1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Pterodactyl Message 0.71 Manual
9 @c * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
14 @setchapternewpage odd
18 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
20 Copyright (C) 1996,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
23 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
24 are preserved on all copies.
27 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
28 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
29 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
30 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
33 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
34 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
35 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
36 permission notice identical to this one.
38 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
39 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
45 @title Pterodactyl Message 0.71 Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
54 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
55 are preserved on all copies.
57 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
58 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
59 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
60 permission notice identical to this one.
62 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
63 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
73 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
77 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
78 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
79 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
80 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
81 * Appendices:: More technical things.
82 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
83 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
86 This manual corresponds to Pterodactyl Message 0.71. Message is
87 distributed with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number
94 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
95 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
96 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
97 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
98 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
102 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
103 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
104 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
105 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
106 * Followup:: Following up via news.
107 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
108 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
109 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
110 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
111 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
115 @node New Mail Message
116 @section New Mail Message
119 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
121 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
122 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
123 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
126 @node New News Message
127 @section New News Message
130 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
132 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
133 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
134 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
140 @findex message-reply
141 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
142 reply to the message in the current buffer.
144 @vindex message-reply-to-function
145 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
146 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
147 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
149 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
150 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
153 (setq message-reply-to-function
155 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
156 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
161 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
164 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
165 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
166 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
169 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
170 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
171 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
172 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
173 the head of the outgoing mail.
179 @findex message-wide-reply
180 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
181 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
182 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
183 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
185 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
186 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
187 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
188 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
189 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
191 @findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
192 Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
193 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
199 @findex message-followup
200 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
201 followup to the message in the current buffer.
203 @vindex message-followup-to-function
204 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
205 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
206 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
207 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
209 @vindex message-use-followup-to
210 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
211 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
212 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
213 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
214 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
218 @section Canceling News
220 @findex message-cancel-news
221 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
228 @findex message-supersede
229 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
230 supersede the message in the current buffer.
232 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
233 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
234 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
235 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
236 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
243 @findex message-forward
244 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
245 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
249 @item message-forward-start-separator
250 @vindex message-forward-start-separator
251 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is@*
252 @samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
254 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
255 @item message-forward-end-separator
256 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
257 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is@*
258 @samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
260 @item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
261 @vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
262 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
263 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
264 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
266 @item message-included-forward-headers
267 @vindex message-included-forward-headers
268 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
270 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
271 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
272 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
273 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
274 passed into each successive function.
276 The provided functions are:
279 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
280 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
281 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
284 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
285 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
288 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
289 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
290 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
291 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
292 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
293 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
301 @findex message-resend
302 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
303 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
305 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
306 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
307 be removed before sending the message. The default is
308 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
314 @findex message-bounce
315 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
316 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
317 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
318 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
321 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
322 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
323 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
324 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
331 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
332 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
333 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
334 * Various Commands:: Various things.
335 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
336 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
340 @node Header Commands
341 @section Header Commands
343 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
350 @findex message-goto-to
351 Describe the message mode.
355 @findex message-goto-to
356 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
360 @findex message-goto-bcc
361 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
365 @findex message-goto-fcc
366 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
370 @findex message-goto-cc
371 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
375 @findex message-goto-subject
376 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
380 @findex message-goto-reply-to
381 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
385 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
386 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
390 @findex message-goto-distribution
391 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
395 @findex message-goto-followup-to
396 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
400 @findex message-goto-keywords
401 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
405 @findex message-goto-summary
406 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
417 @findex message-goto-body
418 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
419 (@code{message-goto-body}).
423 @findex message-goto-signature
424 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
436 @findex message-yank-original
437 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
438 (@code{message-yank-original}).
442 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
443 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
444 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
445 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
446 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
451 @findex message-insert-signature
452 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
453 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
457 @findex message-insert-headers
458 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
463 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
464 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
465 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
466 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
469 @item message-citation-line-function
470 @vindex message-citation-line-function
471 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
472 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
476 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
479 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
482 @item message-yank-prefix
483 @vindex message-yank-prefix
486 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
487 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
488 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
489 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
491 @item message-indentation-spaces
492 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
493 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
495 @item message-cite-function
496 @vindex message-cite-function
497 @findex message-cite-original
498 @findex sc-cite-original
499 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
501 Function for citing an original message. The default is
502 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
503 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
504 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
505 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
508 @item message-indent-citation-function
509 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
510 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
511 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
512 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
513 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
515 @item message-signature
516 @vindex message-signature
517 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
518 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
519 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
520 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
521 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
523 @item message-signature-file
524 @vindex message-signature-file
525 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
526 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
530 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
531 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
532 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
533 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
534 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
536 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
537 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
538 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
542 @node Various Commands
543 @section Various Commands
549 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
550 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
551 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
552 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
553 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
557 @findex message-elide-region
558 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
559 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
564 @findex message-kill-to-signature
565 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
566 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
570 @findex message-delete-not-region
571 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
572 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
576 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
577 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
582 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
585 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
588 > This is some quoted text.
592 > And here's more quoted text.
595 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
599 @findex message-insert-to
600 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
601 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
602 (@code{message-insert-to}).
606 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
607 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
608 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
609 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
613 @findex message-rename-buffer
614 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
615 prompt for a new buffer name.
626 @findex message-send-and-exit
627 Send the message and bury the current buffer
628 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
633 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
637 @findex message-dont-send
638 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
642 @findex message-kill-buffer
643 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
650 @section Mail Aliases
654 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
655 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
656 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
657 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
658 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
660 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
661 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
664 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
665 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
668 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
669 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
670 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
672 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
673 expansions have to be done explicitly.
681 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
682 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
683 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
684 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
685 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
686 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
687 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
688 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
689 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
693 @node Message Headers
694 @section Message Headers
696 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
697 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
698 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
699 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
700 look sufficiently similar.
704 @item message-generate-headers-first
705 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
706 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
709 @item message-from-style
710 @vindex message-from-style
711 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
716 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
719 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
722 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
725 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
726 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
727 @code{angles} anyway.
731 @item message-deletable-headers
732 @vindex message-deletable-headers
733 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
734 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
735 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
736 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
737 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
738 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
739 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
740 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
743 @item message-default-headers
744 @vindex message-default-headers
745 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
748 @item message-subject-re-regexp
749 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
750 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
751 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
752 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
753 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
754 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
755 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
756 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
757 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
758 just throw away non-compliant mail.
764 @section Mail Headers
767 @item message-required-mail-headers
768 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
769 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
770 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
771 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
773 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
774 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
775 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
776 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
778 @item message-default-mail-headers
779 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
780 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
781 buffers that are initialized as mail.
787 @section Mail Variables
790 @item message-send-mail-function
791 @vindex message-send-mail-function
792 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
793 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
794 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
796 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
797 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
798 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
799 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
800 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
801 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
808 @section News Headers
810 @vindex message-required-news-headers
811 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
812 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
813 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
819 @findex user-full-name
820 @findex user-mail-address
821 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
822 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
823 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
824 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
828 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
832 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
833 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
837 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
838 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
839 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
840 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
841 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
842 parameters and should return a string to be used).
846 This optional header will be computed by Message.
850 @vindex mail-host-address
853 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
854 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
855 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
856 of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
857 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
862 This optional header will be filled out according to the
863 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
866 This optional header will be filled out according to the
867 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
868 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
871 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
872 header of the article being replied to.
876 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
877 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
878 be used unless you know what you're doing.
882 This optional header is filled out according to the
883 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
884 much misunderstood header.
888 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
889 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
890 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
891 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
892 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
893 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
894 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
899 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
900 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
901 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
902 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
903 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
904 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
905 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
906 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
907 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
909 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
910 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
913 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
917 @item message-syntax-checks
918 @vindex message-syntax-checks
919 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
920 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
923 (signature . disabled)
932 Check the subject for commands.
935 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
936 @item multiple-headers
937 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
940 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
942 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
944 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
947 Check for too long lines.
949 Check for invalid characters.
951 Check for excessive size.
953 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
955 Check the length of the signature.
958 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
959 something only moderators should include.
961 Check whether the article is empty.
963 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
965 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
966 @item existing-newsgroups
967 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
968 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
969 @item valid-newsgroups
970 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
971 are valid syntactically.
972 @item repeated-newsgroups
973 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
974 contains repeated group names.
975 @item shorten-followup-to
976 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
977 of groups to post to.
980 All these conditions are checked by default.
982 @item message-ignored-news-headers
983 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
984 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
985 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
987 @item message-default-news-headers
988 @vindex message-default-news-headers
989 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
990 buffers that are initialized as news.
996 @section News Variables
999 @item message-send-news-function
1000 @vindex message-send-news-function
1001 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1002 @code{message-send-news}.
1004 @item message-post-method
1005 @vindex message-post-method
1006 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1007 posting a prepared news message.
1012 @node Various Message Variables
1013 @section Various Message Variables
1016 @item message-signature-separator
1017 @vindex message-signature-separator
1018 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1021 @item mail-header-separator
1022 @vindex mail-header-separator
1023 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1024 follows this line--} by default.
1026 @item message-directory
1027 @vindex message-directory
1028 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1030 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1031 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1032 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1033 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1035 @item message-setup-hook
1036 @vindex message-setup-hook
1037 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1038 but before yanked text is inserted.
1040 @item message-header-setup-hook
1041 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1042 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1044 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1045 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1046 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1049 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1050 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1051 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1052 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1053 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1054 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1056 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1057 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1060 @item message-send-hook
1061 @vindex message-send-hook
1062 Hook run before sending messages.
1064 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1065 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1066 @findex message-add-header
1069 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1070 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1073 "Content-Type: text/plain"
1074 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit"))
1077 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1079 @item message-send-mail-hook
1080 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1081 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1083 @item message-send-news-hook
1084 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1085 Hook run before sending news messages.
1087 @item message-sent-hook
1088 @vindex message-sent-hook
1089 Hook run after sending messages.
1091 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1092 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1093 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1095 @item message-send-method-alist
1096 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1098 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1101 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1106 A symbol that names the method.
1109 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1110 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1113 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1114 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1118 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1119 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1128 @node Sending Variables
1129 @section Sending Variables
1133 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1134 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1135 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1136 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1137 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1139 @item message-courtesy-message
1140 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1141 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1142 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1143 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1144 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1145 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1146 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1151 @node Message Buffers
1152 @section Message Buffers
1154 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1155 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1156 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1157 message buffers are kept alive.
1160 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1161 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1162 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1163 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1164 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1165 The function should return the new buffer name.
1167 @item message-max-buffers
1168 @vindex message-max-buffers
1169 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1170 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1171 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1172 will ever be killed.
1174 @item message-send-rename-function
1175 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1176 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1177 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1178 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1179 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1183 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1186 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1187 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1188 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1193 @node Message Actions
1194 @section Message Actions
1196 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1197 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1198 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1201 @vindex message-kill-actions
1202 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1203 @vindex message-exit-actions
1204 @vindex message-send-actions
1205 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1206 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1207 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1208 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1209 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1210 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1211 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1212 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1214 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1215 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1216 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1217 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1221 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1222 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1225 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1226 killed, postponed or exited.
1228 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1229 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1230 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1234 @chapter Compatibility
1235 @cindex compatibility
1237 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1238 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1239 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1242 (require 'messcompat)
1245 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1246 corresponding mail variables.
1253 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1260 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1265 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1266 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1267 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1278 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1279 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1280 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1281 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1285 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1292 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1293 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1294 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1298 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1299 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1310 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1311 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is