1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
22 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
25 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
26 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
27 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
28 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
29 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
30 License'' in the Emacs manual.
32 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
33 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
34 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
36 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
37 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
38 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
39 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
45 @title T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
52 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
54 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
55 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
56 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
57 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
58 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
59 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
60 License'' in the Emacs manual.
62 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
63 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
64 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
66 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
67 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
68 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
69 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
78 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
82 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
83 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
84 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
85 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
86 * Appendices:: More technical things.
87 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
88 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
91 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15 Message. Message is distributed
92 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
99 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
100 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
101 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
102 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
103 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
107 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
108 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
109 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
110 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
111 * Followup:: Following up via news.
112 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
113 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
114 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
115 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
116 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
117 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
121 @node New Mail Message
122 @section New Mail Message
125 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
127 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
128 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
129 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
132 @node New News Message
133 @section New News Message
136 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
138 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
139 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
140 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
146 @findex message-reply
147 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
148 reply to the message in the current buffer.
150 @vindex message-reply-to-function
151 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
152 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
153 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
155 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
156 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
159 (setq message-reply-to-function
161 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
162 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
167 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
170 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
171 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
172 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
175 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
176 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
177 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
178 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
179 the head of the outgoing mail.
185 @findex message-wide-reply
186 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
187 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
188 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
189 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
191 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
192 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
193 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
194 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
195 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
197 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
198 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
199 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
201 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
202 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
203 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
204 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
209 @findex message-followup
210 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
211 followup to the message in the current buffer.
213 @vindex message-followup-to-function
214 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
215 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
216 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
217 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
219 @vindex message-use-followup-to
220 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
221 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
222 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
223 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
224 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
228 @section Canceling News
230 @findex message-cancel-news
231 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
234 @vindex message-cancel-message
235 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
236 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
240 @vindex message-insert-canlock
242 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
243 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
244 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
245 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
246 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
247 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
248 able to cancel your message.
250 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
251 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
253 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
254 this is expected to change in the future.
260 @findex message-supersede
261 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
262 supersede the message in the current buffer.
264 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
265 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
266 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
267 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
268 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
275 @findex message-forward
276 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
277 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
281 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
282 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
283 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
285 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
286 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
287 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
288 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
289 passed into each successive function.
291 The provided functions are:
294 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
295 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
296 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
299 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
300 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
303 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
304 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
305 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
306 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
307 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
308 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
310 @item message-forward-as-mime
311 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
312 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
313 included as inline @sc{mime} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
314 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
315 non @sc{mime}-savvy versions of gnus would do.
317 @item message-forward-before-signature
318 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
319 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
327 @findex message-resend
328 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
329 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
331 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
332 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
333 be removed before sending the message. The default is
334 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
340 @findex message-bounce
341 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
342 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
343 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
344 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
347 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
348 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
349 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
350 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
354 @section Mailing Lists
356 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
357 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
358 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
363 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
364 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
365 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
368 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
369 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
370 is not subscribed to the list.
373 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
374 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
375 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
376 and very difficult to follow.
380 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
381 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
382 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
385 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
386 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
389 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
390 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
392 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
393 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
394 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
395 way. The following variables would come in handy.
399 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
400 @item message-subscribed-addresses
401 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
402 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
404 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
405 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
408 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
409 @item message-subscribed-regexps
410 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
411 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
412 want to achieve the same result as above:
414 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
415 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
418 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
419 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
420 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
421 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
422 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
424 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
425 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
426 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
427 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{(gnus)subscribed})
428 group parameter set to a non-nil value. This is how you would do it.
431 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
432 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
435 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
436 @item message-subscribed-address-file
437 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
438 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
439 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
443 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
444 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
446 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
447 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
448 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
449 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
450 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
451 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
452 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
453 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
454 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
455 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
456 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
459 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
461 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
462 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
463 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
464 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
465 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
466 to-address group parameter.) The function
467 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
468 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
469 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
470 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
472 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
473 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
475 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
476 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
477 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
478 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
482 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
483 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
486 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
489 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
493 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
494 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
501 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
502 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
503 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
504 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
505 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
506 * IDNA:: Non-ASCII domain name considerations.
507 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
508 * Various Commands:: Various things.
509 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
510 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
511 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
516 @section Buffer Entry
520 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
521 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
522 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
523 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
524 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
525 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
526 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
527 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
530 @node Header Commands
531 @section Header Commands
533 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
535 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
536 exist, it will be inserted.
542 @findex describe-mode
543 Describe the message mode.
547 @findex message-goto-to
548 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
552 @findex message-goto-from
553 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
554 in the key binding is for Originator.)
558 @findex message-goto-bcc
559 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
563 @findex message-goto-fcc
564 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
568 @findex message-goto-cc
569 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
573 @findex message-goto-subject
574 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
578 @findex message-goto-reply-to
579 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
583 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
584 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
588 @findex message-goto-distribution
589 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
593 @findex message-goto-followup-to
594 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
598 @findex message-goto-keywords
599 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
603 @findex message-goto-summary
604 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
608 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
609 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
610 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
611 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
612 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
613 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
617 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
618 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
619 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
620 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
621 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
622 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
623 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
624 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
625 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
627 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-nil, the addresses in
628 the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the @samp{Mail-Followup-To:}
633 @subsection Commands to change headers
639 @findex message-sort-headers
640 @vindex message-header-format-alist
641 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
642 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
646 @findex message-insert-to
647 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
648 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
649 (@code{message-insert-to}).
653 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
654 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
655 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
656 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
660 @findex message-to-list-only
661 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
662 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
666 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
667 Insert a request for a disposition
668 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
669 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
670 notification that she received the message.
672 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
673 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
674 @findex message-insert-importance-high
676 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
677 deleting headers if necessary.
679 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
680 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
681 @findex message-insert-importance-low
683 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
684 headers if necessary.
688 @findex message-change-subject
690 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
691 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
692 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
693 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
697 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
698 @vindex message-cross-post-default
701 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
702 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
703 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
704 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
705 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
710 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
711 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
716 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
717 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
722 @findex message-add-archive-header
723 @vindex message-archive-header
724 @vindex message-archive-note
726 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
727 The header and the note can be customized using
728 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
729 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
730 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
742 @findex message-goto-body
743 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
744 (@code{message-goto-body}).
748 @findex message-goto-signature
749 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
753 @findex message-beginning-of-line
754 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
755 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
756 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
757 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
758 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
770 @findex message-yank-original
771 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
772 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
773 (@code{message-yank-original}).
777 @findex message-yank-buffer
778 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
779 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
783 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
784 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
785 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
786 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
787 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
792 @findex message-insert-signature
793 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
794 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
798 @findex message-insert-headers
799 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
803 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
804 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
805 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
809 @findex message-mark-insert-file
810 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
811 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
823 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
824 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
825 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
826 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
828 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
829 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
830 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
831 name and a @sc{mime} type.
833 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
834 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
840 @cindex internationalized domain names
841 @cindex non-ascii domain names
843 Message is a @sc{idna}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
844 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{idna} happen---Message
845 will encode non-ASCII domain names in @code{From}, @code{To}, and
846 @code{Cc} headers automatically.
848 Until IDNA becomes more well known, Message queries you whether IDNA
849 encoding of the domain name really should occur. Some users might not
850 be aware that domain names can contain non-ASCII now, so this gives
851 them a safety net if they accidently typed a non-ASCII domain name.
853 @vindex message-use-idna
854 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @sc{idna} is
855 used. If the variable is @sc{nil} no IDNA encoding will ever happen,
856 if it is set to the symbol @sc{ask} the user will be queried (the
857 default), and if set to @sc{t} IDNA encoding happens automatically.
859 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
860 If you want to experiment with the IDNA encoding, you can invoke
861 @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer to have
862 the non-ASCII domain names encoded while you edit the message.
864 Note that you must have GNU Libidn
865 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/} installed in order to use
878 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
879 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
880 support PGP (RFC 1991), @sc{pgp/mime} (RFC 2015/3156) and @sc{s/mime}.
881 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
882 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
883 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
889 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
891 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
895 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
897 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
901 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
903 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
907 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
909 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
913 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
915 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
919 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
921 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
925 @findex mml-unsecure-message
926 Remove security related MML tags from message.
930 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
931 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
932 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
933 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
934 @sc{s/mime} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
935 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
936 encoded @sc{mime} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
937 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
938 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
939 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
940 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
942 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
943 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the ``signencrypt''
944 mode. If you would like to disable this for a particular message,
945 give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix argument. (for
946 example, @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}). Additionally, by default Gnus will
947 separately sign, then encrypt a message which has the mode
948 signencrypt. If you would like to change this behavior you can
949 customize the @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For
954 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" combined)
956 ("pgpmime" combined)))
959 Will cause Gnus to sign and encrypt in one pass, thus generating a
960 single signed and encrypted part. Note that combined sign and encrypt
961 does not work with all supported OpenPGP implementations (in
962 particular, PGP version 2 do not support this).
964 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
965 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
966 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
967 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
968 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
969 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
970 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
971 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
973 @emph{Note!} Neither @sc{pgp/mime} nor @sc{s/mime} encrypt/signs
974 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @sc{mime} object. Keep this
975 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
977 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
978 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
979 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
980 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
982 @subsection Using S/MIME
984 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
985 modern cryptography, @sc{s/mime}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
988 The @sc{s/mime} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
989 perform the actual @sc{s/mime} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
990 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
991 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
992 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @sc{mime}
993 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
994 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
995 @sc{s/mime} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
997 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
998 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
999 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
1000 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
1001 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
1002 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you
1003 chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is
1004 stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is
1005 the first mail agent in the world to support retrieving @sc{s/mime}
1006 certificates from DNS, so you're not likely to find very many
1007 certificates out there. At least there should be one, stored at the
1008 domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP is a more popular method of
1009 distributing certificates, support for it is planned. (Meanwhile, you
1010 can use @code{ldapsearch} from the command line to retrieve a
1011 certificate into a file and use it.)
1013 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
1014 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
1015 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
1016 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
1017 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
1018 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
1020 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
1021 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
1022 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
1023 and got a free @sc{s/mime} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1024 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1025 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1026 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1029 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1032 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1033 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1035 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
1036 care in handling it.
1038 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1040 @sc{pgp/mime} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
1041 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). One Emacs interface to
1042 OpenPGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), is
1043 included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el} are also
1046 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1047 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1048 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
1050 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
1051 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1053 @node Various Commands
1054 @section Various Commands
1060 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1061 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1062 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1063 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1064 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1068 @findex message-elide-region
1069 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1070 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1071 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1072 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1077 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1078 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1079 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1083 @findex message-delete-not-region
1084 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1085 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1089 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1090 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1095 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1098 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1101 > This is some quoted text.
1105 > And here's more quoted text.
1108 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1112 @findex message-rename-buffer
1113 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1114 prompt for a new buffer name.
1119 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1120 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1121 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1122 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1133 @findex message-send-and-exit
1134 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1135 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1139 @findex message-send
1140 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1144 @findex message-dont-send
1145 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1149 @findex message-kill-buffer
1150 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
1151 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
1152 message buffer. If the option
1153 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
1154 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
1155 the file after prompting to the user.
1159 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1160 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1161 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
1162 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
1163 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
1164 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
1171 @section Mail Aliases
1172 @cindex mail aliases
1175 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1176 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1177 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1178 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1179 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1181 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1182 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1185 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1186 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1189 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1190 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1191 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1193 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1194 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1200 @findex ispell-message
1202 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1203 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1204 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1205 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1206 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1207 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1210 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1213 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1214 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1215 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1218 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1219 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1220 (".*" . "default")))
1223 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1226 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1227 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1230 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1234 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1236 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1239 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1247 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1248 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1249 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1250 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1251 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1252 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1253 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1254 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1255 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1256 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1260 @node Message Headers
1261 @section Message Headers
1263 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1264 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1265 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1266 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1267 look sufficiently similar.
1271 @item message-generate-headers-first
1272 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1273 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1274 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1277 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1281 @vindex message-required-headers
1282 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1283 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1284 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1287 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1288 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1290 @item message-draft-headers
1291 @vindex message-draft-headers
1292 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1293 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1294 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1296 @item message-from-style
1297 @vindex message-from-style
1298 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1303 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1306 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1309 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1312 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1313 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1314 @code{angles} anyway.
1318 @item message-deletable-headers
1319 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1320 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1321 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1322 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1323 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1324 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1325 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1326 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1327 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1330 @item message-default-headers
1331 @vindex message-default-headers
1332 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1335 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1336 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1340 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1341 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1342 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1343 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1344 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1345 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1346 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1347 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1348 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1350 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1351 responding to a message:
1354 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1355 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\)")
1358 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1359 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1360 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1361 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1362 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1363 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1364 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1365 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1366 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1367 trailing old subject. In this case,
1368 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1370 @item message-alternative-emails
1371 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1372 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1373 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1375 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1376 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1377 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1378 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1379 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1380 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1386 @section Mail Headers
1389 @item message-required-mail-headers
1390 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1391 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1392 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1393 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1395 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1396 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1397 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1398 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1400 @item message-default-mail-headers
1401 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1402 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1403 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1408 @node Mail Variables
1409 @section Mail Variables
1412 @item message-send-mail-function
1413 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1414 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1415 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1416 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1417 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1418 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1419 @findex feedmail-send-it
1420 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1421 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1422 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1423 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1424 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1426 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1427 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1428 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1429 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1430 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1431 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1434 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1435 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1437 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1439 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1440 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1441 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1442 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1443 may also be a function.
1445 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1446 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1447 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1449 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1450 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1452 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1453 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1455 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1456 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1457 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1458 the address to use in the SMTP envelope. If it is @code{nil}, use
1459 @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol @code{header}, use the
1460 @samp{From} header of the message.
1462 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1463 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1464 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1465 body together. (This problem exists on Sunos 4 when sendmail is run
1466 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1467 the problem will actually occur.
1469 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1470 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1471 @cindex split large message
1472 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1473 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1474 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1480 @section News Headers
1482 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1483 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1484 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1485 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1491 @findex user-full-name
1492 @findex user-mail-address
1493 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1494 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1495 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1496 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1500 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1504 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1505 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1508 @cindex organization
1509 @vindex message-user-organization
1510 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1511 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1512 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1513 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1514 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1515 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1516 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1520 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1524 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1525 @vindex mail-host-address
1526 @vindex user-mail-address
1529 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1530 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1531 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. For the
1532 domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1533 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1534 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1535 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1539 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1540 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1543 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1544 header of the article being replied to.
1548 @vindex message-expires
1549 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1550 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1551 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1554 @cindex Distribution
1555 @vindex message-distribution-function
1556 This optional header is filled out according to the
1557 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1558 much misunderstood header.
1562 @vindex message-user-path
1563 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1564 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1565 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1566 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1567 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1568 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1569 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1573 @cindex Mime-Version
1574 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1575 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1576 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1577 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1578 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1579 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1580 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1581 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1582 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1584 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1585 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1588 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1589 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1593 (setq message-required-news-headers
1594 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1597 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1601 @item message-syntax-checks
1602 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1603 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1604 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1607 (signature . disabled)
1616 Check the subject for commands.
1619 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1620 @item multiple-headers
1621 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1624 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1626 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1628 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1631 Check for too long lines.
1633 Check for invalid characters.
1635 Check for excessive size.
1637 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1639 Check the length of the signature.
1642 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1643 something only moderators should include.
1645 Check whether the article is empty.
1646 @item invisible-text
1647 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1649 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1650 @item existing-newsgroups
1651 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1652 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1653 @item valid-newsgroups
1654 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1655 are valid syntactically.
1656 @item repeated-newsgroups
1657 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1658 contains repeated group names.
1659 @item shorten-followup-to
1660 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1661 of groups to post to.
1664 All these conditions are checked by default.
1666 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1667 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1668 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1669 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1671 @item message-default-news-headers
1672 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1673 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1674 buffers that are initialized as news.
1679 @node News Variables
1680 @section News Variables
1683 @item message-send-news-function
1684 @vindex message-send-news-function
1685 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1686 @code{message-send-news}.
1688 @item message-post-method
1689 @vindex message-post-method
1690 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1691 posting a prepared news message.
1696 @node Insertion Variables
1697 @section Insertion Variables
1700 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1701 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1702 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1703 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1706 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1707 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1708 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1710 @item message-citation-line-function
1711 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1712 @cindex attribution line
1713 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1714 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1718 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1721 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1724 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1725 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1726 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1727 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1728 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1730 @item message-yank-prefix
1731 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1734 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1735 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1736 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1737 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1738 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1741 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1742 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1746 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1747 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1748 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1749 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1751 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1752 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1754 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1755 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1756 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1757 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1758 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1760 @item message-list-references-add-position
1761 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1763 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1764 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1767 @item message-indentation-spaces
1768 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1769 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1771 @item message-cite-function
1772 @vindex message-cite-function
1773 @findex message-cite-original
1774 @findex sc-cite-original
1775 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1777 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1778 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1779 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1780 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1781 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1784 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1785 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1786 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1787 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1788 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1789 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1790 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1791 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1793 @item message-indent-citation-function
1794 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1795 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1796 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1797 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1798 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1800 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1801 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1802 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1804 @item message-mark-insert-end
1805 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1806 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1808 @item message-signature
1809 @vindex message-signature
1810 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1811 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1812 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1813 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1814 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1816 @item message-signature-file
1817 @vindex message-signature-file
1818 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1819 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1821 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1822 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1823 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1824 signature separator.
1828 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1829 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1830 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1831 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1832 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1834 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1835 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1836 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1839 @node Various Message Variables
1840 @section Various Message Variables
1843 @item message-default-charset
1844 @vindex message-default-charset
1846 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1847 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1848 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1850 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1851 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1852 translation process.
1854 @item message-signature-separator
1855 @vindex message-signature-separator
1856 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1859 @item mail-header-separator
1860 @vindex mail-header-separator
1861 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1862 follows this line--} by default.
1864 @item message-directory
1865 @vindex message-directory
1866 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1868 @item message-auto-save-directory
1869 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1870 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1871 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1873 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1874 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1875 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1876 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1878 @item message-setup-hook
1879 @vindex message-setup-hook
1880 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1881 but before yanked text is inserted.
1883 @item message-header-setup-hook
1884 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1885 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1887 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1888 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1889 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1892 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1893 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1894 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1895 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1896 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1897 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1899 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1900 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1903 @item message-send-hook
1904 @vindex message-send-hook
1905 Hook run before sending messages.
1907 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1908 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1909 @findex message-add-header
1912 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1913 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1914 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1915 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1918 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1920 @item message-send-mail-hook
1921 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1922 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1923 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1925 @item message-send-news-hook
1926 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1927 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1928 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1930 @item message-sent-hook
1931 @vindex message-sent-hook
1932 Hook run after sending messages.
1934 @item message-cancel-hook
1935 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1936 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1938 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1939 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1940 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1942 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1943 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1944 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1945 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1946 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1947 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1948 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1949 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1951 @item message-send-method-alist
1952 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1954 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1957 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1962 A symbol that names the method.
1965 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1966 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1969 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1970 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1974 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1975 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1984 @node Sending Variables
1985 @section Sending Variables
1989 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1990 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1991 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1992 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1993 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1995 @item message-courtesy-message
1996 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1997 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1998 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1999 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2000 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2001 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2002 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2004 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2005 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2006 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2007 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2009 @item message-interactive
2010 @vindex message-interactive
2011 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2012 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2017 @node Message Buffers
2018 @section Message Buffers
2020 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2021 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2022 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2023 message buffers are kept alive.
2026 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2027 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2028 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2029 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2030 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2031 The function should return the new buffer name.
2033 @item message-use-multi-frames
2034 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
2035 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
2037 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
2038 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
2039 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
2040 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
2041 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
2042 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
2045 @item message-max-buffers
2046 @vindex message-max-buffers
2047 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2048 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2049 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2050 will ever be killed.
2052 @item message-send-rename-function
2053 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2054 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2055 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2056 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2057 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2061 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2064 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2065 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2066 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2068 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
2069 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
2070 @findex message-kill-buffer
2071 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2072 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
2073 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
2074 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
2075 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
2076 buffer will be killed without query.
2078 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2079 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2080 @findex message-kill-buffer
2081 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2082 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
2083 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
2084 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
2085 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
2090 @node Message Actions
2091 @section Message Actions
2093 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2094 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2095 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2098 @vindex message-kill-actions
2099 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2100 @vindex message-exit-actions
2101 @vindex message-send-actions
2102 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2103 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2104 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2105 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2106 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2107 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2108 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2109 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2111 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2112 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2113 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2114 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2118 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2119 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2122 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2123 killed, postponed or exited.
2125 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2126 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2127 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2131 @chapter Compatibility
2132 @cindex compatibility
2134 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2135 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2136 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2139 (require 'messcompat)
2142 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2143 corresponding mail variables.
2150 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2157 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2162 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2163 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2164 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2175 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2176 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2177 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2178 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2182 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2189 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2190 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2191 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2195 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2196 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2207 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2208 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is