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
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 @findex 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.
204 @findex message-followup
205 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
206 followup to the message in the current buffer.
208 @vindex message-followup-to-function
209 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
210 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
211 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
212 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
214 @vindex message-use-followup-to
215 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
216 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
217 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
218 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
219 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
223 @section Canceling News
225 @findex message-cancel-news
226 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
233 @findex message-supersede
234 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
235 supersede the message in the current buffer.
237 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
238 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
239 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
240 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
241 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
248 @findex message-forward
249 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
250 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
254 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
255 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
256 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
258 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
259 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
260 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
261 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
262 passed into each successive function.
264 The provided functions are:
267 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
268 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
269 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
272 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
273 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
276 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
277 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
278 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
279 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
280 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
281 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
283 @item message-forward-as-mime
284 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
285 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
286 included as inline MIME RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
287 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
288 non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
295 @findex message-resend
296 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
297 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
299 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
300 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
301 be removed before sending the message. The default is
302 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
308 @findex message-bounce
309 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
310 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
311 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
312 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
315 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
316 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
317 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
318 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
322 @section Mailing Lists
324 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
325 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
326 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
331 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
332 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
333 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
336 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
337 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
338 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
339 and very difficult to follow.
343 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
344 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
345 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
348 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
349 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
352 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
353 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
355 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
356 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
357 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
358 way. The following variables would come in handy.
362 @item message-subscribed-addresses
363 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
364 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
366 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
367 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
370 @item message-subscribed-regexps
371 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
372 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
373 want to achieve the same result as above:
375 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
376 '("[bd]ing@@\\(gnus\\|noose\\)\\.org"))
379 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
380 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
381 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
382 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
384 @item message-subscribed-address-file
385 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
386 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
387 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
391 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
392 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
394 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally
395 do. And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent
396 out, Gnus' MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message
397 already has a MFT header. If there is one, the header is left alone.
398 If not then the list of recipient addresses (in the To: and Cc:
399 headers) is checked to see if one of them is a list address you are
400 subscribed to. If none of them is a list address, then no MFT is
401 generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the other headers and set to
402 the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
404 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
405 subscribed to?'' Well, the kind folks at Gnus Towers are working on a
406 database of all known mailing list addresses that can be used for this
407 purpose. Till then, you could, like, insert a MFT header manually,
408 with the help of @kbd{C-c C-f m} !!
410 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
411 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
413 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
414 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
415 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
419 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
420 derived from the MFT header of the original post.
423 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
426 Gnus will prompt you for an action. This is the default.
430 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
431 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
438 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
439 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
440 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
441 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
442 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
443 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
444 * Various Commands:: Various things.
445 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
446 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
447 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
452 @section Buffer Entry
456 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
457 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
458 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
459 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
460 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
461 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
462 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
463 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
466 @node Header Commands
467 @section Header Commands
469 All these commands move to the header in question (except for the
470 @samp{Importance:} related commands). If it doesn't exist, it will be
477 @findex describe-mode
478 Describe the message mode.
482 @findex message-goto-to
483 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
487 @findex message-goto-from
488 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
489 in the key binding is for Originator.)
493 @findex message-goto-bcc
494 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
498 @findex message-goto-fcc
499 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
503 @findex message-goto-cc
504 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
508 @findex message-goto-subject
509 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
513 @findex message-goto-reply-to
514 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
518 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
519 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
523 @findex message-goto-distribution
524 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
528 @findex message-goto-followup-to
529 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
533 @findex message-goto-keywords
534 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
538 @findex message-goto-summary
539 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
543 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
544 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
545 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
546 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
547 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
548 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
550 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
551 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
552 @findex message-insert-importance-high
553 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{high},
554 deleting headers if necessary.
556 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
557 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
558 @findex message-insert-importance-low
559 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{low},
560 deleting headers if necessary.
571 @findex message-goto-body
572 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
573 (@code{message-goto-body}).
577 @findex message-goto-signature
578 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
582 @findex message-beginning-of-line
583 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
584 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
597 @findex message-yank-original
598 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
599 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
600 (@code{message-yank-original}).
604 @findex message-yank-buffer
605 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
606 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
610 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
611 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
612 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
613 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
614 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
619 @findex message-insert-signature
620 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
621 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
625 @findex message-insert-headers
626 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
630 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
631 Insert a request for a disposition
632 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
633 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
634 notification that she received the message.
646 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
647 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
648 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
649 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
651 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
652 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
653 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
654 name and a @sc{mime} type.
656 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
657 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
669 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
670 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
671 support PGP (RFC 1991), PGP/MIME (RFC 2015/3156) and S/MIME.
672 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a MIME part is done
673 using the @code{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @code{C-c C-m
674 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
680 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
682 Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.
686 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
688 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP.
692 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
694 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
698 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
700 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.
704 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgp
706 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP.
710 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
712 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
716 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
717 merely insert proper MML tags to instruct the MML engine to perform that
718 operation when the message is actually sent. They may perform other
719 operations too, such as locating and retrieving a S/MIME certificate of
720 the person you wish to send encrypted mail to.
722 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
723 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
724 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
725 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
726 using @code{C-u C-m P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can verify that
727 your long rant about what your ex-significant other or whomever actually
728 did with that funny looking person at that strange party the other
729 night, actually will be sent encrypted.
731 @emph{Note!} Neither PGP/MIME nor S/MIME encrypt/signs RFC822 headers.
732 They only operate on the MIME object. Keep this in mind before sending
733 mail with a sensitive Subject line.
735 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
736 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
737 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
738 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
740 @subsection Using S/MIME
742 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
743 modern cryptography, S/MIME, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and so on.
745 The S/MIME support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
746 perform the actual S/MIME sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can be found
747 at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work.
748 Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from certificates, and it
749 insert a spurious CR character into MIME separators so you may wish to
750 avoid it if you would like to avoid being regarded as someone who send
751 strange mail. (Although by sending S/MIME messages you've probably
752 already lost that contest.)
754 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
755 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
756 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
757 @code{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
758 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local file,
759 it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you chose DNS,
760 you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is stored, the
761 default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is the first mail
762 agent in the world to support retrieving S/MIME certificates from DNS,
763 so you're not likely to find very many certificates out there. At least
764 there should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}.
765 LDAP is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for
766 it is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
767 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
769 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
770 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
771 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
772 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it contain
773 a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try @code{M-x
774 customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
776 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create your
777 own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this manually
778 with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape and got a
779 free S/MIME certificate from one of the big CA's on the net. Netscape
780 is able to export your private key and certificate in PKCS #12 format.
781 Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509 certificate in PEM format
785 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
788 The @code{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
789 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
791 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
794 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
796 PGP/MIME requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
797 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an Emacs
798 interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
799 @uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
800 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
802 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
803 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
804 path specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
806 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
807 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
809 @node Various Commands
810 @section Various Commands
816 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
817 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
818 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
819 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
820 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
824 @findex message-elide-region
825 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
826 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
827 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
832 @findex message-kill-to-signature
833 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
834 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
838 @findex message-delete-not-region
839 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
840 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
844 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
845 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
850 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
853 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
856 > This is some quoted text.
860 > And here's more quoted text.
863 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
867 @findex message-insert-to
868 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
869 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
870 (@code{message-insert-to}).
874 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
875 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
876 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
877 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
881 @findex message-rename-buffer
882 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
883 prompt for a new buffer name.
894 @findex message-send-and-exit
895 Send the message and bury the current buffer
896 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
901 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
905 @findex message-dont-send
906 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
910 @findex message-kill-buffer
911 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
912 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
913 message buffer. If the option
914 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
915 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
916 the file after prompting to the user.
920 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
921 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
922 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
923 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
924 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
925 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
932 @section Mail Aliases
936 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
937 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
938 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
939 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
940 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
942 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
943 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
946 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
947 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
950 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
951 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
952 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
954 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
955 expansions have to be done explicitly.
961 @findex ispell-message
963 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
964 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
965 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
966 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
967 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
968 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
971 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
974 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
975 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
976 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
979 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
980 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
984 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
987 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
988 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
991 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
995 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
997 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1000 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1008 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1009 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1010 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1011 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1012 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1013 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1014 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1015 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1016 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1017 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1021 @node Message Headers
1022 @section Message Headers
1024 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1025 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1026 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1027 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1028 look sufficiently similar.
1032 @item message-generate-headers-first
1033 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1034 If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
1035 compose the message.
1037 The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1038 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.
1040 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1041 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1043 @item message-from-style
1044 @vindex message-from-style
1045 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1050 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1053 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1056 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1059 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1060 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1061 @code{angles} anyway.
1065 @item message-deletable-headers
1066 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1067 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1068 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1069 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1070 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1071 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1072 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1073 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1074 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1077 @item message-default-headers
1078 @vindex message-default-headers
1079 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1082 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1083 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1087 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1088 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1089 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1090 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1091 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1092 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1093 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1094 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1095 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1097 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1098 responding to a message:
1101 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1102 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\))
1105 @item message-alternative-emails
1106 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1107 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1108 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1114 @section Mail Headers
1117 @item message-required-mail-headers
1118 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1119 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1120 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1121 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1123 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1124 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1125 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1126 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1128 @item message-default-mail-headers
1129 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1130 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1131 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1136 @node Mail Variables
1137 @section Mail Variables
1140 @item message-send-mail-function
1141 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1142 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1143 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1144 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1145 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1146 @findex feedmail-send-it
1147 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1148 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1149 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1150 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1152 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1153 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1154 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1155 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1156 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1157 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1160 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1161 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1162 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1163 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1164 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1170 @section News Headers
1172 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1173 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1174 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1175 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1181 @findex user-full-name
1182 @findex user-mail-address
1183 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1184 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1185 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1186 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1190 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1194 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1195 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1198 @cindex organization
1199 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1200 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1201 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1202 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1203 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1204 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1208 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1212 @vindex mail-host-address
1215 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1216 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1217 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1218 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1219 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1223 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1224 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1227 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1228 header of the article being replied to.
1232 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1233 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1234 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1237 @cindex Distribution
1238 This optional header is filled out according to the
1239 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1240 much misunderstood header.
1244 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1245 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1246 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1247 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1248 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1249 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1250 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1254 @cindex Mime-Version
1255 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1256 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1257 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1258 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1259 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1260 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1261 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1262 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1263 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1265 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1266 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1269 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1273 @item message-syntax-checks
1274 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1275 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1276 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1279 (signature . disabled)
1288 Check the subject for commands.
1291 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1292 @item multiple-headers
1293 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1296 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1298 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1300 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1303 Check for too long lines.
1305 Check for invalid characters.
1307 Check for excessive size.
1309 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1311 Check the length of the signature.
1314 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1315 something only moderators should include.
1317 Check whether the article is empty.
1318 @item invisible-text
1319 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1321 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1322 @item existing-newsgroups
1323 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1324 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1325 @item valid-newsgroups
1326 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1327 are valid syntactically.
1328 @item repeated-newsgroups
1329 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1330 contains repeated group names.
1331 @item shorten-followup-to
1332 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1333 of groups to post to.
1336 All these conditions are checked by default.
1338 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1339 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1340 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1341 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1343 @item message-default-news-headers
1344 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1345 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1346 buffers that are initialized as news.
1351 @node News Variables
1352 @section News Variables
1355 @item message-send-news-function
1356 @vindex message-send-news-function
1357 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1358 @code{message-send-news}.
1360 @item message-post-method
1361 @vindex message-post-method
1362 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1363 posting a prepared news message.
1368 @node Insertion Variables
1369 @section Insertion Variables
1372 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1373 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1374 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1375 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1378 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1379 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1380 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1382 @item message-citation-line-function
1383 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1384 @cindex attribution line
1385 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1386 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1390 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1393 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1396 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1397 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1398 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1399 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1400 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1402 @item message-yank-prefix
1403 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1406 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1407 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1408 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1409 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1410 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1413 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1414 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1418 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1419 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1420 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1421 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1423 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1424 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1426 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1427 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1428 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1429 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1430 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1432 @item message-list-references-add-position
1433 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1435 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1436 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1439 @item message-indentation-spaces
1440 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1441 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1443 @item message-cite-function
1444 @vindex message-cite-function
1445 @findex message-cite-original
1446 @findex sc-cite-original
1447 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1449 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1450 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1451 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1452 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1453 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1456 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1457 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1458 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1459 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1460 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1461 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1462 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1463 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1465 @item message-indent-citation-function
1466 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1467 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1468 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1469 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1470 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1472 @item message-signature
1473 @vindex message-signature
1474 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1475 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1476 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1477 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1478 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1480 @item message-signature-file
1481 @vindex message-signature-file
1482 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1483 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
1487 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1488 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1489 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1490 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1491 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1493 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1494 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1495 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1498 @node Various Message Variables
1499 @section Various Message Variables
1502 @item message-default-charset
1503 @vindex message-default-charset
1505 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1506 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1507 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1509 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1510 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1511 translation process.
1513 @item message-signature-separator
1514 @vindex message-signature-separator
1515 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1518 @item mail-header-separator
1519 @vindex mail-header-separator
1520 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1521 follows this line--} by default.
1523 @item message-directory
1524 @vindex message-directory
1525 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1527 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1528 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1529 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1530 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1532 @item message-setup-hook
1533 @vindex message-setup-hook
1534 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1535 but before yanked text is inserted.
1537 @item message-header-setup-hook
1538 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1539 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1541 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1542 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1543 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1546 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1547 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1548 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1549 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1550 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1551 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1553 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1554 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1557 @item message-send-hook
1558 @vindex message-send-hook
1559 Hook run before sending messages.
1561 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1562 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1563 @findex message-add-header
1566 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1567 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1568 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1569 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1572 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1574 @item message-send-mail-hook
1575 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1576 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1578 @item message-send-news-hook
1579 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1580 Hook run before sending news messages.
1582 @item message-sent-hook
1583 @vindex message-sent-hook
1584 Hook run after sending messages.
1586 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1587 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1588 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1590 @item message-send-method-alist
1591 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1593 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1596 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1601 A symbol that names the method.
1604 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1605 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1608 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1609 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1613 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1614 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1623 @node Sending Variables
1624 @section Sending Variables
1628 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1629 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1630 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1631 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1632 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1634 @item message-courtesy-message
1635 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1636 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1637 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1638 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1639 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1640 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1641 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1646 @node Message Buffers
1647 @section Message Buffers
1649 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1650 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1651 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1652 message buffers are kept alive.
1655 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1656 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1657 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1658 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1659 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1660 The function should return the new buffer name.
1662 @item message-use-multi-frames
1663 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1664 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1666 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1667 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1668 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1669 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1670 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1671 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1674 @item message-max-buffers
1675 @vindex message-max-buffers
1676 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1677 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1678 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1679 will ever be killed.
1681 @item message-send-rename-function
1682 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1683 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1684 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1685 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1686 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1690 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1693 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1694 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1695 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1697 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
1698 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
1699 @findex message-kill-buffer
1700 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1701 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
1702 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
1703 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
1704 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
1705 buffer will be killed without query.
1707 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1708 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1709 @findex message-kill-buffer
1710 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1711 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
1712 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
1713 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
1714 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
1719 @node Message Actions
1720 @section Message Actions
1722 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1723 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1724 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1727 @vindex message-kill-actions
1728 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1729 @vindex message-exit-actions
1730 @vindex message-send-actions
1731 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1732 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1733 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1734 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1735 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1736 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1737 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1738 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1740 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1741 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1742 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1743 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1747 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1748 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1751 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1752 killed, postponed or exited.
1754 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1755 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1756 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1760 @chapter Compatibility
1761 @cindex compatibility
1763 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1764 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1765 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1768 (require 'messcompat)
1771 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1772 corresponding mail variables.
1779 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1786 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1791 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1792 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1793 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1804 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1805 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1806 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1807 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1811 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1818 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1819 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1820 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1824 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1825 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1836 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1837 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is