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 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
629 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
642 @findex message-yank-original
643 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
644 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
645 (@code{message-yank-original}).
649 @findex message-yank-buffer
650 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
651 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
655 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
656 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
657 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
658 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
659 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
664 @findex message-insert-signature
665 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
666 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
670 @findex message-insert-headers
671 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
675 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
676 Insert a request for a disposition
677 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
678 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
679 notification that she received the message.
691 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
692 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
693 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
694 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
696 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
697 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
698 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
699 name and a @sc{mime} type.
701 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
702 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
715 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
716 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
717 support PGP (RFC 1991), @sc{pgp/mime} (RFC 2015/3156) and @sc{s/mime}.
718 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
719 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
720 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
726 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
728 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
732 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
734 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
738 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
740 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
744 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
746 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
750 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
752 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
756 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
758 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
762 @findex mml-unsecure-message
763 Remove security related MML tags from message.
767 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
768 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
769 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
770 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
771 @sc{s/mime} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
772 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
773 encoded @sc{mime} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
774 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
775 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
776 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
777 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
779 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the "signencrypt"
780 mode. If you would like to disable this for a particular message,
781 give the mml-secure-message-encrypt-* command a prefix argument. (for
782 example, C-u C-c C-m c p). Additionally, by default Gnus will
783 separately sign, then encrypt a message which has the mode
784 signencrypt. If you would like to change this behavior use the
785 @code{mml-signencrypt-style} function. For example
787 @code{(mml-signencrypt-style "pgpmime" 'combined)}
789 Will cause Gnus to sign and encrypt in one pass, thus generating a
790 single signed and encrypted part.
792 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
793 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
794 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
795 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
796 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
797 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
798 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
799 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
801 @emph{Note!} Neither @sc{pgp/mime} nor @sc{s/mime} encrypt/signs
802 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @sc{mime} object. Keep this
803 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
805 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
806 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
807 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
808 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
810 @subsection Using S/MIME
812 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
813 modern cryptography, @sc{s/mime}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
816 The @sc{s/mime} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
817 perform the actual @sc{s/mime} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
818 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
819 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
820 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @sc{mime}
821 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
822 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
823 @sc{s/mime} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
825 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
826 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
827 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
828 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
829 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
830 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you
831 chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is
832 stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is
833 the first mail agent in the world to support retrieving @sc{s/mime}
834 certificates from DNS, so you're not likely to find very many
835 certificates out there. At least there should be one, stored at the
836 domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP is a more popular method of
837 distributing certificates, support for it is planned. (Meanwhile, you
838 can use @code{ldapsearch} from the command line to retrieve a
839 certificate into a file and use it.)
841 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
842 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
843 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
844 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
845 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
846 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
848 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
849 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
850 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
851 and got a free @sc{s/mime} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
852 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
853 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
854 certificate in PEM format as follows.
857 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
860 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
861 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
863 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
866 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
868 @sc{pgp/mime} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
869 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an
870 Emacs interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
871 @uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
872 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
874 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
875 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
876 path specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
878 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
879 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
881 @node Various Commands
882 @section Various Commands
888 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
889 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
890 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
891 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
892 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
896 @findex message-elide-region
897 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
898 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
899 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
900 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
905 @findex message-kill-to-signature
906 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
907 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
911 @findex message-delete-not-region
912 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
913 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
917 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
918 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
923 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
926 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
929 > This is some quoted text.
933 > And here's more quoted text.
936 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
940 @findex message-insert-to
941 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
942 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
943 (@code{message-insert-to}).
947 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
948 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
949 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
950 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
954 @findex message-sort-headers
955 @vindex message-header-format-alist
956 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
957 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
961 @findex message-rename-buffer
962 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
963 prompt for a new buffer name.
974 @findex message-send-and-exit
975 Send the message and bury the current buffer
976 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
981 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
985 @findex message-dont-send
986 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
990 @findex message-kill-buffer
991 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
992 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
993 message buffer. If the option
994 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
995 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
996 the file after prompting to the user.
1000 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1001 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1002 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
1003 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
1004 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
1005 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
1012 @section Mail Aliases
1013 @cindex mail aliases
1016 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1017 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1018 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1019 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1020 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1022 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1023 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1026 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1027 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1030 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1031 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1032 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1034 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1035 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1041 @findex ispell-message
1043 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1044 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1045 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1046 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1047 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1048 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1051 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1054 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1055 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1056 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1059 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1060 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1061 (".*" . "default")))
1064 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1067 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1068 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1071 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1075 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1077 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1080 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1088 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1089 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1090 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1091 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1092 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1093 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1094 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1095 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1096 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1097 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1101 @node Message Headers
1102 @section Message Headers
1104 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1105 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1106 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1107 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1108 look sufficiently similar.
1112 @item message-generate-headers-first
1113 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1114 If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
1115 compose the message.
1117 The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1118 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.
1120 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1121 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1123 @item message-from-style
1124 @vindex message-from-style
1125 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1130 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1133 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1136 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1139 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1140 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1141 @code{angles} anyway.
1145 @item message-deletable-headers
1146 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1147 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1148 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1149 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1150 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1151 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1152 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1153 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1154 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1157 @item message-default-headers
1158 @vindex message-default-headers
1159 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1162 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1163 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1167 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1168 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1169 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1170 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1171 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1172 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1173 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1174 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1175 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1177 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1178 responding to a message:
1181 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1182 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\)")
1185 @item message-alternative-emails
1186 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1187 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1188 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1194 @section Mail Headers
1197 @item message-required-mail-headers
1198 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1199 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1200 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1201 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1203 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1204 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1205 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1206 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1208 @item message-default-mail-headers
1209 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1210 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1211 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1216 @node Mail Variables
1217 @section Mail Variables
1220 @item message-send-mail-function
1221 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1222 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1223 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1224 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1225 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1226 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1227 @findex feedmail-send-it
1228 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1229 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1230 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1231 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1232 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1234 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1235 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1236 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1237 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1238 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1239 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1242 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1243 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1245 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1247 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1248 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1249 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1250 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1251 may also be a function.
1253 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1254 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1255 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1257 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1258 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1260 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1261 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1263 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1264 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1265 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1266 body together. (This problem exists on Sunos 4 when sendmail is run
1267 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1268 the problem will actually occur.
1270 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1271 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1272 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1273 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1274 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1280 @section News Headers
1282 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1283 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1284 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1285 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1291 @findex user-full-name
1292 @findex user-mail-address
1293 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1294 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1295 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1296 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1300 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1304 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1305 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1308 @cindex organization
1309 @vindex message-user-organization
1310 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1311 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1312 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1313 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1314 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1315 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1316 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1320 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1324 @vindex mail-host-address
1327 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1328 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1329 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1330 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1331 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1335 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1336 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1339 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1340 header of the article being replied to.
1344 @vindex message-expires
1345 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1346 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1347 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1350 @cindex Distribution
1351 @vindex message-distribution-function
1352 This optional header is filled out according to the
1353 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1354 much misunderstood header.
1358 @vindex message-user-path
1359 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1360 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1361 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1362 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1363 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1364 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1365 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1369 @cindex Mime-Version
1370 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1371 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1372 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1373 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1374 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1375 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1376 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1377 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1378 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1380 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1381 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1384 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1385 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1389 (setq message-required-news-headers
1390 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1393 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1397 @item message-syntax-checks
1398 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1399 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1400 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1403 (signature . disabled)
1412 Check the subject for commands.
1415 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1416 @item multiple-headers
1417 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1420 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1422 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1424 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1427 Check for too long lines.
1429 Check for invalid characters.
1431 Check for excessive size.
1433 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1435 Check the length of the signature.
1438 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1439 something only moderators should include.
1441 Check whether the article is empty.
1442 @item invisible-text
1443 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1445 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1446 @item existing-newsgroups
1447 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1448 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1449 @item valid-newsgroups
1450 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1451 are valid syntactically.
1452 @item repeated-newsgroups
1453 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1454 contains repeated group names.
1455 @item shorten-followup-to
1456 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1457 of groups to post to.
1460 All these conditions are checked by default.
1462 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1463 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1464 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1465 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1467 @item message-default-news-headers
1468 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1469 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1470 buffers that are initialized as news.
1475 @node News Variables
1476 @section News Variables
1479 @item message-send-news-function
1480 @vindex message-send-news-function
1481 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1482 @code{message-send-news}.
1484 @item message-post-method
1485 @vindex message-post-method
1486 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1487 posting a prepared news message.
1492 @node Insertion Variables
1493 @section Insertion Variables
1496 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1497 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1498 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1499 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1502 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1503 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1504 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1506 @item message-citation-line-function
1507 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1508 @cindex attribution line
1509 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1510 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1514 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1517 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1520 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1521 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1522 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1523 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1524 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1526 @item message-yank-prefix
1527 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1530 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1531 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1532 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1533 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1534 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1537 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1538 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1542 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1543 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1544 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1545 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1547 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1548 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1550 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1551 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1552 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1553 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1554 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1556 @item message-list-references-add-position
1557 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1559 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1560 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1563 @item message-indentation-spaces
1564 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1565 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1567 @item message-cite-function
1568 @vindex message-cite-function
1569 @findex message-cite-original
1570 @findex sc-cite-original
1571 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1573 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1574 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1575 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1576 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1577 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1580 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1581 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1582 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1583 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1584 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1585 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1586 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1587 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1589 @item message-indent-citation-function
1590 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1591 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1592 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1593 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1594 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1596 @item message-signature
1597 @vindex message-signature
1598 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1599 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1600 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1601 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1602 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1604 @item message-signature-file
1605 @vindex message-signature-file
1606 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1607 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1611 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1612 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1613 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1614 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1615 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1617 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1618 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1619 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1622 @node Various Message Variables
1623 @section Various Message Variables
1626 @item message-default-charset
1627 @vindex message-default-charset
1629 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1630 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1631 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1633 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1634 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1635 translation process.
1637 @item message-signature-separator
1638 @vindex message-signature-separator
1639 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1642 @item mail-header-separator
1643 @vindex mail-header-separator
1644 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1645 follows this line--} by default.
1647 @item message-directory
1648 @vindex message-directory
1649 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1651 @item message-auto-save-directory
1652 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1653 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1654 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1656 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1657 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1658 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1659 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1661 @item message-setup-hook
1662 @vindex message-setup-hook
1663 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1664 but before yanked text is inserted.
1666 @item message-header-setup-hook
1667 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1668 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1670 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1671 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1672 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1675 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1676 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1677 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1678 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1679 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1680 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1682 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1683 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1686 @item message-send-hook
1687 @vindex message-send-hook
1688 Hook run before sending messages.
1690 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1691 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1692 @findex message-add-header
1695 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1696 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1697 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1698 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1701 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1703 @item message-send-mail-hook
1704 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1705 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1707 @item message-send-news-hook
1708 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1709 Hook run before sending news messages.
1711 @item message-sent-hook
1712 @vindex message-sent-hook
1713 Hook run after sending messages.
1715 @item message-cancel-hook
1716 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1717 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1719 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1720 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1721 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1723 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1724 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1725 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1726 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1727 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1728 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1729 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1730 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1732 @item message-send-method-alist
1733 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1735 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1738 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1743 A symbol that names the method.
1746 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1747 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1750 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1751 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1755 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1756 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1765 @node Sending Variables
1766 @section Sending Variables
1770 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1771 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1772 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1773 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1774 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1776 @item message-courtesy-message
1777 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1778 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1779 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1780 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1781 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1782 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1783 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1785 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1786 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1787 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
1788 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
1790 @item message-interactive
1791 @vindex message-interactive
1792 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
1793 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
1798 @node Message Buffers
1799 @section Message Buffers
1801 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1802 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1803 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1804 message buffers are kept alive.
1807 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1808 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1809 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1810 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1811 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1812 The function should return the new buffer name.
1814 @item message-use-multi-frames
1815 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1816 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1818 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1819 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1820 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1821 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1822 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1823 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1826 @item message-max-buffers
1827 @vindex message-max-buffers
1828 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1829 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1830 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1831 will ever be killed.
1833 @item message-send-rename-function
1834 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1835 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1836 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1837 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1838 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1842 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1845 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1846 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1847 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1849 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
1850 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
1851 @findex message-kill-buffer
1852 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1853 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
1854 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
1855 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
1856 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
1857 buffer will be killed without query.
1859 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1860 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1861 @findex message-kill-buffer
1862 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1863 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
1864 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
1865 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
1866 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
1871 @node Message Actions
1872 @section Message Actions
1874 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1875 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1876 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1879 @vindex message-kill-actions
1880 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1881 @vindex message-exit-actions
1882 @vindex message-send-actions
1883 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1884 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1885 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1886 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1887 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1888 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1889 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1890 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1892 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1893 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1894 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1895 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1899 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1900 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1903 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1904 killed, postponed or exited.
1906 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1907 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1908 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1912 @chapter Compatibility
1913 @cindex compatibility
1915 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1916 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1917 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1920 (require 'messcompat)
1923 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1924 corresponding mail variables.
1931 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1938 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1943 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1944 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1945 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1956 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1957 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1958 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1959 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1963 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1970 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1971 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1972 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1976 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1977 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1988 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1989 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is