1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
24 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
25 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
26 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
27 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
28 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
29 License'' in the Emacs manual.
31 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
32 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
33 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
35 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
36 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
37 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
38 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
44 @title T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
51 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
54 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
55 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
56 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
57 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
58 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
59 License'' in the Emacs manual.
61 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
62 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
63 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
65 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
66 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
67 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
68 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
77 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
81 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
82 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
83 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
84 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
85 * Appendices:: More technical things.
86 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
87 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
90 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15 Message. Message is distributed
91 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
98 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
99 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
100 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
101 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
102 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
106 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
107 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
108 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
109 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
110 * Followup:: Following up via news.
111 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
112 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
113 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
114 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
115 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
116 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
120 @node New Mail Message
121 @section New Mail Message
124 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
126 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
127 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
128 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
131 @node New News Message
132 @section New News Message
135 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
137 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
138 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
139 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
145 @findex message-reply
146 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
147 reply to the message in the current buffer.
149 @vindex message-reply-to-function
150 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
151 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
152 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
154 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
155 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
158 (setq message-reply-to-function
160 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
161 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
166 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
169 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
170 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
171 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
174 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
175 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
176 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
177 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
178 the head of the outgoing mail.
184 @findex message-wide-reply
185 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
186 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
187 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
188 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
190 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
191 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
192 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
193 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
194 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
196 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
197 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
198 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
200 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
201 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
202 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
203 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
208 @findex message-followup
209 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
210 followup to the message in the current buffer.
212 @vindex message-followup-to-function
213 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
214 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
215 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
216 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
218 @vindex message-use-followup-to
219 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
220 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
221 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
222 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
223 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
227 @section Canceling News
229 @findex message-cancel-news
230 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
233 @vindex message-cancel-message
234 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
235 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
242 @findex message-supersede
243 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
244 supersede the message in the current buffer.
246 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
247 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
248 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
249 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
250 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
257 @findex message-forward
258 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
259 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
263 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
264 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
265 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
267 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
268 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
269 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
270 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
271 passed into each successive function.
273 The provided functions are:
276 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
277 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
278 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
281 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
282 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
285 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
286 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
287 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
288 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
289 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
290 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
292 @item message-forward-as-mime
293 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
294 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
295 included as inline @sc{mime} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
296 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
297 non @sc{mime}-savvy versions of gnus would do.
299 @item message-forward-before-signature
300 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
301 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
309 @findex message-resend
310 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
311 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
313 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
314 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
315 be removed before sending the message. The default is
316 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
322 @findex message-bounce
323 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
324 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
325 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
326 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
329 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
330 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
331 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
332 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
336 @section Mailing Lists
338 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
339 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
340 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
345 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
346 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
347 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
350 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
351 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
352 is not subscribed to the list.
355 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
356 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
357 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
358 and very difficult to follow.
362 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
363 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
364 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
367 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
368 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
371 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
372 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
374 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
375 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
376 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
377 way. The following variables would come in handy.
381 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
382 @item message-subscribed-addresses
383 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
384 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
386 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
387 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
390 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
391 @item message-subscribed-regexps
392 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
393 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
394 want to achieve the same result as above:
396 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
397 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
400 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
401 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
402 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
403 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
404 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
406 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
407 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
408 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
409 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{(gnus)subscribed})
410 group parameter set to a non-nil value. This is how you would do it.
413 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
414 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
417 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
418 @item message-subscribed-address-file
419 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
420 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
421 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
425 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
426 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
428 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
429 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
430 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
431 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
432 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
433 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
434 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
435 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
436 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
437 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
438 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
441 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
442 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
443 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
444 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
445 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
446 to-address group parameter.) Well, the kind folks at Gnus Towers are
447 working on a database of all known mailing list addresses that can be
448 used for this purpose. Till then, you could, like, insert a MFT header
449 manually, with the help of @kbd{C-c C-f C-m} (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to})!!
451 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
452 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
454 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
455 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
456 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
457 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
461 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
462 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
465 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
468 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
472 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
473 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
480 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
481 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
482 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
483 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
484 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
485 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
486 * Various Commands:: Various things.
487 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
488 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
489 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
494 @section Buffer Entry
498 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
499 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
500 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
501 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
502 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
503 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
504 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
505 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
508 @node Header Commands
509 @section Header Commands
511 All these commands move to the header in question (except for the
512 @samp{Importance:} related commands). If it doesn't exist, it will be
519 @findex describe-mode
520 Describe the message mode.
524 @findex message-goto-to
525 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
529 @findex message-goto-from
530 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
531 in the key binding is for Originator.)
535 @findex message-goto-bcc
536 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
540 @findex message-goto-fcc
541 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
545 @findex message-goto-cc
546 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
550 @findex message-goto-subject
551 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
555 @findex message-goto-reply-to
556 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
560 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
561 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
565 @findex message-goto-distribution
566 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
570 @findex message-goto-followup-to
571 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
575 @findex message-goto-keywords
576 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
580 @findex message-goto-summary
581 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
585 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
586 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
587 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
588 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
589 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
590 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
592 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
593 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
594 @findex message-insert-importance-high
595 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{high},
596 deleting headers if necessary.
598 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
599 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
600 @findex message-insert-importance-low
601 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{low},
602 deleting headers if necessary.
613 @findex message-goto-body
614 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
615 (@code{message-goto-body}).
619 @findex message-goto-signature
620 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
624 @findex message-beginning-of-line
625 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
626 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
639 @findex message-yank-original
640 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
641 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
642 (@code{message-yank-original}).
646 @findex message-yank-buffer
647 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
648 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
652 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
653 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
654 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
655 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
656 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
661 @findex message-insert-signature
662 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
663 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
667 @findex message-insert-headers
668 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
672 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
673 Insert a request for a disposition
674 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
675 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
676 notification that she received the message.
688 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
689 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
690 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
691 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
693 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
694 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
695 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
696 name and a @sc{mime} type.
698 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
699 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
712 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
713 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
714 support PGP (RFC 1991), @sc{pgp/mime} (RFC 2015/3156) and @sc{s/mime}.
715 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
716 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
717 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
723 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
725 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
729 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
731 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
735 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
737 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
741 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
743 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
747 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
749 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
753 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
755 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
759 @findex mml-unsecure-message
760 Remove security related MML tags from message.
764 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
765 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
766 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
767 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
768 @sc{s/mime} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
769 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
770 encoded @sc{mime} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
771 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
772 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
773 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
774 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
776 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
777 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
778 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
779 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
780 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
781 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
782 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
783 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
785 @emph{Note!} Neither @sc{pgp/mime} nor @sc{s/mime} encrypt/signs
786 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @sc{mime} object. Keep this
787 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
789 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
790 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
791 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
792 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
794 @subsection Using S/MIME
796 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
797 modern cryptography, @sc{s/mime}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
800 The @sc{s/mime} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
801 perform the actual @sc{s/mime} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
802 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
803 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
804 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @sc{mime}
805 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
806 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
807 @sc{s/mime} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
809 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
810 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
811 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
812 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
813 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
814 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you
815 chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is
816 stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is
817 the first mail agent in the world to support retrieving @sc{s/mime}
818 certificates from DNS, so you're not likely to find very many
819 certificates out there. At least there should be one, stored at the
820 domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP is a more popular method of
821 distributing certificates, support for it is planned. (Meanwhile, you
822 can use @code{ldapsearch} from the command line to retrieve a
823 certificate into a file and use it.)
825 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
826 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
827 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
828 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
829 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
830 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
832 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
833 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
834 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
835 and got a free @sc{s/mime} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
836 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
837 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
838 certificate in PEM format as follows.
841 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
844 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
845 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
847 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
850 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
852 @sc{pgp/mime} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
853 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an
854 Emacs interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
855 @uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
856 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
858 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
859 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
860 path specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
862 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
863 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
865 @node Various Commands
866 @section Various Commands
872 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
873 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
874 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
875 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
876 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
880 @findex message-elide-region
881 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
882 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
883 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
884 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
889 @findex message-kill-to-signature
890 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
891 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
895 @findex message-delete-not-region
896 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
897 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
901 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
902 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
907 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
910 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
913 > This is some quoted text.
917 > And here's more quoted text.
920 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
924 @findex message-insert-to
925 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
926 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
927 (@code{message-insert-to}).
931 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
932 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
933 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
934 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
938 @findex message-sort-headers
939 @vindex message-header-format-alist
940 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
941 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
945 @findex message-rename-buffer
946 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
947 prompt for a new buffer name.
958 @findex message-send-and-exit
959 Send the message and bury the current buffer
960 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
965 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
969 @findex message-dont-send
970 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
974 @findex message-kill-buffer
975 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
976 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
977 message buffer. If the option
978 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
979 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
980 the file after prompting to the user.
984 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
985 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
986 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
987 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
988 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
989 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
996 @section Mail Aliases
1000 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1001 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1002 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1003 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1004 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1006 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1007 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1010 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1011 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1014 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1015 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1016 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1018 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1019 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1025 @findex ispell-message
1027 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1028 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1029 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1030 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1031 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1032 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1035 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1038 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1039 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1040 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1043 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1044 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1045 (".*" . "default")))
1048 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1051 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1052 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1055 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1059 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1061 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1064 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1072 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1073 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1074 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1075 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1076 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1077 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1078 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1079 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1080 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1081 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1085 @node Message Headers
1086 @section Message Headers
1088 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1089 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1090 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1091 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1092 look sufficiently similar.
1096 @item message-generate-headers-first
1097 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1098 If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
1099 compose the message.
1101 The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1102 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.
1104 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1105 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1107 @item message-from-style
1108 @vindex message-from-style
1109 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1114 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1117 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1120 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1123 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1124 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1125 @code{angles} anyway.
1129 @item message-deletable-headers
1130 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1131 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1132 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1133 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1134 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1135 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1136 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1137 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1138 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1141 @item message-default-headers
1142 @vindex message-default-headers
1143 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1146 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1147 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1151 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1152 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1153 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1154 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1155 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1156 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1157 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1158 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1159 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1161 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1162 responding to a message:
1165 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1166 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\))
1169 @item message-alternative-emails
1170 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1171 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1172 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1178 @section Mail Headers
1181 @item message-required-mail-headers
1182 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1183 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1184 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1185 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1187 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1188 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1189 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1190 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1192 @item message-default-mail-headers
1193 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1194 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1195 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1200 @node Mail Variables
1201 @section Mail Variables
1204 @item message-send-mail-function
1205 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1206 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1207 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1208 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1209 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1210 @findex feedmail-send-it
1211 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1212 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1213 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1214 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1216 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1217 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1218 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1219 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1220 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1221 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1224 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1225 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1227 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1229 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1230 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1231 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1232 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1233 may also be a function.
1235 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1236 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1237 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1239 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1240 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1242 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1243 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1245 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1246 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1247 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1248 body together. (This problem exists on Sunos 4 when sendmail is run
1249 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1250 the problem will actually occur.
1252 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1253 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1254 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1255 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1256 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1262 @section News Headers
1264 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1265 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1266 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1267 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1273 @findex user-full-name
1274 @findex user-mail-address
1275 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1276 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1277 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1278 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1282 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1286 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1287 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1290 @cindex organization
1291 @vindex message-user-organization
1292 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1293 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1294 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1295 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1296 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1297 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1298 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1302 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1306 @vindex mail-host-address
1309 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1310 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1311 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1312 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1313 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1317 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1318 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1321 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1322 header of the article being replied to.
1326 @vindex message-expires
1327 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1328 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1329 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1332 @cindex Distribution
1333 @vindex message-distribution-function
1334 This optional header is filled out according to the
1335 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1336 much misunderstood header.
1340 @vindex message-user-path
1341 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1342 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1343 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1344 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1345 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1346 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1347 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1351 @cindex Mime-Version
1352 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1353 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1354 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1355 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1356 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1357 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1358 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1359 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1360 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1362 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1363 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1366 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1370 @item message-syntax-checks
1371 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1372 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1373 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1376 (signature . disabled)
1385 Check the subject for commands.
1388 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1389 @item multiple-headers
1390 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1393 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1395 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1397 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1400 Check for too long lines.
1402 Check for invalid characters.
1404 Check for excessive size.
1406 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1408 Check the length of the signature.
1411 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1412 something only moderators should include.
1414 Check whether the article is empty.
1415 @item invisible-text
1416 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1418 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1419 @item existing-newsgroups
1420 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1421 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1422 @item valid-newsgroups
1423 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1424 are valid syntactically.
1425 @item repeated-newsgroups
1426 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1427 contains repeated group names.
1428 @item shorten-followup-to
1429 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1430 of groups to post to.
1433 All these conditions are checked by default.
1435 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1436 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1437 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1438 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1440 @item message-default-news-headers
1441 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1442 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1443 buffers that are initialized as news.
1448 @node News Variables
1449 @section News Variables
1452 @item message-send-news-function
1453 @vindex message-send-news-function
1454 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1455 @code{message-send-news}.
1457 @item message-post-method
1458 @vindex message-post-method
1459 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1460 posting a prepared news message.
1465 @node Insertion Variables
1466 @section Insertion Variables
1469 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1470 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1471 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1472 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1475 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1476 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1477 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1479 @item message-citation-line-function
1480 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1481 @cindex attribution line
1482 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1483 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1487 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1490 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1493 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1494 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1495 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1496 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1497 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1499 @item message-yank-prefix
1500 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1503 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1504 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1505 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1506 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1507 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1510 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1511 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1515 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1516 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1517 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1518 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1520 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1521 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1523 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1524 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1525 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1526 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1527 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1529 @item message-list-references-add-position
1530 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1532 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1533 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1536 @item message-indentation-spaces
1537 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1538 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1540 @item message-cite-function
1541 @vindex message-cite-function
1542 @findex message-cite-original
1543 @findex sc-cite-original
1544 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1546 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1547 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1548 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1549 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1550 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1553 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1554 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1555 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1556 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1557 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1558 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1559 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1560 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1562 @item message-indent-citation-function
1563 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1564 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1565 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1566 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1567 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1569 @item message-signature
1570 @vindex message-signature
1571 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1572 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1573 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1574 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1575 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1577 @item message-signature-file
1578 @vindex message-signature-file
1579 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1580 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1584 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1585 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1586 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1587 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1588 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1590 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1591 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1592 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1595 @node Various Message Variables
1596 @section Various Message Variables
1599 @item message-default-charset
1600 @vindex message-default-charset
1602 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1603 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1604 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1606 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1607 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1608 translation process.
1610 @item message-signature-separator
1611 @vindex message-signature-separator
1612 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1615 @item mail-header-separator
1616 @vindex mail-header-separator
1617 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1618 follows this line--} by default.
1620 @item message-directory
1621 @vindex message-directory
1622 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1624 @item message-auto-save-directory
1625 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1626 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1627 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1629 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1630 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1631 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1632 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1634 @item message-setup-hook
1635 @vindex message-setup-hook
1636 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1637 but before yanked text is inserted.
1639 @item message-header-setup-hook
1640 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1641 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1643 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1644 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1645 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1648 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1649 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1650 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1651 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1652 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1653 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1655 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1656 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1659 @item message-send-hook
1660 @vindex message-send-hook
1661 Hook run before sending messages.
1663 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1664 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1665 @findex message-add-header
1668 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1669 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1670 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1671 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1674 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1676 @item message-send-mail-hook
1677 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1678 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1680 @item message-send-news-hook
1681 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1682 Hook run before sending news messages.
1684 @item message-sent-hook
1685 @vindex message-sent-hook
1686 Hook run after sending messages.
1688 @item message-cancel-hook
1689 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1690 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1692 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1693 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1694 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1696 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1697 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1698 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1699 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1700 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1701 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1702 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1703 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1705 @item message-send-method-alist
1706 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1708 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1711 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1716 A symbol that names the method.
1719 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1720 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1723 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1724 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1728 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1729 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1738 @node Sending Variables
1739 @section Sending Variables
1743 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1744 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1745 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1746 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1747 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1749 @item message-courtesy-message
1750 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1751 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1752 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1753 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1754 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1755 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1756 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1758 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1759 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1760 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
1761 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
1763 @item message-interactive
1764 @vindex message-interactive
1765 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
1766 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
1771 @node Message Buffers
1772 @section Message Buffers
1774 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1775 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1776 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1777 message buffers are kept alive.
1780 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1781 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1782 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1783 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1784 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1785 The function should return the new buffer name.
1787 @item message-use-multi-frames
1788 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1789 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1791 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1792 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1793 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1794 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1795 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1796 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1799 @item message-max-buffers
1800 @vindex message-max-buffers
1801 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1802 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1803 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1804 will ever be killed.
1806 @item message-send-rename-function
1807 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1808 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1809 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1810 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1811 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1815 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1818 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1819 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1820 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1822 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
1823 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
1824 @findex message-kill-buffer
1825 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1826 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
1827 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
1828 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
1829 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
1830 buffer will be killed without query.
1832 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1833 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1834 @findex message-kill-buffer
1835 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1836 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
1837 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
1838 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
1839 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
1844 @node Message Actions
1845 @section Message Actions
1847 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1848 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1849 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1852 @vindex message-kill-actions
1853 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1854 @vindex message-exit-actions
1855 @vindex message-send-actions
1856 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1857 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1858 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1859 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1860 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1861 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1862 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1863 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1865 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1866 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1867 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1868 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1872 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1873 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1876 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1877 killed, postponed or exited.
1879 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1880 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1881 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1885 @chapter Compatibility
1886 @cindex compatibility
1888 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1889 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1890 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1893 (require 'messcompat)
1896 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1897 corresponding mail variables.
1904 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1911 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1916 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1917 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1918 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1929 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1930 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1931 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1932 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1936 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1943 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1944 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1945 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1949 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1950 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1961 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1962 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is