Document revision date: 10 November 2000

Deleting and Retrieving Messages

You can delete mail messages and retrieve deleted messages.

To delete selected messages or the message currently displayed in the Read window, click on the Delete button in the main or Read window.

The index is updated to show which messages have been marked for deletion. Messages are not deleted until the folder is closed. You can still perform many Mail tasks on messages that are marked for deletion, such as moving, copying, and printing. When the folder is closed, the messages are deleted and reference to them is removed.

Once the folder is closed, deleted messages are moved to the WASTEBASKET in the drawer from which the message was deleted.

Deleted messages collect in the WASTEBASKET folder until you empty it. To empty the WASTEBASKET, select the WASTEBASKET or the drawer in which the WASTEBASKET resides, and choose Empty Wastebasket from the main window's Maintenance menu. (An option in your mail profile allows you to specify that the WASTEBASKET be emptied whenever the drawer is closed.) Once the WASTEBASKET is emptied, the deleted messages are irretrievable.

You can also delete entire folders and drawers of messages. See Removing Drawers from the Index and Deleting Folders for more information.

To reverse the delete operation in the main window, before the folder is closed select the messages to be retrieved, pull down the Edit menu, and choose Undo Move/Delete.

To reverse the delete operation in a Read window, press MB3 in the message pane of the deleted message and choose Undo Move/Delete from the pop-up menu.

To update the index of messages to reflect that the messages have been moved to the WASTEBASKET, either select Update Folder from the Maintenance menu in the main window, or reopen the folder that contains the deleted message.

Once you have moved a message to the WASTEBASKET, you can retrieve the message by moving it to another folder. See Moving and Copying Messages to Another Folder for more information about moving messages between folders.

Working with Drawers and Folders

You can add and remove drawers in your index, modify a drawer's file name and display name, create and delete folders, move and copy messages between folders, and reclaim unused space in drawers.

Adding New Drawers to the Index

There are two ways to add new drawers to your index. You can add (create) a drawer that does not currently exist, or you can add an existing drawer to the index.

When you create a drawer in DECwindows Mail, the drawer is automatically created in your default mail directory and is listed in your main window. If you create drawers with the OpenVMS Mail utility or if you create drawers in a different directory, they are not automatically added to the list in your main window. To access these drawers, you must add them specifically to the main window.

To add drawers created with the OpenVMS Mail utility in your default mail directory, choose Scan Mail Directory for Mail Drawers from the main window's Maintenance menu. All drawers in your default Mail directory are added to the main window.

To create a new drawer or add a drawer created in a different directory:

1. Choose Add Drawer to Index... from the main window's Maintenance menu.

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   A file selection dialog box displays all files in your default login directory that have a extension of MAI. Ignore the files beginning with the prefix MAIL$. These are messages. Drawer names do not have this prefix.
2. Double click on the file name of the drawer you want to add.
   If you want to add (create) a drawer whose file name is not listed, enter the name of that file in the Selection entry box and click on the OK button.
3. In the Display Name entry box, enter the name to be displayed in the main window. If you do not enter a name, the drawer's file name is used by default.

When you add new drawers, a WASTEBASKET is automatically included in each new drawer. You can choose a different name for your folder for deleted mail when you create new drawers by changing your User options. See Modifying Your User Options for more information.

Modifying Drawer Names

You can enter a new file name or display name, or both, for a mail drawer. You can change the display name for the default MAIL drawer, but you cannot change the file name.

To modify the file name and display name of a drawer:

1. Choose Modify Drawer... from the main window's Maintenance menu.
   Mail displays a dialog box.

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2. To change the drawer's file name, type the new file name for the drawer in the Drawer File Name entry box.
   A drawer file name is an OpenVMS file specification and has the same limitations. The prefix MAIL$ is reserved by Mail and should not be used as a prefix for drawer file names. All drawer file names must be unique.
3. To change the drawer's display name, type the new display name for the drawer in the Drawer Display Name entry box.
   The drawer display name is listed in your main window index and can be different from the drawer name. A display name is limited to 39 characters. It must begin with a letter or number, and it can contain letters, numbers, underscores (_), hyphens (-), and dollar signs ($).
   Display names are case sensitive. That is, the display names IMPORTANT and Important are not the same.
4. Click on the OK button to make the change.

Removing Drawers from the Index

When you no longer need to have a drawer listed in your index, you can eliminate it in one of two ways: you can remove the drawer from the index or you can delete it.

Removing a drawer removes only the drawer's name from the index; the drawer's contents are not affected and the drawer is not deleted. You can retrieve it by choosing Scan Mail Directory for Mail Drawers... or Add Drawer to Index... from the Maintenance menu.

Deleting a drawer removes the drawer's name from the index and deletes the drawer and its contents.

To remove or delete a drawer:

1. Select the drawers to be removed.
2. Choose Remove Drawer... from the main window's Maintenance menu.
   Mail displays a dialog box.

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3. Click on the Remove Drawer radio button to remove the drawer's name from the index, or click on the Delete Drawer radio button to remove the drawer's name from the index and delete the drawer and its contents.
4. Click on the OK button to remove or delete the drawer, or click on the Cancel button to cancel the request.
   If you selected multiple drawers, you must confirm or cancel the delete request for each drawer separately.

You cannot delete or remove an open drawer or the MAIL drawer.

When you delete a drawer, any folders that existed in the drawer are deleted and the messages in them cannot be retrieved. If you attempt to delete the MAIL drawer, all messages and all folders except INBOX and WASTEBASKET are deleted, but the drawer itself is not deleted.

Creating New Folders

Choosing Create Folder... allows you to create a new folder in which to store your messages.

To create a new folder:

1. Choose Create Folder... from the main window's Maintenance menu.
   Mail displays a dialog box.

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2. Type the name of the new folder to be created in the Folder entry box.
   A folder name is limited to 39 characters. It must begin with a letter or number, and it can contain letters, numbers, underscores (_), hyphens (-), dollar signs ($), spaces, and periods (.).
   Folder names are case sensitive. That is, the folder names INBOX and Inbox are not the same.
3. Click on the OK button to create the folder.

Mail automatically deletes empty folders when the drawer is closed.

You can also create a new folder when you move or copy a message. If you specify a destination drawer or folder that does not exist, the drawer or folder is created.

Deleting Folders

To delete folders:

1. Select the folders to be deleted.
2. Choose Delete Folder... from the main window's Maintenance menu.
   Mail displays a dialog box.

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3. Click on the OK button to delete the folder, or click on the Cancel button to cancel the delete request.
   If you selected multiple folders, you must confirm or cancel the delete request for each folder separately.

You cannot delete an open folder.

When you delete a folder, any messages that existed in the folder are placed in the WASTEBASKET and can be retrieved until the WASTEBASKET is emptied. If you attempt to delete the INBOX or the WASTEBASKET, all messages in them are deleted but the INBOX and the WASTEBASKET are not deleted.

If you delete all messages in a folder, the folder is automatically deleted when you close the drawer.

Moving and Copying Messages to Another Folder

You can move or copy a message or group of messages from one folder to a different folder. Moving a message to another folder removes it from the original folder. Copying a message to another folder does not remove it from the original folder.

You can move and copy messages from either the main or the Read window.

To move or copy a selected message or the message currently displayed in the Read window:

1. Choose Move or Copy from the File menu in the main or Read window.
   Mail displays a dialog box.

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   Initially, MAIL is inserted in the Drawer entry box. If you selected a folder, the name of the folder and the name of the drawer that contains the folder are displayed in their respective text entry boxes. If no folder is currently selected, the Drawer and Folder entry boxes contain whatever was last entered in those boxes.
2. Type the name of the drawer and folder to receive the message in the appropriate text entry boxes.
   If you specify a drawer or folder that does not exist, that drawer or folder is created.
3. Click on the OK button.
   When you perform a move operation, Mail displays a message in the message pane of a Read window or in the index entry in a main window to show which messages have been marked for moving.
   You can still perform many Mail tasks on messages that are marked for moving, such as deleting, copying, and printing. When the folder is closed, the messages are moved. The moved or copied messages are listed in the index of the destination folder when the destination folder is next opened.

If you are using the Outline style main window, you can also move messages by dragging. You can drag messages within a single window only. Press and hold MB2 on the selected message, and drag MB2 to the folder to which you want to move the message. Release MB2.

You can also move multiple messages at one time. Select the messages by holding the Ctrl key down while clicking MB1 on the messages you choose. Press and hold MB2 on one of the messages, and drag MB2 to the folder to which you want to move the messages. Release MB2.

To reverse the move operation in the main window, select the messages to be retrieved and choose Undo Move/Delete from the main window's Edit menu. You can also reverse the move operation by dragging messages back to their original folders.

To reverse the move operation in a Read window, in the message pane of the moved message, press MB3 and choose Undo Move/Delete from the pop-up menu.

An alternative method for moving messages is to select the messages, point to the destination folder, press MB3, and choose Move Selected Here or Move Read Message Here from the pop-up menu. The read message is the message currently displayed in your default Read window.

Updating Folders

Messages are deleted and moved when a folder is closed. If you have deleted or moved several messages from a folder and would like to have your changes take effect without leaving the folder, Mail can automatically close and reopen the folder for you.

To close and reopen a folder, completing all pending delete and move operations, point to the folder name, press MB3, and choose Update Folder from the pop-up menu.

To update several folders at once, select the folders and choose Update Folder from the main window's Maintenance menu.

If you update a folder while you are reading a message from that folder in your default Read window, the window is closed when the folder is closed. The window will not be reopened. (For a description of default Read windows, see Multiple Read Windows.)

Compressing Drawers

When you delete messages and folders, empty space is left in the drawer from which the messages or folders were deleted. To make this space available for reuse, select the drawer to be compressed and choose Compress Drawer from the main window's Maintenance menu.

You cannot compress an open drawer. Close the drawer before choosing Compress Drawer.

When a drawer is compressed, the original (uncompressed) drawer is saved in a file. A message is displayed indicating that this file has been created and showing the name of the file. Once you have used the compressed drawer, the uncompressed file should be deleted. The file cannot be deleted within Mail; you must delete it from FileView.

If you selected multiple drawers, all selected drawers are compressed. Individual messages appear prompting you to delete each uncompressed drawer.

Marking and Unmarking Messages

Marking messages allows you to identify messages of particular importance to you. For example, you might mark the messages you want to print at the end of the day, or the messages you want to reread or reply to at another time.

When a message is marked, an asterisk is displayed in the index entry for this message. The message itself is unaffected.

To mark selected messages or the currently displayed message, choose Mark from the main window's or the Read window's Edit menu.

To unmark the currently displayed or selected messages, choose Unmark from the main or Read window's Edit menu.

Picking Messages

Mail can search the open or selected folder for messages that have something in common. For example, you could pick messages that were sent by a specific user on a specific day, or messages that contain a specific word in the subject line.

Once it finds messages that meet your criteria, Mail displays a list of these messages. You can then perform tasks such as copying, moving, extracting, or reading on this set of messages.

To pick messages:

1. Open or select the folder containing the messages. If you selected multiple folders, the first folder is used for the pick operation.
2. Choose Pick from Open Folder... or Pick from Selected Folder... from the main window's Pick menu.
   Mail displays a dialog box.

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   The dialog box allows you to specify the criteria for picking messages.
3. Click on the option to be used and enter the pick criteria.
4. Click on the OK button to pick the designated messages, or click on the Cancel button to cancel the pick operation.

The following table describes the options in the Pick dialog box.

Option	Description
From	The user name of the sender whose messages you want to pick.
To	The user name of the addressee (or the name of a distribution list) whose messages you want to pick.
CC	The user name of the addressee (or the name of a distribution list) who received courtesy copies of messages you want to pick.
Subject	Text included in the subject line of messages you want to pick.
In Text	Any text string included in the body of messages you want to pick.
On	Messages received on the date you specify. Click MB1 to display the Date dialog box. To specify the day, month, or year, click MB1 on the appropriate box, then click on the up arrow or down arrow to specify the date. Click on the OK button to enter this date in the entry box, or click on the Clear button to clear the date in the entry box. The time is ignored for this option.
Before	Messages received before the date and, optionally, the time you specify. Click MB1 to display the date dialog box. See the description of the On option for information about the Date dialog box. The time can be used as a criterion for this option.
After	Messages received after the date and, if desired, the time you specify. Click MB1 to display the Date dialog box. See the description of the On option for information about the Date dialog box. The time can be used as a criterion for this option.
Replied To	Messages to which you have or have not replied. You activate this option by clicking on Replied To and choosing Yes or No.
Marked	Messages that you have or have not marked. You activate this option by clicking on Marked and choosing Yes or No.
Opened	Messages that you have or have not read. You activate this option by clicking on Opened and choosing Yes or No.
Selected	Messages that you have or have not selected. You activate this option by clicking on Selected and choosing Yes or No.

When you enter text in any of the first five text entry boxes in the dialog box, Mail searches for matching text anywhere in the corresponding fields of all messages in the open or selected folder.

Searches are not case sensitive. That is, entering the text John in the From entry box might pick messages from Jane Johnson, John Doe, Olav Bejohnesson, and JOHN::Smith.

Once you have picked a set of messages, the message index is updated to list only the picked messages. When the folder is closed, the picking criteria are lost and all messages are again available.

You cannot perform a pick operation if a folder is open in multiple windows and contains messages to be moved or deleted. Close the folder in all additional windows to complete the move or delete operation before performing a pick operation.

Displaying Additional Index Information

The main window's message index lists one line of information about each message. This line contains the message number, the date it was received, the name of the sender, and the subject of the message.

To display additional information about messages, select the messages and choose Full Information... from the main window's Edit menu. The following is displayed:

• Message number.
• Envelope of the message.
• Relative size of the message. For ASCII messages, the size is shown in records. For non-ASCII messages, such as those in DDIF format, the size is shown in blocks.
• External message ID (if one exists). External message IDs are assigned to non-ASCII files and to messages that are too large to be stored within the Mail file.
• Attributes of the message. Attributes would consist of Replied To if you replied to the message; Marked if you marked the message; New if you have not read the message; and the message type of non-ASCII messages, such as DDIF.

Opening a New Main Window

Opening folders containing numerous messages often fills the window, leaving no room to display other folders and messages. You can display additional messages by creating multiple main windows. You can create a new main window in which all of your drawers and folders are present.

To create a new main window, point to the folder or drawer to be opened in the new window, press MB3, and choose Open in New Window from the pop-up menu. A new main window is displayed, and the current folder or drawer is opened.

You can perform all Mail tasks on the drawer, folders, and messages displayed in this window.

Sending and Receiving CDA Documents

You can send CDA documents as messages. The format of these compound documents is usually DDIF or DTIF. DDIF and DTIF documents cannot be edited with the DECwindows editing commands used by Mail.

To send a CDA document to another user:

1. Choose File... from the Create--Send menu.
   Mail displays a dialog box that prompts you for the name of the file you want to use.
2. Double click on the name of the file you want to use.
   The CDA document is displayed in the Create--Send window, but you cannot edit it. Enter the address information in the envelope area.
3. Click on the Send button to send the message.

If the recipient of a message that contains a CDA document is using a configuration that does not use DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS (such as a character-cell terminal), the recipient receives a message indicating that the mail message is in a foreign format. The recipient can view the mail envelope (address, sender, subject) or can forward, file, reply to, extract, or delete the message, but might not be able to view the message.

If you attempt to mail a CDA document to a user whose mail system does not support CDA, the message is not sent. You are notified that the transmission cannot be completed. You can create a copy of the message in another format and send that file.

To create a copy of a message in another format:

1. Choose Extract... from the Create--Send window's File menu.
2. Enter appropriate information in all text entry boxes, as described in Extracting a Mail Message to a File.
3. In the Output Format entry box, press MB1, point to an output format that would be supported by the receiving system, such as Text, and release MB1.
4. Click on the OK button to extract the message to a file.

To send the file in the new format:

1. Choose Include File... from the Create--Send window's File menu.
2. Choose the file to be sent, as described in Including a File in a Message.
3. Click on the OK button to include the file.
4. Click on the Send button to send the message.

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