Mail::Box::Maildir::Message(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation Mail::Box::Maildir::Message(3)

Mail::Box::Maildir::Message - one message in a Maildir folder

Mail::Box::Maildir::Message
  is a Mail::Box::Dir::Message
  is a Mail::Box::Message
  is a Mail::Message
  is a Mail::Reporter

my $folder = new Mail::Box::Maildir ...
my $message = $folder->message(10);

A "Mail::Box::Maildir::Message" represents one message in an Mail::Box::Maildir folder. Each message is stored in a separate file.

Extends "DESCRIPTION" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Extends "METHODS" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Extends "Constructors" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->clone(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructors" in Mail::Message
Inherited, see "METHODS" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message

Extends "Constructing a message" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->bounce( [<$rg_object|%options>] )
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Bounce
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Build
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Build
$obj->forward(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardAttach(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardEncapsulate(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardInline(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardNo(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardPostlude()
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardPrelude()
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardSubject(STRING)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Read
$obj->rebuild(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Rebuild
$obj->reply(%options)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Reply
$obj->replyPrelude( [STRING|$field|$address|ARRAY-$of-$things] )
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Reply
$obj->replySubject(STRING)
Inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Reply

Extends "The message" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->container()
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->copyTo($folder, %options)
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Box::Message
$obj->filename( [$filename] )
Returns the current filename for this message. If the $filename argument is specified, a new filename will be set. For maildir messages this means that modifications are immediately performed: there will be a rename (move) from the old name to the new name. Labels may change within in the message object as well.
$obj->folder( [$folder] )
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Box::Message
$obj->isDummy()
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->isPart()
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->messageId()
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->moveTo($folder, %options)
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Box::Message
$obj->partNumber()
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->print( [$fh] )
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->send( [$mailer], %options )
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->seqnr( [$integer] )
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Box::Message
$obj->size()
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->toplevel()
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->write( [$fh] )
Inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message

Extends "The header" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->bcc()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->cc()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->date()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->destinations()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->from()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->get($fieldname)
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->guessTimestamp()
The filename of a "Mail::Box::Maildir::Message" contains a timestamp. This is a wild guess about the actual time of sending of the message: it is the time of receipt which may be seconds to hours off. But is still a good guess... When the message header is not parsed, then this date is used.
$obj->head( [$head] )
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->nrLines()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->sender()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->study($fieldname)
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->subject()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->timestamp()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->to()
Inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message

Extends "The body" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->body( [$body] )
Inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->contentType()
Inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->decoded(%options)
Inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->encode(%options)
Inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->isMultipart()
Inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->isNested()
Inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->parts( [<'ALL'|'ACTIVE'|'DELETED'|'RECURSE'|$filter>] )
Inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message

Extends "Flags" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->delete()
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->deleted( [BOOLEAN] )
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->isDeleted()
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->isModified()
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->label($label|PAIRS)
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->labels()
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->labelsToStatus()
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->modified( [BOOLEAN] )
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->statusToLabels()
Inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message

Extends "The whole message as text" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->file()
Inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text
$obj->lines()
Inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text
$obj->printStructure( [$fh|undef],[$indent] )
Inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text
$obj->string()
Inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text

$obj->labelsToFilename()
When the labels on a message change, this may implicate a change in the message's filename. The change will take place immediately. The new filename (which may be the same as the old filename) is returned. "undef" is returned when the rename is required but fails.

Extends "Internals" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->accept( [BOOLEAN] )
Accept a message for the folder. This will move it from the "new" or "tmp" sub-directories into the "cur" sub-directory (or back when the BOOLEAN is "false"). When you accept an already accepted message, nothing will happen.
$obj->clonedFrom()
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->create($filename)
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message
$obj->diskDelete()
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box::Message
$obj->isDelayed()
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->loadBody()
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message
$obj->loadHead()
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message
$obj->parser()
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message
$obj->readBody( $parser, $head, [$bodytype] )
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box::Message
$obj->readFromParser( $parser, [$bodytype] )
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->readHead( $parser, [$class] )
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->recursiveRebuildPart($part, %options)
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message::Construct::Rebuild
$obj->storeBody($body)
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->takeMessageId( [STRING] )
Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message

Extends "Error handling" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->AUTOLOAD()
Inherited, see "METHODS" in Mail::Message::Construct
$obj->addReport($object)
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->defaultTrace( [$level]|[$loglevel, $tracelevel]|[$level, $callback] )
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->errors()
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->log( [$level, [$strings]] )
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->logPriority($level)
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->logSettings()
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->notImplemented()
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->report( [$level] )
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->reportAll( [$level] )
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->shortSize( [$value] )
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Message
$obj->shortString()
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Message
$obj->trace( [$level] )
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->warnings()
Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

Extends "Cleanup" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

$obj->DESTROY()
Inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->destruct()
Inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Box::Message

Extends "DETAILS" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Extends "Structure of a Message" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Extends "Message object implementation" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Extends "Message class implementation" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Extends "Labels" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Predefined labels

Extends "Predefined labels" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Status and X-Status fields

Extends "Status and X-Status fields" in Mail::Box::Dir::Message.

Flags in filename

When new messages arrive on system and have to be stored in a maildir folder, they are put in the "new" sub-directory of the folder (first created in the "tmp" sub-directory and then immediately moved to "new"). The following information was found at http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html.

Each message is written in a separate file. The filename is constructed from the time-of-arrival, a hostname, an unique component, a syntax marker, and flags. For example "1014220791.meteor.42:2,DF". The filename must match:

my ($time, $unique, $hostname, $info)
   = $filename =~ m!^(\d+)\.(.*)\.(\w+)(\:.*)?$!;
my ($semantics, $flags)
   = $info =~ m!([12])\,([DFPRST]*)$!;
my @flags = split //, $flags;

When an application opens the folder, there may be messages in "new" which are new arival, and messages in "cur". The latter are labeled "accepted". To move a message from "new" to "cur", you have two options with the same effect:

$msg->accept;
$msg->label(accept => 1);

See accept(), label(), Mail::Box::Maildir::new(accept_new), and Mail::Box::Maildir::acceptMessages()

The messages are moved, and their name is immediately extended with flags. An example:

new/897979431.meteor.42      may become
cur/897979431.meteor.42:2,FS

The added characters ':2,' refer to the "second state of processing", where the message has been inspected. And the characters (which should be in alphabetic order) mean

D      => draft
F      => flagged
R      => replied  (answered)
S      => seen
T      => deleted  (tagged for deletion)

Some maildir clients support
P => passed (resent/forwarded/bounced to someone else)

The flags will immediately change when label() or delete() is used, which differs from other message implementations: maildir is stateless, and should not break when applications crash.

For some reason (the previous message have told you already) it was not possible to create a message parser for the specified filename.
Unknown alternative for the forward(include). Valid choices are "NO", "INLINE", "ATTACH", and "ENCAPSULATE".
Unknown alternative for the "include" option of reply(). Valid choices are "NO", "INLINE", and "ATTACH".
When a modified or new message is written to disk, it is first written to a temporary file in the folder directory. For some reason, it is impossible to create this file.
When a modified or new message is written to disk, it is first written to a temporary file in the folder directory. Then, the new file is moved to replace the existing file. Apparently, the latter fails.
The message bounce() method forwards a received message off to someone else without modification; you must specified it's new destination. If you have the urge not to specify any destination, you probably are looking for reply(). When you wish to modify the content, use forward().
If a forward message is created, a destination address must be specified.
The message send() mechanism had not enough information to automatically find a mail transfer agent to sent this message. Specify a mailer explicitly using the "via" options.
You may wish to construct a message to be stored in a some kind of folder, but you need to do that in two steps. First, create a normal Mail::Message, and then add it to the folder. During this Mail::Box::addMessage() process, the message will get coerce()-d into the right message type, adding storage information and the like.
Fatal error: the specific package (or one of its superclasses) does not implement this method where it should. This message means that some other related classes do implement this method however the class at hand does not. Probably you should investigate this and probably inform the author of the package.
For some reason, the header of the message could be read, but the body cannot. Probably the file has disappeared or the permissions were changed during the progress of the program.
Mail::Box tries to be lazy with respect to parsing messages. When a directory organized folder is opened, only the filenames of messages are collected. At first use, the messages are read from their file. Apperently, a message is used for the first time here, but has disappeared or is unreadible for some other reason.

This module is part of Mail-Box distribution version 3.009, built on August 18, 2020. Website: http://perl.overmeer.net/CPAN/

Copyrights 2001-2020 by [Mark Overmeer]. For other contributors see ChangeLog.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/

2022-06-02 perl v5.36.0