1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle T-gnus 6.14 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) 1996,97,98,99,2000 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 6.14 Message Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1996,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
52 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
53 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
54 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
55 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
56 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
57 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
58 License'' in the Emacs manual.
60 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
61 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
62 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
64 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
65 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
66 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
67 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
76 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
80 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
81 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
82 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
83 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
84 * Appendices:: More technical things.
85 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
86 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
89 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.14 Message. Message is
90 distributed with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number
97 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
98 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
99 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
100 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
101 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
105 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
106 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
107 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
108 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
109 * Followup:: Following up via news.
110 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
111 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
112 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
113 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
114 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
118 @node New Mail Message
119 @section New Mail Message
122 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
124 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
125 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
126 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
129 @node New News Message
130 @section New News Message
133 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
135 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
136 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
137 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
143 @findex message-reply
144 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
145 reply to the message in the current buffer.
147 @vindex message-reply-to-function
148 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
149 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
150 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
152 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
153 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
156 (setq message-reply-to-function
158 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
159 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
164 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
167 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
168 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
169 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
172 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
173 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
174 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
175 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
176 the head of the outgoing mail.
182 @findex message-wide-reply
183 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
184 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
185 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
186 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
188 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
189 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
190 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
191 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
192 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
194 @findex message-dont-reply-to-names
195 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
196 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
202 @findex message-followup
203 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
204 followup to the message in the current buffer.
206 @vindex message-followup-to-function
207 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
208 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
209 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
210 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
212 @vindex message-use-followup-to
213 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
214 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
215 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
216 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
217 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
221 @section Canceling News
223 @findex message-cancel-news
224 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
231 @findex message-supersede
232 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
233 supersede the message in the current buffer.
235 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
236 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
237 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
238 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
239 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
246 @findex message-forward
247 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
248 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
252 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
253 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
254 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
256 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
257 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
258 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
259 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
260 passed into each successive function.
262 The provided functions are:
265 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
266 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
267 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
270 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
271 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
274 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
275 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
276 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
277 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
278 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
279 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
281 @item message-forward-as-mime
282 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
283 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
284 included as inline MIME RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
285 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
286 non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
293 @findex message-resend
294 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
295 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
297 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
298 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
299 be removed before sending the message. The default is
300 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
306 @findex message-bounce
307 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
308 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
309 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
310 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
313 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
314 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
315 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
316 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
323 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
324 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
325 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
326 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
327 * Various Commands:: Various things.
328 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
329 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
333 @node Header Commands
334 @section Header Commands
336 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
343 @findex message-goto-to
344 Describe the message mode.
348 @findex message-goto-to
349 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
353 @findex message-goto-bcc
354 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
358 @findex message-goto-fcc
359 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
363 @findex message-goto-cc
364 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
368 @findex message-goto-subject
369 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
373 @findex message-goto-reply-to
374 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
378 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
379 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
383 @findex message-goto-distribution
384 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
388 @findex message-goto-followup-to
389 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
393 @findex message-goto-keywords
394 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
398 @findex message-goto-summary
399 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
410 @findex message-goto-body
411 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
412 (@code{message-goto-body}).
416 @findex message-goto-signature
417 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
429 @findex message-yank-original
430 Yank the message in the buffer @code{gnus-article-copy} into the message
431 buffer. Normally @code{gnus-article-copy} is what you are replying to
432 (@code{message-yank-original}).
436 @findex message-yank-buffer
437 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
438 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
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-yank-add-new-references
492 @vindex message-yank-add-new-references
494 Non-@code{nil} means new IDs will be added to References field when an
495 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
496 interactively. If it is a symbol @code{message-id-only}, only an ID
497 from Message-ID field is used, otherwise IDs extracted from References,
498 In-Reply-To and Message-ID fields are used.
500 @item message-list-references-add-position
501 @vindex message-list-references-add-position
503 Integer value means position for adding to References field when an
504 article is yanked by the command @code{message-yank-original}
507 @item message-indentation-spaces
508 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
509 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
511 @item message-cite-function
512 @vindex message-cite-function
513 @findex message-cite-original
514 @findex sc-cite-original
515 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
517 Function for citing an original message. The default is
518 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
519 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
520 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
521 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
524 @item message-indent-citation-function
525 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
526 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
527 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
528 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
529 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
531 @item message-signature
532 @vindex message-signature
533 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
534 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
535 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
536 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
537 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
539 @item message-signature-file
540 @vindex message-signature-file
541 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
542 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
546 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
547 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
548 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
549 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
550 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
552 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
553 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
554 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
564 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
565 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
566 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
567 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
569 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
570 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
571 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
572 name and a @sc{mime} type.
574 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
575 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
579 @node Various Commands
580 @section Various Commands
586 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
587 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
588 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
589 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
590 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
594 @findex message-elide-region
595 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
596 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
597 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
602 @findex message-kill-to-signature
603 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
604 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
608 @findex message-delete-not-region
609 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
610 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
614 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
615 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
620 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
623 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
626 > This is some quoted text.
630 > And here's more quoted text.
633 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
637 @findex message-insert-to
638 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
639 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
640 (@code{message-insert-to}).
644 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
645 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
646 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
647 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
651 @findex message-rename-buffer
652 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
653 prompt for a new buffer name.
664 @findex message-send-and-exit
665 Send the message and bury the current buffer
666 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
671 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
675 @findex message-dont-send
676 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
680 @findex message-kill-buffer
681 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
688 @section Mail Aliases
692 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
693 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
694 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
695 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
696 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
698 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
699 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
702 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
703 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
706 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
707 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
708 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
710 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
711 expansions have to be done explicitly.
719 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
720 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
721 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
722 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
723 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
724 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
725 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
726 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
727 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
731 @node Message Headers
732 @section Message Headers
734 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
735 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
736 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
737 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
738 look sufficiently similar.
742 @item message-generate-headers-first
743 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
744 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
747 @item message-from-style
748 @vindex message-from-style
749 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
754 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
757 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
760 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
763 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
764 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
765 @code{angles} anyway.
769 @item message-deletable-headers
770 @vindex message-deletable-headers
771 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
772 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
773 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
774 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
775 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
776 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
777 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
778 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
781 @item message-default-headers
782 @vindex message-default-headers
783 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
786 @item message-subject-re-regexp
787 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
788 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
789 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
790 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
791 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
792 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
793 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
794 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
795 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
796 just throw away non-compliant mail.
798 @item message-alternative-emails
799 @vindex message-alternative-emails
800 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
801 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
807 @section Mail Headers
810 @item message-required-mail-headers
811 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
812 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
813 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
814 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
816 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
817 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
818 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
819 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
821 @item message-default-mail-headers
822 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
823 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
824 buffers that are initialized as mail.
830 @section Mail Variables
833 @item message-send-mail-function
834 @vindex message-send-mail-function
835 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
836 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
837 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
839 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
840 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
841 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
842 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
843 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
844 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
851 @section News Headers
853 @vindex message-required-news-headers
854 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
855 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
856 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
862 @findex user-full-name
863 @findex user-mail-address
864 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
865 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
866 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
867 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
871 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
875 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
876 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
880 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
881 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
882 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
883 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
884 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
885 parameters and should return a string to be used).
889 This optional header will be computed by Message.
893 @vindex mail-host-address
896 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
897 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
898 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
899 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
900 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
904 This optional header will be filled out according to the
905 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
908 This optional header will be filled out according to the
909 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
910 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
913 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
914 header of the article being replied to.
918 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
919 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
920 be used unless you know what you're doing.
924 This optional header is filled out according to the
925 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
926 much misunderstood header.
930 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
931 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
932 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
933 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
934 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
935 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
936 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
941 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
942 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
943 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
944 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
945 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
946 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
947 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
948 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
949 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
951 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
952 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
955 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
959 @item message-syntax-checks
960 @vindex message-syntax-checks
961 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
962 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
965 (signature . disabled)
974 Check the subject for commands.
977 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
978 @item multiple-headers
979 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
982 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
984 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
986 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
989 Check for too long lines.
991 Check for invalid characters.
993 Check for excessive size.
995 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
997 Check the length of the signature.
1000 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1001 something only moderators should include.
1003 Check whether the article is empty.
1004 @item invisible-text
1005 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1007 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1008 @item existing-newsgroups
1009 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1010 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1011 @item valid-newsgroups
1012 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1013 are valid syntactically.
1014 @item repeated-newsgroups
1015 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1016 contains repeated group names.
1017 @item shorten-followup-to
1018 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1019 of groups to post to.
1022 All these conditions are checked by default.
1024 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1025 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1026 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1027 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
1029 @item message-default-news-headers
1030 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1031 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1032 buffers that are initialized as news.
1037 @node News Variables
1038 @section News Variables
1041 @item message-send-news-function
1042 @vindex message-send-news-function
1043 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1044 @code{message-send-news}.
1046 @item message-post-method
1047 @vindex message-post-method
1048 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1049 posting a prepared news message.
1054 @node Various Message Variables
1055 @section Various Message Variables
1058 @item message-default-charset
1059 @vindex message-default-charset
1061 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1062 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1063 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1065 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1066 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1067 translation process.
1069 @item message-signature-separator
1070 @vindex message-signature-separator
1071 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1074 @item mail-header-separator
1075 @vindex mail-header-separator
1076 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1077 follows this line--} by default.
1079 @item message-directory
1080 @vindex message-directory
1081 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1083 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1084 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1085 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1086 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1088 @item message-setup-hook
1089 @vindex message-setup-hook
1090 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1091 but before yanked text is inserted.
1093 @item message-header-setup-hook
1094 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1095 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1097 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1098 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1099 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1102 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1103 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1104 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1105 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1106 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1107 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1109 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1110 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1113 @item message-send-hook
1114 @vindex message-send-hook
1115 Hook run before sending messages.
1117 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1118 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1119 @findex message-add-header
1122 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1123 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1125 "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense"
1129 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1131 @item message-send-mail-hook
1132 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1133 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1135 @item message-send-news-hook
1136 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1137 Hook run before sending news messages.
1139 @item message-sent-hook
1140 @vindex message-sent-hook
1141 Hook run after sending messages.
1143 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1144 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1145 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1147 @item message-send-method-alist
1148 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1150 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1153 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1158 A symbol that names the method.
1161 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1162 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1165 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1166 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1170 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1171 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1180 @node Sending Variables
1181 @section Sending Variables
1185 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1186 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1187 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1188 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1189 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1191 @item message-courtesy-message
1192 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1193 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1194 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1195 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1196 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1197 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1198 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1203 @node Message Buffers
1204 @section Message Buffers
1206 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1207 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1208 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1209 message buffers are kept alive.
1212 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1213 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1214 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1215 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1216 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1217 The function should return the new buffer name.
1219 @item message-use-multi-frames
1220 @vindex message-use-multi-frames
1221 If non-@code{nil}, generate new frames. The default is @code{nil}.
1223 @item message-delete-frame-on-exit
1224 @vindex message-delete-frame-on-exit
1225 The @code{message-delete-frame-on-exit} variable says whether to delete
1226 the frame after sending the message or killing the message buffer. If it
1227 is @code{nil} (which is the default), don't delete the frame. If it is
1228 @code{ask}, ask wheter to delete the frame. If it is @code{t}, always
1231 @item message-max-buffers
1232 @vindex message-max-buffers
1233 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1234 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1235 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1236 will ever be killed.
1238 @item message-send-rename-function
1239 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1240 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1241 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1242 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1243 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1247 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1250 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1251 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1252 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1257 @node Message Actions
1258 @section Message Actions
1260 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1261 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1262 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1265 @vindex message-kill-actions
1266 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1267 @vindex message-exit-actions
1268 @vindex message-send-actions
1269 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1270 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1271 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1272 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1273 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1274 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1275 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1276 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1278 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1279 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1280 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1281 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1285 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1286 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1289 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1290 killed, postponed or exited.
1292 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1293 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1294 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1298 @chapter Compatibility
1299 @cindex compatibility
1301 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1302 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1303 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1306 (require 'messcompat)
1309 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1310 corresponding mail variables.
1317 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1324 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1329 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1330 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1331 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1342 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1343 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1344 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1345 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1349 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1356 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1357 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1358 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1362 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1363 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1374 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1375 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is