Re: [VM] vm-reply/followup-include presentation

[Uday Reddy]

blueman writes:

> I'm trying to figure out what has happened to
> vm-reply-include-presentation and vm-followup-include presentation.
> 
> The describe-function documentation is a bit unclear, since it seems to
> imply that a function is obsoleted and replaced by a variable, which is
> a bit non-obvious to understand.

When I do describe-function, I get this:

     vm-reply-include-presentation is an interactive compiled Lisp function
     in `vm-rfaddons.el'.

     (vm-reply-include-presentation COUNT &optional TO-ALL)

     This function is obsolete since 8.2.0;
     use `vm-include-text-from-presentation' instead.

     Include presentation instead of text.
     This does only work with my modified VM, i.e. a hacked `vm-yank-message'.

The first thing to note is that this function belongs to vm-rfaddons, not
VM.  It is not being maintained ever since Rob F has gone AWOL.  Ideally,
Rob F should have called the variable `vmrf-reply-include-presentation' or
something like that, but he didn't care to follow such niceties.  Since
Rob's doc string says that it only works with his "hacked" vm-yank-message,
you should be really worried.  (I have no idea what it means.)

VM now has the ability to include the text from the Presentation buffer,
which you get by using `vm-include-text-from-presentation'.  Please try it
and let me know if it doesn't fit the bill.

But even this setting shouldn't be normally necessary.  Just standard VM
inclusion should work fine.

> If I am understanding the message, it seems that the obsoleted functions
> are replaced by a single *function* vm-reply-include-text and the
> behavior supersedes vm-reply-include-presentation *and*
> vm-followup-include-presentation depending on the value of the
> *variable* vm-reply-include-presentation.

The Emacs doc string, at least when you use it in a GUI version of Emacs,
has hyperlinks.  In particular, vm-rfaddons.el on the first line is a
hyperlink.  If you click on it, it will take you to the source code, and you
can check to see what is happening.

> All of this is ok so far, but it seems at least from the function
> documentation that we are *losing* the ability to follow-up to multiple
> marked messages which was a really *unique* and *nice* feature of
> vm. Specifically, one could mark several messages in a thread (for
> example) and reply to all of them at once.

Note that `vm-include-text-from-presentation' is a *variable*, not a
function.  It is talking about what text is included in the reply.  It also
says that it is an experimental feature and should not be used normally.
So, please don't use it unless you have good reason to.

> If I am understanding this correctly, I am not sure why one would want
> to regress this function?

I am not regressing it, but it is likely to regress sooner or later because
it is undocumented, unmaintained code that nobody is taking responsibility
for.  Be warned!

Cheers,
Uday