\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
@setfilename message
-@settitle Message 6.10.068 Manual
+@settitle T-gnus 6.17 Message Manual
@synindex fn cp
@synindex vr cp
@synindex pg cp
-@c @direntry
-@c * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
-@c @end direntry
+@dircategory Emacs
+@direntry
+* Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
+@end direntry
@iftex
@finalout
@end iftex
@setchapternewpage odd
-@ifinfo
+@ifnottex
This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
-Copyright (C) 1996,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
+Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
-this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
-are preserved on all copies.
+Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
+Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
+Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
+license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
+License'' in the Emacs manual.
-@ignore
-Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
-results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
-notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
-(this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
+(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
+this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
+Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
-@end ignore
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
-manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
-entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
-permission notice identical to this one.
-
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
-into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
-@end ifinfo
+This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
+Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
+separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
+license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
+@end ifnottex
@tex
@titlepage
-@title Message 6.10.068 Manual
+@title T-gnus 6.17 Message Manual
@author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
-Copyright @copyright{} 1996,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
-
-Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
-this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
-are preserved on all copies.
-
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
-manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
-entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
-permission notice identical to this one.
-
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
-into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
-
+Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
+ Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
+Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
+Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
+license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
+License'' in the Emacs manual.
+
+(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
+this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
+Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
+
+This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
+Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
+separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
+license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
@end titlepage
@page
* Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
@end menu
-This manual corresponds to Message 6.10.068. Message is
-distributed with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number
-as this manual.
+This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.17 Message. Message is distributed
+with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
+manual.
@node Interface
@chapter Interface
-When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
-follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
+When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message---reply,
+follow up, forward, cancel---the program (or person) should just put
point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
@code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
* Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
* Resending:: Resending a mail message.
* Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
+* Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
@end menu
(setq message-reply-to-function
(lambda ()
(cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
- (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
+ (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
(t
nil))))
@end lisp
header will be used.
This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
-should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
-(eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
-(eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
+should be a cons, where the @sc{car} should be the name of a header
+(e.g. @code{Cc}) and the @sc{cdr} should be the header value
+(e.g. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
the head of the outgoing mail.
@code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
@code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
-@findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
-Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
+@vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
+Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
+@vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
+If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
+will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
+recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
@node Followup
@section Followup
The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
current buffer.
+@vindex message-cancel-message
+The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
+the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
+article.}.
+
+@cindex Cancel Locks
+@vindex message-insert-canlock
+@cindex canlock
+When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
+headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
+only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
+is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
+stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
+automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
+able to cancel your message.
+
+Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
+@code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
+
+Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
+this is expected to change in the future.
+
@node Superseding
@section Superseding
news.
@table @code
-@item message-forward-start-separator
-@vindex message-forward-start-separator
-Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is@*
-@samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
-
-@vindex message-forward-end-separator
-@item message-forward-end-separator
-@vindex message-forward-end-separator
-Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is@*
-@samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
-
-@item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
-@vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
-If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
-signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
-forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
-
-@item message-included-forward-headers
-@vindex message-included-forward-headers
-Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
+@item message-forward-ignored-headers
+@vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
+All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
@item message-make-forward-subject-function
@vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
@samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
+@item message-forward-as-mime
+@vindex message-forward-as-mime
+If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
+included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
+messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
+non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.
+
+@item message-forward-before-signature
+@vindex message-forward-before-signature
+If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
+
@end table
@samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
+@node Mailing Lists
+@section Mailing Lists
+
+@cindex Mail-Followup-To
+Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
+followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
+was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
+useful:
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
+sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
+if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
+
+@item
+A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
+sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
+is not subscribed to the list.
+
+@item
+If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
+to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
+discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
+and very difficult to follow.
+
+@end itemize
+
+Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
+up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
+sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
+
+@c @menu
+@c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
+@c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
+@c @end menu
+
+@c @node Composing with a MFT header
+@subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
+
+The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
+in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
+addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
+way. The following variables would come in handy.
+
+@table @code
+
+@vindex message-subscribed-addresses
+@item message-subscribed-addresses
+This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
+default value is @code{nil}. Example:
+@lisp
+(setq message-subscribed-addresses
+ '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex message-subscribed-regexps
+@item message-subscribed-regexps
+This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
+lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
+want to achieve the same result as above:
+@lisp
+(setq message-subscribed-regexps
+ '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
+@item message-subscribed-address-functions
+This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
+determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
+functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
+
+There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
+this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
+that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
+the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
+gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.
+This is how you would do it.
+
+@lisp
+(setq message-subscribed-address-functions
+ '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex message-subscribed-address-file
+@item message-subscribed-address-file
+You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
+all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
+set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
+
+@end table
+
+You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
+``added'' in some way that works :-)
+
+Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
+And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
+MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
+MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
+in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
+automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
+per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
+addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
+is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
+address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
+other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
+
+@kindex C-c C-f C-a
+@findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
+@kindex C-c C-f C-m
+@findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
+Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
+subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
+is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
+MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
+to-address group parameter.) The function
+@code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
+handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
+can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
+(@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
+
+@c @node Honoring an MFT post
+@subsection Honoring an MFT post
+
+@vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
+When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
+header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
+@code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
+
+@table @code
+@item use
+ Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
+ derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
+
+@item nil
+ Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
+
+@item ask
+Gnus will prompt you for an action.
+
+@end table
+
+It is considered good netiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
+fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
+better than you do.
+
@node Commands
@chapter Commands
@menu
-* Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
+* Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
+* Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
* Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
* Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
-* MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
+* MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
+* IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
+* Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
* Various Commands:: Various things.
* Sending:: Actually sending the message.
* Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
+* Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
@end menu
+@node Buffer Entry
+@section Buffer Entry
+@cindex undo
+@kindex C-_
+
+You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
+message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
+may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
+which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
+but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
+Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
+takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
+times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
+
+
@node Header Commands
@section Header Commands
-All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
-it will be inserted.
+@subsection Commands for moving to headers
+
+These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
+exist, it will be inserted.
@table @kbd
@item C-c ?
@kindex C-c ?
-@findex message-goto-to
+@findex describe-mode
Describe the message mode.
@item C-c C-f C-t
@findex message-goto-to
Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
+@item C-c C-f C-o
+@kindex C-c C-f C-o
+@findex message-goto-from
+Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
+in the key binding is for Originator.)
+
@item C-c C-f C-b
@kindex C-c C-f C-b
@findex message-goto-bcc
@findex message-goto-summary
Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
+@item C-c C-f C-i
+@kindex C-c C-f C-i
+@findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
+This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
+@samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
+message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
+buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
+1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
+
+@item C-c C-f C-a
+@kindex C-c C-f C-a
+@findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
+Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
+(@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
+unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
+not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
+by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
+own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
+fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
+buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
+
+If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, the
+addresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the
+@samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.
+
+@end table
+
+@subsection Commands to change headers
+
+@table @kbd
+
+@item C-c C-o
+@kindex C-c C-o
+@findex message-sort-headers
+@vindex message-header-format-alist
+Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
+(@code{message-sort-headers}).
+
+@item C-c C-t
+@kindex C-c C-t
+@findex message-insert-to
+Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
+@code{From} header of the message you're following up
+(@code{message-insert-to}).
+
+@item C-c C-n
+@kindex C-c C-n
+@findex message-insert-newsgroups
+Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
+or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
+(@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
+
+@item C-c C-l
+@kindex C-c C-l
+@findex message-to-list-only
+Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
+address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
+
+@item C-c M-n
+@kindex C-c M-n
+@findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
+Insert a request for a disposition
+notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
+This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
+notification that she received the message.
+
+@item M-x message-insert-importance-high
+@kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
+@findex message-insert-importance-high
+@cindex Importance
+Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
+deleting headers if necessary.
+
+@item M-x message-insert-importance-low
+@kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
+@findex message-insert-importance-low
+@cindex Importance
+Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
+headers if necessary.
+
+@item C-c C-f s
+@kindex C-c C-f s
+@findex message-change-subject
+@cindex Subject
+Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
+header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
+stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
+(@pxref{Message Headers}).
+
+@item C-c C-f x
+@kindex C-c C-f x
+@findex message-cross-post-followup-to
+@vindex message-cross-post-default
+@cindex X-Post
+@cindex cross-post
+Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
+cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
+@samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
+If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
+prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
+cross-posted.
+
+@item C-c C-f t
+@kindex C-c C-f t
+@findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
+Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
+@samp{Bcc} header.
+
+@item C-c C-f w
+@kindex C-c C-f w
+@findex message-insert-wide-reply
+Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
+reply.
+
+@item C-c C-f a
+@kindex C-c C-f a
+@findex message-add-archive-header
+@vindex message-archive-header
+@vindex message-archive-note
+@cindex X-No-Archive
+Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
+The header and the note can be customized using
+@code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
+called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
+want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
+@code{nil}.
+
@end table
@findex message-goto-signature
Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
+@item C-a
+@kindex C-a
+@findex message-beginning-of-line
+@vindex message-beginning-of-line
+If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
+beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
+name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
+the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
+
@end table
@kindex C-c C-y
@findex message-yank-original
Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
-buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
+buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
(@code{message-yank-original}).
+@item C-c C-M-y
+@kindex C-c C-M-y
+@findex message-yank-buffer
+Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
+message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
+
@item C-c C-q
@kindex C-c C-q
@findex message-fill-yanked-message
@findex message-insert-headers
Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
-@end table
-
-@table @code
-@item message-ignored-cited-headers
-@vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
-All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
-messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
-removed.
+@item C-c M-m
+@kindex C-c M-m
+@findex message-mark-inserted-region
+Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
+See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
-@item message-citation-line-function
-@vindex message-citation-line-function
-Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
-@code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
-that look like:
-
-@example
-Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
-@end example
-
-Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
-function is called.
-
-@item message-yank-prefix
-@vindex message-yank-prefix
-@cindex yanking
-@cindex quoting
-When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
-to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
-@dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
-@code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
-
-@item message-indentation-spaces
-@vindex message-indentation-spaces
-Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
-
-@item message-cite-function
-@vindex message-cite-function
-@findex message-cite-original
-@findex sc-cite-original
-@findex message-cite-original-without-signature
-@cindex Supercite
-Function for citing an original message. The default is
-@code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
-and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
-@code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
-the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
-Supercite.
-
-@item message-indent-citation-function
-@vindex message-indent-citation-function
-Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
-This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
-citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
-should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
-
-@item message-signature
-@vindex message-signature
-String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
-(which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
-inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
-used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
-If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
-
-@item message-signature-file
-@vindex message-signature-file
-File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
-The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
+@item C-c M-f
+@kindex C-c M-f
+@findex message-mark-insert-file
+Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
+See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
@end table
-Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
-characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
-easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
-signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
-that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
-
-Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
-Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
-that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
-
@node MIME
@section MIME
@cindex multipart
@cindex attachment
-Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
-doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
+Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
+doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
@code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
-@sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
-be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
-name and a @sc{mime} type.
+@acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out.
+This can be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for
+a file name and a @acronym{MIME} type. If your Emacs supports drag
+and drop, you can also drop the file in the Message buffer.
-You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
+You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the @acronym{MML}
language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
Manual}).
+@node IDNA
+@section IDNA
+@cindex IDNA
+@cindex internationalized domain names
+@cindex non-ascii domain names
+
+Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
+generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
+happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
+@code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
+
+Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
+whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
+occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
+non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
+typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
+
+@vindex message-use-idna
+The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
+used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
+ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
+queried (the default), and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding
+happens automatically.
+
+@findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
+If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
+invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
+to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit the message.
+
+Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
+Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
+
+@node Security
+@section Security
+@cindex Security
+@cindex S/MIME
+@cindex PGP
+@cindex PGP/MIME
+@cindex sign
+@cindex encrypt
+@cindex secure
+
+Using the @acronym{MML} language, Message is able to create digitally
+signed and digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather
+@acronym{MML}) currently support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991),
+@acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}. Instructing
+@acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
+done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m
+c} key map for encryption, as follows.
+
+@table @kbd
+
+@item C-c C-m s s
+@kindex C-c C-m s s
+@findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
+
+Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
+
+@item C-c C-m s o
+@kindex C-c C-m s o
+@findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
+
+Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
+
+@item C-c C-m s p
+@kindex C-c C-m s p
+@findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
+
+Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
+
+@item C-c C-m c s
+@kindex C-c C-m c s
+@findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
+
+Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
+
+@item C-c C-m c o
+@kindex C-c C-m c o
+@findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
+
+Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
+
+@item C-c C-m c p
+@kindex C-c C-m c p
+@findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
+
+Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
+
+@item C-c C-m C-n
+@kindex C-c C-m C-n
+@findex mml-unsecure-message
+Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
+
+@end table
+
+These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
+merely insert the proper @acronym{MML} secure tag to instruct the
+@acronym{MML} engine to perform that operation when the message is
+actually sent. They may perform other operations too, such as locating
+and retrieving a @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to
+send encrypted mail to. When the mml parsing engine converts your
+@acronym{MML} into a properly encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure
+tag will be replaced with either a part or a multipart tag. If your
+message contains other mml parts, a multipart tag will be used; if no
+other parts are present in your message a single part tag will be used.
+This way, message mode will do the Right Thing (TM) with
+signed/encrypted multipart messages.
+
+Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
+information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
+mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
+sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
+using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
+verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
+whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
+party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
+
+@emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
+RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
+in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
+
+By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
+``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed and
+encrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particular
+message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix
+argument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.
+
+Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
+least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
+other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
+programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
+
+@subsection Using S/MIME
+
+@emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
+modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
+so on.
+
+The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and @acronym{MML}) require
+OpenSSL. OpenSSL performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt
+operations. OpenSSL can be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.
+OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail
+addresses from certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into
+@acronym{MIME} separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like
+to avoid being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by
+sending @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that
+contest.)
+
+To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
+required. Message (@acronym{MML}) need a certificate for the person to whom you
+wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
+@kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
+certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
+file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
+If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
+certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
+Message (@acronym{MML}) is the first mail agent in the world to support
+retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
+likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
+should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
+is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
+is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
+command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
+
+As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
+without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
+where your private key and your certificate is stored. @acronym{MML}
+uses an Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
+contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
+@kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
+
+Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
+your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
+manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
+and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
+net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
+PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
+certificate in PEM format as follows.
+
+@example
+$ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
+@end example
+
+The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
+@code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
+
+@emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,
+so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk are
+supported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invoking
+OpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. If
+you use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or if
+you are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} at
+the passphrase prompt.
+
+@subsection Using PGP/MIME
+
+@acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
+as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGP
+implementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. One
+Emacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,
+pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
+@code{gpg.el} are also supported.
+
+@vindex gpg-temp-directory
+Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
+directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
+0700.
+
+Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation of
+your PGP implementation, so we refer to it.
+
+If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to send
+signed and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'll
+discover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. One
+solution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set
+@code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to use
+GnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}
+available from
+@uref{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. You
+could also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.
+@vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
+As a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work in
+two steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would like
+to change this behavior you can customize the
+@code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:
+
+@lisp
+(setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate)
+ ("pgp" separate)
+ ("pgpauto" separate)
+ ("pgpmime" separate)))
+@end lisp
+
+This causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating a
+message that can be understood by PGP version 2.
+
+(Refer to @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for more
+information about the problem.)
@node Various Commands
@section Various Commands
@item C-c C-e
@kindex C-c C-e
@findex message-elide-region
+@vindex message-elide-ellipsis
Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
-The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
-its place.
+The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
+@code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
+(@samp{[...]}).
+
+@item C-c M-k
+@kindex C-c M-k
+@findex message-kill-address
+Kill the address under point.
@item C-c C-z
@kindex C-c C-x
@item M-RET
@kindex M-RET
-@kindex message-newline-and-reformat
+@findex message-newline-and-reformat
Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
Here's an example:
@samp{*} says where point will be placed.
-@item C-c C-t
-@kindex C-c C-t
-@findex message-insert-to
-Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
-@code{From} header of the message you're following up
-(@code{message-insert-to}).
-
-@item C-c C-n
-@kindex C-c C-n
-@findex message-insert-newsgroups
-Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
-or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
-(@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
-
@item C-c M-r
@kindex C-c M-r
@findex message-rename-buffer
Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
prompt for a new buffer name.
+@item TAB
+@kindex TAB
+@findex message-tab
+@vindex message-tab-body-function
+If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
+@code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
+@kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
+
@end table
@item C-c C-k
@kindex C-c C-k
@findex message-kill-buffer
-Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
+Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}). It will
+delete the message frame if it has been created exclusively for the
+message buffer. If the option
+@code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} is non-@code{nil} and the
+backup file has been created for the message buffer, it will also remove
+the file after prompting to the user.
+
+@item C-x k
+@kindex C-x k
+@findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
+@vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
+This is an imitation for @code{kill-buffer}
+(@code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}). It dynamically binds the variable
+@code{message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file} to @code{nil} and calls the
+function @code{message-kill-buffer}.
@end table
expansions have to be done explicitly.
+@node Spelling
+@section Spelling
+@cindex spelling
+@findex ispell-message
+
+There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
+@code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
+probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
+and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
+typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
+something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
+If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
+controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
+
+@lisp
+(setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
+ '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
+ (".*" . "default")))
+@end lisp
+
+@code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
+installed.
+
+The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
+your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
+various ways.
+
+To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
+@file{.emacs} file:
+
+@lisp
+(defun my-message-setup-routine ()
+ (flyspell-mode 1))
+(add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
+@end lisp
+
+@code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
+installed.
+
@node Variables
@chapter Variables
* Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
* News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
* News Variables:: Other news variables.
+* Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
* Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
* Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
* Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
@section Message Headers
Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
-be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
+be---it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
look sufficiently similar.
@item message-generate-headers-first
@vindex message-generate-headers-first
-If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
-message.
+If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
+compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
+
+@lisp
+(setq message-generate-headers-first
+ '(References))
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex message-required-headers
+The variables @code{message-required-headers},
+@code{message-required-mail-headers} and
+@code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
+required.
+
+Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
+because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
+
+@item message-draft-headers
+@vindex message-draft-headers
+When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
+with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
+should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
@item message-from-style
@vindex message-from-style
@table @code
@item nil
-Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
+Just the address---@samp{king@@grassland.com}.
@item parens
@samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
@item message-subject-re-regexp
@vindex message-subject-re-regexp
+@cindex Aw
+@cindex Sv
+@cindex Re
Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
-is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
+is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
-to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
+to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
(``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
just throw away non-compliant mail.
+Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
+responding to a message:
+
+@lisp
+(setq message-subject-re-regexp
+ (concat
+ "^[ \t]*"
+ "\\("
+ "\\("
+ "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw
+ "[Aa][Ww]\\|" ; aw
+ "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd
+ "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp
+ "[Rr][Ee]\\|" ; re
+ "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref
+ "[Ss][Vv]" ; sv
+ "\\)"
+ "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)"
+ "*:[ \t]*"
+ "\\)"
+ "*[ \t]*"
+ ))
+@end lisp
+
+@item message-subject-trailing-was-query
+@vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
+@vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
+@vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
+Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
+lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
+@code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
+matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
+@code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
+trailing old subject. In this case,
+@code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
+
+@item message-alternative-emails
+@vindex message-alternative-emails
+A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
+address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
+
+@item message-allow-no-recipients
+@vindex message-allow-no-recipients
+Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
+@code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
+allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
+@code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
+
+@item message-hidden-headers
+@vindex message-hidden-headers
+A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
+@code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
+hidden when composing a message.
+
+@lisp
+(setq message-hidden-headers
+ '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
+@end lisp
+
+@item message-header-synonyms
+@vindex message-header-synonyms
+A list of lists of header synonyms. E.g., if this list contains a
+member list with elements @code{Cc} and @code{To}, then
+@code{message-carefully-insert-headers} will not insert a @code{To}
+header when the message is already @code{Cc}ed to the recipient.
+
@end table
@vindex message-required-mail-headers
@xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
@code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
-(optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
+(optional . User-Agent))} by default.
@item message-ignored-mail-headers
@vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
-@samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
+@samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
@item message-default-mail-headers
@vindex message-default-mail-headers
@table @code
@item message-send-mail-function
@vindex message-send-mail-function
+@findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
+@findex message-send-mail-with-mh
+@findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
+@findex message-smtpmail-send-it
+@findex smtpmail-send-it
+@findex feedmail-send-it
Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
-@code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
-instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
+@code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
+@code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
+@code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
+@code{feedmail-send-it}.
@item message-mh-deletable-headers
@vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
headers.
+@item message-qmail-inject-program
+@vindex message-qmail-inject-program
+@cindex qmail
+Location of the qmail-inject program.
+
+@item message-qmail-inject-args
+@vindex message-qmail-inject-args
+Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
+This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
+may also be a function.
+
+For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
+go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
+might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
+
+@item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
+@vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
+@cindex sendmail
+Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
+command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
+
+@item message-sendmail-envelope-from
+@vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
+When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
+the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
+@code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
+@code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
+
+@item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
+@vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
+Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
+body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
+in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
+the problem will actually occur.
+
+@item message-send-mail-partially-limit
+@vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
+@cindex split large message
+The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
+of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
+in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
+
@end table
@item Organization
@cindex organization
+@vindex message-user-organization
+@vindex message-user-organization-file
This optional header will be filled out depending on the
@code{message-user-organization} variable.
@code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
@item Message-ID
@cindex Message-ID
+@vindex message-user-fqdn
@vindex mail-host-address
+@vindex user-mail-address
@findex system-name
@cindex Sun
+@cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
-created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
-use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
-of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
-@code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
-notably Suns.
-
-@item X-Newsreader
-@cindex X-Newsreader
+created based on the date, time, user name and system name. For the
+domain part, message will look (in this order) at
+@code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
+and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
+until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
+
+@item User-Agent
+@cindex User-Agent
This optional header will be filled out according to the
@code{message-newsreader} local variable.
-@item X-Mailer
-This optional header will be filled out according to the
-@code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
-@code{X-Newsreader} header present.
-
@item In-Reply-To
This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
header of the article being replied to.
@item Expires
@cindex Expires
+@vindex message-expires
This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
@code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
be used unless you know what you're doing.
@item Distribution
@cindex Distribution
+@vindex message-distribution-function
This optional header is filled out according to the
@code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
much misunderstood header.
@item Path
@cindex path
+@vindex message-user-path
This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
@findex yow
@cindex Mime-Version
-In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
+In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this cons
should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
-the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
+the @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
@code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
@code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
-If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
-@code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
+If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is
+@code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it is
non-@code{nil}.
+If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
+snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
+another element.
+
+@lisp
+(setq message-required-news-headers
+ (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
+@end lisp
+
Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
@table @code
@item message-ignored-news-headers
@vindex message-ignored-news-headers
Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
-@samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
+@samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
@item message-default-news-headers
@vindex message-default-news-headers
@end table
+@node Insertion Variables
+@section Insertion Variables
+
+@table @code
+@item message-ignored-cited-headers
+@vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
+All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
+messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
+removed.
+
+@item message-cite-prefix-regexp
+@vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
+Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
+
+@item message-citation-line-function
+@vindex message-citation-line-function
+@cindex attribution line
+Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
+@code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
+that look like:
+
+@example
+Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
+@end example
+
+Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
+function is called.
+
+Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
+cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
+messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
+@code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
+Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.
+
+@item message-yank-prefix
+@vindex message-yank-prefix
+@cindex yanking
+@cindex quoting
+When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
+to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
+by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
+@code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
+empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
+is @samp{> }.
+
+@item message-yank-cited-prefix
+@vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
+@cindex yanking
+@cindex cited
+@cindex quoting
+When yanking text from an article which contains no text or already
+cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
+variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
+@code{message-yank-prefix}.
+
+@item message-yank-add-new-references
+@vindex message-yank-add-new-references
+@cindex yanking
+Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
+article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
+interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
+from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
+In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
+
+@item message-list-references-add-position
+@vindex message-list-references-add-position
+@cindex yanking
+Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
+article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
+interactively.
+
+@item message-indentation-spaces
+@vindex message-indentation-spaces
+Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
+
+@item message-cite-function
+@vindex message-cite-function
+@findex message-cite-original
+@findex sc-cite-original
+@findex message-cite-original-without-signature
+@cindex Supercite
+Function for citing an original message. The default is
+@code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
+and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
+@code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
+the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
+Supercite.
+
+@item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
+@vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
+If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
+message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
+have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
+mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
+Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
+errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
+
+@item message-indent-citation-function
+@vindex message-indent-citation-function
+Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
+This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
+citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
+should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
+
+@item message-mark-insert-begin
+@vindex message-mark-insert-begin
+String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
+
+@item message-mark-insert-end
+@vindex message-mark-insert-end
+String to mark the end of some inserted text.
+
+@item message-signature
+@vindex message-signature
+String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
+(which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
+inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
+used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
+If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
+
+@item message-signature-file
+@vindex message-signature-file
+File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
+The default is @file{~/.signature}.
+
+@item message-signature-insert-empty-line
+@vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
+If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
+signature separator.
+
+@end table
+
+Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
+characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
+easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
+signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
+that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
+
+Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
+Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
+everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
+say.
+
+
@node Various Message Variables
@section Various Message Variables
@table @code
+@item message-default-charset
+@vindex message-default-charset
+@cindex charset
+Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}
+characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.
+The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variable
+is used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,
+Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on
+the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.
+
@item message-signature-separator
@vindex message-signature-separator
Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
@vindex message-directory
Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
+@item message-auto-save-directory
+@vindex message-auto-save-directory
+Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
+@code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
+
@item message-signature-setup-hook
@vindex message-signature-setup-hook
Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
@lisp
(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
(defun my-message-add-content ()
- (message-add-header
- "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense"
- "X-Whatever: no"))
+ (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
+ (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
@end lisp
This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
@item message-send-mail-hook
@vindex message-send-mail-hook
-Hook run before sending mail messages.
+Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
+just before the message is actually sent as mail.
@item message-send-news-hook
@vindex message-send-news-hook
-Hook run before sending news messages.
+Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
+just before the message is actually sent as news.
@item message-sent-hook
@vindex message-sent-hook
Hook run after sending messages.
+@item message-cancel-hook
+@vindex message-cancel-hook
+Hook run when canceling news articles.
+
@item message-mode-syntax-table
@vindex message-mode-syntax-table
Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
+@item message-strip-special-text-properties
+@vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
+Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
+composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
+these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
+packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
+you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
+message composition doesn't break too bad.
+
@item message-send-method-alist
@vindex message-send-method-alist
Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
@lisp
-(TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
+(@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})
@end lisp
@table @var
@item function
A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
-@var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
+@var{function} is called with one parameter---the prefix.
@end table
@lisp
@item message-fcc-handler-function
@vindex message-fcc-handler-function
A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
-called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
+called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
@item message-courtesy-message
newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
-an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
+an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
+
+@item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
+@vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
+If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
+non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
+
+@item message-interactive
+@vindex message-interactive
+If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
+if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
@end table
@end lisp
@item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
-@findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
+@vindex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
+@item message-kill-buffer-query-function
+@vindex message-kill-buffer-query-function
+@findex message-kill-buffer
+@findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
+Function used to prompt user whether to kill the message buffer when the
+command @code{message-kill-buffer} or @code{message-mimic-kill-buffer}
+is used. It defaults to @code{yes-or-no-p}. You may alter the value to
+@code{y-or-n-p}, @code{nnheader-Y-or-n-p}, etc. If it is @code{t}, the
+buffer will be killed without query.
+
+@item message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
+@vindex message-kill-buffer-and-remove-file
+@findex message-kill-buffer
+@findex message-mimic-kill-buffer
+If it is non-@code{nil}, remove the backup file if it exists with a
+query to the user, after the message buffer is killed. Otherwise the
+file won't be removed. It defaults to @code{t}. However, it is treated
+as @code{nil} when the command `message-mimic-kill-buffer' is used.
+
@end table
killed, postponed or exited.
An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
-@code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
+@sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
a form to be @code{eval}ed.
Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
-into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
+into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
@lisp
(require 'messcompat)