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{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
428 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-nil value. This
429 is how you would do it.
432 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
433 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
436 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
437 @item message-subscribed-address-file
438 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
439 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
440 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
444 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
445 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
447 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
448 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
449 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
450 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
451 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
452 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
453 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
454 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
455 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
456 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
457 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
460 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
462 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
463 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
464 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
465 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
466 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
467 to-address group parameter.) The function
468 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
469 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
470 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
471 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
473 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
474 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
476 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
477 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
478 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
479 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
483 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
484 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
487 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
490 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
494 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
495 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
502 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
503 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
504 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
505 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
506 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
507 * IDNA:: Non-ASCII domain name considerations.
508 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
509 * Various Commands:: Various things.
510 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
511 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
512 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
517 @section Buffer Entry
521 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
522 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
523 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
524 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
525 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
526 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
527 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
528 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
531 @node Header Commands
532 @section Header Commands
534 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
536 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
537 exist, it will be inserted.
543 @findex describe-mode
544 Describe the message mode.
548 @findex message-goto-to
549 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
553 @findex message-goto-from
554 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
555 in the key binding is for Originator.)
559 @findex message-goto-bcc
560 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
564 @findex message-goto-fcc
565 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
569 @findex message-goto-cc
570 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
574 @findex message-goto-subject
575 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
579 @findex message-goto-reply-to
580 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
584 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
585 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
589 @findex message-goto-distribution
590 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
594 @findex message-goto-followup-to
595 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
599 @findex message-goto-keywords
600 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
604 @findex message-goto-summary
605 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
609 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
610 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
611 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
612 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
613 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
614 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
618 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
619 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
620 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
621 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
622 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
623 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
624 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
625 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
626 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
628 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-nil, the addresses in
629 the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the @samp{Mail-Followup-To:}
634 @subsection Commands to change headers
640 @findex message-sort-headers
641 @vindex message-header-format-alist
642 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
643 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
647 @findex message-insert-to
648 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
649 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
650 (@code{message-insert-to}).
654 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
655 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
656 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
657 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
661 @findex message-to-list-only
662 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
663 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
667 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
668 Insert a request for a disposition
669 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
670 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
671 notification that she received the message.
673 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
674 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
675 @findex message-insert-importance-high
677 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
678 deleting headers if necessary.
680 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
681 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
682 @findex message-insert-importance-low
684 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
685 headers if necessary.
689 @findex message-change-subject
691 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
692 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
693 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
694 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
698 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
699 @vindex message-cross-post-default
702 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
703 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
704 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
705 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
706 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
711 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
712 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
717 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
718 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
723 @findex message-add-archive-header
724 @vindex message-archive-header
725 @vindex message-archive-note
727 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
728 The header and the note can be customized using
729 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
730 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
731 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
743 @findex message-goto-body
744 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
745 (@code{message-goto-body}).
749 @findex message-goto-signature
750 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
754 @findex message-beginning-of-line
755 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
756 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
757 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
758 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
759 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
771 @findex message-yank-original
772 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
773 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
774 (@code{message-yank-original}).
778 @findex message-yank-buffer
779 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
780 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
784 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
785 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
786 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
787 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
788 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
793 @findex message-insert-signature
794 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
795 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
799 @findex message-insert-headers
800 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
804 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
805 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
806 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
810 @findex message-mark-insert-file
811 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
812 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
824 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
825 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
826 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
827 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
829 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
830 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
831 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
832 name and a @sc{mime} type.
834 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
835 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
841 @cindex internationalized domain names
842 @cindex non-ascii domain names
844 Message is a @sc{idna}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
845 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{idna} happen---Message
846 will encode non-ASCII domain names in @code{From}, @code{To}, and
847 @code{Cc} headers automatically.
849 Until IDNA becomes more well known, Message queries you whether IDNA
850 encoding of the domain name really should occur. Some users might not
851 be aware that domain names can contain non-ASCII now, so this gives
852 them a safety net if they accidently typed a non-ASCII domain name.
854 @vindex message-use-idna
855 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @sc{idna} is
856 used. If the variable is @sc{nil} no IDNA encoding will ever happen,
857 if it is set to the symbol @sc{ask} the user will be queried (the
858 default), and if set to @sc{t} IDNA encoding happens automatically.
860 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
861 If you want to experiment with the IDNA encoding, you can invoke
862 @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer to have
863 the non-ASCII domain names encoded while you edit the message.
865 Note that you must have GNU Libidn
866 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/} installed in order to use
879 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
880 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
881 support PGP (RFC 1991), @sc{pgp/mime} (RFC 2015/3156) and @sc{s/mime}.
882 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
883 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
884 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
890 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
892 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
896 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
898 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
902 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
904 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
908 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
910 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
914 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
916 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
920 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
922 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
926 @findex mml-unsecure-message
927 Remove security related MML tags from message.
931 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
932 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
933 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
934 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
935 @sc{s/mime} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
936 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
937 encoded @sc{mime} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
938 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
939 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
940 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
941 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
943 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
944 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the ``signencrypt''
945 mode. If you would like to disable this for a particular message,
946 give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix argument. (for
947 example, @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}). Additionally, by default Gnus will
948 separately sign, then encrypt a message which has the mode
949 signencrypt. If you would like to change this behavior you can
950 customize the @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For
955 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" combined)
957 ("pgpmime" combined)))
960 Will cause Gnus to sign and encrypt in one pass, thus generating a
961 single signed and encrypted part. Note that combined sign and encrypt
962 does not work with all supported OpenPGP implementations (in
963 particular, PGP version 2 do not support this).
965 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
966 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
967 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
968 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
969 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
970 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
971 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
972 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
974 @emph{Note!} Neither @sc{pgp/mime} nor @sc{s/mime} encrypt/signs
975 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @sc{mime} object. Keep this
976 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
978 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
979 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
980 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
981 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
983 @subsection Using S/MIME
985 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
986 modern cryptography, @sc{s/mime}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
989 The @sc{s/mime} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
990 perform the actual @sc{s/mime} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
991 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
992 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
993 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @sc{mime}
994 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
995 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
996 @sc{s/mime} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
998 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
999 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
1000 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
1001 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
1002 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
1003 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you
1004 chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is
1005 stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is
1006 the first mail agent in the world to support retrieving @sc{s/mime}
1007 certificates from DNS, so you're not likely to find very many
1008 certificates out there. At least there should be one, stored at the
1009 domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP is a more popular method of
1010 distributing certificates, support for it is planned. (Meanwhile, you
1011 can use @code{ldapsearch} from the command line to retrieve a
1012 certificate into a file and use it.)
1014 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
1015 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
1016 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
1017 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
1018 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
1019 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
1021 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
1022 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
1023 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
1024 and got a free @sc{s/mime} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1025 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1026 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1027 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1030 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1033 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1034 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1036 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
1037 care in handling it.
1039 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1041 @sc{pgp/mime} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
1042 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). One Emacs interface to
1043 OpenPGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), is
1044 included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el} are also
1047 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1048 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1049 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
1051 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
1052 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1054 @node Various Commands
1055 @section Various Commands
1061 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1062 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1063 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1064 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1065 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1069 @findex message-elide-region
1070 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1071 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1072 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1073 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1078 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1079 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1080 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1084 @findex message-delete-not-region
1085 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1086 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1090 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1091 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1096 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1099 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1102 > This is some quoted text.
1106 > And here's more quoted text.
1109 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1113 @findex message-rename-buffer
1114 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1115 prompt for a new buffer name.
1120 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1121 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1122 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1123 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1134 @findex message-send-and-exit
1135 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1136 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1140 @findex message-send
1141 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1145 @findex message-dont-send
1146 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1150 @findex message-kill-buffer
1151 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
1152 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
1153 message buffer. If the option
1154 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
1155 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
1156 the file after prompting to the user.
1160 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1161 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1162 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
1163 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
1164 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
1165 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
1172 @section Mail Aliases
1173 @cindex mail aliases
1176 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1177 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1178 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1179 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1180 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1182 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1183 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1186 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1187 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1190 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1191 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1192 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1194 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1195 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1201 @findex ispell-message
1203 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1204 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1205 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1206 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1207 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1208 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1211 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1214 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1215 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1216 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1219 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1220 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1221 (".*" . "default")))
1224 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1227 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1228 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1231 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1235 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1237 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1240 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1248 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1249 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1250 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1251 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1252 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1253 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1254 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1255 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1256 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1257 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1261 @node Message Headers
1262 @section Message Headers
1264 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1265 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1266 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1267 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1268 look sufficiently similar.
1272 @item message-generate-headers-first
1273 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1274 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1275 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1278 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1282 @vindex message-required-headers
1283 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1284 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1285 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1288 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1289 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1291 @item message-draft-headers
1292 @vindex message-draft-headers
1293 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1294 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1295 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1297 @item message-from-style
1298 @vindex message-from-style
1299 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1304 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1307 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1310 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1313 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1314 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1315 @code{angles} anyway.
1319 @item message-deletable-headers
1320 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1321 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1322 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1323 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1324 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1325 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1326 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1327 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1328 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1331 @item message-default-headers
1332 @vindex message-default-headers
1333 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1336 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1337 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1341 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1342 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1343 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1344 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1345 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1346 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1347 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1348 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1349 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1351 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1352 responding to a message:
1355 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1356 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\)")
1359 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1360 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1361 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1362 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1363 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1364 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1365 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1366 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1367 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1368 trailing old subject. In this case,
1369 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1371 @item message-alternative-emails
1372 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1373 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1374 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1376 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1377 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1378 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1379 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1380 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1381 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1387 @section Mail Headers
1390 @item message-required-mail-headers
1391 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1392 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1393 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1394 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1396 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1397 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1398 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1399 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1401 @item message-default-mail-headers
1402 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1403 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1404 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1409 @node Mail Variables
1410 @section Mail Variables
1413 @item message-send-mail-function
1414 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1415 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1416 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1417 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1418 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1419 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1420 @findex feedmail-send-it
1421 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1422 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1423 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1424 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1425 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1427 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1428 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1429 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1430 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1431 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1432 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1435 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1436 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1438 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1440 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1441 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1442 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1443 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1444 may also be a function.
1446 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1447 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1448 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1450 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1451 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1453 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1454 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1456 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1457 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1458 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1459 the address to use in the SMTP envelope. If it is @code{nil}, use
1460 @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol @code{header}, use the
1461 @samp{From} header of the message.
1463 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1464 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1465 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1466 body together. (This problem exists on Sunos 4 when sendmail is run
1467 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1468 the problem will actually occur.
1470 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1471 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1472 @cindex split large message
1473 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1474 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1475 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1481 @section News Headers
1483 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1484 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1485 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1486 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1492 @findex user-full-name
1493 @findex user-mail-address
1494 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1495 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1496 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1497 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1501 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1505 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1506 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1509 @cindex organization
1510 @vindex message-user-organization
1511 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1512 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1513 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1514 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1515 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1516 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1517 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1521 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1525 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1526 @vindex mail-host-address
1527 @vindex user-mail-address
1530 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1531 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1532 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. For the
1533 domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1534 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1535 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1536 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1540 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1541 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1544 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1545 header of the article being replied to.
1549 @vindex message-expires
1550 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1551 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1552 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1555 @cindex Distribution
1556 @vindex message-distribution-function
1557 This optional header is filled out according to the
1558 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1559 much misunderstood header.
1563 @vindex message-user-path
1564 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1565 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1566 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1567 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1568 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1569 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1570 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1574 @cindex Mime-Version
1575 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1576 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1577 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1578 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1579 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1580 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1581 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1582 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1583 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1585 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1586 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1589 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1590 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1594 (setq message-required-news-headers
1595 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1598 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1602 @item message-syntax-checks
1603 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1604 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1605 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1608 (signature . disabled)
1617 Check the subject for commands.
1620 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1621 @item multiple-headers
1622 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1625 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1627 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1629 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1632 Check for too long lines.
1634 Check for invalid characters.
1636 Check for excessive size.
1638 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1640 Check the length of the signature.
1643 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1644 something only moderators should include.
1646 Check whether the article is empty.
1647 @item invisible-text
1648 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1650 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1651 @item existing-newsgroups
1652 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1653 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1654 @item valid-newsgroups
1655 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1656 are valid syntactically.
1657 @item repeated-newsgroups
1658 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1659 contains repeated group names.
1660 @item shorten-followup-to
1661 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1662 of groups to post to.
1665 All these conditions are checked by default.
1667 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1668 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1669 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1670 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1672 @item message-default-news-headers
1673 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1674 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1675 buffers that are initialized as news.
1680 @node News Variables
1681 @section News Variables
1684 @item message-send-news-function
1685 @vindex message-send-news-function
1686 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1687 @code{message-send-news}.
1689 @item message-post-method
1690 @vindex message-post-method
1691 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1692 posting a prepared news message.
1697 @node Insertion Variables
1698 @section Insertion Variables
1701 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1702 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1703 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1704 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1707 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1708 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1709 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1711 @item message-citation-line-function
1712 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1713 @cindex attribution line
1714 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1715 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1719 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1722 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1725 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1726 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1727 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1728 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1729 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1731 @item message-yank-prefix
1732 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1735 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1736 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1737 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1738 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1739 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1742 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1743 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1747 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1748 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1749 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1750 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1752 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1753 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1755 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1756 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1757 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1758 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1759 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1761 @item message-list-references-add-position
1762 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1764 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1765 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1768 @item message-indentation-spaces
1769 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1770 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1772 @item message-cite-function
1773 @vindex message-cite-function
1774 @findex message-cite-original
1775 @findex sc-cite-original
1776 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1778 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1779 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1780 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1781 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1782 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1785 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1786 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1787 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1788 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1789 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1790 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1791 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1792 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1794 @item message-indent-citation-function
1795 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1796 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1797 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1798 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1799 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1801 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1802 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1803 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1805 @item message-mark-insert-end
1806 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1807 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1809 @item message-signature
1810 @vindex message-signature
1811 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1812 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1813 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1814 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1815 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1817 @item message-signature-file
1818 @vindex message-signature-file
1819 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1820 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1822 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1823 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1824 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1825 signature separator.
1829 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1830 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1831 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1832 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1833 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1835 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1836 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1837 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1840 @node Various Message Variables
1841 @section Various Message Variables
1844 @item message-default-charset
1845 @vindex message-default-charset
1847 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1848 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1849 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1851 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1852 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1853 translation process.
1855 @item message-signature-separator
1856 @vindex message-signature-separator
1857 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1860 @item mail-header-separator
1861 @vindex mail-header-separator
1862 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1863 follows this line--} by default.
1865 @item message-directory
1866 @vindex message-directory
1867 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1869 @item message-auto-save-directory
1870 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1871 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1872 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1874 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1875 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1876 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1877 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1879 @item message-setup-hook
1880 @vindex message-setup-hook
1881 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1882 but before yanked text is inserted.
1884 @item message-header-setup-hook
1885 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1886 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1888 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1889 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1890 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1893 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1894 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1895 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1896 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1897 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1898 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1900 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1901 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1904 @item message-send-hook
1905 @vindex message-send-hook
1906 Hook run before sending messages.
1908 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1909 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1910 @findex message-add-header
1913 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1914 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1915 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1916 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1919 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1921 @item message-send-mail-hook
1922 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1923 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1924 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1926 @item message-send-news-hook
1927 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1928 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1929 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1931 @item message-sent-hook
1932 @vindex message-sent-hook
1933 Hook run after sending messages.
1935 @item message-cancel-hook
1936 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1937 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1939 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1940 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1941 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1943 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1944 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1945 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1946 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1947 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1948 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1949 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1950 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1952 @item message-send-method-alist
1953 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1955 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1958 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1963 A symbol that names the method.
1966 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1967 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1970 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1971 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1975 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1976 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1985 @node Sending Variables
1986 @section Sending Variables
1990 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1991 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1992 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1993 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1994 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1996 @item message-courtesy-message
1997 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1998 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1999 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
2000 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2001 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2002 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2003 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2005 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2006 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2007 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2008 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2010 @item message-interactive
2011 @vindex message-interactive
2012 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2013 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2018 @node Message Buffers
2019 @section Message Buffers
2021 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2022 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2023 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2024 message buffers are kept alive.
2027 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2028 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2029 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2030 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2031 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2032 The function should return the new buffer name.
2034 @item message-use-multi-frames
2035 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
2036 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
2038 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
2039 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
2040 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
2041 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
2042 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
2043 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
2046 @item message-max-buffers
2047 @vindex message-max-buffers
2048 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2049 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2050 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2051 will ever be killed.
2053 @item message-send-rename-function
2054 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2055 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2056 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2057 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2058 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2062 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2065 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2066 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2067 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2069 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
2070 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
2071 @findex message-kill-buffer
2072 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2073 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
2074 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
2075 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
2076 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
2077 buffer will be killed without query.
2079 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2080 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2081 @findex message-kill-buffer
2082 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2083 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
2084 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
2085 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
2086 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
2091 @node Message Actions
2092 @section Message Actions
2094 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2095 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2096 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2099 @vindex message-kill-actions
2100 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2101 @vindex message-exit-actions
2102 @vindex message-send-actions
2103 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2104 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2105 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2106 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2107 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2108 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2109 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2110 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2112 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2113 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2114 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2115 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2119 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2120 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2123 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2124 killed, postponed or exited.
2126 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2127 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2128 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2132 @chapter Compatibility
2133 @cindex compatibility
2135 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2136 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2137 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2140 (require 'messcompat)
2143 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2144 corresponding mail variables.
2151 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2158 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2163 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2164 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2165 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2176 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2177 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2178 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2179 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2183 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2190 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2191 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2192 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2196 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2197 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2208 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2209 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is