Provided by: libmail-message-perl_3.015-1_all 
NAME
Mail::Message::Construct::Forward - forwarding a Mail::Message
SYNOPSIS
my Mail::Message $forward = $message->forward(To => 'you');
$forward->send;
DESCRIPTION
Complex functionality on Mail::Message objects is implemented in different files which are autoloaded.
This file implements the functionality related to creating forwarded messages.
METHODS
Constructing a message
$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Receivers of blind carbon copies: their names will not be published to other message receivers.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 "INLINE"d.
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 "INLINE"d 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
DETAILS
Creating a forward
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.
forward, specify a body
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.
forward, inline the original
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.
forward, attach the original
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
forward, encapsulate the original
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.
DIAGNOSTICS
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.
SEE ALSO
This module is part of Mail-Message distribution version 3.015, built on December 11, 2023. Website:
http://perl.overmeer.net/CPAN/
LICENSE
Copyrights 2001-2023 by [Mark Overmeer <markov@cpan.org>]. 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/
perl v5.36.0 2023-12-11 Mail::Message::Construct::Forward(3pm)