1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Pterodactyl Message 0.91 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) 1996,97,98,99 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 0.91 Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996,97,98,99 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 0.91. 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 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
335 * Various Commands:: Various things.
336 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
337 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
341 @node Header Commands
342 @section Header Commands
344 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
351 @findex message-goto-to
352 Describe the message mode.
356 @findex message-goto-to
357 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
361 @findex message-goto-bcc
362 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
366 @findex message-goto-fcc
367 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
371 @findex message-goto-cc
372 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
376 @findex message-goto-subject
377 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
381 @findex message-goto-reply-to
382 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
386 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
387 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
391 @findex message-goto-distribution
392 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
396 @findex message-goto-followup-to
397 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
401 @findex message-goto-keywords
402 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
406 @findex message-goto-summary
407 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
418 @findex message-goto-body
419 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
420 (@code{message-goto-body}).
424 @findex message-goto-signature
425 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
437 @findex message-yank-original
438 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
439 (@code{message-yank-original}).
443 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
444 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
445 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
446 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
447 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
452 @findex message-insert-signature
453 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
454 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
458 @findex message-insert-headers
459 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
464 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
465 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
466 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
467 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
470 @item message-citation-line-function
471 @vindex message-citation-line-function
472 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
473 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
477 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
480 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
483 @item message-yank-prefix
484 @vindex message-yank-prefix
487 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
488 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
489 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
490 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
492 @item message-indentation-spaces
493 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
494 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
496 @item message-cite-function
497 @vindex message-cite-function
498 @findex message-cite-original
499 @findex sc-cite-original
500 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
502 Function for citing an original message. The default is
503 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
504 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
505 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
506 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
509 @item message-indent-citation-function
510 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
511 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
512 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
513 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
514 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
516 @item message-signature
517 @vindex message-signature
518 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
519 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
520 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
521 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
522 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
524 @item message-signature-file
525 @vindex message-signature-file
526 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
527 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
531 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
532 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
533 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
534 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
535 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
537 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
538 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
539 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
549 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
550 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
551 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
552 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
554 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
555 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
556 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
557 name and a @sc{mime} type.
559 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
560 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
564 @node Various Commands
565 @section Various Commands
571 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
572 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
573 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
574 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
575 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
579 @findex message-elide-region
580 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
581 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
586 @findex message-kill-to-signature
587 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
588 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
592 @findex message-delete-not-region
593 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
594 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
598 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
599 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
604 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
607 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
610 > This is some quoted text.
614 > And here's more quoted text.
617 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
621 @findex message-insert-to
622 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
623 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
624 (@code{message-insert-to}).
628 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
629 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
630 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
631 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
635 @findex message-rename-buffer
636 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
637 prompt for a new buffer name.
648 @findex message-send-and-exit
649 Send the message and bury the current buffer
650 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
655 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
659 @findex message-dont-send
660 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
664 @findex message-kill-buffer
665 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
672 @section Mail Aliases
676 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
677 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
678 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
679 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
680 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
682 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
683 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
686 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
687 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
690 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
691 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
692 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
694 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
695 expansions have to be done explicitly.
703 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
704 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
705 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
706 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
707 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
708 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
709 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
710 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
711 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
715 @node Message Headers
716 @section Message Headers
718 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
719 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
720 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
721 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
722 look sufficiently similar.
726 @item message-generate-headers-first
727 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
728 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
731 @item message-from-style
732 @vindex message-from-style
733 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
738 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
741 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
744 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
747 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
748 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
749 @code{angles} anyway.
753 @item message-deletable-headers
754 @vindex message-deletable-headers
755 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
756 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
757 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
758 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
759 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
760 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
761 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
762 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
765 @item message-default-headers
766 @vindex message-default-headers
767 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
770 @item message-subject-re-regexp
771 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
772 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
773 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
774 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
775 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
776 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
777 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
778 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
779 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
780 just throw away non-compliant mail.
786 @section Mail Headers
789 @item message-required-mail-headers
790 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
791 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
792 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
793 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
795 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
796 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
797 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
798 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
800 @item message-default-mail-headers
801 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
802 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
803 buffers that are initialized as mail.
809 @section Mail Variables
812 @item message-send-mail-function
813 @vindex message-send-mail-function
814 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
815 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
816 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
818 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
819 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
820 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
821 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
822 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
823 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
830 @section News Headers
832 @vindex message-required-news-headers
833 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
834 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
835 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
841 @findex user-full-name
842 @findex user-mail-address
843 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
844 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
845 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
846 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
850 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
854 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
855 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
859 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
860 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
861 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
862 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
863 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
864 parameters and should return a string to be used).
868 This optional header will be computed by Message.
872 @vindex mail-host-address
875 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
876 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
877 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
878 of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
879 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
884 This optional header will be filled out according to the
885 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
888 This optional header will be filled out according to the
889 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
890 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
893 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
894 header of the article being replied to.
898 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
899 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
900 be used unless you know what you're doing.
904 This optional header is filled out according to the
905 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
906 much misunderstood header.
910 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
911 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
912 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
913 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
914 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
915 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
916 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
921 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
922 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
923 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
924 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
925 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
926 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
927 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
928 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
929 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
931 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
932 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
935 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
939 @item message-syntax-checks
940 @vindex message-syntax-checks
941 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
942 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
945 (signature . disabled)
954 Check the subject for commands.
957 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
958 @item multiple-headers
959 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
962 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
964 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
966 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
969 Check for too long lines.
971 Check for invalid characters.
973 Check for excessive size.
975 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
977 Check the length of the signature.
980 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
981 something only moderators should include.
983 Check whether the article is empty.
985 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
987 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
988 @item existing-newsgroups
989 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
990 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
991 @item valid-newsgroups
992 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
993 are valid syntactically.
994 @item repeated-newsgroups
995 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
996 contains repeated group names.
997 @item shorten-followup-to
998 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
999 of groups to post to.
1002 All these conditions are checked by default.
1004 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1005 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1006 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1007 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
1009 @item message-default-news-headers
1010 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1011 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1012 buffers that are initialized as news.
1017 @node News Variables
1018 @section News Variables
1021 @item message-send-news-function
1022 @vindex message-send-news-function
1023 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1024 @code{message-send-news}.
1026 @item message-post-method
1027 @vindex message-post-method
1028 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1029 posting a prepared news message.
1034 @node Various Message Variables
1035 @section Various Message Variables
1038 @item message-signature-separator
1039 @vindex message-signature-separator
1040 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1043 @item mail-header-separator
1044 @vindex mail-header-separator
1045 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1046 follows this line--} by default.
1048 @item message-directory
1049 @vindex message-directory
1050 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1052 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1053 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1054 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1055 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1057 @item message-setup-hook
1058 @vindex message-setup-hook
1059 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1060 but before yanked text is inserted.
1062 @item message-header-setup-hook
1063 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1064 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1066 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1067 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1068 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1071 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1072 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1073 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1074 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1075 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1076 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1078 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1079 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1082 @item message-send-hook
1083 @vindex message-send-hook
1084 Hook run before sending messages.
1086 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1087 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1088 @findex message-add-header
1091 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1092 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1094 "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense"
1098 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1100 @item message-send-mail-hook
1101 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1102 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1104 @item message-send-news-hook
1105 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1106 Hook run before sending news messages.
1108 @item message-sent-hook
1109 @vindex message-sent-hook
1110 Hook run after sending messages.
1112 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1113 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1114 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1116 @item message-send-method-alist
1117 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1119 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1122 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1127 A symbol that names the method.
1130 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1131 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1134 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1135 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1139 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1140 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1149 @node Sending Variables
1150 @section Sending Variables
1154 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1155 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1156 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1157 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1158 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1160 @item message-courtesy-message
1161 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1162 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1163 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1164 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1165 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1166 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1167 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1172 @node Message Buffers
1173 @section Message Buffers
1175 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1176 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1177 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1178 message buffers are kept alive.
1181 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1182 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1183 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1184 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1185 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1186 The function should return the new buffer name.
1188 @item message-max-buffers
1189 @vindex message-max-buffers
1190 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1191 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1192 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1193 will ever be killed.
1195 @item message-send-rename-function
1196 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1197 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1198 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1199 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1200 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1204 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1207 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1208 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1209 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1214 @node Message Actions
1215 @section Message Actions
1217 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1218 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1219 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1222 @vindex message-kill-actions
1223 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1224 @vindex message-exit-actions
1225 @vindex message-send-actions
1226 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1227 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1228 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1229 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1230 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1231 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1232 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1233 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1235 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1236 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1237 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1238 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1242 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1243 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1246 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1247 killed, postponed or exited.
1249 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1250 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1251 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1255 @chapter Compatibility
1256 @cindex compatibility
1258 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1259 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1260 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1263 (require 'messcompat)
1266 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1267 corresponding mail variables.
1274 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1281 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1286 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1287 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1288 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1299 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1300 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1301 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1302 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1306 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1313 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1314 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1315 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1319 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1320 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1331 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1332 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is