25 Sending Mail

To send a message in Emacs, start by typing the command (C-x m) to select and initialize the ‘*mail*’ buffer. You can then edit the text and headers of the message in the mail buffer, and type the command (C-c C-c) to send the message.

C-x m

Begin composing a message to send (mail).

C-x 4 m

Likewise, but display the message in another window (mail-other-window).

C-c C-c

In Mail mode, send the message and switch to another buffer (mail-send-and-exit).

The command C-x m (mail) selects a buffer named ‘*mail*’ and initializes it with the skeleton of an outgoing message. C-x 4 m (mail-other-window) selects the ‘*mail*’ buffer in a different window, leaving the previous current buffer visible.

Because the buffer for mail composition is an ordinary Emacs buffer, you can switch to other buffers while in the middle of composing mail, and switch back later (or never). If you use the C-x m command again when you have been composing another message but have not sent it, a new mail buffer will be created; in this way, you can compose multiple messages at once. You can switch back to and complete an unsent message by using the normal buffer selection mechanisms.

C-u C-x m is another way to switch back to a message in progress: it will search for an existing, unsent mail message buffer and select it.