[gnus] / texi / message.texi

\input texinfo                  @c -*-texinfo-*-

@setfilename message
@settitle Message 5.6.8 Manual
@synindex fn cp
@synindex vr cp
@synindex pg cp
@c @direntry
@c * Message: (message).   Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
@c @end direntry
@iftex
@finalout
@end iftex
@setchapternewpage odd

@ifinfo

This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.

Copyright (C) 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
are preserved on all copies.

@ignore
Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
(this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).

@end ignore
Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
@end ifinfo

@tex

@titlepage
@title Message 5.6.8 Manual

@author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
@page

@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
are preserved on all copies.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.

@end titlepage
@page

@end tex

@node Top
@top Message

All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
Message mode buffers.

@menu
* Interface::         Setting up message buffers.
* Commands::          Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
* Variables::         Customizing the message buffers.
* Compatibility::     Making Message backwards compatible.
* Appendices::        More technical things.
* Index::             Variable, function and concept index.
* Key Index::         List of Message mode keys.
@end menu

This manual corresponds to Message 5.6.8.  Message is distributed with
the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual
has. 


@node Interface
@chapter Interface

When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
@code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
sending it.

@menu
* New Mail Message::     Editing a brand new mail message.
* New News Message::     Editing a brand new news message.
* Reply::                Replying via mail.
* Wide Reply::           Responding to all people via mail.
* Followup::             Following up via news.
* Canceling News::       Canceling a news article.
* Superseding::          Superseding a message.
* Forwarding::           Forwarding a message via news or mail.
* Resending::            Resending a mail message.
* Bouncing::             Bouncing a mail message.
@end menu


@node New Mail Message
@section New Mail Message

@findex message-mail
The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.  

Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
@code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header.  If these
are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.


@node New News Message
@section New News Message

@findex message-news
The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.  

This function accepts two optional parameters.  The first will be used
as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
header.  If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.


@node Reply
@section Reply

@findex message-reply
The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
reply to the message in the current buffer.

@vindex message-reply-to-function
Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
(@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.

If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
@code{From}, you could do something like this:

@lisp
(setq message-reply-to-function
      (lambda ()
       (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
               (mail-fetch-field "sender"))     
             (t 
              nil))))
@end lisp

This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
being replied to.

As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
opinion as to what the To header should be.  If it does not, it should
just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
header will be used.

This function can also return a list.  In that case, each list element
should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
(eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
(eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}).  All these headers will be inserted into
the head of the outgoing mail. 


@node Wide Reply
@section Wide Reply

@findex message-wide-reply
The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
reply to the message in the current buffer.  A @dfn{wide reply} is a
reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
(or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.

@vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
@code{message-wide-reply-to-function}.  It is used in the same way as
@code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}). 

@findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.


@node Followup
@section Followup

@findex message-followup
The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
followup to the message in the current buffer.

@vindex message-followup-to-function
Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
@code{message-followup-to-function}.  It is used in the same way as
@code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).

@vindex message-use-followup-to
The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
@code{Followup-To} headers.  If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
value.  If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}.  If
it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.


@node Canceling News
@section Canceling News

@findex message-cancel-news
The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
current buffer.


@node Superseding
@section Superseding

@findex message-supersede
The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
supersede the message in the current buffer.

@vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
removed before popping up the new message buffer.  The default is@*
@samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.



@node Forwarding
@section Forwarding

@findex message-forward
The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
the message in the current buffer.  If given a prefix, forward using
news.

@table @code
@item message-forward-start-separator
@vindex message-forward-start-separator
Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages.  The default is@*
@samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}. 

@vindex message-forward-end-separator
@item message-forward-end-separator
@vindex message-forward-end-separator
Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages.  The default is@*
@samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}. 

@item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
@vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
signature will be inserted before the forwarded message.  If not, the
forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.

@item message-included-forward-headers
@vindex message-included-forward-headers
Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.  

@end table


@node Resending
@section Resending

@findex message-resend
The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.

@vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
be removed before sending the message.  The default is
@samp{^Return-receipt}. 


@node Bouncing
@section Bouncing

@findex message-bounce
The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
information.  A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
undeliverable. 

@vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
will be removed before popping up the buffer.  The default is
@samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.


@node Commands
@chapter Commands

@menu
* Header Commands::     Commands for moving to headers.
* Movement::            Moving around in message buffers.
* Insertion::           Inserting things into message buffers.
* Various Commands::    Various things.
* Sending::             Actually sending the message.
* Mail Aliases::        How to use mail aliases.
@end menu


@node Header Commands
@section Header Commands

All these commands move to the header in question.  If it doesn't exist,
it will be inserted.

@table @kbd

@item C-c ?
@kindex C-c ?
@findex message-goto-to
Describe the message mode.

@item C-c C-f C-t
@kindex C-c C-f C-t 
@findex message-goto-to
Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).

@item C-c C-f C-b
@kindex C-c C-f C-b 
@findex message-goto-bcc
Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).

@item C-c C-f C-f
@kindex C-c C-f C-f 
@findex message-goto-fcc
Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).

@item C-c C-f C-c
@kindex C-c C-f C-c 
@findex message-goto-cc
Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).

@item C-c C-f C-s
@kindex C-c C-f C-s 
@findex message-goto-subject
Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).

@item C-c C-f C-r
@kindex C-c C-f C-r 
@findex message-goto-reply-to
Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).

@item C-c C-f C-n
@kindex C-c C-f C-n 
@findex message-goto-newsgroups
Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).

@item C-c C-f C-d
@kindex C-c C-f C-d 
@findex message-goto-distribution
Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).

@item C-c C-f C-o
@kindex C-c C-f C-o 
@findex message-goto-followup-to
Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).

@item C-c C-f C-k
@kindex C-c C-f C-k 
@findex message-goto-keywords
Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).

@item C-c C-f C-u
@kindex C-c C-f C-u 
@findex message-goto-summary
Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).

@end table


@node Movement
@section Movement

@table @kbd
@item C-c C-b
@kindex C-c C-b 
@findex message-goto-body
Move to the beginning of the body of the message
(@code{message-goto-body}). 

@item C-c C-i
@kindex C-c C-i 
@findex message-goto-signature
Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).

@end table


@node Insertion
@section Insertion

@table @kbd

@item C-c C-y
@kindex C-c C-y 
@findex message-yank-original
Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
(@code{message-yank-original}). 

@item C-c C-q
@kindex C-c C-q 
@findex message-fill-yanked-message
Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}).  Warning:
Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
strange.  You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though.  Anyway,
just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
all right.


@item C-c C-w
@kindex C-c C-w 
@findex message-insert-signature
Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
(@code{message-insert-signature}).  

@end table

@table @code
@item message-ignored-cited-headers
@vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
messages.  The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
removed.

@item message-citation-line-function
@vindex message-citation-line-function
Function called to insert the citation line.  The default is
@code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
that look like:

@example
Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
@end example

Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
function is called.

@item message-yank-prefix
@vindex message-yank-prefix
@cindex yanking
@cindex quoting
When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
to quote the person you are answering.  Inserting quoted text is done by
@dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
@code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it.  The default is @samp{> }.
If it is @code{nil}, just indent the message.

@item message-indentation-spaces
@vindex message-indentation-spaces
Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.

@item message-cite-function
@vindex message-cite-function
@findex message-cite-original
@findex sc-cite-original
@findex message-cite-original-without-signature
@cindex Supercite
Function for citing an original message.  The default is
@code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
@code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
the signature.  You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
Supercite.

@item message-indent-citation-function
@vindex message-indent-citation-function
Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
This can also be a list of functions.  Each function can find the
citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}.  And each function
should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.

@item message-signature
@vindex message-signature
String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer.  If @code{t}
(which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
inserted instead.  If a function, the result from the function will be
used instead.  If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.

@item message-signature-file
@vindex message-signature-file
File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
The default is @samp{~/.signature}.

@end table

Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves.  This is to make it
easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
signature.  So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.

Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
that you are silly and have nothing important to say.



@node Various Commands
@section Various Commands

@table @kbd

@item C-c C-r
@kindex C-c C-r 
@findex message-caesar-buffer-body
Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
(@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}).  If narrowing is in effect, just
rotate the visible portion of the buffer.  A numerical prefix says how
many places to rotate the text.  The default is 13.

@item C-c C-e
@kindex C-c C-e
@findex message-elide-region
Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
its place.

@item C-c C-z
@kindex C-c C-x
@findex message-kill-to-signature
Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).

@item C-c C-v
@kindex C-c C-v
@findex message-delete-not-region
Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
(@code{message-delete-not-region}).

@item M-RET
@kindex M-RET
@kindex message-newline-and-reformat
Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.

Here's an example:

@example
> This is some quoted text.  And here's more quoted text.
@end example

If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:

@example
> This is some quoted text.

*

> And here's more quoted text.
@end example

@samp{*} says where point will be placed.  

@item C-c C-t
@kindex C-c C-t 
@findex message-insert-to
Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
@code{From} header of the message you're following up
(@code{message-insert-to}). 

@item C-c C-n
@kindex C-c C-n 
@findex message-insert-newsgroups
Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
(@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).

@item C-c M-r
@kindex C-c M-r
@findex message-rename-buffer
Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}).  If given a prefix,
prompt for a new buffer name.

@end table


@node Sending
@section Sending

@table @kbd
@item C-c C-c
@kindex C-c C-c 
@findex message-send-and-exit
Send the message and bury the current buffer
(@code{message-send-and-exit}). 

@item C-c C-s
@kindex C-c C-s 
@findex message-send
Send the message (@code{message-send}). 

@item C-c C-d
@kindex C-c C-d
@findex message-dont-send
Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).

@item C-c C-k
@kindex C-c C-k
@findex message-kill-buffer
Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).

@end table



@node Mail Aliases
@section Mail Aliases
@cindex mail aliases
@cindex aliases

@vindex message-mail-alias-type
The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
alias expansion to use.  Currently only one form is supported---Message
uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases.  If this variable is
@code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.

@code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
@file{~/.mailrc} files.  These files look like:

@example
alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
@end example

After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.

No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
expansions have to be done explicitly.



@node Variables
@chapter Variables

@menu
* Message Headers::             General message header stuff.
* Mail Headers::                Customizing mail headers.
* Mail Variables::              Other mail variables.
* News Headers::                Customizing news headers.
* News Variables::              Other news variables.
* Various Message Variables::   Other message variables.
* Sending Variables::           Variables for sending.
* Message Buffers::             How Message names its buffers.
* Message Actions::             Actions to be performed when exiting.
@end menu