacs 25? |
| 521 | |
| 522 | If the output file is currently visited in an Emacs buffer, the |
| 523 | output commands append the message to that buffer. It is up to you to |
| 524 | save the buffer eventually in its file. |
| 525 | |
| 526 | @kindex w @r{(Rmail)} |
| 527 | @findex rmail-output-body-to-file |
| 528 | Sometimes you may receive a message whose body holds the contents of a |
| 529 | file. You can save the body to a file (excluding the message header) |
| 530 | with the @kbd{w} command (@code{rmail-output-body-to-file}). Often |
| 531 | these messages contain the intended file name in the @samp{Subject} |
| 532 | field, so the @kbd{w} command uses the @samp{Subject} field as the |
| 533 | default for the output file name. However, the file name is read using |
| 534 | the minibuffer, so you can specify a different name if you wish. |
| 535 | |
| 536 | You can also output a message to an Rmail file chosen with a menu. |
| 537 | In the Classify menu, choose the Output Rmail File menu item; then |
| 538 | choose the Rmail file you want. This outputs the current message to |
| 539 | that file, like the @kbd{o} command. The variables |
| 540 | @code{rmail-secondary-file-directory} and |
| 541 | @code{rmail-secondary-file-regexp} specify which files to offer in the |
| 542 | menu: the first variable says which directory to find them in; the |
| 543 | second says which files in that directory to offer (all those that |
| 544 | match the regular expression). If no files match, you cannot select |
| 545 | this menu item. |
| 546 | |
| 547 | @vindex rmail-delete-after-output |
| 548 | Copying a message with @kbd{o} or @kbd{C-o} gives the original copy |
| 549 | of the message the @samp{filed} attribute, so that @samp{filed} |
| 550 | appears in the mode line when such a message is current. |
| 551 | |
| 552 | If you like to keep just a single copy of every mail message, set |
| 553 | the variable @code{rmail-delete-after-output} to @code{t}; then the |
| 554 | @kbd{o}, @kbd{C-o} and @kbd{w} commands delete the original message |
| 555 | after copying it. (You can undelete it afterward if you wish.) |
| 556 | |
| 557 | @vindex rmail-output-file-alist |
| 558 | The variable @code{rmail-output-file-alist} lets you specify |
| 559 | intelligent defaults for the output file, based on the contents of the |
| 560 | current message. The value should be a list whose elements have this |
| 561 | form: |
| 562 | |
| 563 | @example |
| 564 | (@var{regexp} . @var{name-exp}) |
| 565 | @end example |
| 566 | |
| 567 | @noindent |
| 568 | If there's a match for @var{regexp} in the current message, then the |
| 569 | default file name for output is @var{name-exp}. If multiple elements |
| 570 | match the message, the first matching element decides the default file |
| 571 | name. The subexpression @var{name-exp} may be a string constant giving |
| 572 | the file name to use, or more generally it may be any Lisp expression |
| 573 | that returns a file name as a string. @code{rmail-output-file-alist} |
| 574 | applies to both @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o}. |
| 575 | |
| 576 | @vindex rmail-automatic-folder-directives |
| 577 | Rmail can automatically save messages from your primary Rmail file |
| 578 | (the one that @code{rmail-file-name} specifies) to other files, based |
| 579 | on the value of the variable @code{rmail-automatic-folder-directives}. |
| 580 | This variable is a list of elements (@samp{directives}) that say which |
| 581 | messages to save where. Each directive is a list consisting of an |
| 582 | output file, followed by one or more pairs of a header name and a regular |
| 583 | expression. If a message has a header matching the specified regular |
| 584 | expression, that message is saved to the given file. If the directive |
| 585 | has more than one header entry, all must match. Rmail checks directives |
| 586 | when it shows a message from the file @code{rmail-file-name}, and |
| 587 | applies the first that matches (if any). If the output file is |
| 588 | @code{nil}, the message is deleted, not saved. For example, you can use |
| 589 | this feature to save messages from a particular address, or with a |
| 590 | particular subject, to a dedicated file. |
| 591 | |
| 592 | @node Rmail Labels |
| 593 | @section Labels |
| 594 | @cindex label (Rmail) |
| 595 | @cindex attribute (Rmail) |
| 596 | |
| 597 | Each message can have various @dfn{labels} assigned to it as a means |
| 598 | of classification. Each label has a name; different names are different |
| 599 | labels. Any given label is either present or absent on a particular |
| 600 | message. A few label names have standard meanings and are given to |
| 601 | messages automatically by Rmail when appropriate; these special labels |
| 602 | are called @dfn{attributes}. |
| 603 | @ifnottex |
| 604 | (@xref{Rmail Attributes}.) |
| 605 | @end ifnottex |
| 606 | All other labels are assigned only by users. |
| 607 | |
| 608 | @table @kbd |
| 609 | @item a @var{label} @key{RET} |
| 610 | Assign the label @var{label} to the current message (@code{rmail-add-label}). |
| 611 | @item k @var{label} @key{RET} |
| 612 | Remove the label @var{label} from the current message (@code{rmail-kill-label}). |
| 613 | @item C-M-n @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 614 | Move to the next message that has one of the labels @var{labels} |
| 615 | (@code{rmail-next-labeled-message}). |
| 616 | @item C-M-p @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 617 | Move to the previous message that has one of the labels @var{labels} |
| 618 | (@code{rmail-previous-labeled-message}). |
| 619 | @item l @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 620 | @itemx C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 621 | Make a summary of all messages containing any of the labels @var{labels} |
| 622 | (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}). |
| 623 | @end table |
| 624 | |
| 625 | @kindex a @r{(Rmail)} |
| 626 | @kindex k @r{(Rmail)} |
| 627 | @findex rmail-add-label |
| 628 | @findex rmail-kill-label |
| 629 | The @kbd{a} (@code{rmail-add-label}) and @kbd{k} |
| 630 | (@code{rmail-kill-label}) commands allow you to assign or remove any |
| 631 | label on the current message. If the @var{label} argument is empty, it |
| 632 | means to assign or remove the same label most recently assigned or |
| 633 | removed. |
| 634 | |
| 635 | Once you have given messages labels to classify them as you wish, there |
| 636 | are three ways to use the labels: in moving, in summaries, and in sorting. |
| 637 | |
| 638 | @kindex C-M-n @r{(Rmail)} |
| 639 | @kindex C-M-p @r{(Rmail)} |
| 640 | @findex rmail-next-labeled-message |
| 641 | @findex rmail-previous-labeled-message |
| 642 | @kbd{C-M-n @var{labels} @key{RET}} |
| 643 | (@code{rmail-next-labeled-message}) moves to the next message that has |
| 644 | one of the labels @var{labels}. The argument @var{labels} specifies |
| 645 | one or more label names, separated by commas. @kbd{C-M-p} |
| 646 | (@code{rmail-previous-labeled-message}) is similar, but moves |
| 647 | backwards to previous messages. A numeric argument to either command |
| 648 | serves as a repeat count. |
| 649 | |
| 650 | The command @kbd{C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}} |
| 651 | (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}) displays a summary containing only the |
| 652 | messages that have at least one of a specified set of labels. The |
| 653 | argument @var{labels} is one or more label names, separated by commas. |
| 654 | @xref{Rmail Summary}, for information on summaries. |
| 655 | |
| 656 | If the @var{labels} argument to @kbd{C-M-n}, @kbd{C-M-p} or |
| 657 | @kbd{C-M-l} is empty, it means to use the last set of labels specified |
| 658 | for any of these commands. |
| 659 | |
| 660 | @xref{Rmail Sorting}, for information on sorting messages with labels. |
| 661 | |
| 662 | @node Rmail Attributes |
| 663 | @section Rmail Attributes |
| 664 | |
| 665 | Some labels such as @samp{deleted} and @samp{filed} have built-in |
| 666 | meanings, and Rmail assigns them to messages automatically at |
| 667 | appropriate times; these labels are called @dfn{attributes}. Here is |
| 668 | a list of Rmail attributes: |
| 669 | |
| 670 | @table @samp |
| 671 | @item unseen |
| 672 | Means the message has never been current. Assigned to messages when |
| 673 | they come from an inbox file, and removed when a message is made |
| 674 | current. When you start Rmail, it initially shows the first message |
| 675 | that has this attribute. |
| 676 | @item deleted |
| 677 | Means the message is deleted. Assigned by deletion commands and |
| 678 | removed by undeletion commands (@pxref{Rmail Deletion}). |
| 679 | @item filed |
| 680 | Means the message has been copied to some other file. Assigned by the |
| 681 | @kbd{o} and @kbd{C-o} file output commands (@pxref{Rmail Output}). |
| 682 | @item answered |
| 683 | Means you have mailed an answer to the message. Assigned by the @kbd{r} |
| 684 | command (@code{rmail-reply}). @xref{Rmail Reply}. |
| 685 | @item forwarded |
| 686 | Means you have forwarded the message. Assigned by the @kbd{f} command |
| 687 | (@code{rmail-forward}). @xref{Rmail Reply}. |
| 688 | @item edited |
| 689 | Means you have edited the text of the message within Rmail. |
| 690 | @xref{Rmail Editing}. |
| 691 | @item resent |
| 692 | Means you have resent the message. Assigned by the command @kbd{M-x |
| 693 | rmail-resend}. @xref{Rmail Reply}. |
| 694 | @item retried |
| 695 | Means you have retried a failed outgoing message. Assigned by the |
| 696 | command @kbd{M-x rmail-retry-failure}. @xref{Rmail Reply}. |
| 697 | @end table |
| 698 | |
| 699 | All other labels are assigned or removed only by users, and have no |
| 700 | standard meaning. |
| 701 | |
| 702 | @node Rmail Reply |
| 703 | @section Sending Replies |
| 704 | |
| 705 | Rmail has several commands to send outgoing mail. @xref{Sending |
| 706 | Mail}, for information on using Message mode, including certain |
| 707 | features meant to work with Rmail. What this section documents are |
| 708 | the special commands of Rmail for entering the mail buffer. Note that |
| 709 | the usual keys for sending mail---@kbd{C-x m}, @kbd{C-x 4 m}, and |
| 710 | @kbd{C-x 5 m}---also work normally in Rmail mode. |
| 711 | |
| 712 | @table @kbd |
| 713 | @item m |
| 714 | Send a message (@code{rmail-mail}). |
| 715 | @item c |
| 716 | Continue editing the already started outgoing message (@code{rmail-continue}). |
| 717 | @item r |
| 718 | Send a reply to the current Rmail message (@code{rmail-reply}). |
| 719 | @item f |
| 720 | Forward the current message to other users (@code{rmail-forward}). |
| 721 | @item C-u f |
| 722 | Resend the current message to other users (@code{rmail-resend}). |
| 723 | @item M-m |
| 724 | Try sending a bounced message a second time (@code{rmail-retry-failure}). |
| 725 | @end table |
| 726 | |
| 727 | @kindex r @r{(Rmail)} |
| 728 | @findex rmail-reply |
| 729 | @cindex reply to a message |
| 730 | The most common reason to send a message while in Rmail is to reply |
| 731 | to the message you are reading. To do this, type @kbd{r} |
| 732 | (@code{rmail-reply}). This displays a mail composition buffer in |
| 733 | another window, much like @kbd{C-x 4 m}, but preinitializes the |
| 734 | @samp{Subject}, @samp{To}, @samp{CC}, @samp{In-reply-to} and |
| 735 | @samp{References} header fields based on the message you are replying |
| 736 | to. The @samp{To} field starts out as the address of the person who |
| 737 | sent the message you received, and the @samp{CC} field starts out with |
| 738 | all the other recipients of that message. |
| 739 | |
| 740 | @vindex mail-dont-reply-to-names |
| 741 | You can exclude certain recipients from being included automatically |
| 742 | in replies, using the variable @code{mail-dont-reply-to-names}. Its |
| 743 | value should be a regular expression; any recipients that match are |
| 744 | excluded from the @samp{CC} field. They are also excluded from the |
| 745 | @samp{To} field, unless this would leave the field empty. If this |
| 746 | variable is nil, then the first time you compose a reply it is |
| 747 | initialized to a default value that matches your own address. |
| 748 | |
| 749 | To omit the @samp{CC} field completely for a particular reply, enter |
| 750 | the reply command with a numeric argument: @kbd{C-u r} or @kbd{1 r}. |
| 751 | This means to reply only to the sender of the original message. |
| 752 | |
| 753 | Once the mail composition buffer has been initialized, editing and |
| 754 | sending the mail goes as usual (@pxref{Sending Mail}). You can edit |
| 755 | the presupplied header fields if they are not what you want. You can |
| 756 | also use commands such as @kbd{C-c C-y}, which yanks in the message |
| 757 | that you are replying to (@pxref{Mail Commands}). You can also switch |
| 758 | to the Rmail buffer, select a different message there, switch back, |
| 759 | and yank the new current message. |
| 760 | |
| 761 | @kindex M-m @r{(Rmail)} |
| 762 | @findex rmail-retry-failure |
| 763 | @cindex retrying a failed message |
| 764 | @vindex rmail-retry-ignored-headers |
| 765 | Sometimes a message does not reach its destination. Mailers usually |
| 766 | send the failed message back to you, enclosed in a @dfn{failure |
| 767 | message}. The Rmail command @kbd{M-m} (@code{rmail-retry-failure}) |
| 768 | prepares to send the same message a second time: it sets up a |
| 769 | mail composition buffer with the same text and header fields as before. If |
| 770 | you type @kbd{C-c C-c} right away, you send the message again exactly |
| 771 | the same as the first time. Alternatively, you can edit the text or |
| 772 | headers and then send it. The variable |
| 773 | @code{rmail-retry-ignored-headers}, in the same format as |
| 774 | @code{rmail-ignored-headers} (@pxref{Rmail Display}), controls which |
| 775 | headers are stripped from the failed message when retrying it. |
| 776 | |
| 777 | @kindex f @r{(Rmail)} |
| 778 | @findex rmail-forward |
| 779 | @cindex forwarding a message |
| 780 | Another frequent reason to send mail in Rmail is to @dfn{forward} the |
| 781 | current message to other users. @kbd{f} (@code{rmail-forward}) makes |
| 782 | this easy by preinitializing the mail composition buffer with the current |
| 783 | message as the text, and a subject of the form @code{[@var{from}: |
| 784 | @var{subject}]}, where @var{from} and @var{subject} are the sender and |
| 785 | subject of the original message. All you have to do is fill in the |
| 786 | recipients and send. When you forward a message, recipients get a |
| 787 | message which is ``from'' you, and which has the original message in |
| 788 | its contents. |
| 789 | |
| 790 | @vindex rmail-enable-mime-composing |
| 791 | @findex unforward-rmail-message |
| 792 | Rmail offers two formats for forwarded messages. The default is to |
| 793 | use MIME (@pxref{Rmail Display}) format. This includes the original |
| 794 | message as a separate part. You can use a simpler format if you |
| 795 | prefer, by setting the variable @code{rmail-enable-mime-composing} to |
| 796 | @code{nil}. In this case, Rmail just includes the original message |
| 797 | enclosed between two delimiter lines. It also modifies every line |
| 798 | that starts with a dash, by inserting @w{@samp{- }} at the start of |
| 799 | the line. When you receive a forwarded message in this format, if it |
| 800 | contains something besides ordinary text---for example, program source |
| 801 | code---you might find it useful to undo that transformation. You can |
| 802 | do this by selecting the forwarded message and typing @kbd{M-x |
| 803 | unforward-rmail-message}. This command extracts the original |
| 804 | forwarded message, deleting the inserted @w{@samp{- }} strings, and |
| 805 | inserts it into the Rmail file as a separate message immediately |
| 806 | following the current one. |
| 807 | |
| 808 | @findex rmail-resend |
| 809 | @dfn{Resending} is an alternative similar to forwarding; the |
| 810 | difference is that resending sends a message that is ``from'' the |
| 811 | original sender, just as it reached you---with a few added header fields |
| 812 | (@samp{Resent-From} and @samp{Resent-To}) to indicate that it came via |
| 813 | you. To resend a message in Rmail, use @kbd{C-u f}. (@kbd{f} runs |
| 814 | @code{rmail-forward}, which invokes @code{rmail-resend} if you provide a |
| 815 | numeric argument.) |
| 816 | |
| 817 | @kindex m @r{(Rmail)} |
| 818 | @findex rmail-mail |
| 819 | Use the @kbd{m} (@code{rmail-mail}) command to start editing an |
| 820 | outgoing message that is not a reply. It leaves the header fields empty. |
| 821 | Its only difference from @kbd{C-x 4 m} is that it makes the Rmail buffer |
| 822 | accessible for @kbd{C-c C-y}, just as @kbd{r} does. |
| 823 | @ignore |
| 824 | @c Not a good idea, because it does not include Reply-To etc. |
| 825 | Thus, @kbd{m} can be used to reply to or forward a message; it can do |
| 826 | anything @kbd{r} or @kbd{f} can do. |
| 827 | @end ignore |
| 828 | |
| 829 | @kindex c @r{(Rmail)} |
| 830 | @findex rmail-continue |
| 831 | The @kbd{c} (@code{rmail-continue}) command resumes editing the |
| 832 | mail composition buffer, to finish editing an outgoing message you were |
| 833 | already composing, or to alter a message you have sent. |
| 834 | |
| 835 | @vindex rmail-mail-new-frame |
| 836 | If you set the variable @code{rmail-mail-new-frame} to a |
| 837 | non-@code{nil} value, then all the Rmail commands to start sending a |
| 838 | message create a new frame to edit it in. This frame is deleted when |
| 839 | you send the message. |
| 840 | @ignore |
| 841 | @c FIXME does not work with Message -> Kill Message |
| 842 | , or when you use the @samp{Cancel} item in the @samp{Mail} menu. |
| 843 | @end ignore |
| 844 | |
| 845 | All the Rmail commands to send a message use the mail-composition |
| 846 | method that you have chosen (@pxref{Mail Methods}). |
| 847 | |
| 848 | @node Rmail Summary |
| 849 | @section Summaries |
| 850 | @cindex summary (Rmail) |
| 851 | |
| 852 | A @dfn{summary} is a buffer containing one line per message to give |
| 853 | you an overview of the mail in an Rmail file. Each line shows the |
| 854 | message number and date, the sender, the line count, the labels, and |
| 855 | the subject. Moving point in the summary buffer selects messages as |
| 856 | you move to their summary lines. Almost all Rmail commands are valid |
| 857 | in the summary buffer also; when used there, they apply to the message |
| 858 | described by the current line of the summary. |
| 859 | |
| 860 | A summary buffer applies to a single Rmail file only; if you are |
| 861 | editing multiple Rmail files, each one can have its own summary buffer. |
| 862 | The summary buffer name is made by appending @samp{-summary} to the |
| 863 | Rmail buffer's name. Normally only one summary buffer is displayed at a |
| 864 | time. |
| 865 | |
| 866 | @menu |
| 867 | * Rmail Make Summary:: Making various sorts of summaries. |
| 868 | * Rmail Summary Edit:: Manipulating messages from the summary. |
| 869 | @end menu |
| 870 | |
| 871 | @node Rmail Make Summary |
| 872 | @subsection Making Summaries |
| 873 | |
| 874 | Here are the commands to create a summary for the current Rmail |
| 875 | buffer. Once the Rmail buffer has a summary, changes in the Rmail |
| 876 | buffer (such as deleting or expunging messages, and getting new mail) |
| 877 | automatically update the summary. |
| 878 | |
| 879 | @table @kbd |
| 880 | @item h |
| 881 | @itemx C-M-h |
| 882 | Summarize all messages (@code{rmail-summary}). |
| 883 | @item l @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 884 | @itemx C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 885 | Summarize messages that have one or more of the specified labels |
| 886 | (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}). |
| 887 | @item C-M-r @var{rcpts} @key{RET} |
| 888 | Summarize messages that match the specified recipients |
| 889 | (@code{rmail-summary-by-recipients}). |
| 890 | @item C-M-t @var{topic} @key{RET} |
| 891 | Summarize messages that have a match for the specified regexp |
| 892 | @var{topic} in their subjects (@code{rmail-summary-by-topic}). |
| 893 | @item C-M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET} |
| 894 | Summarize messages whose headers match the specified regular expression |
| 895 | @var{regexp} (@code{rmail-summary-by-regexp}). |
| 896 | @item C-M-f @var{senders} @key{RET} |
| 897 | Summarize messages that match the specified senders. |
| 898 | (@code{rmail-summary-by-senders}). |
| 899 | @end table |
| 900 | |
| 901 | @kindex h @r{(Rmail)} |
| 902 | @findex rmail-summary |
| 903 | The @kbd{h} or @kbd{C-M-h} (@code{rmail-summary}) command fills the summary buffer |
| 904 | for the current Rmail buffer with a summary of all the messages in the buffer. |
| 905 | It then displays and selects the summary buffer in another window. |
| 906 | |
| 907 | @kindex l @r{(Rmail)} |
| 908 | @kindex C-M-l @r{(Rmail)} |
| 909 | @findex rmail-summary-by-labels |
| 910 | @kbd{C-M-l @var{labels} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-labels}) makes |
| 911 | a partial summary mentioning only the messages that have one or more of the |
| 912 | labels @var{labels}. @var{labels} should contain label names separated by |
| 913 | commas. |
| 914 | |
| 915 | @kindex C-M-r @r{(Rmail)} |
| 916 | @findex rmail-summary-by-recipients |
| 917 | @kbd{C-M-r @var{rcpts} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-recipients}) |
| 918 | makes a partial summary mentioning only the messages that have one or |
| 919 | more recipients matching the regular expression @var{rcpts}. You can |
| 920 | use commas to separate multiple regular expressions. These are matched |
| 921 | against the @samp{To}, @samp{From}, and @samp{CC} headers (supply a prefix |
| 922 | argument to exclude this header). |
| 923 | |
| 924 | @kindex C-M-t @r{(Rmail)} |
| 925 | @findex rmail-summary-by-topic |
| 926 | @kbd{C-M-t @var{topic} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-topic}) |
| 927 | makes a partial summary mentioning only the messages whose subjects have |
| 928 | a match for the regular expression @var{topic}. You can use commas to |
| 929 | separate multiple regular expressions. With a prefix argument, the |
| 930 | match is against the whole message, not just the subject. |
| 931 | |
| 932 | @kindex C-M-s @r{(Rmail)} |
| 933 | @findex rmail-summary-by-regexp |
| 934 | @kbd{C-M-s @var{regexp} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-regexp}) |
| 935 | makes a partial summary that mentions only the messages whose headers |
| 936 | (including the date and the subject lines) match the regular |
| 937 | expression @var{regexp}. |
| 938 | |
| 939 | @kindex C-M-f @r{(Rmail)} |
| 940 | @findex rmail-summary-by-senders |
| 941 | @kbd{C-M-f @var{senders} @key{RET}} (@code{rmail-summary-by-senders}) |
| 942 | makes a partial summary that mentions only the messages whose @samp{From} |
| 943 | fields match the regular expression @var{senders}. You can use commas to |
| 944 | separate multiple regular expressions. |
| 945 | |
| 946 | Note that there is only one summary buffer for any Rmail buffer; |
| 947 | making any kind of summary discards any previous summary. |
| 948 | |
| 949 | @vindex rmail-summary-window-size |
| 950 | @vindex rmail-summary-line-count-flag |
| 951 | The variable @code{rmail-summary-window-size} says how many lines to |
| 952 | use for the summary window. The variable |
| 953 | @code{rmail-summary-line-count-flag} controls whether the summary line |
| 954 | for a message should include the line count of the message. Setting |
| 955 | this option to nil might speed up the generation of summaries. |
| 956 | |
| 957 | @node Rmail Summary Edit |
| 958 | @subsection Editing in Summaries |
| 959 | |
| 960 | You can use the Rmail summary buffer to do almost anything you can do |
| 961 | in the Rmail buffer itself. In fact, once you have a summary buffer, |
| 962 | there's no need to switch back to the Rmail buffer. |
| 963 | |
| 964 | You can select and display various messages in the Rmail buffer, from |
| 965 | the summary buffer, just by moving point in the summary buffer to |
| 966 | different lines. It doesn't matter what Emacs command you use to move |
| 967 | point; whichever line point is on at the end of the command, that |
| 968 | message is selected in the Rmail buffer. |
| 969 | |
| 970 | Almost all Rmail commands work in the summary buffer as well as in the |
| 971 | Rmail buffer. Thus, @kbd{d} in the summary buffer deletes the current |
| 972 | message, @kbd{u} undeletes, and @kbd{x} expunges. (However, in the |
| 973 | summary buffer, a numeric argument to @kbd{d}, @kbd{C-d} and @kbd{u} |
| 974 | serves as a repeat count. A negative argument reverses the meaning of |
| 975 | @kbd{d} and @kbd{C-d}. Also, if there are no more undeleted messages in |
| 976 | the relevant direction, the delete commands go to the first or last |
| 977 | message, rather than staying on the current message.) @kbd{o} and |
| 978 | @kbd{C-o} output the current message to a FILE; @kbd{r} starts a reply |
| 979 | to it; etc. You can scroll the current message while remaining in the |
| 980 | summary buffer using @key{SPC} and @key{DEL}. |
| 981 | @c rmail-summary-scroll-between-messages not mentioned. |
| 982 | |
| 983 | @findex rmail-summary-undelete-many |
| 984 | @kbd{M-u} (@code{rmail-summary-undelete-many}) undeletes all deleted |
| 985 | messages in the summary. A prefix argument means to undelete that many |
| 986 | of the previous deleted messages. |
| 987 | |
| 988 | The Rmail commands to move between messages also work in the summary |
| 989 | buffer, but with a twist: they move through the set of messages included |
| 990 | in the summary. They also ensure the Rmail buffer appears on the screen |
| 991 | (unlike cursor motion commands, which update the contents of the Rmail |
| 992 | buffer but don't display it in a window unless it already appears). |
| 993 | Here is a list of these commands: |
| 994 | |
| 995 | @table @kbd |
| 996 | @item n |
| 997 | Move to next line, skipping lines saying `deleted', and select its |
| 998 | message (@code{rmail-summary-next-msg}). |
| 999 | @item p |
| 1000 | Move to previous line, skipping lines saying `deleted', and select |
| 1001 | its message (@code{rmail-summary-previous-msg}). |
| 1002 | @item M-n |
| 1003 | Move to next line and select its message (@code{rmail-summary-next-all}). |
| 1004 | @item M-p |
| 1005 | Move to previous line and select its message |
| 1006 | (@code{rmail-summary-previous-all}). |
| 1007 | @item > |
| 1008 | Move to the last line, and select its message |
| 1009 | (@code{rmail-summary-last-message}). |
| 1010 | @item < |
| 1011 | Move to the first line, and select its message |
| 1012 | (@code{rmail-summary-first-message}). |
| 1013 | @item j |
| 1014 | @itemx @key{RET} |
| 1015 | Select the message on the current line (ensuring that the Rmail buffer |
| 1016 | appears on the screen; @code{rmail-summary-goto-msg}). With argument |
| 1017 | @var{n}, select message number @var{n} and move to its line in the |
| 1018 | summary buffer; this signals an error if the message is not listed in |
| 1019 | the summary buffer. |
| 1020 | @item M-s @var{pattern} @key{RET} |
| 1021 | Search through messages for @var{pattern} starting with the current |
| 1022 | message; select the message found, and move point in the summary buffer |
| 1023 | to that message's line (@code{rmail-summary-search}). A prefix argument |
| 1024 | acts as a repeat count; a negative argument means search backward |
| 1025 | (equivalent to @code{rmail-summary-search-backward}.) |
| 1026 | @item C-M-n @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 1027 | Move to the next message with at least one of the specified labels |
| 1028 | (@code{rmail-summary-next-labeled-message}). @var{labels} is a |
| 1029 | comma-separated list of labels. A prefix argument acts as a repeat |
| 1030 | count. |
| 1031 | @item C-M-p @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 1032 | Move to the previous message with at least one of the specified labels |
| 1033 | (@code{rmail-summary-previous-labeled-message}). |
| 1034 | @item C-c C-n @key{RET} |
| 1035 | Move to the next message with the same subject as the current message |
| 1036 | (@code{rmail-summary-next-same-subject}). A prefix argument acts as a |
| 1037 | repeat count. |
| 1038 | @item C-c C-p @key{RET} |
| 1039 | Move to the previous message with the same subject as the current message |
| 1040 | (@code{rmail-summary-previous-same-subject}). |
| 1041 | @end table |
| 1042 | |
| 1043 | @vindex rmail-redisplay-summary |
| 1044 | Deletion, undeletion, and getting new mail, and even selection of a |
| 1045 | different message all update the summary buffer when you do them in the |
| 1046 | Rmail buffer. If the variable @code{rmail-redisplay-summary} is |
| 1047 | non-@code{nil}, these actions also bring the summary buffer back onto |
| 1048 | the screen. |
| 1049 | |
| 1050 | @kindex Q @r{(Rmail summary)} |
| 1051 | @findex rmail-summary-wipe |
| 1052 | @kindex q @r{(Rmail summary)} |
| 1053 | @findex rmail-summary-quit |
| 1054 | @kindex b @r{(Rmail summary)} |
| 1055 | @findex rmail-summary-bury |
| 1056 | When you are finished using the summary, type @kbd{Q} |
| 1057 | (@code{rmail-summary-wipe}) to delete the summary buffer's window. You |
| 1058 | can also exit Rmail while in the summary: @kbd{q} |
| 1059 | (@code{rmail-summary-quit}) deletes the summary window, then exits from |
| 1060 | Rmail by saving the Rmail file and switching to another buffer. |
| 1061 | Alternatively, @kbd{b} (@code{rmail-summary-bury}) simply buries the |
| 1062 | Rmail summary and buffer. |
| 1063 | |
| 1064 | @node Rmail Sorting |
| 1065 | @section Sorting the Rmail File |
| 1066 | @cindex sorting Rmail file |
| 1067 | @cindex Rmail file sorting |
| 1068 | |
| 1069 | @table @kbd |
| 1070 | @findex rmail-sort-by-date |
| 1071 | @item C-c C-s C-d |
| 1072 | @itemx M-x rmail-sort-by-date |
| 1073 | Sort messages of current Rmail buffer by date. |
| 1074 | |
| 1075 | @findex rmail-sort-by-subject |
| 1076 | @item C-c C-s C-s |
| 1077 | @itemx M-x rmail-sort-by-subject |
| 1078 | Sort messages of current Rmail buffer by subject. |
| 1079 | |
| 1080 | @findex rmail-sort-by-author |
| 1081 | @item C-c C-s C-a |
| 1082 | @itemx M-x rmail-sort-by-author |
| 1083 | Sort messages of current Rmail buffer by author's name. |
| 1084 | |
| 1085 | @findex rmail-sort-by-recipient |
| 1086 | @item C-c C-s C-r |
| 1087 | @itemx M-x rmail-sort-by-recipient |
| 1088 | Sort messages of current Rmail buffer by recipient's names. |
| 1089 | |
| 1090 | @findex rmail-sort-by-correspondent |
| 1091 | @item C-c C-s C-c |
| 1092 | @itemx M-x rmail-sort-by-correspondent |
| 1093 | Sort messages of current Rmail buffer by the name of the other |
| 1094 | correspondent. |
| 1095 | |
| 1096 | @findex rmail-sort-by-lines |
| 1097 | @item C-c C-s C-l |
| 1098 | @itemx M-x rmail-sort-by-lines |
| 1099 | Sort messages of current Rmail buffer by number of lines. |
| 1100 | |
| 1101 | @findex rmail-sort-by-labels |
| 1102 | @item C-c C-s C-k @key{RET} @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 1103 | @itemx M-x rmail-sort-by-labels @key{RET} @var{labels} @key{RET} |
| 1104 | Sort messages of current Rmail buffer by labels. The argument |
| 1105 | @var{labels} should be a comma-separated list of labels. The order of |
| 1106 | these labels specifies the order of messages; messages with the first |
| 1107 | label come first, messages with the second label come second, and so on. |
| 1108 | Messages that have none of these labels come last. |
| 1109 | @end table |
| 1110 | |
| 1111 | The Rmail sort commands perform a @emph{stable sort}: if there is no |
| 1112 | reason to prefer either one of two messages, their order remains |
| 1113 | unchanged. You can use this to sort by more than one criterion. For |
| 1114 | example, if you use @code{rmail-sort-by-date} and then |
| 1115 | @code{rmail-sort-by-author}, messages from the same author appear in |
| 1116 | order by date. |
| 1117 | |
| 1118 | With a prefix argument, all these commands reverse the order of |
| 1119 | comparison. This means they sort messages from newest to oldest, from |
| 1120 | biggest to smallest, or in reverse alphabetical order. |
| 1121 | |
| 1122 | The same keys in the summary buffer run similar functions; for |
| 1123 | example, @kbd{C-c C-s C-l} runs @code{rmail-summary-sort-by-lines}. |
| 1124 | Note that these commands always sort the whole Rmail buffer, even if the |
| 1125 | summary is only showing a subset of messages. |
| 1126 | |
| 1127 | Note that you cannot undo a sort, so you may wish to save the Rmail |
| 1128 | buffer before sorting it. |
| 1129 | |
| 1130 | @node Rmail Display |
| 1131 | @section Display of Messages |
| 1132 | |
| 1133 | This section describes how Rmail displays mail headers, |
| 1134 | @acronym{MIME} sections and attachments, URLs, and encrypted messages. |
| 1135 | |
| 1136 | @table @kbd |
| 1137 | @item t |
| 1138 | Toggle display of complete header (@code{rmail-toggle-header}). |
| 1139 | @end table |
| 1140 | |
| 1141 | @kindex t @r{(Rmail)} |
| 1142 | @findex rmail-toggle-header |
| 1143 | Before displaying each message for the first time, Rmail reformats |
| 1144 | its header, hiding uninteresting header fields to reduce clutter. The |
| 1145 | @kbd{t} (@code{rmail-toggle-header}) command toggles this, switching |
| 1146 | between showing the reformatted header fields and showing the |
| 1147 | complete, original header. With a positive prefix argument, the |
| 1148 | command shows the reformatted header; with a zero or negative prefix |
| 1149 | argument, it shows the full header. Selecting the message again also |
| 1150 | reformats it if necessary. |
| 1151 | |
| 1152 | @vindex rmail-ignored-headers |
| 1153 | @vindex rmail-displayed-headers |
| 1154 | @vindex rmail-nonignored-headers |
| 1155 | The variable @code{rmail-ignored-headers} holds a regular expression |
| 1156 | specifying the header fields to hide; any matching header line will be |
| 1157 | hidden. The variable @code{rmail-nonignored-headers} overrides this: |
| 1158 | any header field matching that regular expression is shown even if it |
| 1159 | matches @code{rmail-ignored-headers} too. The variable |
| 1160 | @code{rmail-displayed-headers} is an alternative to these two |
| 1161 | variables; if non-@code{nil}, this should be a regular expression |
| 1162 | specifying which headers to display (the default is @code{nil}). |
| 1163 | |
| 1164 | @vindex rmail-highlighted-headers |
| 1165 | Rmail highlights certain header fields that are especially |
| 1166 | interesting---by default, the @samp{From} and @samp{Subject} fields. |
| 1167 | This highlighting uses the @code{rmail-highlight} face. The variable |
| 1168 | @code{rmail-highlighted-headers} holds a regular expression specifying |
| 1169 | the header fields to highlight; if it matches the beginning of a |
| 1170 | header field, that whole field is highlighted. To disable this |
| 1171 | feature, set @code{rmail-highlighted-headers} to @code{nil}. |
| 1172 | |
| 1173 | @cindex MIME messages (Rmail) |
| 1174 | @vindex rmail-enable-mime |
| 1175 | If a message is in @acronym{MIME} (Multipurpose Internet Mail |
| 1176 | Extensions) format and contains multiple parts (@acronym{MIME} |
| 1177 | entities), Rmail displays each part with a @dfn{tagline}. The tagline |
| 1178 | summarizes the part's index, size, and content type. Depending on the |
| 1179 | content type, it may also contain one or more buttons; these perform |
| 1180 | actions such as saving the part into a file. |
| 1181 | |
| 1182 | @table @kbd |
| 1183 | @findex rmail-mime-toggle-hidden |
| 1184 | @item @key{RET} |
| 1185 | Hide or show the @acronym{MIME} part at point |
| 1186 | (@code{rmail-mime-toggle-hidden}). |
| 1187 | |
| 1188 | @findex rmail-mime-next-item |
| 1189 | @item @key{TAB} |
| 1190 | Move point to the next @acronym{MIME} tagline button. |
| 1191 | (@code{rmail-mime-next-item}). |
| 1192 | |
| 1193 | @findex rmail-mime-previous-item |
| 1194 | @item S-@key{TAB} |
| 1195 | Move point to the previous @acronym{MIME} part |
| 1196 | (@code{rmail-mime-previous-item}). |
| 1197 | |
| 1198 | @findex rmail-mime |
| 1199 | @item v |
| 1200 | @kindex v @r{(Rmail)} |
| 1201 | Toggle between @acronym{MIME} display and raw message |
| 1202 | (@code{rmail-mime}). |
| 1203 | @end table |
| 1204 | |
| 1205 | Each plain-text @acronym{MIME} part is initially displayed |
| 1206 | immediately after its tagline, as part of the Rmail buffer, while |
| 1207 | @acronym{MIME} parts of other types are represented only by their |
| 1208 | taglines, with their actual contents hidden. In either case, you can |
| 1209 | toggle a @acronym{MIME} part between its ``displayed'' and ``hidden'' |
| 1210 | states by typing @key{RET} anywhere in the part---or anywhere in its |
| 1211 | tagline (except for buttons for other actions, if there are any). Type |
| 1212 | @key{RET} (or click with the mouse) to activate a tagline button, and |
| 1213 | @key{TAB} to cycle point between tagline buttons. |
| 1214 | |
| 1215 | The @kbd{v} (@code{rmail-mime}) command toggles between the default |
| 1216 | @acronym{MIME} display described above, and a ``raw'' display showing |
| 1217 | the undecoded @acronym{MIME} data. With a prefix argument, this |
| 1218 | command toggles the display of only an entity at point. |
| 1219 | |
| 1220 | To prevent Rmail from handling MIME decoded messages, change the |
| 1221 | variable @code{rmail-enable-mime} to @code{nil}. When this is the |
| 1222 | case, the @kbd{v} (@code{rmail-mime}) command instead creates a |
| 1223 | temporary buffer to display the current @acronym{MIME} message. |
| 1224 | |
| 1225 | @findex rmail-epa-decrypt |
| 1226 | @cindex encrypted mails (reading in Rmail) |
| 1227 | If the current message is an encrypted one, use the command @kbd{M-x |
| 1228 | rmail-epa-decrypt} to decrypt it, using the EasyPG library |
| 1229 | (@pxref{Top,, EasyPG, epa, EasyPG Assistant User's Manual}). |
| 1230 | |
| 1231 | You can highlight and activate URLs in the Rmail buffer using Goto |
| 1232 | Address mode: |
| 1233 | |
| 1234 | @c FIXME goto-addr.el commentary says to use goto-address instead. |
| 1235 | @example |
| 1236 | (add-hook 'rmail-show-message-hook 'goto-address-mode) |
| 1237 | @end example |
| 1238 | |
| 1239 | @noindent |
| 1240 | Then you can browse these URLs by clicking on them with @kbd{Mouse-2} |
| 1241 | (or @kbd{Mouse-1} quickly) or by moving to one and typing @kbd{C-c |
| 1242 | @key{RET}}. @xref{Goto Address mode, Activating URLs, Activating URLs}. |
| 1243 | |
| 1244 | @node Rmail Coding |
| 1245 | @section Rmail and Coding Systems |
| 1246 | |
| 1247 | @cindex decoding mail messages (Rmail) |
| 1248 | Rmail automatically decodes messages which contain non-@acronym{ASCII} |
| 1249 | characters, just as Emacs does with files you visit and with subprocess |
| 1250 | output. Rmail uses the standard @samp{charset=@var{charset}} header in |
| 1251 | the message, if any, to determine how the message was encoded by the |
| 1252 | sender. It maps @var{charset} into the corresponding Emacs coding |
| 1253 | system (@pxref{Coding Systems}), and uses that coding system to decode |
| 1254 | message text. If the message header doesn't have the @samp{charset} |
| 1255 | specification, or if @var{charset} is not recognized, |
| 1256 | Rmail chooses the coding system with the usual Emacs heuristics and |
| 1257 | defaults (@pxref{Recognize Coding}). |
| 1258 | |
| 1259 | @cindex fixing incorrectly decoded mail messages |
| 1260 | Occasionally, a message is decoded incorrectly, either because Emacs |
| 1261 | guessed the wrong coding system in the absence of the @samp{charset} |
| 1262 | specification, or because the specification was inaccurate. For |
| 1263 | example, a misconfigured mailer could send a message with a |
| 1264 | @samp{charset=iso-8859-1} header when the message is actually encoded |
| 1265 | in @code{koi8-r}. When you see the message text garbled, or some of |
| 1266 | its characters displayed as hex codes or empty boxes, this may have |
| 1267 | happened. |
| 1268 | |
| 1269 | @findex rmail-redecode-body |
| 1270 | You can correct the problem by decoding the message again using the |
| 1271 | right coding system, if you can figure out or guess which one is |
| 1272 | right. To do this, invoke the @kbd{M-x rmail-redecode-body} command. |
| 1273 | It reads the name of a coding system, and then redecodes the message |
| 1274 | using the coding system you specified. If you specified the right |
| 1275 | coding system, the result should be readable. |
| 1276 | |
| 1277 | @node Rmail Editing |
| 1278 | @section Editing Within a Message |
| 1279 | |
| 1280 | Most of the usual Emacs key bindings are available in Rmail mode, |
| 1281 | though a few, such as @kbd{C-M-n} and @kbd{C-M-h}, are redefined by |
| 1282 | Rmail for other purposes. However, the Rmail buffer is normally read |
| 1283 | only, and most of the letters are redefined as Rmail commands. If you |
| 1284 | want to edit the text of a message, you must use the Rmail command |
| 1285 | @kbd{e}. |
| 1286 | |
| 1287 | @table @kbd |
| 1288 | @item e |
| 1289 | Edit the current message as ordinary text. |
| 1290 | @end table |
| 1291 | |
| 1292 | @kindex e @r{(Rmail)} |
| 1293 | @findex rmail-edit-current-message |
| 1294 | The @kbd{e} command (@code{rmail-edit-current-message}) switches from |
| 1295 | Rmail mode into Rmail Edit mode, another major mode which is nearly the |
| 1296 | same as Text mode. The mode line indicates this change. |
| 1297 | |
| 1298 | In Rmail Edit mode, letters insert themselves as usual and the Rmail |
| 1299 | commands are not available. You can edit the message body and header |
| 1300 | fields. When you are finished editing the message, type @kbd{C-c C-c} |
| 1301 | to switch back to Rmail mode. Alternatively, you can return to Rmail |
| 1302 | mode but cancel any editing that you have done, by typing @kbd{C-c C-]}. |
| 1303 | |
| 1304 | @vindex rmail-edit-mode-hook |
| 1305 | Entering Rmail Edit mode runs the hook @code{text-mode-hook}; then |
| 1306 | it runs the hook @code{rmail-edit-mode-hook} (@pxref{Hooks}). |
| 1307 | Returning to ordinary Rmail mode adds the attribute @samp{edited} to |
| 1308 | the message, if you have made any changes in it. |
| 1309 | |
| 1310 | @node Rmail Digest |
| 1311 | @section Digest Messages |
| 1312 | @cindex digest message |
| 1313 | @cindex undigestify |
| 1314 | |
| 1315 | A @dfn{digest message} is a message which exists to contain and carry |
| 1316 | several other messages. Digests are used on some mailing |
| 1317 | lists; all the messages that arrive for the list during a period of time |
| 1318 | such as one day are put inside a single digest which is then sent to the |
| 1319 | subscribers. Transmitting the single digest uses less computer |
| 1320 | time than transmitting the individual messages even though the total |
| 1321 | size is the same, because of the per-message overhead in network mail |
| 1322 | transmission. |
| 1323 | |
| 1324 | @findex undigestify-rmail-message |
| 1325 | When you receive a digest message, the most convenient way to read it is |
| 1326 | to @dfn{undigestify} it: to turn it back into many individual messages. |
| 1327 | Then you can read and delete the individual messages as it suits you. |
| 1328 | To do this, select the digest message and type the command @kbd{M-x |
| 1329 | undigestify-rmail-message}. This extracts the submessages as separate |
| 1330 | Rmail messages, and inserts them following the digest. The digest |
| 1331 | message itself is flagged as deleted. |
| 1332 | |
| 1333 | @node Rmail Rot13 |
| 1334 | @section Reading Rot13 Messages |
| 1335 | @cindex rot13 code |
| 1336 | |
| 1337 | Mailing list messages that might offend or annoy some readers are sometimes |
| 1338 | encoded in a simple code called @dfn{rot13}---so named because it |
| 1339 | rotates the alphabet by 13 letters. This code is not for secrecy, as it |
| 1340 | provides none; rather, it enables those who wish to to avoid |
| 1341 | seeing the real text of the message. For example, a review of a film |
| 1342 | might use rot13 to hide important plot points. |
| 1343 | |
| 1344 | @findex rot13-other-window |
| 1345 | To view a buffer that uses the rot13 code, use the command @kbd{M-x |
| 1346 | rot13-other-window}. This displays the current buffer in another window |
| 1347 | which applies the code when displaying the text. |
| 1348 | |
| 1349 | @node Movemail |
| 1350 | @section @code{movemail} program |
| 1351 | @cindex @code{movemail} program |
| 1352 | |
| 1353 | Rmail uses the @code{movemail} program to move mail from your inbox to |
| 1354 | your Rmail file (@pxref{Rmail Inbox}). When loaded for the first time, |
| 1355 | Rmail attempts to locate the @code{movemail} program and determine its |
| 1356 | version. There are two versions of the @code{movemail} program: the |
| 1357 | native one, shipped with GNU Emacs (the ``emacs version'') and the one |
| 1358 | included in GNU mailutils (the ``mailutils version'', |
| 1359 | @pxref{movemail,,,mailutils,GNU mailutils}). They support the same |
| 1360 | command line syntax and the same basic subset of options. However, the |
| 1361 | Mailutils version offers additional features. |
| 1362 | |
| 1363 | The Emacs version of @code{movemail} is able to retrieve mail from |
| 1364 | the usual Unix mailbox formats and from remote mailboxes using the |
| 1365 | POP3 protocol. |
| 1366 | |
| 1367 | The Mailutils version is able to handle a wide set of mailbox |
| 1368 | formats, such as plain Unix mailboxes, @code{maildir} and @code{MH} |
| 1369 | mailboxes, etc. It is able to access remote mailboxes using the POP3 |
| 1370 | or IMAP4 protocol, and can retrieve mail from them using a TLS |
| 1371 | encrypted channel. It also accepts mailbox arguments in @acronym{URL} |
| 1372 | form. The detailed description of mailbox @acronym{URL}s can be found |
| 1373 | in @ref{URL,,,mailutils,Mailbox URL Formats}. In short, a |
| 1374 | @acronym{URL} is: |
| 1375 | |
| 1376 | @smallexample |
| 1377 | @var{proto}://[@var{user}[:@var{password}]@@]@var{host-or-file-name} |
| 1378 | @end smallexample |
| 1379 | |
| 1380 | @noindent |
| 1381 | where square brackets denote optional elements. |
| 1382 | |
| 1383 | @table @var |
| 1384 | @item proto |
| 1385 | Specifies the @dfn{mailbox protocol}, or @dfn{format} to |
| 1386 | use. The exact semantics of the rest of @acronym{URL} elements depends |
| 1387 | on the actual value of @var{proto} (see below). |
| 1388 | |
| 1389 | @item user |
| 1390 | User name to access the remote mailbox. |
| 1391 | |
| 1392 | @item password |
| 1393 | User password to access the remote mailbox. |
| 1394 | |
| 1395 | @item host-or-file-name |
| 1396 | Hostname of the remote server for remote mailboxes or file name of a |
| 1397 | local mailbox. |
| 1398 | @end table |
| 1399 | |
| 1400 | @noindent |
| 1401 | @var{Proto} can be one of: |
| 1402 | |
| 1403 | @table @code |
| 1404 | @item mbox |
| 1405 | Usual Unix mailbox format. In this case, neither @var{user} nor |
| 1406 | @var{pass} are used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the file name |
| 1407 | of the mailbox file, e.g., @code{mbox://var/spool/mail/smith}. |
| 1408 | |
| 1409 | @item mh |
| 1410 | A local mailbox in the @acronym{MH} format. @var{User} and |
| 1411 | @var{pass} are not used. @var{Host-or-file-name} denotes the name of |
| 1412 | @acronym{MH} folder, e.g., @code{mh://Mail/inbox}. |
| 1413 | |
| 1414 | @item maildir |
| 1415 | A local mailbox in the @acronym{maildir} format. @var{User} and |
| 1416 | @var{pass} are not used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the name of |
| 1417 | @code{maildir} mailbox, e.g., @code{maildir://mail/inbox}. |
| 1418 | |
| 1419 | @item file |
| 1420 | Any local mailbox format. Its actual format is detected automatically |
| 1421 | by @code{movemail}. |
| 1422 | |
| 1423 | @item pop |
| 1424 | A remote mailbox to be accessed via POP3 protocol. @var{User} |
| 1425 | specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to |
| 1426 | specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP |
| 1427 | address of the remote mail server to connect to; e.g., |
| 1428 | @code{pop://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}. |
| 1429 | |
| 1430 | @item imap |
| 1431 | A remote mailbox to be accessed via IMAP4 protocol. @var{User} |
| 1432 | specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to |
| 1433 | specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP |
| 1434 | address of the remote mail server to connect to; |
| 1435 | e.g., @code{imap://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}. |
| 1436 | @end table |
| 1437 | |
| 1438 | Alternatively, you can specify the file name of the mailbox to use. |
| 1439 | This is equivalent to specifying the @samp{file} protocol: |
| 1440 | |
| 1441 | @smallexample |
| 1442 | /var/spool/mail/@var{user} @equiv{} file://var/spool/mail/@var{user} |
| 1443 | @end smallexample |
| 1444 | |
| 1445 | @vindex rmail-movemail-program |
| 1446 | @vindex rmail-movemail-search-path |
| 1447 | The variable @code{rmail-movemail-program} controls which version of |
| 1448 | @code{movemail} to use. If that is a string, it specifies the |
| 1449 | absolute file name of the @code{movemail} executable. If it is |
| 1450 | @code{nil}, Rmail searches for @code{movemail} in the directories |
| 1451 | listed in @code{rmail-movemail-search-path}, then in @code{exec-path} |
| 1452 | (@pxref{Shell}), then in @code{exec-directory}. |
| 1453 | |
| 1454 | @node Remote Mailboxes |
| 1455 | @section Retrieving Mail from Remote Mailboxes |
| 1456 | @pindex movemail |
| 1457 | |
| 1458 | Some sites use a method called POP for accessing users' inbox data |
| 1459 | instead of storing the data in inbox files. By default, the @code{Emacs |
| 1460 | movemail} can work with POP (unless the Emacs @code{configure} script |
| 1461 | was run with the option @samp{--without-pop}). |
| 1462 | |
| 1463 | Similarly, the Mailutils @code{movemail} by default supports POP, unless |
| 1464 | it was configured with the @samp{--disable-pop} option. |
| 1465 | |
| 1466 | Both versions of @code{movemail} only work with POP3, not with older |
| 1467 | versions of POP. |
| 1468 | |
| 1469 | @cindex @env{MAILHOST} environment variable |
| 1470 | @cindex POP mailboxes |
| 1471 | No matter which flavor of @code{movemail} you use, you can specify |
| 1472 | a POP inbox by using a POP @dfn{URL} (@pxref{Movemail}). A POP |
| 1473 | @acronym{URL} is a ``file name'' of the form |
| 1474 | @samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}, where |
| 1475 | @var{hostname} is the host name or IP address of the remote mail |
| 1476 | server and @var{username} is the user name on that server. |
| 1477 | Additionally, you may specify the password in the mailbox @acronym{URL}: |
| 1478 | @samp{pop://@var{username}:@var{password}@@@var{hostname}}. In this |
| 1479 | case, @var{password} takes preference over the one set by |
| 1480 | @code{rmail-remote-password} (see below). This is especially useful |
| 1481 | if you have several remote mailboxes with different passwords. |
| 1482 | |
| 1483 | For backward compatibility, Rmail also supports an alternative way of |
| 1484 | specifying remote POP mailboxes. Specifying an inbox name in the form |
| 1485 | @samp{po:@var{username}:@var{hostname}} is equivalent to |
| 1486 | @samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}. If you omit the |
| 1487 | @var{:hostname} part, the @env{MAILHOST} environment variable specifies |
| 1488 | the machine on which to look for the POP server. |
| 1489 | |
| 1490 | @c FIXME mention --with-hesiod "support Hesiod to get the POP server host"? |
| 1491 | |
| 1492 | @cindex IMAP mailboxes |
| 1493 | Another method for accessing remote mailboxes is IMAP@. This method is |
| 1494 | supported only by the Mailutils @code{movemail}. To specify an IMAP |
| 1495 | mailbox in the inbox list, use the following mailbox @acronym{URL}: |
| 1496 | @samp{imap://@var{username}[:@var{password}]@@@var{hostname}}. The |
| 1497 | @var{password} part is optional, as described above. |
| 1498 | |
| 1499 | @vindex rmail-remote-password |
| 1500 | @vindex rmail-remote-password-required |
| 1501 | Accessing a remote mailbox may require a password. Rmail uses the |
| 1502 | following algorithm to retrieve it: |
| 1503 | |
| 1504 | @enumerate |
| 1505 | @item |
| 1506 | If a @var{password} is present in the mailbox URL (see above), it is |
| 1507 | used. |
| 1508 | @item |
| 1509 | If the variable @code{rmail-remote-password-required} is @code{nil}, |
| 1510 | Rmail assumes no password is required. |
| 1511 | @item |
| 1512 | If the variable @code{rmail-remote-password} is non-@code{nil}, its |
| 1513 | value is used. |
| 1514 | @item |
| 1515 | Otherwise, Rmail will ask you for the password to use. |
| 1516 | @end enumerate |
| 1517 | |
| 1518 | @vindex rmail-movemail-flags |
| 1519 | If you need to pass additional command-line flags to @code{movemail}, |
| 1520 | set the variable @code{rmail-movemail-flags} a list of the flags you |
| 1521 | wish to use. Do not use this variable to pass the @samp{-p} flag to |
| 1522 | preserve your inbox contents; use @code{rmail-preserve-inbox} instead. |
| 1523 | |
| 1524 | @cindex Kerberos POP authentication |
| 1525 | The @code{movemail} program installed at your site may support |
| 1526 | Kerberos authentication (the Emacs @code{movemail} does so if Emacs was |
| 1527 | configured with the option @code{--with-kerberos} or |
| 1528 | @code{--with-kerberos5}). If it is supported, it is used by default |
| 1529 | whenever you attempt to retrieve POP mail when |
| 1530 | @code{rmail-remote-password} and @code{rmail-remote-password-required} |
| 1531 | are unset. |
| 1532 | |
| 1533 | @cindex reverse order in POP inboxes |
| 1534 | Some POP servers store messages in reverse order. If your server does |
| 1535 | this, and you would rather read your mail in the order in which it was |
| 1536 | received, you can tell @code{movemail} to reverse the order of |
| 1537 | downloaded messages by adding the @samp{-r} flag to |
| 1538 | @code{rmail-movemail-flags}. |
| 1539 | |
| 1540 | @cindex TLS encryption (Rmail) |
| 1541 | Mailutils @code{movemail} supports TLS encryption. If you wish to |
| 1542 | use it, add the @samp{--tls} flag to @code{rmail-movemail-flags}. |
| 1543 | |
| 1544 | @node Other Mailbox Formats |
| 1545 | @section Retrieving Mail from Local Mailboxes in Various Formats |
| 1546 | |
| 1547 | If your incoming mail is stored on a local machine in a format other |
| 1548 | than Unix mailbox, you will need the Mailutils @code{movemail} to |
| 1549 | retrieve it. @xref{Movemail}, for the detailed description of |
| 1550 | @code{movemail} versions. For example, to access mail from a inbox in |
| 1551 | @code{maildir} format located in @file{/var/spool/mail/in}, you would |
| 1552 | include the following in the Rmail inbox list: |
| 1553 | |
| 1554 | @smallexample |
| 1555 | maildir://var/spool/mail/in |
| 1556 | @end smallexample |