1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message 6.10.051 Manual
9 @c * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
14 @setchapternewpage odd
18 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
20 Copyright (C) 1996,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
23 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
24 are preserved on all copies.
27 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
28 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
29 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
30 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
33 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
34 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
35 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
36 permission notice identical to this one.
38 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
39 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
45 @title Message 6.10.051 Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
54 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
55 are preserved on all copies.
57 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
58 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
59 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
60 permission notice identical to this one.
62 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
63 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
73 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
77 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
78 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
79 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
80 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
81 * Appendices:: More technical things.
82 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
83 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
86 This manual corresponds to Message 6.10.051. Message is
87 distributed with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number
94 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
95 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
96 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
97 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
98 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
102 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
103 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
104 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
105 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
106 * Followup:: Following up via news.
107 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
108 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
109 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
110 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
111 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
115 @node New Mail Message
116 @section New Mail Message
119 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
121 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
122 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
123 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
126 @node New News Message
127 @section New News Message
130 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
132 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
133 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
134 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
140 @findex message-reply
141 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
142 reply to the message in the current buffer.
144 @vindex message-reply-to-function
145 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
146 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
147 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
149 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
150 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
153 (setq message-reply-to-function
155 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
156 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
161 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
164 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
165 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
166 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
169 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
170 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
171 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
172 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
173 the head of the outgoing mail.
179 @findex message-wide-reply
180 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
181 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
182 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
183 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
185 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
186 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
187 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
188 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
189 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
191 @findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
192 Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
193 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
199 @findex message-followup
200 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
201 followup to the message in the current buffer.
203 @vindex message-followup-to-function
204 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
205 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
206 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
207 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
209 @vindex message-use-followup-to
210 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
211 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
212 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
213 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
214 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
218 @section Canceling News
220 @findex message-cancel-news
221 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
228 @findex message-supersede
229 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
230 supersede the message in the current buffer.
232 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
233 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
234 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
235 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
236 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
243 @findex message-forward
244 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
245 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
249 @item message-forward-start-separator
250 @vindex message-forward-start-separator
251 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is@*
252 @samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
254 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
255 @item message-forward-end-separator
256 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
257 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is@*
258 @samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
260 @item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
261 @vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
262 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
263 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
264 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
266 @item message-included-forward-headers
267 @vindex message-included-forward-headers
268 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
270 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
271 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
272 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
273 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
274 passed into each successive function.
276 The provided functions are:
279 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
280 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
281 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
284 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
285 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
288 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
289 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
290 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
291 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
292 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
293 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
301 @findex message-resend
302 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
303 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
305 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
306 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
307 be removed before sending the message. The default is
308 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
314 @findex message-bounce
315 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
316 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
317 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
318 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
321 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
322 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
323 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
324 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
331 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
332 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
333 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
334 * Various Commands:: Various things.
335 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
336 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
340 @node Header Commands
341 @section Header Commands
343 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
350 @findex message-goto-to
351 Describe the message mode.
355 @findex message-goto-to
356 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
360 @findex message-goto-bcc
361 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
365 @findex message-goto-fcc
366 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
370 @findex message-goto-cc
371 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
375 @findex message-goto-subject
376 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
380 @findex message-goto-reply-to
381 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
385 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
386 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
390 @findex message-goto-distribution
391 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
395 @findex message-goto-followup-to
396 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
400 @findex message-goto-keywords
401 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
405 @findex message-goto-summary
406 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
417 @findex message-goto-body
418 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
419 (@code{message-goto-body}).
423 @findex message-goto-signature
424 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
436 @findex message-yank-original
437 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
438 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
439 (@code{message-yank-original}).
443 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
444 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
445 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
446 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
447 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
452 @findex message-insert-signature
453 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
454 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
458 @findex message-insert-headers
459 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
464 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
465 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
466 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
467 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
470 @item message-citation-line-function
471 @vindex message-citation-line-function
472 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
473 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
477 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
480 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
483 @item message-yank-prefix
484 @vindex message-yank-prefix
487 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
488 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
489 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
490 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
491 If it is @code{nil}, just indent the message.
493 @item message-indentation-spaces
494 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
495 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
497 @item message-cite-function
498 @vindex message-cite-function
499 @findex message-cite-original
500 @findex sc-cite-original
501 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
503 Function for citing an original message. The default is
504 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
505 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
506 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
507 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
510 @item message-indent-citation-function
511 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
512 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
513 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
514 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
515 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
517 @item message-signature
518 @vindex message-signature
519 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
520 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
521 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
522 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
523 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
525 @item message-signature-file
526 @vindex message-signature-file
527 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
528 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
532 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
533 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
534 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
535 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
536 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
538 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
539 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
540 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
544 @node Various Commands
545 @section Various Commands
551 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
552 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
553 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
554 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
555 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
559 @findex message-elide-region
560 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
561 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
566 @findex message-kill-to-signature
567 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
568 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
572 @findex message-delete-not-region
573 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
574 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
578 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
579 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
584 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
587 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
590 > This is some quoted text.
594 > And here's more quoted text.
597 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
601 @findex message-insert-to
602 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
603 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
604 (@code{message-insert-to}).
608 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
609 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
610 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
611 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
615 @findex message-rename-buffer
616 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
617 prompt for a new buffer name.
628 @findex message-send-and-exit
629 Send the message and bury the current buffer
630 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
635 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
639 @findex message-dont-send
640 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
644 @findex message-kill-buffer
645 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
652 @section Mail Aliases
656 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
657 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
658 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
659 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
660 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
662 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
663 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
666 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
667 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
670 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
671 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
672 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
674 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
675 expansions have to be done explicitly.
683 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
684 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
685 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
686 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
687 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
688 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
689 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
690 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
691 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
695 @node Message Headers
696 @section Message Headers
698 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
699 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
700 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
701 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
702 look sufficiently similar.
706 @item message-generate-headers-first
707 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
708 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
711 @item message-from-style
712 @vindex message-from-style
713 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
718 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
721 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
724 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
727 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
728 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
729 @code{angles} anyway.
733 @item message-deletable-headers
734 @vindex message-deletable-headers
735 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
736 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
737 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
738 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
739 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
740 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
741 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
742 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
745 @item message-default-headers
746 @vindex message-default-headers
747 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
750 @item message-subject-re-regexp
751 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
752 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
753 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
754 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
755 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
756 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
757 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
758 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
759 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
760 just throw away non-compliant mail.
766 @section Mail Headers
769 @item message-required-mail-headers
770 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
771 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
772 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
773 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
775 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
776 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
777 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
778 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
780 @item message-default-mail-headers
781 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
782 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
783 buffers that are initialized as mail.
789 @section Mail Variables
792 @item message-send-mail-function
793 @vindex message-send-mail-function
794 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
795 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
796 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
798 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
799 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
800 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
801 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
802 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
803 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
810 @section News Headers
812 @vindex message-required-news-headers
813 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
814 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
815 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
821 @findex user-full-name
822 @findex user-mail-address
823 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
824 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
825 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
826 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
830 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
834 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
835 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
839 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
840 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
841 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
842 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
843 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
844 parameters and should return a string to be used).
848 This optional header will be computed by Message.
852 @vindex mail-host-address
855 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
856 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
857 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
858 of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
859 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
864 This optional header will be filled out according to the
865 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
868 This optional header will be filled out according to the
869 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
870 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
873 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
874 header of the article being replied to.
878 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
879 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
880 be used unless you know what you're doing.
884 This optional header is filled out according to the
885 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
886 much misunderstood header.
890 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
891 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
892 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
893 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
894 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
895 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
896 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
901 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
902 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
903 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
904 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
905 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
906 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
907 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
908 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
909 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
911 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
912 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
915 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
919 @item message-syntax-checks
920 @vindex message-syntax-checks
921 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
922 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
925 (signature . disabled)
934 Check the subject for commands.
937 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
938 @item multiple-headers
939 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
942 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
944 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
946 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
949 Check for too long lines.
951 Check for invalid characters.
953 Check for excessive size.
955 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
957 Check the length of the signature.
960 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
961 something only moderators should include.
963 Check whether the article is empty.
965 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
967 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
968 @item existing-newsgroups
969 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
970 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
971 @item valid-newsgroups
972 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
973 are valid syntactically.
974 @item repeated-newsgroups
975 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
976 contains repeated group names.
977 @item shorten-followup-to
978 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
979 of groups to post to.
982 All these conditions are checked by default.
984 @item message-ignored-news-headers
985 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
986 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
987 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
989 @item message-default-news-headers
990 @vindex message-default-news-headers
991 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
992 buffers that are initialized as news.
998 @section News Variables
1001 @item message-send-news-function
1002 @vindex message-send-news-function
1003 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1004 @code{message-send-news}.
1006 @item message-post-method
1007 @vindex message-post-method
1008 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1009 posting a prepared news message.
1014 @node Various Message Variables
1015 @section Various Message Variables
1018 @item message-signature-separator
1019 @vindex message-signature-separator
1020 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1023 @item mail-header-separator
1024 @vindex mail-header-separator
1025 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1026 follows this line--} by default.
1028 @item message-directory
1029 @vindex message-directory
1030 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1032 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1033 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1034 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1035 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1037 @item message-setup-hook
1038 @vindex message-setup-hook
1039 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1040 but before yanked text is inserted.
1042 @item message-header-setup-hook
1043 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1044 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1046 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1047 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1048 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1051 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1052 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1053 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1054 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1055 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1056 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1058 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1059 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1062 @item message-send-hook
1063 @vindex message-send-hook
1064 Hook run before sending messages.
1066 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1067 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1068 @findex message-add-header
1071 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1072 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1075 "Content-Type: text/plain"
1076 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit"))
1079 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1081 @item message-send-mail-hook
1082 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1083 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1085 @item message-send-news-hook
1086 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1087 Hook run before sending news messages.
1089 @item message-sent-hook
1090 @vindex message-sent-hook
1091 Hook run after sending messages.
1093 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1094 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1095 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1097 @item message-send-method-alist
1098 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1100 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1103 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1108 A symbol that names the method.
1111 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1112 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1115 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1116 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1120 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1121 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1130 @node Sending Variables
1131 @section Sending Variables
1135 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1136 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1137 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1138 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1139 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1141 @item message-courtesy-message
1142 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1143 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1144 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1145 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1146 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1147 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1148 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1153 @node Message Buffers
1154 @section Message Buffers
1156 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1157 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1158 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1159 message buffers are kept alive.
1162 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1163 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1164 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1165 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1166 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1167 The function should return the new buffer name.
1169 @item message-use-multi-frames
1170 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1171 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1173 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1174 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1175 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1176 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1177 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1178 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1181 @item message-max-buffers
1182 @vindex message-max-buffers
1183 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1184 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1185 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1186 will ever be killed.
1188 @item message-send-rename-function
1189 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1190 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1191 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1192 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1193 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1197 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1200 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1201 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1202 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1207 @node Message Actions
1208 @section Message Actions
1210 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1211 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1212 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1215 @vindex message-kill-actions
1216 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1217 @vindex message-exit-actions
1218 @vindex message-send-actions
1219 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1220 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1221 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1222 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1223 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1224 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1225 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1226 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1228 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1229 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1230 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1231 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1235 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1236 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1239 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1240 killed, postponed or exited.
1242 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1243 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1244 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1248 @chapter Compatibility
1249 @cindex compatibility
1251 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1252 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1253 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1256 (require 'messcompat)
1259 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1260 corresponding mail variables.
1267 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1274 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1279 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1280 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1281 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1292 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1293 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1294 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1295 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1299 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1306 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1307 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1308 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1312 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1313 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1324 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1325 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is