Mail::Message::Construct::Forward - forwarding a Mail::Message
my Mail::Message $forward = $message->forward(To => 'you'); $forward->send;
Complex functionality on Mail::Message objects is implemented in different files which are autoloaded. This file implements the functionality related to creating forwarded messages.
$obj->forward(OPTIONS)
Forward the content of this message. The body of the message to be forwarded
is encapsulated in some accompanying text (if you have no wish for that, than
bounce is your choice). A Mail::Message object is returned on success.
You may forward a whole message, but also message parts.
You may wish to overrule some of the default header settings for the
reply immediately, or you may do that later with set on the header.
When a multi-part body is encountered, and the message is included to
ATTACH, the parts which look like signatures will be removed. If only
one message remains, it will be the added as single attachment, otherwise
a nested multipart will be the result. The value of this option does not
matter, as long as it is present. See Mail::Message::Body::Multipart.
Option --Default Bcc undef Cc undef Date <now> From <'to' in current> Message-ID <uniquely generated> Subject forwardSubject() To <required> body undef include <if body then 'NO' else C<'INLINE'>> preamble constructed from prelude and postlude signature undef
. Bcc => ADDRESSES
Receivers of blind carbon copies: their names will not be published to other message receivers.
. Cc => ADDRESSES
The carbon-copy receivers, by default none.
. Date => DATE
The date to be used in the message sent.
. From => ADDRESSES
Your identification, by default taken from the To field of the
source message.
. Message-ID => STRING
Supply a STRING as specific message-id for the forwarded message. By default, one is generated for you. If there are no angles around your id, they will be added.
. Subject => STRING|CODE
Force the subject line to the specific STRING, or the result of the subroutine specified by CODE. The subroutine will be called passing the subject of the original message as only argument. By default, the forwardSubject() method is used.
. To => ADDRESSES
The destination of your message. Obligatory. The ADDRESSES may be specified as string, a Mail::Address object, or as array of Mail::Address objects.
. body => OBJECT
If you specify a fully prepared body OBJECT, it will be used as forwarded message contents. In this case, only the headers are constructed for you.
. include => 'NO'|'INLINE'|'ATTACH'|'ENCAPSULATE'
Must the message where this is a reply to be included in the message?
When INLINE is given, you may pass the options of forwardInline()
as well.
In many applications, the forward option as attachment results in a
structure which is produced when this option is set to ENCAPSULATE.
Their default behavior is usually INLINE.
It is only possible to inline textual messages, therefore binary or multi-part messages will always be enclosed as attachment. Read the details in section /Creating a forward..
. preamble => STRING|BODY
Part which is attached before the forwarded message. If no preamble is given, then it is constructed from the prelude and postlude. When these are also not present, you will still get a one liner: the result of forwardPrelude()
. signature => BODY|MESSAGE
The signature to be added in case of a multi-part forward. The mime-type
of the signature body should indicate this is a used as such. However,
in INLINE mode, the body will be taken, a line containing '-- ' added
before it, and added behind the epilogue.
$obj->forwardAttach(OPTIONS)
Forward the message as flat attachment to the specified preamble. You
can specify all options available to forward(), although a preamble
which is provided as body object is required, and any specified body
is ignored.
Option --Default preamble <required>
. preamble => BODY|PART
$obj->forwardEncapsulate(OPTIONS)
Like forwardAttach(), but in this case the original message is first encapsulated as nested message in a Mail::Message::Body::Nested, and then joint into a multipart.
You can specify all options available to forward(), although a preamble
which is provided as body object is required, and any specified body
is ignored. Signatures are not stripped. Signatures are not stripped.
Option --Default preamble <required>
. preamble => BODY|PART
$obj->forwardInline(OPTIONS)
This method is equivalent in behavior to forward() with the
option include set to 'INLINE'. You can specify most of
the fields which are available to forward() except
include and body.
Option --Default is_attached "[The forwarded message is attached]\n" max_signature 10 postlude undef prelude undef quote undef strip_signature qr/^--\s/
. is_attached => STRING
A forward on binary messages can not be inlined. Therefore, they are automatically translated into an attachment, as made by forwardAttach(). The obligatory preamble option to that method may be specified as option to this method, to be used in case of such a forward of a binary, but is otherwise constructed from the prelude, the value of this option, and the postlude.
. max_signature => INTEGER
Passed to Mail::Message::Body::stripSignature(max_lines). Only effective for single-part messages.
. postlude => BODY
The line(s) which to be added after the quoted reply lines. Create a
body for it first. This should not include the signature, which has its
own option. The signature will be added after the postlude when the
forwarded message is INLINEd.
. prelude => BODY
The line(s) which will be added before the quoted forwarded lines.
If nothing is specified, the result of the forwardPrelude() method
is used. When undef is specified, no prelude will be added.
. quote => CODE|STRING
Mangle the lines of an INLINEd reply with CODE, or by prepending a
STRING to each line. The routine specified by CODE is called when the
line is in $_.
By default, nothing is added before each line. This option is processed after the body has been decoded.
. strip_signature => REGEXP|STRING|CODE
Remove the signature of the sender. The value of this parameter is passed to Mail::Message::Body::stripSignature(pattern), unless the source text is not included. The signature is stripped from the message before quoting.
$obj->forwardNo(OPTIONS)
Construct a forward, where the whole body of the message is already constructed. That complex body is usually produced in forwardInline(), forwardAttach(), or forwardEncapsulate().
The OPTIONS are the same as for forward() except that body is
required. Some other options, like preamble, are ignored.
Option--Default body <required>
. body => BODY
$obj->forwardPostlude
Added after the forwarded message.
example:
---- END forwarded message
$obj->forwardPrelude
Create a few lines to be included before the forwarded message content. The return is an array of lines.
example:
---- BEGIN forwarded message From: him@somewhere.else.nl (Original Sender) To: me@example.com (Me the receiver) Cc: the.rest@world.net Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 15:44:05 -0500 <blank line>
$obj->forwardSubject(STRING)
Create a subject for a message which is a forward from this one. This routine tries to count the level of reply in subject field, and transform it into a standard form. Please contribute improvements.
example:
subject --> Forw: subject Re: subject --> Forw: Re: subject Re[X]: subject --> Forw: Re[X]: subject <blank> --> Forwarded
The main difference between bounce() and forward() is the reason for message processing. The bounce has no intention to modify the content of message: the same information is passed-on to someplace else. This may mean some conversions, but for instance, the Message-ID does not need to be changed.
The purpose of forward() is to pass on information which is modified: annotated or reduced. The information is not sent back to the author of the original message (which is implemented by reply()), but to someone else.
So: some information comes in, is modified, and than forwarded to someone else. Currently, there are four ways to get the original information included, which are explained in the next sections.
After the creation of the forward, you may want to rebuild() the message to remove unnecessary complexities. Of course, that is not required.
When you specify forward(body), you have created your own body object to
be used as content of the forwarded message. This implies that
forward(include) is 'NO': no automatic generation of the forwarded
body.
The forward(include) is set to 'INLINE' (the default)
This is the most complicated situation, but most often used by MUAs:
the original message is inserted textually in the new body. You can
set-up automatic stripping of signatures, the way of encapsulation,
and texts which should be added before and after the encapsulated part.
However, the result may not always be what you expect. For instance, some people use very long signatures which will not be automatically stripped because the pass the threshold. So, you probably need some manual intervention after the message is created and before it is sent.
When a binary message is encountered, inlining is impossible. In that
case, the message is treated as if 'ENCAPSULATE' was requested.
When forward(include) is explicitly set to 'ATTACH' the result
will be a multipart which contains two parts. The first part will
be your message, and the second the body of the original message.
This means that the headers of the forwarded message are used for
the new message, and detached from the part which now contains the
original body information. Content related headers will (of course)
still be part of that part, but lines line To and Subject will
not be stored with that part.
As example of the structural transformation:
# code: $original->printStructure;
multipart/alternative: The source message
text/plain: content in raw text
text/html: content as html
# code: $fwd = $original->forward(include => 'ATTACH');
# code: $fwd->printStructure
multipart/mixed: The source message
text/plain: prelude/postlude/signature
multipart/alternative
text/plain: content in raw text
text/html: content as html
When forward(include) is explicitly set to 'ENCAPSULATE', then
the original message is left in-tact as good as possible. The lines
of the original message are used in the main message header but also
enclosed in the part header.
The encapsulation is implemented using a nested message, content type
message/rfc822. As example of the structural transformation:
# code: $original->printStructure;
multipart/alternative: The source message
text/plain: content in raw text
text/html: content as html
# code: $fwd = $original->forward(include => 'ENCAPSULATE');
# code: $fwd->printStructure
multipart/mixed: The source message
text/plain: prelude/postlude/signature
message/rfc822
multipart/alternative: The source message
text/plain: content in raw text
text/html: content as html
The message structure is much more complex, but no information is lost. This is probably the reason why many MUAs use this when the forward an original message as attachment.
Error: Cannot include forward source as $include.
Unknown alternative for the forward(include). Valid choices are
NO, INLINE, ATTACH, and ENCAPSULATE.
Error: Method forwardAttach requires a preamble
Error: Method forwardEncapsulate requires a preamble
Error: No address to create forwarded to.
If a forward message is created, a destination address must be specified.
This module is part of Mail-Box distribution version 2.082, built on April 28, 2008. Website: http://perl.overmeer.net/mailbox/
Copyrights 2001-2008 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://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html