=encoding utf8

=head1 NAME

Mail::Box::Message - manage one message within a mail-folder

=head1 INHERITANCE

 Mail::Box::Message
   is a Mail::Message
   is a Mail::Reporter

 Mail::Box::Message is extended by
   Mail::Box::Dir::Message
   Mail::Box::File::Message
   Mail::Box::Message::Destructed
   Mail::Box::Net::Message

=head1 SYNOPSIS

  # Usually these message objects are created indirectly
  use Mail::Box::Manager;
  my $manager = Mail::Box::Manager->new;
  my $folder  = $manager->open(folder => 'Mail/Drafts');
  my $msg     = $folder->message(1);
  $msg->delete;
  $msg->size;   # and much more

=head1 DESCRIPTION

These pages do only describe methods which relate to folders.  If you
access the knowledge of a message, then read L<Mail::Message|Mail::Message>.

During its life, a message will pass through certain stages.  These
stages were introduced to reduce the access-time to the folder.  Changing
from stage, the message's body and head objects may change.

Extends L<"DESCRIPTION" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"DESCRIPTION">.

=head1 METHODS

Extends L<"METHODS" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"METHODS">.

=head2 Constructors

Extends L<"Constructors" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"Constructors">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<clone>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Constructors">

=item $class-E<gt>B<new>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Reporter/"Constructors">

 -Option    --Defined in     --Default
  body        Mail::Message    undef
  body_type                    <from folder>
  deleted     Mail::Message    false
  field_type  Mail::Message    undef
  folder                       <required>
  head        Mail::Message    undef
  head_type   Mail::Message    Mail::Message::Head::Complete
  labels      Mail::Message    +{}
  messageId   Mail::Message    undef
  message_id  Mail::Message    undef
  modified    Mail::Message    false
  size                         undef
  trusted     Mail::Message    false

=over 2

=item body => $object

=item body_type => CODE|$class

If the body of a message is used delay-loaded, the message must what type
of message to become when it finally gets parsed.  The folder which is
delaying the load must specify the algorithm to determine that type.

=item deleted => BOOLEAN

=item field_type => $class

=item folder => $folder

The C<$folder> where this message appeared in.  The argument is
an instance of (a sub-class of) a L<Mail::Box|Mail::Box>.

=item head => $object

=item head_type => $class

=item labels => \@pairs|\%settings

=item messageId => $id

=item message_id => $id

=item modified => BOOLEAN

=item size => $bytes

The size of the message, which includes head and body, but without the
message separators which may be used by the folder type.

=item trusted => BOOLEAN

=back

=back

=head2 Attributes

Extends L<"Attributes" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"Attributes">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<bodyType>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Attributes">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<fieldType>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Attributes">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<folder>( [$folder] )

In which folder did we detect this message/dummy?  This is a reference
to the folder-object.

=item $obj-E<gt>B<headType>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Attributes">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<messageId>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Attributes">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<seqnr>( [$integer] )

Get the number of this message is the current folder.  It starts counting
from zero.  Do not change the number.

=back

=head2 Constructing a message

Extends L<"Constructing a message" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"Constructing a message">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<bounce>( [<$rg_object|%options>] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Bounce/"Constructing a message">

=item $class-E<gt>B<build>( [$message|$part|$body], @fields, %options )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Build/"Constructing a message">

=item $class-E<gt>B<buildFromBody>($body, [$head], $headers)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Build/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forward>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forwardAttach>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forwardEncapsulate>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forwardInline>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forwardNo>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forwardPostlude>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forwardPrelude>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<forwardSubject>(STRING)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">

=item $class-E<gt>B<read>($fh|$text|\$text|\@lines, %options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Read/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<rebuild>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Rebuild/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<reply>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Reply/"Constructing a message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<replyPrelude>( [STRING|$field|$address|\@addrs|\@fields] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Reply/"Constructing a message">

=item $any-E<gt>B<replySubject>(STRING)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Reply/"Constructing a message">

=back

=head2 The message

Extends L<"The message" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"The message">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<container>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<copyTo>($folder, %options)

Copy the message to the indicated opened C<$folder>, without deleting the
original.  The coerced message (the clone in the destination folder)
is returned.

 -Option      --Default
  shallow       false
  shallow_body  false
  shallow_head  false
  share         false

=over 2

=item shallow => BOOLEAN

Used for L<clone(shallow)|Mail::Message/"Constructors">.

=item shallow_body => BOOLEAN

Used for L<clone(shallow_body)|Mail::Message/"Constructors">.

=item shallow_head => BOOLEAN

Used for L<clone(shallow_head)|Mail::Message/"Constructors">.

=item share => BOOLEAN

Try to share the physical storage of the message between the two folders.
Sometimes, they even may be of different types.  When not possible, this
options will be silently ignored.

=back

» example: 

  my $draft = $mgr->open(folder => 'Draft');
  $message->copyTo($draft, share => 1);

=item $obj-E<gt>B<endsOnNewline>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isDummy>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isPart>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<moveTo>($folder, %options)

Move the message from this folder to the C<$folder> specified.  This will
create a copy using L<clone()|Mail::Message/"Constructors"> first.  Then, this original message is
flagged to get deleted.  So until the source folder is closed, two copies
of the message may stay in memory.

The newly created message clone (part of the destination folder)
is returned.  All C<%options> are passed to L<copyTo()|Mail::Box::Message/"The message">

 -Option      --Default
  shallow_body  undef
  share         <true unless shallow_body exists>

=over 2

=item shallow_body => BOOLEAN

Only create a shallow body, which means that the header can not be
reused.  A message can therefore not be shared in storage unless
explicitly stated.

=item share => BOOLEAN

When there is a chance that the original message can be undeleted, then
this must be set to C<false>.  Otherwise a shallow clone will be made, which
will share the header which can be modified in the undeleted message.

=back

» example: of moving a message

  my $trash = Mail::Box::Mbox->new(folder => 'trash');
  my $t = $msg->moveTo($trash);

is equivalent to

  my $t = $msg->copyTo($trash, share => 1);
  $msg->delete;

=item $obj-E<gt>B<partNumber>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<print>( [$fh] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<send>( [$mailer], %options )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<size>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<toplevel>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<write>( [$fh] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The message">

=back

=head2 The header

Extends L<"The header" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"The header">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<bcc>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<cc>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<date>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<destinations>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<from>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<get>($fieldname)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<guessTimestamp>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<head>( [$head] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<nrLines>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<sender>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<study>($fieldname)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<subject>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<timestamp>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<to>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The header">

=back

=head2 The body

Extends L<"The body" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"The body">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<body>( [$body] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The body">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<contentType>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The body">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<decoded>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The body">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<encode>(%options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The body">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isMultipart>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The body">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isNested>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The body">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<parts>( [<'ALL'|'ACTIVE'|'DELETED'|'RECURSE'|$filter>] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"The body">

=back

=head2 Flags

Extends L<"Flags" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"Flags">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<delete>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<deleted>( [BOOLEAN] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isDeleted>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isModified>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<label>($label|PAIRS)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<labels>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<labelsToStatus>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<modified>( [BOOLEAN] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<statusToLabels>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Flags">

=back

=head2 The whole message as text

Extends L<"The whole message as text" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"The whole message as text">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<file>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Text/"The whole message as text">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<lines>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Text/"The whole message as text">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<printStructure>( [$fh|undef],[$indent] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Text/"The whole message as text">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<string>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Text/"The whole message as text">

=back

=head2 Internals

Extends L<"Internals" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"Internals">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<clonedFrom>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $class-E<gt>B<coerce>($message, %options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<diskDelete>()

Remove a message from disk.  This is not from the folder, but everything
else, like parts of the message which are stored outside from the
folder.

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isDelayed>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<isTrusted>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<readBody>( $parser, $head, [$bodytype] )

Read the body of one message.  The C<$parser> gives access to the folder file.
The C<$head> has been read with L<readHead()|Mail::Message/"Internals">.  The optional C<$bodytype> supplies
the class name of the body to be created, or a code reference to a
routine which can produce a body type based on the head (passed as
first argument).

By default, the C<$bodytype> will call L<Mail::Box::determineBodyType()|Mail::Box/"Internals">
where the message will be added to.
Improves base, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<readFromParser>( $parser, [$bodytype] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<readHead>( $parser, [$class] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<recursiveRebuildPart>($part, %options)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct::Rebuild/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<storeBody>($body)

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<takeMessageId>( [STRING] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Internals">

=back

=head2 Error handling

Extends L<"Error handling" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"Error handling">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<AUTOLOAD>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message::Construct/"METHODS">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<notImplemented>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Reporter/"Error handling">

=item $any-E<gt>B<shortSize>( [$value] )

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Error handling">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<shortString>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Message/"Error handling">

=back

=head2 Cleanup

Extends L<"Cleanup" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"Cleanup">.

=over 4

=item $obj-E<gt>B<DESTROY>()

Inherited, see L<Mail::Reporter/"Cleanup">

=item $obj-E<gt>B<destruct>()

Removes most of the memory occupied by the message by detaching the header
and body.  Then, the object changes into a L<Mail::Box::Message::Destructed|Mail::Box::Message::Destructed>
which will catch all attempts to access the header and body.  Be careful
with the usage of this method.
Improves base, see L<Mail::Message/"Cleanup">

=back

=head1 DETAILS

Extends L<"DETAILS" in Mail::Message|Mail::Message/"DETAILS">.

=head1 DIAGNOSTICS

=over 4

=item Error: Cannot include forward source as $kind.

Unknown alternative for the L<forward(include)|Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">.  Valid choices are
C<NO>, C<INLINE>, C<ATTACH>, and C<ENCAPSULATE>.
Cast by C<forward()>

=item Error: No default mailer found to send message.

The message L<send()|Mail::Message/"The message"> mechanism had not enough information to
automatically find a mail transfer agent to sent this message.  Specify a
mailer explicitly using the C<via> options.
Cast by C<send()>

=item Error: cannot coerce a $type object into a $me object.

Cast by C<coerce()>

=item Error: cannot include reply source as $kind.

Unknown alternative for the C<include> option of L<reply()|Mail::Message::Construct::Reply/"Constructing a message">.  Valid
choices are C<NO>, C<INLINE>, and C<ATTACH>.
Cast by C<reply()>

=item Error: cannot read message from a $source.

Cast by C<read()>

=item Error: class $package does not implement method $method.

Fatal error: the specific C<$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.
Cast by C<notImplemented()>

=item Error: coercion starts with some object, not '$type'.

Cast by C<coerce()>

=item Error: method bounce requires To, Cc, or Bcc.

The message L<bounce()|Mail::Message::Construct::Bounce/"Constructing a message"> 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 L<reply()|Mail::Message::Construct::Reply/"Constructing a message">. When you wish to modify the content, use
L<forward()|Mail::Message::Construct::Forward/"Constructing a message">.
Cast by C<bounce()>

=item Error: method forwardAttach requires a preamble.

Cast by C<forwardAttach()>

=item Error: method forwardEncapsulate requires a preamble.

Cast by C<forwardEncapsulate()>

=item Error: method forwardNo requires a To.

Cast by C<forwardNo()>

=item Error: method forwardNo requires a body.

Cast by C<forwardNo()>

=item Error: no rebuild rule $name defined.

Cast by C<rebuild()>

=item Error: only build() Mail::Message's; they are not in a folder yet.

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 L<Mail::Message|Mail::Message>, and then add it to the folder.  During this
L<Mail::Box::addMessage()|Mail::Box/"The folder"> process, the message will get L<coerce()|Mail::Message/"Internals">-d
into the right message type, adding storage information and the like.
Cast by C<build()>

=item Error: please install Email::Simple.

Cast by C<coerce()>

=item Error: please install MIME::Entity.

Cast by C<coerce()>

=item Error: please install Mail::Internet.

Cast by C<coerce()>

=item Error: select parts via '$what'?

Cast by C<parts()>

=item Warning: skipped unknown key '$key' in build.

Cast by C<build()>

=back

=head1 SEE ALSO

This module is part of Mail-Box version 4.02,
built on April 10, 2026. Website: F<http://perl.overmeer.net/CPAN/>

=head1 LICENSE

For contributors see file ChangeLog.

This software is copyright (c) 2001-2026 by Mark Overmeer.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.

