1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
22 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
25 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
26 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
27 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
28 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
29 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
30 License'' in the Emacs manual.
32 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
33 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
34 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
36 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
37 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
38 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
39 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
45 @title T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
52 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
54 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
55 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
56 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
57 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
58 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
59 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
60 License'' in the Emacs manual.
62 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
63 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
64 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
66 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
67 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
68 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
69 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
78 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
82 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
83 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
84 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
85 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
86 * Appendices:: More technical things.
87 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
88 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
91 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15 Message. Message is distributed
92 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
99 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
100 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
101 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
102 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
103 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
107 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
108 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
109 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
110 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
111 * Followup:: Following up via news.
112 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
113 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
114 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
115 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
116 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
117 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
121 @node New Mail Message
122 @section New Mail Message
125 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
127 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
128 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
129 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
132 @node New News Message
133 @section New News Message
136 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
138 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
139 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
140 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
146 @findex message-reply
147 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
148 reply to the message in the current buffer.
150 @vindex message-reply-to-function
151 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
152 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
153 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
155 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
156 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
159 (setq message-reply-to-function
161 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
162 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
167 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
170 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
171 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
172 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
175 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
176 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
177 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
178 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
179 the head of the outgoing mail.
185 @findex message-wide-reply
186 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
187 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
188 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
189 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
191 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
192 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
193 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
194 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
195 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
197 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
198 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
199 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
201 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
202 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
203 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
204 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
209 @findex message-followup
210 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
211 followup to the message in the current buffer.
213 @vindex message-followup-to-function
214 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
215 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
216 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
217 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
219 @vindex message-use-followup-to
220 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
221 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
222 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
223 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
224 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
228 @section Canceling News
230 @findex message-cancel-news
231 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
234 @vindex message-cancel-message
235 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
236 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
243 @findex message-supersede
244 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
245 supersede the message in the current buffer.
247 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
248 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
249 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
250 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
251 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
258 @findex message-forward
259 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
260 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
264 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
265 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
266 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
268 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
269 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
270 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
271 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
272 passed into each successive function.
274 The provided functions are:
277 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
278 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
279 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
282 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
283 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
286 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
287 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
288 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
289 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
290 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
291 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
293 @item message-forward-as-mime
294 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
295 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
296 included as inline @sc{mime} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
297 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
298 non @sc{mime}-savvy versions of gnus would do.
300 @item message-forward-before-signature
301 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
302 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
310 @findex message-resend
311 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
312 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
314 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
315 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
316 be removed before sending the message. The default is
317 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
323 @findex message-bounce
324 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
325 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
326 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
327 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
330 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
331 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
332 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
333 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
337 @section Mailing Lists
339 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
340 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
341 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
346 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
347 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
348 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
351 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
352 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
353 is not subscribed to the list.
356 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
357 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
358 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
359 and very difficult to follow.
363 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
364 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
365 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
368 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
369 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
372 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
373 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
375 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
376 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
377 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
378 way. The following variables would come in handy.
382 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
383 @item message-subscribed-addresses
384 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
385 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
387 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
388 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
391 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
392 @item message-subscribed-regexps
393 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
394 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
395 want to achieve the same result as above:
397 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
398 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
401 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
402 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
403 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
404 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
405 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
407 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
408 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
409 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
410 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{(gnus)subscribed})
411 group parameter set to a non-nil value. This is how you would do it.
414 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
415 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
418 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
419 @item message-subscribed-address-file
420 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
421 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
422 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
426 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
427 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
429 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
430 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
431 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
432 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
433 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
434 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
435 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
436 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
437 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
438 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
439 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
442 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
444 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
445 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
446 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
447 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
448 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
449 to-address group parameter.) The function
450 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
451 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
452 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
453 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
455 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
456 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
458 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
459 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
460 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
461 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
465 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
466 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
469 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
472 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
476 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
477 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
484 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
485 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
486 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
487 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
488 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
489 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
490 * Various Commands:: Various things.
491 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
492 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
493 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
498 @section Buffer Entry
502 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
503 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
504 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
505 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
506 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
507 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
508 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
509 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
512 @node Header Commands
513 @section Header Commands
515 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
517 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
518 exist, it will be inserted.
524 @findex describe-mode
525 Describe the message mode.
529 @findex message-goto-to
530 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
534 @findex message-goto-from
535 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
536 in the key binding is for Originator.)
540 @findex message-goto-bcc
541 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
545 @findex message-goto-fcc
546 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
550 @findex message-goto-cc
551 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
555 @findex message-goto-subject
556 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
560 @findex message-goto-reply-to
561 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
565 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
566 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
570 @findex message-goto-distribution
571 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
575 @findex message-goto-followup-to
576 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
580 @findex message-goto-keywords
581 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
585 @findex message-goto-summary
586 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
590 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
591 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
592 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
593 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
594 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
595 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
599 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
600 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
601 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
602 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
603 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
604 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
605 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
606 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
607 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
609 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-nil, the addresses in
610 the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the @samp{Mail-Followup-To:}
615 @subsection Commands to change headers
621 @findex message-sort-headers
622 @vindex message-header-format-alist
623 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
624 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
628 @findex message-insert-to
629 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
630 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
631 (@code{message-insert-to}).
635 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
636 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
637 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
638 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
642 @findex message-to-list-only
643 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
644 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
648 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
649 Insert a request for a disposition
650 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
651 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
652 notification that she received the message.
654 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
655 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
656 @findex message-insert-importance-high
658 Insert an @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{high},
659 deleting headers if necessary.
661 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
662 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
663 @findex message-insert-importance-low
665 Insert an @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
666 headers if necessary.
670 @findex message-change-subject
672 Change the current @samp{Subject:} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject:}
673 header and append @code{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
674 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
675 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
679 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
680 @vindex message-cross-post-default
683 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups:} and @samp{FollowUp-To:} for a
684 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
685 @samp{FollowUp-To:} and @samp{Newsgroups:} header to point to group.
686 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
687 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up:} is set, but the message is not
692 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
693 Replace contents of @samp{To:} header with contents of @samp{Cc:} or
698 @findex message-add-archive-header
699 @vindex message-archive-header
700 @vindex message-archive-note
702 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
703 The header and the note can be customized using
704 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
705 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
706 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
718 @findex message-goto-body
719 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
720 (@code{message-goto-body}).
724 @findex message-goto-signature
725 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
729 @findex message-beginning-of-line
730 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
731 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
732 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
733 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
734 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
746 @findex message-yank-original
747 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
748 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
749 (@code{message-yank-original}).
753 @findex message-yank-buffer
754 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
755 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
759 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
760 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
761 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
762 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
763 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
768 @findex message-insert-signature
769 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
770 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
774 @findex message-insert-headers
775 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
779 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
780 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
781 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
785 @findex message-mark-insert-file
786 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
787 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
799 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
800 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
801 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
802 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
804 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
805 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
806 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
807 name and a @sc{mime} type.
809 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
810 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
823 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
824 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
825 support PGP (RFC 1991), @sc{pgp/mime} (RFC 2015/3156) and @sc{s/mime}.
826 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
827 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
828 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
834 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
836 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
840 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
842 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
846 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
848 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
852 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
854 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
858 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
860 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
864 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
866 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
870 @findex mml-unsecure-message
871 Remove security related MML tags from message.
875 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
876 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
877 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
878 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
879 @sc{s/mime} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
880 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
881 encoded @sc{mime} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
882 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
883 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
884 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
885 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
887 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
888 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the "signencrypt"
889 mode. If you would like to disable this for a particular message,
890 give the mml-secure-message-encrypt-* command a prefix argument. (for
891 example, C-u C-c C-m c p). Additionally, by default Gnus will
892 separately sign, then encrypt a message which has the mode
893 signencrypt. If you would like to change this behavior you can
894 customize the @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For
899 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" combined)
901 ("pgpmime" combined)))
904 Will cause Gnus to sign and encrypt in one pass, thus generating a
905 single signed and encrypted part. Note that combined sign and encrypt
906 does not work with all supported OpenPGP implementations (in
907 particular, PGP version 2 do not support this).
909 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
910 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
911 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
912 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
913 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
914 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
915 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
916 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
918 @emph{Note!} Neither @sc{pgp/mime} nor @sc{s/mime} encrypt/signs
919 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @sc{mime} object. Keep this
920 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
922 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
923 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
924 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
925 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
927 @subsection Using S/MIME
929 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
930 modern cryptography, @sc{s/mime}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
933 The @sc{s/mime} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
934 perform the actual @sc{s/mime} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
935 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
936 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
937 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @sc{mime}
938 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
939 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
940 @sc{s/mime} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
942 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
943 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
944 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
945 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
946 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
947 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you
948 chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is
949 stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is
950 the first mail agent in the world to support retrieving @sc{s/mime}
951 certificates from DNS, so you're not likely to find very many
952 certificates out there. At least there should be one, stored at the
953 domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP is a more popular method of
954 distributing certificates, support for it is planned. (Meanwhile, you
955 can use @code{ldapsearch} from the command line to retrieve a
956 certificate into a file and use it.)
958 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
959 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
960 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
961 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
962 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
963 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
965 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
966 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
967 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
968 and got a free @sc{s/mime} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
969 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
970 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
971 certificate in PEM format as follows.
974 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
977 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
978 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
980 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
983 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
985 @sc{pgp/mime} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
986 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an
987 Emacs interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
988 @uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
989 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
991 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
992 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
993 path specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
995 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
996 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
998 @node Various Commands
999 @section Various Commands
1005 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1006 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1007 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1008 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1009 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1013 @findex message-elide-region
1014 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1015 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1016 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1017 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1022 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1023 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1024 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1028 @findex message-delete-not-region
1029 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1030 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1034 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1035 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1040 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1043 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1046 > This is some quoted text.
1050 > And here's more quoted text.
1053 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1057 @findex message-rename-buffer
1058 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1059 prompt for a new buffer name.
1064 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1065 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1066 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1067 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1078 @findex message-send-and-exit
1079 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1080 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1084 @findex message-send
1085 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1089 @findex message-dont-send
1090 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1094 @findex message-kill-buffer
1095 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
1096 delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
1097 message buffer. If the option
1098 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
1099 backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
1100 the file after prompting to the user.
1104 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
1105 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
1106 This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
1107 (@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
1108 @code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
1109 function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
1116 @section Mail Aliases
1117 @cindex mail aliases
1120 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1121 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1122 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1123 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1124 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1126 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1127 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1130 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1131 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1134 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1135 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1136 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1138 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1139 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1145 @findex ispell-message
1147 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1148 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1149 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1150 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1151 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1152 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1155 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1158 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1159 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1160 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1163 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1164 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1165 (".*" . "default")))
1168 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1171 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1172 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1175 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1179 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1181 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1184 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1192 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1193 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1194 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1195 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1196 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1197 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1198 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1199 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1200 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1201 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1205 @node Message Headers
1206 @section Message Headers
1208 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1209 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1210 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1211 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1212 look sufficiently similar.
1216 @item message-generate-headers-first
1217 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1218 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1219 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1222 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1226 @vindex message-required-headers
1227 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1228 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1229 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1232 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1233 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1235 @item message-draft-headers
1236 @vindex message-draft-headers
1237 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1238 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1239 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1241 @item message-from-style
1242 @vindex message-from-style
1243 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1248 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1251 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1254 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1257 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1258 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1259 @code{angles} anyway.
1263 @item message-deletable-headers
1264 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1265 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1266 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1267 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1268 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1269 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1270 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1271 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1272 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1275 @item message-default-headers
1276 @vindex message-default-headers
1277 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1280 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1281 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1285 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1286 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1287 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1288 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1289 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1290 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1291 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1292 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1293 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1295 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1296 responding to a message:
1299 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1300 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\)")
1303 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1304 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1305 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1306 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1307 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1308 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1309 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1310 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1311 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1312 trailing old subject. In this case,
1313 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1315 @item message-alternative-emails
1316 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1317 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1318 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1320 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1321 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1322 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1323 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1324 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1325 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1331 @section Mail Headers
1334 @item message-required-mail-headers
1335 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1336 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1337 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1338 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1340 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1341 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1342 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1343 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1345 @item message-default-mail-headers
1346 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1347 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1348 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1353 @node Mail Variables
1354 @section Mail Variables
1357 @item message-send-mail-function
1358 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1359 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1360 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1361 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1362 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1363 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1364 @findex feedmail-send-it
1365 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1366 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1367 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1368 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1369 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1371 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1372 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1373 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1374 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1375 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1376 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1379 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1380 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1382 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1384 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1385 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1386 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1387 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1388 may also be a function.
1390 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1391 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1392 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1394 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1395 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1397 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1398 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1400 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1401 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1402 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1403 body together. (This problem exists on Sunos 4 when sendmail is run
1404 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1405 the problem will actually occur.
1407 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1408 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1409 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1410 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1411 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1417 @section News Headers
1419 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1420 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1421 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1422 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1428 @findex user-full-name
1429 @findex user-mail-address
1430 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1431 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1432 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1433 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1437 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1441 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1442 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1445 @cindex organization
1446 @vindex message-user-organization
1447 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1448 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1449 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1450 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1451 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1452 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1453 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1457 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1461 @vindex mail-host-address
1464 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1465 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1466 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1467 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1468 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1472 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1473 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1476 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1477 header of the article being replied to.
1481 @vindex message-expires
1482 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1483 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1484 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1487 @cindex Distribution
1488 @vindex message-distribution-function
1489 This optional header is filled out according to the
1490 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1491 much misunderstood header.
1495 @vindex message-user-path
1496 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1497 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1498 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1499 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1500 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1501 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1502 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1506 @cindex Mime-Version
1507 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1508 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1509 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1510 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1511 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1512 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1513 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1514 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1515 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1517 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1518 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1521 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1522 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1526 (setq message-required-news-headers
1527 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1530 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1534 @item message-syntax-checks
1535 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1536 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1537 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1540 (signature . disabled)
1549 Check the subject for commands.
1552 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1553 @item multiple-headers
1554 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1557 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1559 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1561 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1564 Check for too long lines.
1566 Check for invalid characters.
1568 Check for excessive size.
1570 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1572 Check the length of the signature.
1575 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1576 something only moderators should include.
1578 Check whether the article is empty.
1579 @item invisible-text
1580 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1582 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1583 @item existing-newsgroups
1584 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1585 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1586 @item valid-newsgroups
1587 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1588 are valid syntactically.
1589 @item repeated-newsgroups
1590 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1591 contains repeated group names.
1592 @item shorten-followup-to
1593 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1594 of groups to post to.
1597 All these conditions are checked by default.
1599 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1600 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1601 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1602 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1604 @item message-default-news-headers
1605 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1606 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1607 buffers that are initialized as news.
1612 @node News Variables
1613 @section News Variables
1616 @item message-send-news-function
1617 @vindex message-send-news-function
1618 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1619 @code{message-send-news}.
1621 @item message-post-method
1622 @vindex message-post-method
1623 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1624 posting a prepared news message.
1629 @node Insertion Variables
1630 @section Insertion Variables
1633 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1634 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1635 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1636 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1639 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1640 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1641 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1643 @item message-citation-line-function
1644 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1645 @cindex attribution line
1646 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1647 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1651 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1654 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1657 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1658 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1659 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1660 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1661 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1663 @item message-yank-prefix
1664 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1667 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1668 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1669 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1670 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1671 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1674 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1675 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1679 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1680 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1681 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1682 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1684 @item message-yank-add-new-references
1685 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
1687 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
1688 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1689 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
1690 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
1691 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
1693 @item message-list-references-add-position
1694 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
1696 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
1697 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
1700 @item message-indentation-spaces
1701 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1702 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1704 @item message-cite-function
1705 @vindex message-cite-function
1706 @findex message-cite-original
1707 @findex sc-cite-original
1708 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1710 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1711 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1712 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1713 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1714 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1717 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1718 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
1719 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
1720 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
1721 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
1722 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
1723 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
1724 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
1726 @item message-indent-citation-function
1727 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1728 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1729 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1730 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1731 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1733 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1734 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1735 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1737 @item message-mark-insert-end
1738 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1739 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1741 @item message-signature
1742 @vindex message-signature
1743 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1744 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1745 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1746 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1747 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1749 @item message-signature-file
1750 @vindex message-signature-file
1751 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1752 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1754 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1755 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1756 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1757 signature separator.
1761 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1762 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1763 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1764 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1765 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1767 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1768 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1769 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1772 @node Various Message Variables
1773 @section Various Message Variables
1776 @item message-default-charset
1777 @vindex message-default-charset
1779 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1780 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1781 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1783 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1784 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1785 translation process.
1787 @item message-signature-separator
1788 @vindex message-signature-separator
1789 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1792 @item mail-header-separator
1793 @vindex mail-header-separator
1794 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1795 follows this line--} by default.
1797 @item message-directory
1798 @vindex message-directory
1799 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1801 @item message-auto-save-directory
1802 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1803 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1804 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1806 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1807 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1808 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1809 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1811 @item message-setup-hook
1812 @vindex message-setup-hook
1813 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1814 but before yanked text is inserted.
1816 @item message-header-setup-hook
1817 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1818 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1820 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1821 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1822 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1825 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1826 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1827 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1828 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1829 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1830 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1832 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1833 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1836 @item message-send-hook
1837 @vindex message-send-hook
1838 Hook run before sending messages.
1840 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1841 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1842 @findex message-add-header
1845 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1846 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1847 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1848 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1851 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1853 @item message-send-mail-hook
1854 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1855 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1857 @item message-send-news-hook
1858 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1859 Hook run before sending news messages.
1861 @item message-sent-hook
1862 @vindex message-sent-hook
1863 Hook run after sending messages.
1865 @item message-cancel-hook
1866 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1867 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1869 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1870 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1871 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1873 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1874 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1875 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1876 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1877 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1878 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1879 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1880 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1882 @item message-send-method-alist
1883 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1885 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1888 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1893 A symbol that names the method.
1896 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1897 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1900 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1901 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1905 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1906 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1915 @node Sending Variables
1916 @section Sending Variables
1920 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1921 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1922 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1923 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1924 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1926 @item message-courtesy-message
1927 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1928 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1929 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1930 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1931 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1932 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1933 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1935 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1936 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1937 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
1938 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
1940 @item message-interactive
1941 @vindex message-interactive
1942 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
1943 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
1948 @node Message Buffers
1949 @section Message Buffers
1951 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1952 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1953 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1954 message buffers are kept alive.
1957 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1958 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1959 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1960 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1961 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1962 The function should return the new buffer name.
1964 @item message-use-multi-frames
1965 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1966 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1968 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1969 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1970 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1971 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1972 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1973 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1976 @item message-max-buffers
1977 @vindex message-max-buffers
1978 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1979 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1980 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1981 will ever be killed.
1983 @item message-send-rename-function
1984 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1985 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1986 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1987 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1988 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1992 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1995 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1996 @vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1997 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1999 @item message-kill-buffer-query-function
2000 @vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
2001 @findex message-kill-buffer
2002 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2003 Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
2004 command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
2005 is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
2006 @code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
2007 buffer will be killed without query.
2009 @item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2010 @vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
2011 @findex message-kill-buffer
2012 @findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
2013 If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
2014 query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
2015 file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
2016 as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
2021 @node Message Actions
2022 @section Message Actions
2024 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2025 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2026 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2029 @vindex message-kill-actions
2030 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2031 @vindex message-exit-actions
2032 @vindex message-send-actions
2033 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2034 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2035 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2036 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2037 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2038 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2039 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2040 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2042 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2043 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2044 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2045 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2049 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2050 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2053 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2054 killed, postponed or exited.
2056 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2057 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2058 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2062 @chapter Compatibility
2063 @cindex compatibility
2065 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2066 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2067 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2070 (require 'messcompat)
2073 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2074 corresponding mail variables.
2081 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2088 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2093 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2094 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2095 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2106 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2107 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2108 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2109 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2113 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2120 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2121 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2122 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2126 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2127 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2138 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2139 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is