1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
24 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
25 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
26 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
27 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
28 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
29 License'' in the Emacs manual.
31 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
32 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
33 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
35 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
36 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
37 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
38 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
44 @title T-gnus 6.15 Message Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
51 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
54 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
55 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
56 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
57 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
58 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
59 License'' in the Emacs manual.
61 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
62 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
63 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
65 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
66 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
67 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
68 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
77 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
81 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
82 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
83 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
84 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
85 * Appendices:: More technical things.
86 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
87 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
90 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15 Message. Message is distributed
91 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
98 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
99 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
100 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
101 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
102 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
106 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
107 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
108 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
109 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
110 * Followup:: Following up via news.
111 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
112 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
113 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
114 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
115 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
119 @node New Mail Message
120 @section New Mail Message
123 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
125 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
126 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
127 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
130 @node New News Message
131 @section New News Message
134 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
136 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
137 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
138 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
144 @findex message-reply
145 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
146 reply to the message in the current buffer.
148 @vindex message-reply-to-function
149 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
150 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
151 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
153 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
154 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
157 (setq message-reply-to-function
159 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
160 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
165 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
168 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
169 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
170 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
173 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
174 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
175 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
176 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
177 the head of the outgoing mail.
183 @findex message-wide-reply
184 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
185 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
186 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
187 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
189 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
190 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
191 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
192 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
193 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
195 @findex message-dont-reply-to-names
196 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
197 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
203 @findex message-followup
204 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
205 followup to the message in the current buffer.
207 @vindex message-followup-to-function
208 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
209 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
210 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
211 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
213 @vindex message-use-followup-to
214 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
215 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
216 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
217 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
218 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
222 @section Canceling News
224 @findex message-cancel-news
225 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
232 @findex message-supersede
233 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
234 supersede the message in the current buffer.
236 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
237 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
238 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
239 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
240 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
247 @findex message-forward
248 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
249 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
253 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
254 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
255 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
257 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
258 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
259 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
260 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
261 passed into each successive function.
263 The provided functions are:
266 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
267 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
268 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
271 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
272 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
275 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
276 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
277 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
278 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
279 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
280 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
282 @item message-forward-as-mime
283 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
284 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
285 included as inline MIME RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
286 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
287 non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
294 @findex message-resend
295 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
296 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
298 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
299 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
300 be removed before sending the message. The default is
301 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
307 @findex message-bounce
308 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
309 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
310 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
311 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
314 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
315 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
316 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
317 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
324 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
325 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
326 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
327 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
328 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
329 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
330 * Various Commands:: Various things.
331 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
332 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
333 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
338 @section Buffer Entry
342 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
343 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
344 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
345 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
346 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
347 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
348 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
349 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
352 @node Header Commands
353 @section Header Commands
355 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
362 @findex message-goto-to
363 Describe the message mode.
367 @findex message-goto-to
368 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
372 @findex message-goto-bcc
373 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
377 @findex message-goto-fcc
378 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
382 @findex message-goto-cc
383 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
387 @findex message-goto-subject
388 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
392 @findex message-goto-reply-to
393 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
397 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
398 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
402 @findex message-goto-distribution
403 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
407 @findex message-goto-followup-to
408 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
412 @findex message-goto-keywords
413 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
417 @findex message-goto-summary
418 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
429 @findex message-goto-body
430 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
431 (@code{message-goto-body}).
435 @findex message-goto-signature
436 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
448 @findex message-yank-original
449 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
450 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
451 (@code{message-yank-original}).
455 @findex message-yank-buffer
456 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
457 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
461 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
462 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
463 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
464 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
465 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
470 @findex message-insert-signature
471 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
472 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
476 @findex message-insert-headers
477 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
482 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
483 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
484 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
485 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
488 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
489 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
490 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
492 @item message-citation-line-function
493 @vindex message-citation-line-function
494 @cindex attribution line
495 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
496 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
500 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
503 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
506 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
507 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
508 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
509 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
510 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
512 @item message-yank-prefix
513 @vindex message-yank-prefix
516 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
517 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
518 by @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank (except earlier
519 quotes, see @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}) will have
520 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
522 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
523 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
527 The @code{message-yank-prefix} prefix is not used on already cited
528 lines, instead the contents of this variable is used as yank prefix.
529 The default is @samp{>}.
531 @item message-yank-add-new-references
532 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
534 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
535 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
536 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
537 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
538 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
540 @item message-list-references-add-position
541 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
543 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
544 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
547 @item message-indentation-spaces
548 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
549 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
551 @item message-cite-function
552 @vindex message-cite-function
553 @findex message-cite-original
554 @findex sc-cite-original
555 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
557 Function for citing an original message. The default is
558 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
559 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
560 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
561 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
564 @item message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
565 @vindex message-suspend-font-lock-when-citing
566 If non-@code{nil}, suspend font-lock'ing while citing an original
567 message. Some lazy demand-driven fontification tools (or Emacs itself)
568 have a bug that they often miss a buffer to be fontified. It will
569 mostly occur when Emacs prompts user for any inputs in the minibuffer.
570 Setting this option to non-@code{nil} may help you to avoid unpleasant
571 errors even if it is an add-hoc expedient.
573 @item message-indent-citation-function
574 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
575 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
576 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
577 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
578 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
580 @item message-signature
581 @vindex message-signature
582 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
583 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
584 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
585 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
586 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
588 @item message-signature-file
589 @vindex message-signature-file
590 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
591 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
595 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
596 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
597 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
598 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
599 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
601 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
602 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
603 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
613 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
614 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
615 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
616 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
618 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
619 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
620 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
621 name and a @sc{mime} type.
623 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
624 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
635 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
636 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently support
637 PGP/MIME and S/MIME. Instructing MML to perform security operations on
638 a MIME part is done using the @code{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the
639 @code{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
645 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
647 Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.
651 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
653 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
657 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
659 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.
663 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
665 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
669 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
670 merely insert proper MML tags to instruct the MML engine to perform that
671 operation when the message is actually sent. They may perform other
672 operations too, such as locating and retrieving a S/MIME certificate of
673 the person you wish to send encrypted mail to.
675 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
676 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
677 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
678 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
679 using @code{C-u C-m P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can verify that
680 your long rant about what your ex-significant other or whomever actually
681 did with that funny looking person at that strange party the other
682 night, actually will be sent encrypted.
684 @emph{Note!} Neither PGP/MIME nor S/MIME encrypt/signs RFC822 headers.
685 They only operate on the MIME object. Keep this in mind before sending
686 mail with a sensitive Subject line.
688 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
689 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
690 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
691 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
693 @subsection Using S/MIME
695 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
696 modern cryptography, S/MIME, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and so on.
698 The S/MIME support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
699 perform the actual S/MIME sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can be found
700 at @code{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work.
701 Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from certificates, and it
702 insert a spurious CR character into MIME separators so you may wish to
703 avoid it if you would like to avoid being regarded as someone who send
704 strange mail. (Although by sending S/MIME messages you've probably
705 already lost that contest.)
707 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
708 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
709 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
710 @code{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
711 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local file,
712 it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you chose DNS,
713 you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is stored, the
714 default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is the first mail
715 agent in the world to support retrieving S/MIME certificates from DNS,
716 so you're not likely to find very many certificates out there. At least
717 there should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}.
718 LDAP is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for
719 it is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
720 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
722 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
723 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
724 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
725 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it contain
726 a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try @code{M-x
727 customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
729 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create your
730 own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this manually
731 with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape and got a
732 free S/MIME certificate from one of the big CA's on the net. Netscape
733 is able to export your private key and certificate in PKCS #12 format.
734 Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509 certificate in PEM format
738 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
741 The @code{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
742 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
744 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
747 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
749 PGP/MIME requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
750 Privacy Guard (@code{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an Emacs
751 interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
752 @code{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
753 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
755 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
756 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
758 @node Various Commands
759 @section Various Commands
765 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
766 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
767 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
768 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
769 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
773 @findex message-elide-region
774 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
775 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
776 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
781 @findex message-kill-to-signature
782 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
783 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
787 @findex message-delete-not-region
788 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
789 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
793 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
794 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
799 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
802 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
805 > This is some quoted text.
809 > And here's more quoted text.
812 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
816 @findex message-insert-to
817 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
818 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
819 (@code{message-insert-to}).
823 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
824 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
825 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
826 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
830 @findex message-rename-buffer
831 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
832 prompt for a new buffer name.
843 @findex message-send-and-exit
844 Send the message and bury the current buffer
845 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
850 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
854 @findex message-dont-send
855 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
859 @findex message-kill-buffer
860 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
867 @section Mail Aliases
871 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
872 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
873 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
874 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
875 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
877 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
878 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
881 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
882 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
885 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
886 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
887 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
889 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
890 expansions have to be done explicitly.
896 @findex ispell-message
898 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
899 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
900 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
901 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
902 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
903 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
906 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
909 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
910 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
911 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
914 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
915 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
919 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
922 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
923 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
926 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
930 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
932 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
935 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
943 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
944 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
945 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
946 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
947 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
948 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
949 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
950 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
951 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
955 @node Message Headers
956 @section Message Headers
958 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
959 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
960 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
961 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
962 look sufficiently similar.
966 @item message-generate-headers-first
967 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
968 If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
971 The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
972 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.
974 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
975 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
977 @item message-from-style
978 @vindex message-from-style
979 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
984 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
987 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
990 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
993 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
994 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
995 @code{angles} anyway.
999 @item message-deletable-headers
1000 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1001 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1002 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1003 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1004 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1005 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1006 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1007 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1008 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1011 @item message-default-headers
1012 @vindex message-default-headers
1013 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1016 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1017 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1018 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1019 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1020 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1021 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1022 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1023 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1024 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1025 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1026 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1028 @item message-alternative-emails
1029 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1030 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1031 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1037 @section Mail Headers
1040 @item message-required-mail-headers
1041 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1042 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1043 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1044 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1046 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1047 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1048 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1049 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1051 @item message-default-mail-headers
1052 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1053 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1054 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1059 @node Mail Variables
1060 @section Mail Variables
1063 @item message-send-mail-function
1064 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1065 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1066 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1067 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1068 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1069 @findex feedmail-send-it
1070 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1071 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1072 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1073 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1075 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1076 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1077 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1078 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1079 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1080 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1083 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1084 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1085 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1086 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1087 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1093 @section News Headers
1095 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1096 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1097 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1098 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1104 @findex user-full-name
1105 @findex user-mail-address
1106 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1107 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1108 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1109 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1113 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1117 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1118 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1121 @cindex organization
1122 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1123 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1124 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1125 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1126 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1127 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1131 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1135 @vindex mail-host-address
1138 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1139 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1140 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1141 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1142 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1146 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1147 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1150 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1151 header of the article being replied to.
1155 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1156 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1157 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1160 @cindex Distribution
1161 This optional header is filled out according to the
1162 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1163 much misunderstood header.
1167 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1168 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1169 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1170 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1171 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1172 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1173 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1177 @cindex Mime-Version
1178 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1179 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1180 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1181 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1182 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1183 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1184 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1185 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1186 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1188 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1189 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1192 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1196 @item message-syntax-checks
1197 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1198 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1199 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1202 (signature . disabled)
1211 Check the subject for commands.
1214 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1215 @item multiple-headers
1216 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1219 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1221 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1223 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1226 Check for too long lines.
1228 Check for invalid characters.
1230 Check for excessive size.
1232 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1234 Check the length of the signature.
1237 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1238 something only moderators should include.
1240 Check whether the article is empty.
1241 @item invisible-text
1242 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1244 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1245 @item existing-newsgroups
1246 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1247 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1248 @item valid-newsgroups
1249 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1250 are valid syntactically.
1251 @item repeated-newsgroups
1252 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1253 contains repeated group names.
1254 @item shorten-followup-to
1255 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1256 of groups to post to.
1259 All these conditions are checked by default.
1261 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1262 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1263 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1264 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1266 @item message-default-news-headers
1267 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1268 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1269 buffers that are initialized as news.
1274 @node News Variables
1275 @section News Variables
1278 @item message-send-news-function
1279 @vindex message-send-news-function
1280 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1281 @code{message-send-news}.
1283 @item message-post-method
1284 @vindex message-post-method
1285 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1286 posting a prepared news message.
1291 @node Various Message Variables
1292 @section Various Message Variables
1295 @item message-default-charset
1296 @vindex message-default-charset
1298 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1299 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1300 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1302 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1303 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1304 translation process.
1306 @item message-signature-separator
1307 @vindex message-signature-separator
1308 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1311 @item mail-header-separator
1312 @vindex mail-header-separator
1313 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1314 follows this line--} by default.
1316 @item message-directory
1317 @vindex message-directory
1318 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1320 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1321 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1322 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1323 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1325 @item message-setup-hook
1326 @vindex message-setup-hook
1327 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1328 but before yanked text is inserted.
1330 @item message-header-setup-hook
1331 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1332 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1334 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1335 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1336 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1339 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1340 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1341 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1342 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1343 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1344 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1346 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1347 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1350 @item message-send-hook
1351 @vindex message-send-hook
1352 Hook run before sending messages.
1354 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1355 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1356 @findex message-add-header
1359 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1360 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1361 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1362 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1365 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1367 @item message-send-mail-hook
1368 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1369 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1371 @item message-send-news-hook
1372 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1373 Hook run before sending news messages.
1375 @item message-sent-hook
1376 @vindex message-sent-hook
1377 Hook run after sending messages.
1379 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1380 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1381 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1383 @item message-send-method-alist
1384 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1386 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1389 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1394 A symbol that names the method.
1397 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1398 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1401 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1402 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1406 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1407 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1416 @node Sending Variables
1417 @section Sending Variables
1421 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1422 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1423 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1424 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1425 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1427 @item message-courtesy-message
1428 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1429 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1430 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1431 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1432 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1433 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1434 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1439 @node Message Buffers
1440 @section Message Buffers
1442 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1443 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1444 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1445 message buffers are kept alive.
1448 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1449 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1450 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1451 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1452 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1453 The function should return the new buffer name.
1455 @item message-use-multi-frames
1456 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1457 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1459 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1460 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1461 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1462 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1463 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1464 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1467 @item message-max-buffers
1468 @vindex message-max-buffers
1469 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1470 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1471 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1472 will ever be killed.
1474 @item message-send-rename-function
1475 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1476 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1477 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1478 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1479 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1483 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1486 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1487 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1488 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1493 @node Message Actions
1494 @section Message Actions
1496 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1497 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1498 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1501 @vindex message-kill-actions
1502 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1503 @vindex message-exit-actions
1504 @vindex message-send-actions
1505 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1506 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1507 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1508 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1509 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1510 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1511 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1512 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1514 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1515 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1516 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1517 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1521 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1522 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1525 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1526 killed, postponed or exited.
1528 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1529 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1530 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1534 @chapter Compatibility
1535 @cindex compatibility
1537 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1538 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1539 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1542 (require 'messcompat)
1545 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1546 corresponding mail variables.
1553 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1560 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1565 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1566 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1567 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1578 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1579 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1580 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1581 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1585 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1592 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1593 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1594 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1598 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1599 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1610 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1611 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is