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. If you want to manage a password yourself,
228 you can put something like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
231 (setq canlock-password "geheimnis"
232 canlock-password-for-verify canlock-password)
235 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
236 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
238 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
239 this is expected to change in the future.
245 @findex message-supersede
246 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
247 supersede the message in the current buffer.
249 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
250 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
251 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
252 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
253 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
260 @findex message-forward
261 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
262 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
266 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
267 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
268 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
270 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
271 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
272 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
273 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
274 passed into each successive function.
276 The provided functions are:
279 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
280 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
281 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
284 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
285 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
288 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
289 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
290 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
291 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
292 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
293 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
295 @item message-forward-as-mime
296 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
297 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
298 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
299 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
300 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.
302 @item message-forward-before-signature
303 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
304 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
312 @findex message-resend
313 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
314 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
316 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
317 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
318 be removed before sending the message. The default is
319 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
325 @findex message-bounce
326 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
327 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
328 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
329 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
332 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
333 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
334 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
335 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
339 @section Mailing Lists
341 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
342 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
343 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
344 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
349 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
350 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
351 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
354 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
355 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
356 is not subscribed to the list.
359 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
360 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
361 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
362 and very difficult to follow.
366 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
367 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
368 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
371 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
372 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
375 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
376 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
378 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
379 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
380 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
381 way. The following variables would come in handy.
385 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
386 @item message-subscribed-addresses
387 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
388 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
390 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
391 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
394 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
395 @item message-subscribed-regexps
396 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
397 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
398 want to achieve the same result as above:
400 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
401 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
404 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
405 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
406 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
407 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
408 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
410 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
411 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
412 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
413 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
414 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.
415 This is how you would do it.
418 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
419 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
422 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
423 @item message-subscribed-address-file
424 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
425 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
426 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
430 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
431 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
433 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
434 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
435 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
436 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
437 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
438 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
439 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
440 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
441 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
442 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
443 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
446 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
448 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
449 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
450 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
451 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
452 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
453 to-address group parameter.) The function
454 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
455 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
456 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
457 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
459 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
460 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
462 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
463 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
464 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
465 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
469 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
470 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
473 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
476 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
480 It is considered good netiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
481 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
488 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
489 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
490 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
491 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
492 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
493 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
494 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
495 * Various Commands:: Various things.
496 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
497 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
498 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
503 @section Buffer Entry
507 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
508 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
509 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
510 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
511 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
512 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
513 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
514 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
517 @node Header Commands
518 @section Header Commands
520 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
522 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
523 exist, it will be inserted.
529 @findex describe-mode
530 Describe the message mode.
534 @findex message-goto-to
535 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
539 @findex message-goto-from
540 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
541 in the key binding is for Originator.)
545 @findex message-goto-bcc
546 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
550 @findex message-goto-fcc
551 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
555 @findex message-goto-cc
556 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
560 @findex message-goto-subject
561 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
565 @findex message-goto-reply-to
566 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
570 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
571 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
575 @findex message-goto-distribution
576 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
580 @findex message-goto-followup-to
581 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
585 @findex message-goto-keywords
586 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
590 @findex message-goto-summary
591 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
595 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
596 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
597 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
598 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
599 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
600 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
604 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
605 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
606 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
607 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
608 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
609 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
610 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
611 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
612 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
614 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, the
615 addresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the
616 @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.
620 @subsection Commands to change headers
626 @findex message-sort-headers
627 @vindex message-header-format-alist
628 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
629 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
633 @findex message-insert-to
634 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
635 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
636 (@code{message-insert-to}).
640 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
641 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
642 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
643 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
647 @findex message-to-list-only
648 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
649 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
653 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
654 Insert a request for a disposition
655 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
656 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
657 notification that she received the message.
659 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
660 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
661 @findex message-insert-importance-high
663 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
664 deleting headers if necessary.
666 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
667 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
668 @findex message-insert-importance-low
670 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
671 headers if necessary.
675 @findex message-change-subject
677 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
678 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
679 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
680 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
684 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
685 @vindex message-cross-post-default
688 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
689 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
690 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
691 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
692 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
697 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
698 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
703 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
704 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
709 @findex message-add-archive-header
710 @vindex message-archive-header
711 @vindex message-archive-note
713 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
714 The header and the note can be customized using
715 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
716 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
717 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
729 @findex message-goto-body
730 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
731 (@code{message-goto-body}).
735 @findex message-goto-signature
736 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
740 @findex message-beginning-of-line
741 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
742 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
743 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
744 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
745 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
757 @findex message-yank-original
758 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
759 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
760 (@code{message-yank-original}).
764 @findex message-yank-buffer
765 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
766 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
770 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
771 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
772 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
773 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
774 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
779 @findex message-insert-signature
780 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
781 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
785 @findex message-insert-headers
786 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
790 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
791 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
792 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
796 @findex message-mark-insert-file
797 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
798 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
810 Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
811 doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
812 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
813 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
815 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
816 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out.
817 This can be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for
818 a file name and a @acronym{MIME} type. If your Emacs supports drag
819 and drop, you can also drop the file in the Message buffer.
821 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the @acronym{MML}
822 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
828 @cindex internationalized domain names
829 @cindex non-ascii domain names
831 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
832 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
833 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
834 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
836 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
837 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
838 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
839 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
840 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
842 @vindex message-use-idna
843 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
844 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
845 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
846 queried (the default), and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding
847 happens automatically.
849 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
850 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
851 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
852 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit the message.
854 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
855 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
867 Using the @acronym{MML} language, Message is able to create digitally
868 signed and digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather
869 @acronym{MML}) currently support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991),
870 @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}. Instructing
871 @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
872 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m
873 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
879 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
881 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
885 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
887 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
891 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
893 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
897 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
899 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
903 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
905 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
909 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
911 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
915 @findex mml-unsecure-message
916 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
920 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
921 merely insert the proper @acronym{MML} secure tag to instruct the
922 @acronym{MML} engine to perform that operation when the message is
923 actually sent. They may perform other operations too, such as locating
924 and retrieving a @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to
925 send encrypted mail to. When the mml parsing engine converts your
926 @acronym{MML} into a properly encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure
927 tag will be replaced with either a part or a multipart tag. If your
928 message contains other mml parts, a multipart tag will be used; if no
929 other parts are present in your message a single part tag will be used.
930 This way, message mode will do the Right Thing (TM) with
931 signed/encrypted multipart messages.
933 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
934 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
935 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
936 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
937 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
938 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
939 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
940 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
942 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
943 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
944 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
946 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
947 ``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed and
948 encrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particular
949 message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix
950 argument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.
952 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
953 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
954 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
955 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
957 @subsection Using S/MIME
959 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
960 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
963 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and @acronym{MML}) require
964 OpenSSL. OpenSSL performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt
965 operations. OpenSSL can be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.
966 OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail
967 addresses from certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into
968 @acronym{MIME} separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like
969 to avoid being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by
970 sending @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that
973 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
974 required. Message (@acronym{MML}) need a certificate for the person to whom you
975 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
976 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
977 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
978 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
979 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
980 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
981 Message (@acronym{MML}) is the first mail agent in the world to support
982 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
983 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
984 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
985 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
986 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
987 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
989 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
990 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
991 where your private key and your certificate is stored. @acronym{MML}
992 uses an Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
993 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
994 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
996 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
997 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
998 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
999 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1000 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1001 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1002 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1005 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1008 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1009 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1011 @emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,
1012 so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk are
1013 supported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invoking
1014 OpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. If
1015 you use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or if
1016 you are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} at
1017 the passphrase prompt.
1019 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1021 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1022 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGP
1023 implementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. One
1024 Emacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,
1025 pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1026 @code{gpg.el} are also supported.
1028 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1029 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1030 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1033 Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation of
1034 your PGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1036 If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to send
1037 signed and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'll
1038 discover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. One
1039 solution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set
1040 @code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to use
1041 GnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}
1043 @uref{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. You
1044 could also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.
1045 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
1046 As a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work in
1047 two steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would like
1048 to change this behavior you can customize the
1049 @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:
1052 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate)
1054 ("pgpauto" separate)
1055 ("pgpmime" separate)))
1058 This causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating a
1059 message that can be understood by PGP version 2.
1061 (Refer to @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for more
1062 information about the problem.)
1064 @node Various Commands
1065 @section Various Commands
1071 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1072 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1073 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1074 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1075 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1079 @findex message-elide-region
1080 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1081 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1082 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1083 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1088 @findex message-kill-address
1089 Kill the address under point.
1093 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1094 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1095 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1099 @findex message-delete-not-region
1100 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1101 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1105 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1106 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1111 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1114 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1117 > This is some quoted text.
1121 > And here's more quoted text.
1124 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1128 @findex message-rename-buffer
1129 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1130 prompt for a new buffer name.
1135 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1136 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1137 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1138 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1149 @findex message-send-and-exit
1150 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1151 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1155 @findex message-send
1156 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1160 @findex message-dont-send
1161 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1165 @findex message-kill-buffer
1166 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
1167 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
1168 message buffer. If the option
1169 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
1170 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
1171 the file after prompting to the user.
1175 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1176 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1177 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
1178 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
1179 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
1180 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
1187 @section Mail Aliases
1188 @cindex mail aliases
1191 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1192 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1193 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1194 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1195 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1197 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1198 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1201 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1202 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1205 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1206 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1207 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1209 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1210 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1216 @findex ispell-message
1218 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1219 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1220 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1221 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1222 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1223 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1226 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1229 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1230 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1231 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1234 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1235 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1236 (".*" . "default")))
1239 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1242 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1243 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1246 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1250 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1252 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1255 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1263 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1264 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1265 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1266 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1267 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1268 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1269 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1270 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1271 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1272 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1276 @node Message Headers
1277 @section Message Headers
1279 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1280 be---it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1281 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1282 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1283 look sufficiently similar.
1287 @item message-generate-headers-first
1288 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1289 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1290 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1293 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1297 @vindex message-required-headers
1298 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1299 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1300 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1303 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1304 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1306 @item message-draft-headers
1307 @vindex message-draft-headers
1308 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1309 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1310 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1312 @item message-from-style
1313 @vindex message-from-style
1314 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1319 Just the address---@samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1322 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1325 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1328 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1329 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1330 @code{angles} anyway.
1334 @item message-deletable-headers
1335 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1336 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1337 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1338 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1339 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1340 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1341 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1342 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1343 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1346 @item message-default-headers
1347 @vindex message-default-headers
1348 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1351 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1352 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1356 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1357 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1358 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1359 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1360 to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1361 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1362 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1363 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1364 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1366 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1367 responding to a message:
1370 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1375 "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw
1377 "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd
1378 "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp
1380 "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref
1383 "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)"
1390 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1391 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1392 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1393 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1394 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1395 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1396 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1397 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1398 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1399 trailing old subject. In this case,
1400 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1402 @item message-alternative-emails
1403 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1404 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1405 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1407 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1408 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1409 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1410 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1411 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1412 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1414 @item message-hidden-headers
1415 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1416 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1417 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1418 hidden when composing a message.
1421 (setq message-hidden-headers
1422 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1425 @item message-header-synonyms
1426 @vindex message-header-synonyms
1427 A list of lists of header synonyms. E.g., if this list contains a
1428 member list with elements @code{Cc} and @code{To}, then
1429 @code{message-carefully-insert-headers} will not insert a @code{To}
1430 header when the message is already @code{Cc}ed to the recipient.
1436 @section Mail Headers
1439 @item message-required-mail-headers
1440 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1441 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1442 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1443 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1445 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1446 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1447 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1448 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1450 @item message-default-mail-headers
1451 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1452 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1453 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1455 @item message-generate-hashcash
1456 @vindex message-generate-hashcash
1457 Boolean variable that indicate whether @samp{X-Hashcash} headers
1458 should be computed for the message. @xref{Hashcash, ,Hashcash,gnus,
1464 @node Mail Variables
1465 @section Mail Variables
1468 @item message-send-mail-function
1469 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1470 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1471 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1472 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1473 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1474 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1475 @findex feedmail-send-it
1476 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1477 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1478 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1479 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1480 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1482 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1483 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1484 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1485 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1486 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1487 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1490 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1491 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1493 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1495 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1496 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1497 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1498 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1499 may also be a function.
1501 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1502 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1503 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1505 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1506 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1508 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1509 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1511 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1512 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1513 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1514 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1515 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1516 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1518 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1519 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1520 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1521 body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
1522 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1523 the problem will actually occur.
1525 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1526 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1527 @cindex split large message
1528 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1529 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1530 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1536 @section News Headers
1538 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1539 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1540 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1541 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1547 @findex user-full-name
1548 @findex user-mail-address
1549 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1550 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1551 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1552 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1556 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1560 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1561 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1564 @cindex organization
1565 @vindex message-user-organization
1566 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1567 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1568 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1569 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1570 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1571 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1572 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1576 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1580 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1581 @vindex mail-host-address
1582 @vindex user-mail-address
1585 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1586 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1587 created based on the date, time, user name (for the local part) and the
1588 domain part. For the domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1589 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1590 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1591 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1595 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1596 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1599 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1600 header of the article being replied to.
1604 @vindex message-expires
1605 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1606 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1607 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1610 @cindex Distribution
1611 @vindex message-distribution-function
1612 This optional header is filled out according to the
1613 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1614 much misunderstood header.
1618 @vindex message-user-path
1619 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1620 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1621 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1622 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1623 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1624 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1625 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1629 @cindex Mime-Version
1630 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this cons
1631 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1632 the @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1633 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1634 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1635 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1636 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1637 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1638 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1640 If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is
1641 @code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1644 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1645 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1649 (setq message-required-news-headers
1650 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1653 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1657 @item message-syntax-checks
1658 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1659 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1660 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1663 (signature . disabled)
1672 Check the subject for commands.
1675 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1676 @item multiple-headers
1677 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1680 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1682 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1684 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1687 Check for too long lines.
1689 Check for invalid characters.
1691 Check for excessive size.
1693 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1695 Check the length of the signature.
1698 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1699 something only moderators should include.
1701 Check whether the article is empty.
1702 @item invisible-text
1703 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1705 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1706 @item existing-newsgroups
1707 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1708 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1709 @item valid-newsgroups
1710 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1711 are valid syntactically.
1712 @item repeated-newsgroups
1713 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1714 contains repeated group names.
1715 @item shorten-followup-to
1716 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1717 of groups to post to.
1720 All these conditions are checked by default.
1722 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1723 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1724 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1725 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1727 @item message-default-news-headers
1728 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1729 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1730 buffers that are initialized as news.
1735 @node News Variables
1736 @section News Variables
1739 @item message-send-news-function
1740 @vindex message-send-news-function
1741 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1742 @code{message-send-news}.
1744 @item message-post-method
1745 @vindex message-post-method
1746 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1747 posting a prepared news message.
1752 @node Insertion Variables
1753 @section Insertion Variables
1756 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1757 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1758 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1759 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1762 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1763 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1764 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1766 @item message-citation-line-function
1767 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1768 @cindex attribution line
1769 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1770 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1774 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1777 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1780 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1781 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1782 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1783 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1784 Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.
1786 @item message-yank-prefix
1787 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1790 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1791 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1792 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1793 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1794 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1797 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1798 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1802 When yanking text from an article which contains no text or already
1803 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1804 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1805 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1807 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1808 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1810 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1811 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1812 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1813 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1814 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1816 @item message-list-references-add-position
1817 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1819 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1820 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1823 @item message-indentation-spaces
1824 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1825 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1827 @item message-cite-function
1828 @vindex message-cite-function
1829 @findex message-cite-original
1830 @findex sc-cite-original
1831 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1833 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1834 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1835 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1836 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1837 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1840 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1841 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1842 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1843 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1844 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1845 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1846 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1847 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1849 @item message-indent-citation-function
1850 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1851 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1852 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1853 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1854 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1856 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1857 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1858 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1860 @item message-mark-insert-end
1861 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1862 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1864 @item message-signature
1865 @vindex message-signature
1866 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1867 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1868 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1869 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1870 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1872 @item message-signature-file
1873 @vindex message-signature-file
1874 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1875 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1877 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1878 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1879 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1880 signature separator.
1884 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1885 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1886 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1887 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1888 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1890 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1891 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
1892 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
1896 @node Various Message Variables
1897 @section Various Message Variables
1900 @item message-default-charset
1901 @vindex message-default-charset
1903 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}
1904 characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.
1905 The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variable
1906 is used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,
1907 Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on
1908 the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.
1910 @item message-signature-separator
1911 @vindex message-signature-separator
1912 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1915 @item mail-header-separator
1916 @vindex mail-header-separator
1917 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1918 follows this line--} by default.
1920 @item message-directory
1921 @vindex message-directory
1922 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1924 @item message-auto-save-directory
1925 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1926 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1927 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1929 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1930 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1931 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1932 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1934 @item message-setup-hook
1935 @vindex message-setup-hook
1936 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1937 but before yanked text is inserted.
1939 @item message-header-setup-hook
1940 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1941 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1943 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1944 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1945 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1948 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1949 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1950 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1951 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1952 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1953 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1955 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1956 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1959 @item message-send-hook
1960 @vindex message-send-hook
1961 Hook run before sending messages.
1963 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1964 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1965 @findex message-add-header
1968 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1969 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1970 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1971 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1974 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1976 @item message-send-mail-hook
1977 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1978 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1979 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1981 @item message-send-news-hook
1982 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1983 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1984 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1986 @item message-sent-hook
1987 @vindex message-sent-hook
1988 Hook run after sending messages.
1990 @item message-cancel-hook
1991 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1992 Hook run when canceling news articles.
1994 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1995 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1996 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1998 @item message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
1999 @vindex message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
2000 If non-@code{nil}, don't strip quoted text from articles that have
2001 @samp{X-No-Archive} set. Even if this variable isn't set, you can
2002 undo the stripping by hitting the @code{undo} keystroke.
2004 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
2005 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
2006 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
2007 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
2008 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
2009 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
2010 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
2011 message composition doesn't break too bad.
2013 @item message-send-method-alist
2014 @vindex message-send-method-alist
2016 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
2019 (@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})
2024 A symbol that names the method.
2027 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
2028 message is a message of type @var{type}.
2031 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
2032 @var{function} is called with one parameter---the prefix.
2036 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
2037 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
2045 @node Sending Variables
2046 @section Sending Variables
2050 @item message-fcc-handler-function
2051 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
2052 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
2053 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
2054 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
2056 @item message-courtesy-message
2057 @vindex message-courtesy-message
2058 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
2059 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
2060 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2061 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2062 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2063 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2065 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2066 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2067 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2068 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2070 @item message-interactive
2071 @vindex message-interactive
2072 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2073 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2078 @node Message Buffers
2079 @section Message Buffers
2081 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2082 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2083 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2084 message buffers are kept alive.
2087 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2088 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2089 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2090 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2091 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2092 The function should return the new buffer name.
2094 @item message-use-multi-frames
2095 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
2096 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
2098 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
2099 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
2100 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
2101 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
2102 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
2103 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
2106 @item message-max-buffers
2107 @vindex message-max-buffers
2108 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2109 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2110 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2111 will ever be killed.
2113 @item message-send-rename-function
2114 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2115 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2116 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2117 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2118 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2122 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2125 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2126 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2127 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2129 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
2130 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
2131 @findex message-kill-buffer
2132 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2133 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
2134 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
2135 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
2136 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
2137 buffer will be killed without query.
2139 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2140 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2141 @findex message-kill-buffer
2142 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2143 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
2144 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
2145 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
2146 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
2151 @node Message Actions
2152 @section Message Actions
2154 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2155 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2156 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2159 @vindex message-kill-actions
2160 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2161 @vindex message-exit-actions
2162 @vindex message-send-actions
2163 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2164 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2165 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2166 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2167 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2168 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2169 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2170 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2172 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2173 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2174 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2175 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2179 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2180 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2183 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2184 killed, postponed or exited.
2186 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2187 @sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2188 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2192 @chapter Compatibility
2193 @cindex compatibility
2195 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2196 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2197 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2200 (require 'messcompat)
2203 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2204 corresponding mail variables.
2211 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2218 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2223 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2224 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2225 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2236 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2237 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2238 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2239 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2243 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2250 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2251 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2252 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2256 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2257 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2268 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2269 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is