1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle T-gnus 6.17 Message Manual
9 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
11 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
12 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
16 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
17 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
18 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
19 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
20 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
21 License'' in the Emacs manual.
23 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
24 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
25 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
27 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
28 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
29 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
30 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
36 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
41 @setchapternewpage odd
44 @title T-gnus 6.17 Message Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
57 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
61 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
62 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
63 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
64 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
65 * Appendices:: More technical things.
66 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
67 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
70 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.17 Message. Message is distributed
71 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
78 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message---reply,
79 follow up, forward, cancel---the program (or person) should just put
80 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
81 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
82 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
86 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
87 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
88 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
89 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
90 * Followup:: Following up via news.
91 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
92 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
93 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
94 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
95 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
96 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
100 @node New Mail Message
101 @section New Mail Message
104 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
106 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
107 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
108 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
111 @node New News Message
112 @section New News Message
115 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
117 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
118 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
119 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
125 @findex message-reply
126 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
127 reply to the message in the current buffer.
129 @vindex message-reply-to-function
130 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
131 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
132 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
134 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
135 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
138 (setq message-reply-to-function
140 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
141 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
146 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
149 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
150 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
151 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
154 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
155 should be a cons, where the @sc{car} should be the name of a header
156 (e.g. @code{Cc}) and the @sc{cdr} should be the header value
157 (e.g. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
158 the head of the outgoing mail.
164 @findex message-wide-reply
165 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
166 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
167 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
168 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
170 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
171 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
172 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
173 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
174 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
176 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
177 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
178 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
180 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
181 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
182 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
183 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
188 @findex message-followup
189 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
190 followup to the message in the current buffer.
192 @vindex message-followup-to-function
193 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
194 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
195 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
196 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
198 @vindex message-use-followup-to
199 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
200 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
201 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
202 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
203 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
207 @section Canceling News
209 @findex message-cancel-news
210 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
213 @vindex message-cancel-message
214 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
215 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
219 @vindex message-insert-canlock
221 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
222 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
223 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
224 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
225 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
226 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
227 able to cancel your message.
229 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
230 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
232 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
233 this is expected to change in the future.
239 @findex message-supersede
240 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
241 supersede the message in the current buffer.
243 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
244 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
245 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
246 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
247 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
254 @findex message-forward
255 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
256 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
260 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
261 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
262 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
264 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
265 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
266 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
267 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
268 passed into each successive function.
270 The provided functions are:
273 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
274 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
275 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
278 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
279 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
282 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
283 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
284 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
285 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
286 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
287 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
289 @item message-forward-as-mime
290 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
291 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
292 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
293 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
294 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.
296 @item message-forward-before-signature
297 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
298 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
306 @findex message-resend
307 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
308 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
310 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
311 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
312 be removed before sending the message. The default is
313 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
319 @findex message-bounce
320 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
321 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
322 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
323 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
326 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
327 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
328 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
329 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
333 @section Mailing Lists
335 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
336 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
337 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
338 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
343 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
344 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
345 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
348 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
349 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
350 is not subscribed to the list.
353 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
354 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
355 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
356 and very difficult to follow.
360 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
361 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
362 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
365 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
366 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
369 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
370 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
372 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
373 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
374 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
375 way. The following variables would come in handy.
379 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
380 @item message-subscribed-addresses
381 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
382 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
384 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
385 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
388 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
389 @item message-subscribed-regexps
390 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
391 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
392 want to achieve the same result as above:
394 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
395 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
398 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
399 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
400 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
401 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
402 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
404 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
405 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
406 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
407 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
408 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.
409 This is how you would do it.
412 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
413 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
416 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
417 @item message-subscribed-address-file
418 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
419 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
420 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
424 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
425 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
427 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
428 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
429 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
430 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
431 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
432 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
433 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
434 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
435 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
436 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
437 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
440 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
442 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
443 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
444 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
445 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
446 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
447 to-address group parameter.) The function
448 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
449 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
450 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
451 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
453 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
454 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
456 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
457 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
458 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
459 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
463 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
464 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
467 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
470 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
474 It is considered good netiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
475 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
482 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
483 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
484 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
485 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
486 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
487 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
488 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
489 * Various Commands:: Various things.
490 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
491 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
492 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
497 @section Buffer Entry
501 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
502 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
503 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
504 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
505 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
506 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
507 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
508 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
511 @node Header Commands
512 @section Header Commands
514 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
516 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
517 exist, it will be inserted.
523 @findex describe-mode
524 Describe the message mode.
528 @findex message-goto-to
529 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
533 @findex message-goto-from
534 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
535 in the key binding is for Originator.)
539 @findex message-goto-bcc
540 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
544 @findex message-goto-fcc
545 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
549 @findex message-goto-cc
550 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
554 @findex message-goto-subject
555 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
559 @findex message-goto-reply-to
560 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
564 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
565 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
569 @findex message-goto-distribution
570 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
574 @findex message-goto-followup-to
575 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
579 @findex message-goto-keywords
580 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
584 @findex message-goto-summary
585 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
589 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
590 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
591 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
592 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
593 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
594 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
598 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
599 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
600 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
601 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
602 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
603 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
604 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
605 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
606 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
608 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, the
609 addresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the
610 @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.
614 @subsection Commands to change headers
620 @findex message-sort-headers
621 @vindex message-header-format-alist
622 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
623 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
627 @findex message-insert-to
628 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
629 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
630 (@code{message-insert-to}).
634 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
635 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
636 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
637 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
641 @findex message-to-list-only
642 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
643 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
647 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
648 Insert a request for a disposition
649 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
650 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
651 notification that she received the message.
653 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
654 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
655 @findex message-insert-importance-high
657 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
658 deleting headers if necessary.
660 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
661 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
662 @findex message-insert-importance-low
664 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
665 headers if necessary.
669 @findex message-change-subject
671 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
672 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
673 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
674 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
678 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
679 @vindex message-cross-post-default
682 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
683 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
684 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
685 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
686 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
691 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
692 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
697 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
698 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
703 @findex message-add-archive-header
704 @vindex message-archive-header
705 @vindex message-archive-note
707 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
708 The header and the note can be customized using
709 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
710 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
711 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
723 @findex message-goto-body
724 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
725 (@code{message-goto-body}).
729 @findex message-goto-signature
730 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
734 @findex message-beginning-of-line
735 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
736 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
737 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
738 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
739 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
751 @findex message-yank-original
752 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
753 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
754 (@code{message-yank-original}).
758 @findex message-yank-buffer
759 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
760 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
764 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
765 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
766 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
767 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
768 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
773 @findex message-insert-signature
774 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
775 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
779 @findex message-insert-headers
780 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
784 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
785 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
786 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
790 @findex message-mark-insert-file
791 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
792 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
804 Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
805 doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
806 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
807 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
809 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
810 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out.
811 This can be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for
812 a file name and a @acronym{MIME} type. If your Emacs supports drag
813 and drop, you can also drop the file in the Message buffer.
815 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the @acronym{MML}
816 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
822 @cindex internationalized domain names
823 @cindex non-ascii domain names
825 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
826 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
827 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
828 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
830 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
831 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
832 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
833 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
834 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
836 @vindex message-use-idna
837 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
838 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
839 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
840 queried (the default), and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding
841 happens automatically.
843 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
844 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
845 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
846 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit the message.
848 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
849 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
861 Using the @acronym{MML} language, Message is able to create digitally
862 signed and digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather
863 @acronym{MML}) currently support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991),
864 @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}. Instructing
865 @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
866 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m
867 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
873 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
875 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
879 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
881 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
885 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
887 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
891 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
893 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
897 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
899 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
903 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
905 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
909 @findex mml-unsecure-message
910 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
914 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
915 merely insert the proper @acronym{MML} secure tag to instruct the
916 @acronym{MML} engine to perform that operation when the message is
917 actually sent. They may perform other operations too, such as locating
918 and retrieving a @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to
919 send encrypted mail to. When the mml parsing engine converts your
920 @acronym{MML} into a properly encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure
921 tag will be replaced with either a part or a multipart tag. If your
922 message contains other mml parts, a multipart tag will be used; if no
923 other parts are present in your message a single part tag will be used.
924 This way, message mode will do the Right Thing (TM) with
925 signed/encrypted multipart messages.
927 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
928 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
929 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
930 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
931 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
932 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
933 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
934 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
936 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
937 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
938 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
940 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
941 ``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed and
942 encrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particular
943 message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix
944 argument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.
946 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
947 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
948 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
949 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
951 @subsection Using S/MIME
953 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
954 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
957 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and @acronym{MML}) require
958 OpenSSL. OpenSSL performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt
959 operations. OpenSSL can be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.
960 OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail
961 addresses from certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into
962 @acronym{MIME} separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like
963 to avoid being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by
964 sending @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that
967 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
968 required. Message (@acronym{MML}) need a certificate for the person to whom you
969 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
970 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
971 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
972 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
973 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
974 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
975 Message (@acronym{MML}) is the first mail agent in the world to support
976 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
977 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
978 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
979 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
980 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
981 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
983 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
984 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
985 where your private key and your certificate is stored. @acronym{MML}
986 uses an Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
987 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
988 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
990 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
991 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
992 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
993 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
994 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
995 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
996 certificate in PEM format as follows.
999 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1002 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1003 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1005 @emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,
1006 so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk are
1007 supported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invoking
1008 OpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. If
1009 you use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or if
1010 you are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} at
1011 the passphrase prompt.
1013 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1015 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1016 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGP
1017 implementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. One
1018 Emacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,
1019 pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1020 @code{gpg.el} are also supported.
1022 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1023 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1024 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1027 Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation of
1028 your PGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1030 If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to send
1031 signed and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'll
1032 discover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. One
1033 solution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set
1034 @code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to use
1035 GnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}
1037 @uref{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. You
1038 could also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.
1039 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
1040 As a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work in
1041 two steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would like
1042 to change this behavior you can customize the
1043 @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:
1046 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate)
1048 ("pgpauto" separate)
1049 ("pgpmime" separate)))
1052 This causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating a
1053 message that can be understood by PGP version 2.
1055 (Refer to @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for more
1056 information about the problem.)
1058 @node Various Commands
1059 @section Various Commands
1065 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1066 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1067 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1068 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1069 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1073 @findex message-elide-region
1074 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1075 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1076 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1077 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1082 @findex message-kill-address
1083 Kill the address under point.
1087 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1088 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1089 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1093 @findex message-delete-not-region
1094 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1095 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1099 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1100 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1105 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1108 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1111 > This is some quoted text.
1115 > And here's more quoted text.
1118 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1122 @findex message-rename-buffer
1123 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1124 prompt for a new buffer name.
1129 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1130 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1131 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1132 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1143 @findex message-send-and-exit
1144 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1145 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1149 @findex message-send
1150 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1154 @findex message-dont-send
1155 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1159 @findex message-kill-buffer
1160 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
1161 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
1162 message buffer. If the option
1163 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
1164 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
1165 the file after prompting to the user.
1169 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1170 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1171 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
1172 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
1173 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
1174 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
1181 @section Mail Aliases
1182 @cindex mail aliases
1185 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1186 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1187 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1188 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1189 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1191 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1192 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1195 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1196 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1199 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1200 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1201 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1203 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1204 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1210 @findex ispell-message
1212 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1213 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1214 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1215 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1216 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1217 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1220 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1223 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1224 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1225 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1228 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1229 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1230 (".*" . "default")))
1233 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1236 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1237 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1240 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1244 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1246 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1249 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1257 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1258 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1259 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1260 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1261 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1262 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1263 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1264 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1265 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1266 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1270 @node Message Headers
1271 @section Message Headers
1273 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1274 be---it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1275 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1276 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1277 look sufficiently similar.
1281 @item message-generate-headers-first
1282 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1283 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1284 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1287 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1291 @vindex message-required-headers
1292 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1293 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1294 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1297 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1298 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1300 @item message-draft-headers
1301 @vindex message-draft-headers
1302 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1303 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1304 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1306 @item message-from-style
1307 @vindex message-from-style
1308 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1313 Just the address---@samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1316 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1319 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1322 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1323 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1324 @code{angles} anyway.
1328 @item message-deletable-headers
1329 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1330 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1331 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1332 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1333 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1334 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1335 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1336 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1337 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1340 @item message-default-headers
1341 @vindex message-default-headers
1342 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1345 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1346 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1350 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1351 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1352 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1353 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1354 to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1355 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1356 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1357 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1358 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1360 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1361 responding to a message:
1364 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1369 "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw
1371 "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd
1372 "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp
1374 "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref
1377 "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)"
1384 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1385 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1386 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1387 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1388 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1389 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1390 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1391 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1392 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1393 trailing old subject. In this case,
1394 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1396 @item message-alternative-emails
1397 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1398 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1399 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1401 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1402 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1403 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1404 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1405 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1406 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1408 @item message-hidden-headers
1409 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1410 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1411 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1412 hidden when composing a message.
1415 (setq message-hidden-headers
1416 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1419 @item message-header-synonyms
1420 @vindex message-header-synonyms
1421 A list of lists of header synonyms. E.g., if this list contains a
1422 member list with elements @code{Cc} and @code{To}, then
1423 @code{message-carefully-insert-headers} will not insert a @code{To}
1424 header when the message is already @code{Cc}ed to the recipient.
1430 @section Mail Headers
1433 @item message-required-mail-headers
1434 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1435 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1436 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1437 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1439 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1440 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1441 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1442 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1444 @item message-default-mail-headers
1445 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1446 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1447 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1452 @node Mail Variables
1453 @section Mail Variables
1456 @item message-send-mail-function
1457 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1458 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1459 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1460 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1461 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1462 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1463 @findex feedmail-send-it
1464 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1465 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1466 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1467 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1468 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1470 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1471 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1472 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1473 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1474 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1475 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1478 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1479 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1481 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1483 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1484 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1485 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1486 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1487 may also be a function.
1489 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1490 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1491 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1493 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1494 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1496 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1497 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1499 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1500 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1501 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1502 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1503 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1504 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1506 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1507 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1508 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1509 body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
1510 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1511 the problem will actually occur.
1513 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1514 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1515 @cindex split large message
1516 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1517 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1518 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1524 @section News Headers
1526 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1527 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1528 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1529 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1535 @findex user-full-name
1536 @findex user-mail-address
1537 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1538 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1539 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1540 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1544 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1548 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1549 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1552 @cindex organization
1553 @vindex message-user-organization
1554 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1555 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1556 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1557 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1558 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1559 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1560 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1564 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1568 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1569 @vindex mail-host-address
1570 @vindex user-mail-address
1573 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1574 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1575 created based on the date, time, user name (for the local part) and the
1576 domain part. For the domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1577 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1578 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1579 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1583 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1584 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1587 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1588 header of the article being replied to.
1592 @vindex message-expires
1593 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1594 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1595 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1598 @cindex Distribution
1599 @vindex message-distribution-function
1600 This optional header is filled out according to the
1601 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1602 much misunderstood header.
1606 @vindex message-user-path
1607 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1608 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1609 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1610 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1611 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1612 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1613 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1617 @cindex Mime-Version
1618 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this cons
1619 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1620 the @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1621 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1622 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1623 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1624 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1625 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1626 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1628 If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is
1629 @code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1632 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1633 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1637 (setq message-required-news-headers
1638 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1641 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1645 @item message-syntax-checks
1646 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1647 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1648 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1651 (signature . disabled)
1660 Check the subject for commands.
1663 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1664 @item multiple-headers
1665 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1668 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1670 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1672 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1675 Check for too long lines.
1677 Check for invalid characters.
1679 Check for excessive size.
1681 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1683 Check the length of the signature.
1686 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1687 something only moderators should include.
1689 Check whether the article is empty.
1690 @item invisible-text
1691 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1693 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1694 @item existing-newsgroups
1695 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1696 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1697 @item valid-newsgroups
1698 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1699 are valid syntactically.
1700 @item repeated-newsgroups
1701 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1702 contains repeated group names.
1703 @item shorten-followup-to
1704 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1705 of groups to post to.
1708 All these conditions are checked by default.
1710 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1711 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1712 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1713 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1715 @item message-default-news-headers
1716 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1717 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1718 buffers that are initialized as news.
1723 @node News Variables
1724 @section News Variables
1727 @item message-send-news-function
1728 @vindex message-send-news-function
1729 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1730 @code{message-send-news}.
1732 @item message-post-method
1733 @vindex message-post-method
1734 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1735 posting a prepared news message.
1740 @node Insertion Variables
1741 @section Insertion Variables
1744 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1745 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1746 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1747 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1750 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1751 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1752 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1754 @item message-citation-line-function
1755 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1756 @cindex attribution line
1757 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1758 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1762 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1765 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1768 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1769 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1770 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1771 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1772 Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.
1774 @item message-yank-prefix
1775 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1778 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1779 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1780 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1781 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1782 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1785 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1786 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1790 When yanking text from an article which contains no text or already
1791 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1792 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1793 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1795 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1796 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1798 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1799 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1800 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1801 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1802 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1804 @item message-list-references-add-position
1805 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1807 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1808 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1811 @item message-indentation-spaces
1812 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1813 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1815 @item message-cite-function
1816 @vindex message-cite-function
1817 @findex message-cite-original
1818 @findex sc-cite-original
1819 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1821 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1822 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1823 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1824 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1825 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1828 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1829 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1830 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1831 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1832 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1833 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1834 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1835 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1837 @item message-indent-citation-function
1838 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1839 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1840 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1841 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1842 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1844 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1845 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1846 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1848 @item message-mark-insert-end
1849 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1850 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1852 @item message-signature
1853 @vindex message-signature
1854 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1855 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1856 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1857 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1858 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1860 @item message-signature-file
1861 @vindex message-signature-file
1862 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1863 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1865 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1866 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1867 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1868 signature separator.
1872 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1873 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1874 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1875 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1876 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1878 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1879 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
1880 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
1884 @node Various Message Variables
1885 @section Various Message Variables
1888 @item message-default-charset
1889 @vindex message-default-charset
1891 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}
1892 characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.
1893 The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variable
1894 is used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,
1895 Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on
1896 the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.
1898 @item message-signature-separator
1899 @vindex message-signature-separator
1900 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1903 @item mail-header-separator
1904 @vindex mail-header-separator
1905 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1906 follows this line--} by default.
1908 @item message-directory
1909 @vindex message-directory
1910 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1912 @item message-auto-save-directory
1913 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1914 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1915 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1917 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1918 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1919 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1920 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1922 @item message-setup-hook
1923 @vindex message-setup-hook
1924 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1925 but before yanked text is inserted.
1927 @item message-header-setup-hook
1928 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1929 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1931 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1932 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1933 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1936 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1937 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1938 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1939 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1940 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1941 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1943 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1944 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1947 @item message-send-hook
1948 @vindex message-send-hook
1949 Hook run before sending messages.
1951 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1952 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1953 @findex message-add-header
1956 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1957 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1958 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1959 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1962 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1964 @item message-send-mail-hook
1965 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1966 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1967 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1969 @item message-send-news-hook
1970 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1971 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1972 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1974 @item message-sent-hook
1975 @vindex message-sent-hook
1976 Hook run after sending messages.
1978 @item message-cancel-hook
1979 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1980 Hook run when canceling news articles.
1982 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1983 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1984 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1986 @item message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
1987 @vindex message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
1988 If non-@code{nil}, don't strip quoted text from articles that have
1989 @samp{X-No-Archive} set. Even if this variable isn't set, you can
1990 undo the stripping by hitting the @code{undo} keystroke.
1992 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1993 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1994 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1995 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1996 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1997 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1998 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1999 message composition doesn't break too bad.
2001 @item message-send-method-alist
2002 @vindex message-send-method-alist
2004 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
2007 (@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})
2012 A symbol that names the method.
2015 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
2016 message is a message of type @var{type}.
2019 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
2020 @var{function} is called with one parameter---the prefix.
2024 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
2025 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
2033 @node Sending Variables
2034 @section Sending Variables
2038 @item message-fcc-handler-function
2039 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
2040 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
2041 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
2042 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
2044 @item message-courtesy-message
2045 @vindex message-courtesy-message
2046 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
2047 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
2048 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2049 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2050 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2051 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2053 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2054 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2055 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2056 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2058 @item message-interactive
2059 @vindex message-interactive
2060 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2061 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2066 @node Message Buffers
2067 @section Message Buffers
2069 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2070 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2071 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2072 message buffers are kept alive.
2075 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2076 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2077 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2078 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2079 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2080 The function should return the new buffer name.
2082 @item message-use-multi-frames
2083 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
2084 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
2086 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
2087 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
2088 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
2089 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
2090 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
2091 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
2094 @item message-max-buffers
2095 @vindex message-max-buffers
2096 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2097 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2098 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2099 will ever be killed.
2101 @item message-send-rename-function
2102 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2103 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2104 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2105 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2106 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2110 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2113 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2114 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2115 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2117 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
2118 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
2119 @findex message-kill-buffer
2120 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2121 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
2122 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
2123 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
2124 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
2125 buffer will be killed without query.
2127 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2128 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2129 @findex message-kill-buffer
2130 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2131 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
2132 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
2133 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
2134 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
2139 @node Message Actions
2140 @section Message Actions
2142 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2143 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2144 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2147 @vindex message-kill-actions
2148 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2149 @vindex message-exit-actions
2150 @vindex message-send-actions
2151 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2152 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2153 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2154 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2155 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2156 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2157 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2158 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2160 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2161 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2162 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2163 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2167 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2168 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2171 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2172 killed, postponed or exited.
2174 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2175 @sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2176 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2180 @chapter Compatibility
2181 @cindex compatibility
2183 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2184 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2185 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2188 (require 'messcompat)
2191 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2192 corresponding mail variables.
2199 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2206 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2211 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2212 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2213 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2224 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2225 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2226 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2227 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2231 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2238 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2239 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2240 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2244 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2245 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2256 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2257 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is