1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
24 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
25 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
26 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
27 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
28 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
29 License'' in the Emacs manual.
31 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
32 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
33 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
35 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
36 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
37 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
38 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
44 @title T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
51 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
54 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
55 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
56 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
57 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
58 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
59 License'' in the Emacs manual.
61 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
62 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
63 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
65 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
66 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
67 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
68 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
77 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
81 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
82 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
83 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
84 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
85 * Appendices:: More technical things.
86 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
87 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
90 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15 Message. Message is distributed
91 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
98 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
99 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
100 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
101 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
102 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
106 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
107 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
108 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
109 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
110 * Followup:: Following up via news.
111 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
112 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
113 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
114 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
115 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
116 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
120 @node New Mail Message
121 @section New Mail Message
124 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
126 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
127 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
128 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
131 @node New News Message
132 @section New News Message
135 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
137 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
138 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
139 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
145 @findex message-reply
146 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
147 reply to the message in the current buffer.
149 @vindex message-reply-to-function
150 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
151 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
152 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
154 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
155 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
158 (setq message-reply-to-function
160 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
161 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
166 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
169 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
170 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
171 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
174 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
175 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
176 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
177 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
178 the head of the outgoing mail.
184 @findex message-wide-reply
185 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
186 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
187 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
188 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
190 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
191 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
192 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
193 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
194 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
196 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
197 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
198 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
200 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
201 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
202 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
203 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
208 @findex message-followup
209 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
210 followup to the message in the current buffer.
212 @vindex message-followup-to-function
213 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
214 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
215 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
216 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
218 @vindex message-use-followup-to
219 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
220 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
221 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
222 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
223 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
227 @section Canceling News
229 @findex message-cancel-news
230 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
233 @vindex message-cancel-message
234 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
235 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
242 @findex message-supersede
243 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
244 supersede the message in the current buffer.
246 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
247 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
248 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
249 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
250 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
257 @findex message-forward
258 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
259 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
263 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
264 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
265 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
267 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
268 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
269 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
270 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
271 passed into each successive function.
273 The provided functions are:
276 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
277 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
278 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
281 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
282 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
285 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
286 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
287 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
288 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
289 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
290 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
292 @item message-forward-as-mime
293 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
294 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
295 included as inline @sc{mime} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
296 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
297 non @sc{mime}-savvy versions of gnus would do.
299 @item message-forward-before-signature
300 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
301 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
309 @findex message-resend
310 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
311 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
313 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
314 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
315 be removed before sending the message. The default is
316 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
322 @findex message-bounce
323 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
324 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
325 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
326 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
329 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
330 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
331 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
332 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
336 @section Mailing Lists
338 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
339 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
340 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
345 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
346 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
347 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
350 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
351 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
352 is not subscribed to the list.
355 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
356 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
357 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
358 and very difficult to follow.
362 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
363 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
364 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
367 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
368 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
371 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
372 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
374 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
375 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
376 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
377 way. The following variables would come in handy.
381 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
382 @item message-subscribed-addresses
383 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
384 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
386 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
387 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
390 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
391 @item message-subscribed-regexps
392 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
393 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
394 want to achieve the same result as above:
396 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
397 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
400 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
401 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
402 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
403 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
404 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
406 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
407 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
408 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
409 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{(gnus)subscribed})
410 group parameter set to a non-nil value. This is how you would do it.
413 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
414 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
417 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
418 @item message-subscribed-address-file
419 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
420 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
421 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
425 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
426 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
428 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
429 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
430 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
431 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
432 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
433 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
434 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
435 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
436 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
437 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
438 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
441 @findex message-gen-unsubscribed-mft
443 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
444 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
445 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.''
446 (This is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there
447 were no MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone
448 else's to-address group parameter.) The function
449 @code{message-gen-unsubscribed-mft} might come in handy. It is bound
450 to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you can insert a MFT of
451 your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
452 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
454 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
455 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
457 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
458 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
459 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
460 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
464 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
465 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
468 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
471 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
475 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
476 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
483 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
484 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
485 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
486 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
487 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
488 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
489 * Various Commands:: Various things.
490 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
491 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
492 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
497 @section Buffer Entry
501 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
502 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
503 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
504 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
505 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
506 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
507 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
508 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
511 @node Header Commands
512 @section Header Commands
514 All these commands move to the header in question (except for the
515 @samp{Importance:} related commands). If it doesn't exist, it will be
522 @findex describe-mode
523 Describe the message mode.
527 @findex message-goto-to
528 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
532 @findex message-goto-from
533 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
534 in the key binding is for Originator.)
538 @findex message-goto-bcc
539 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
543 @findex message-goto-fcc
544 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
548 @findex message-goto-cc
549 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
553 @findex message-goto-subject
554 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
558 @findex message-goto-reply-to
559 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
563 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
564 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
568 @findex message-goto-distribution
569 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
573 @findex message-goto-followup-to
574 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
578 @findex message-goto-keywords
579 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
583 @findex message-goto-summary
584 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
588 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
589 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
590 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
591 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
592 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
593 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
595 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
596 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
597 @findex message-insert-importance-high
598 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{high},
599 deleting headers if necessary.
601 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
602 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
603 @findex message-insert-importance-low
604 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{low},
605 deleting headers if necessary.
616 @findex message-goto-body
617 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
618 (@code{message-goto-body}).
622 @findex message-goto-signature
623 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
627 @findex message-beginning-of-line
628 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
629 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
630 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
631 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
632 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
644 @findex message-yank-original
645 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
646 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
647 (@code{message-yank-original}).
651 @findex message-yank-buffer
652 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
653 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
657 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
658 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
659 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
660 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
661 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
666 @findex message-insert-signature
667 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
668 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
672 @findex message-insert-headers
673 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
677 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
678 Insert a request for a disposition
679 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
680 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
681 notification that she received the message.
693 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
694 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
695 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
696 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
698 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
699 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
700 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
701 name and a @sc{mime} type.
703 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
704 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
717 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
718 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
719 support PGP (RFC 1991), @sc{pgp/mime} (RFC 2015/3156) and @sc{s/mime}.
720 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
721 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
722 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
728 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
730 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
734 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
736 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
740 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
742 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
746 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
748 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
752 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
754 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
758 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
760 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
764 @findex mml-unsecure-message
765 Remove security related MML tags from message.
769 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
770 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
771 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
772 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
773 @sc{s/mime} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
774 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
775 encoded @sc{mime} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
776 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
777 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
778 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
779 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
781 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
782 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the "signencrypt"
783 mode. If you would like to disable this for a particular message,
784 give the mml-secure-message-encrypt-* command a prefix argument. (for
785 example, C-u C-c C-m c p). Additionally, by default Gnus will
786 separately sign, then encrypt a message which has the mode
787 signencrypt. If you would like to change this behavior you can
788 customize the @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For
793 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" combined)
795 ("pgpmime" combined)))
798 Will cause Gnus to sign and encrypt in one pass, thus generating a
799 single signed and encrypted part. Note that combined sign and encrypt
800 does not work with all supported OpenPGP implementations (in
801 particular, PGP version 2 do not support this).
803 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
804 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
805 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
806 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
807 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
808 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
809 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
810 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
812 @emph{Note!} Neither @sc{pgp/mime} nor @sc{s/mime} encrypt/signs
813 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @sc{mime} object. Keep this
814 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
816 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
817 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
818 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
819 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
821 @subsection Using S/MIME
823 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
824 modern cryptography, @sc{s/mime}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
827 The @sc{s/mime} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
828 perform the actual @sc{s/mime} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
829 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
830 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
831 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @sc{mime}
832 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
833 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
834 @sc{s/mime} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
836 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
837 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
838 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
839 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
840 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
841 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you
842 chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is
843 stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is
844 the first mail agent in the world to support retrieving @sc{s/mime}
845 certificates from DNS, so you're not likely to find very many
846 certificates out there. At least there should be one, stored at the
847 domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP is a more popular method of
848 distributing certificates, support for it is planned. (Meanwhile, you
849 can use @code{ldapsearch} from the command line to retrieve a
850 certificate into a file and use it.)
852 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
853 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
854 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
855 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
856 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
857 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
859 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
860 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
861 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
862 and got a free @sc{s/mime} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
863 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
864 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
865 certificate in PEM format as follows.
868 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
871 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
872 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
874 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
877 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
879 @sc{pgp/mime} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
880 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an
881 Emacs interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
882 @uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
883 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
885 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
886 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
887 path specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
889 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
890 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
892 @node Various Commands
893 @section Various Commands
899 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
900 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
901 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
902 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
903 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
907 @findex message-elide-region
908 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
909 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
910 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
911 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
916 @findex message-kill-to-signature
917 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
918 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
922 @findex message-delete-not-region
923 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
924 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
928 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
929 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
934 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
937 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
940 > This is some quoted text.
944 > And here's more quoted text.
947 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
951 @findex message-insert-to
952 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
953 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
954 (@code{message-insert-to}).
958 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
959 Insert @code{To} and @code{Cc} headers that contains addresses as if
960 you were doing a wide reply to the original message
961 (@code{message-insert-wide-reply}). This usually means that all
962 addresses from @code{To}, @code{From}/@code{Reply-To}, and @code{Cc}
967 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
968 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
969 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
970 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
974 @findex message-sort-headers
975 @vindex message-header-format-alist
976 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
977 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
981 @findex message-rename-buffer
982 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
983 prompt for a new buffer name.
988 @vindex message-tab-body-function
989 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
990 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
991 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1002 @findex message-send-and-exit
1003 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1004 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1008 @findex message-send
1009 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1013 @findex message-dont-send
1014 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1018 @findex message-kill-buffer
1019 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
1020 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
1021 message buffer. If the option
1022 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
1023 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
1024 the file after prompting to the user.
1028 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1029 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1030 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
1031 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
1032 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
1033 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
1040 @section Mail Aliases
1041 @cindex mail aliases
1044 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1045 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1046 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1047 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1048 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1050 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1051 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1054 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1055 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1058 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1059 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1060 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1062 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1063 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1069 @findex ispell-message
1071 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1072 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1073 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1074 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1075 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1076 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1079 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1082 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1083 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1084 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1087 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1088 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1089 (".*" . "default")))
1092 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1095 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1096 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1099 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1103 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1105 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1108 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1116 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1117 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1118 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1119 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1120 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1121 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1122 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1123 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1124 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1125 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1129 @node Message Headers
1130 @section Message Headers
1132 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1133 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1134 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1135 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1136 look sufficiently similar.
1140 @item message-generate-headers-first
1141 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1142 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1143 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1146 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1150 @vindex message-required-headers
1151 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1152 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1153 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1156 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1157 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1159 @item message-draft-headers
1160 @vindex message-draft-headers
1161 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1162 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1163 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1165 @item message-from-style
1166 @vindex message-from-style
1167 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1172 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1175 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1178 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1181 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1182 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1183 @code{angles} anyway.
1187 @item message-deletable-headers
1188 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1189 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1190 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1191 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1192 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1193 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1194 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1195 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1196 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1199 @item message-default-headers
1200 @vindex message-default-headers
1201 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1204 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1205 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1209 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1210 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1211 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1212 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1213 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1214 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1215 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1216 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1217 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1219 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1220 responding to a message:
1223 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1224 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\)")
1227 @item message-alternative-emails
1228 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1229 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1230 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1232 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1233 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1234 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1235 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1236 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1237 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1243 @section Mail Headers
1246 @item message-required-mail-headers
1247 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1248 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1249 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1250 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1252 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1253 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1254 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1255 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1257 @item message-default-mail-headers
1258 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1259 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1260 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1265 @node Mail Variables
1266 @section Mail Variables
1269 @item message-send-mail-function
1270 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1271 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1272 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1273 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1274 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1275 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1276 @findex feedmail-send-it
1277 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1278 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1279 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1280 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1281 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1283 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1284 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1285 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1286 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1287 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1288 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1291 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1292 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1294 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1296 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1297 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1298 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1299 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1300 may also be a function.
1302 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1303 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1304 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1306 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1307 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1309 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1310 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1312 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1313 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1314 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1315 body together. (This problem exists on Sunos 4 when sendmail is run
1316 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1317 the problem will actually occur.
1319 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1320 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1321 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1322 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1323 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1329 @section News Headers
1331 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1332 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1333 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1334 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1340 @findex user-full-name
1341 @findex user-mail-address
1342 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1343 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1344 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1345 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1349 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1353 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1354 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1357 @cindex organization
1358 @vindex message-user-organization
1359 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1360 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1361 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1362 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1363 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1364 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1365 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1369 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1373 @vindex mail-host-address
1376 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1377 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1378 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1379 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1380 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1384 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1385 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1388 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1389 header of the article being replied to.
1393 @vindex message-expires
1394 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1395 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1396 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1399 @cindex Distribution
1400 @vindex message-distribution-function
1401 This optional header is filled out according to the
1402 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1403 much misunderstood header.
1407 @vindex message-user-path
1408 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1409 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1410 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1411 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1412 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1413 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1414 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1418 @cindex Mime-Version
1419 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1420 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1421 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1422 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1423 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1424 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1425 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1426 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1427 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1429 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1430 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1433 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1434 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1438 (setq message-required-news-headers
1439 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1442 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1446 @item message-syntax-checks
1447 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1448 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1449 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1452 (signature . disabled)
1461 Check the subject for commands.
1464 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1465 @item multiple-headers
1466 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1469 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1471 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1473 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1476 Check for too long lines.
1478 Check for invalid characters.
1480 Check for excessive size.
1482 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1484 Check the length of the signature.
1487 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1488 something only moderators should include.
1490 Check whether the article is empty.
1491 @item invisible-text
1492 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1494 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1495 @item existing-newsgroups
1496 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1497 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1498 @item valid-newsgroups
1499 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1500 are valid syntactically.
1501 @item repeated-newsgroups
1502 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1503 contains repeated group names.
1504 @item shorten-followup-to
1505 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1506 of groups to post to.
1509 All these conditions are checked by default.
1511 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1512 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1513 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1514 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1516 @item message-default-news-headers
1517 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1518 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1519 buffers that are initialized as news.
1524 @node News Variables
1525 @section News Variables
1528 @item message-send-news-function
1529 @vindex message-send-news-function
1530 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1531 @code{message-send-news}.
1533 @item message-post-method
1534 @vindex message-post-method
1535 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1536 posting a prepared news message.
1541 @node Insertion Variables
1542 @section Insertion Variables
1545 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1546 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1547 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1548 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1551 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1552 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1553 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1555 @item message-citation-line-function
1556 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1557 @cindex attribution line
1558 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1559 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1563 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1566 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1569 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1570 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1571 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1572 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1573 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1575 @item message-yank-prefix
1576 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1579 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1580 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1581 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1582 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1583 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1586 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1587 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1591 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1592 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1593 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1594 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1596 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1597 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1599 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1600 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1601 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1602 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1603 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1605 @item message-list-references-add-position
1606 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1608 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1609 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1612 @item message-indentation-spaces
1613 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1614 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1616 @item message-cite-function
1617 @vindex message-cite-function
1618 @findex message-cite-original
1619 @findex sc-cite-original
1620 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1622 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1623 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1624 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1625 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1626 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1629 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1630 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1631 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1632 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1633 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1634 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1635 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1636 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1638 @item message-indent-citation-function
1639 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1640 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1641 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1642 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1643 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1645 @item message-signature
1646 @vindex message-signature
1647 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1648 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1649 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1650 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1651 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1653 @item message-signature-file
1654 @vindex message-signature-file
1655 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1656 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1658 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1659 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1660 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1661 signature separator.
1665 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1666 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1667 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1668 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1669 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1671 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1672 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1673 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1676 @node Various Message Variables
1677 @section Various Message Variables
1680 @item message-default-charset
1681 @vindex message-default-charset
1683 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1684 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1685 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1687 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1688 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1689 translation process.
1691 @item message-signature-separator
1692 @vindex message-signature-separator
1693 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1696 @item mail-header-separator
1697 @vindex mail-header-separator
1698 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1699 follows this line--} by default.
1701 @item message-directory
1702 @vindex message-directory
1703 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1705 @item message-auto-save-directory
1706 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1707 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1708 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1710 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1711 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1712 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1713 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1715 @item message-setup-hook
1716 @vindex message-setup-hook
1717 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1718 but before yanked text is inserted.
1720 @item message-header-setup-hook
1721 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1722 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1724 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1725 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1726 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1729 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1730 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1731 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1732 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1733 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1734 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1736 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1737 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1740 @item message-send-hook
1741 @vindex message-send-hook
1742 Hook run before sending messages.
1744 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1745 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1746 @findex message-add-header
1749 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1750 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1751 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1752 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1755 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1757 @item message-send-mail-hook
1758 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1759 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1761 @item message-send-news-hook
1762 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1763 Hook run before sending news messages.
1765 @item message-sent-hook
1766 @vindex message-sent-hook
1767 Hook run after sending messages.
1769 @item message-cancel-hook
1770 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1771 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1773 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1774 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1775 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1777 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1778 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1779 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1780 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1781 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1782 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1783 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1784 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1786 @item message-send-method-alist
1787 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1789 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1792 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1797 A symbol that names the method.
1800 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1801 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1804 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1805 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1809 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1810 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1819 @node Sending Variables
1820 @section Sending Variables
1824 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1825 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1826 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1827 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1828 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1830 @item message-courtesy-message
1831 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1832 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1833 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1834 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1835 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1836 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1837 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1839 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1840 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1841 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
1842 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
1844 @item message-interactive
1845 @vindex message-interactive
1846 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
1847 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
1852 @node Message Buffers
1853 @section Message Buffers
1855 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1856 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1857 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1858 message buffers are kept alive.
1861 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1862 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1863 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1864 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1865 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1866 The function should return the new buffer name.
1868 @item message-use-multi-frames
1869 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1870 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1872 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1873 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1874 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1875 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1876 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1877 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1880 @item message-max-buffers
1881 @vindex message-max-buffers
1882 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1883 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1884 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1885 will ever be killed.
1887 @item message-send-rename-function
1888 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1889 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1890 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1891 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1892 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1896 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1899 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1900 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1901 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1903 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
1904 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
1905 @findex message-kill-buffer
1906 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1907 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
1908 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
1909 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
1910 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
1911 buffer will be killed without query.
1913 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1914 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1915 @findex message-kill-buffer
1916 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1917 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
1918 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
1919 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
1920 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
1925 @node Message Actions
1926 @section Message Actions
1928 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1929 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1930 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1933 @vindex message-kill-actions
1934 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1935 @vindex message-exit-actions
1936 @vindex message-send-actions
1937 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1938 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1939 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1940 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1941 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1942 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1943 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1944 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1946 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1947 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1948 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1949 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1953 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1954 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1957 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1958 killed, postponed or exited.
1960 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1961 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1962 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1966 @chapter Compatibility
1967 @cindex compatibility
1969 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1970 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1971 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1974 (require 'messcompat)
1977 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1978 corresponding mail variables.
1985 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1992 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1997 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1998 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1999 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2010 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2011 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2012 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2013 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2017 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2024 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2025 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2026 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2030 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2031 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2042 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2043 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is