1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message Manual
9 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
11 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
12 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
16 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
17 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
18 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'',
19 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
20 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
22 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
23 modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in
24 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
30 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
35 @setchapternewpage odd
40 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
43 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
55 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
56 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
57 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
58 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
59 * Appendices:: More technical things.
60 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
61 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
62 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
65 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following lines:
66 Message is distributed with Gnus. The Gnus distribution
68 corresponding to this manual is No Gnus v0.11.
74 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message---reply,
75 follow up, forward, cancel---the program (or person) should just put
76 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
77 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
78 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
82 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
83 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
84 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
85 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
86 * Followup:: Following up via news.
87 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
88 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
89 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
90 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
91 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
92 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
95 You can customize the Message Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
96 customize-apropos RET message-tool-bar}. This feature is only available
99 @node New Mail Message
100 @section New Mail Message
103 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
105 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
106 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
107 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
110 @node New News Message
111 @section New News Message
114 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
116 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
117 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
118 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
124 @findex message-reply
125 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
126 reply to the message in the current buffer.
128 @vindex message-reply-to-function
129 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
130 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
131 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
133 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
134 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
137 (setq message-reply-to-function
139 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
140 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
145 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
148 As you can see, this function should return a list. In this case, it
149 returns @code{((To . "Whom"))} if it has an opinion as to what the To
150 header should be. If it does not, it should just return @code{nil}, and
151 the normal methods for determining the To header will be used.
153 Each list element should be a cons, where the @sc{car} should be the
154 name of a header (e.g. @code{Cc}) and the @sc{cdr} should be the header
155 value (e.g. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be
156 inserted into the head of the outgoing mail.
162 @findex message-wide-reply
163 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
164 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
165 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
166 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
168 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
169 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
170 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
171 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
172 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
174 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
175 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
176 expression (or list of regular expressions) will be removed from the
177 @code{Cc} header. A value of @code{nil} means exclude your name only.
179 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
180 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
181 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
182 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
187 @findex message-followup
188 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
189 followup to the message in the current buffer.
191 @vindex message-followup-to-function
192 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
193 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
194 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
195 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
197 @vindex message-use-followup-to
198 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
199 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
200 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
201 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
202 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
206 @section Canceling News
208 @findex message-cancel-news
209 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
212 @vindex message-cancel-message
213 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
214 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
218 @vindex message-insert-canlock
220 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
221 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
222 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
223 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
224 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
225 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
226 able to cancel your message. If you want to manage a password yourself,
227 you can put something like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
230 (setq canlock-password "geheimnis"
231 canlock-password-for-verify canlock-password)
234 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
235 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
237 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
238 this is expected to change in the future.
244 @findex message-supersede
245 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
246 supersede the message in the current buffer.
248 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
249 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
250 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
251 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
252 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|^X-Trace:\\|^X-Complaints-To:\\|@*
253 Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:\\|^NNTP-Posting-Date:\\|^X-Trace:\\|@*
254 ^X-Complaints-To:\\|^Cancel-Lock:\\|^Cancel-Key:\\|^X-Hashcash:\\|@*
255 ^X-Payment:\\|^Approved:}.
262 @findex message-forward
263 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
264 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
268 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
269 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
270 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
272 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
273 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
274 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
275 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
276 passed into each successive function.
278 The provided functions are:
281 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
282 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
283 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
286 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
287 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
290 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
291 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
292 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
293 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
294 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
295 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
297 @item message-forward-as-mime
298 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
299 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
300 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
301 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
302 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.
304 @item message-forward-before-signature
305 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
306 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
314 @findex message-resend
315 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
316 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
318 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
319 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
320 be removed before sending the message.
326 @findex message-bounce
327 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
328 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
329 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
330 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
333 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
334 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
335 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
336 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\|Delivered-To\\):}.
340 @section Mailing Lists
342 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
343 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
344 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
345 was created to enable just this. Three example scenarios where this is
350 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
351 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
352 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
355 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
356 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
357 is not subscribed to the list.
360 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
361 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
362 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
363 and very difficult to follow.
367 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
368 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
369 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
372 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
373 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
376 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
377 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
379 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
380 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
381 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
382 way. The following variables would come in handy.
386 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
387 @item message-subscribed-addresses
388 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
389 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
391 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
392 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
395 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
396 @item message-subscribed-regexps
397 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
398 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
399 want to achieve the same result as above:
401 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
402 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
405 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
406 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
407 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
408 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
409 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
411 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
412 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
413 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
414 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
415 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.
416 This is how you would do it.
419 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
420 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
423 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
424 @item message-subscribed-address-file
425 You might be one organized human freak and have a list of addresses of
426 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
427 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
431 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
432 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
434 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
435 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
436 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
437 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
438 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
439 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
440 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
441 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
442 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
443 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
444 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
447 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
449 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
450 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
451 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
452 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
453 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
454 to-address group parameter.) The function
455 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
456 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
457 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
458 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
460 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
461 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
463 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
464 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
465 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
466 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
470 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
471 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
474 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
477 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
481 It is considered good netiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
482 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
489 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
490 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
491 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
492 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
493 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
494 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
495 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
496 * Various Commands:: Various things.
497 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
498 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
499 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
504 @section Buffer Entry
508 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
509 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
510 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
511 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
512 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
513 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
514 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
515 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
518 @node Header Commands
519 @section Header Commands
521 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
523 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
524 exist, it will be inserted.
530 @findex describe-mode
531 Describe the message mode.
535 @findex message-goto-to
536 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
540 @findex message-goto-from
541 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
542 in the key binding is for Originator.)
546 @findex message-goto-bcc
547 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
551 @findex message-goto-fcc
552 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
556 @findex message-goto-cc
557 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
561 @findex message-goto-subject
562 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
566 @findex message-goto-reply-to
567 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
571 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
572 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
576 @findex message-goto-distribution
577 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
581 @findex message-goto-followup-to
582 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
586 @findex message-goto-keywords
587 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
591 @findex message-goto-summary
592 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
596 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
597 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
598 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
599 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
600 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
601 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
605 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
606 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
607 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
608 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
609 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
610 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
611 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
612 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
613 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
615 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, the
616 addresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the
617 @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.
621 @subsection Commands to change headers
627 @findex message-sort-headers
628 @vindex message-header-format-alist
629 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
630 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
634 @findex message-insert-to
635 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
636 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
637 (@code{message-insert-to}).
641 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
642 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
643 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
644 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
648 @findex message-to-list-only
649 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
650 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
654 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
655 Insert a request for a disposition
656 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
657 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
658 notification that she received the message.
660 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
661 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
662 @findex message-insert-importance-high
664 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
665 deleting headers if necessary.
667 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
668 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
669 @findex message-insert-importance-low
671 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
672 headers if necessary.
676 @findex message-change-subject
678 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
679 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
680 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
681 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
685 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
686 @vindex message-cross-post-default
687 @vindex message-cross-post-note-function
690 Set up the @samp{FollowUp-To} header with a target newsgroup for a
691 cross-post, add that target newsgroup to the @samp{Newsgroups} header if
692 it is not a member of @samp{Newsgroups}, and insert a note in the body.
693 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if this command is
694 called with a prefix-argument, only the @samp{FollowUp-To} header will
695 be set but the target newsgroup will not be added to the
696 @samp{Newsgroups} header. The function to insert a note is controlled
697 by the @code{message-cross-post-note-function} variable.
701 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
702 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
703 @samp{Bcc} header. (Iff @samp{Cc} header is not present, @samp{Bcc}
704 header will be used instead.)
708 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
709 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
710 reply even if the message was not made for a wide reply first.
714 @findex message-add-archive-header
715 @vindex message-archive-header
716 @vindex message-archive-note
718 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
719 The header and the note can be customized using
720 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
721 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
722 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
734 @findex message-goto-body
735 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
736 (@code{message-goto-body}).
740 @findex message-goto-signature
741 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
745 @findex message-beginning-of-line
746 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
747 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
748 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
749 name and the colon.) This behavior can be disabled by toggling
750 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
762 @findex message-yank-original
763 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
764 (@code{message-yank-original}).
768 @findex message-yank-buffer
769 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
770 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
774 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
775 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
776 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
777 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
778 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
783 @findex message-insert-signature
784 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
785 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
789 @findex message-insert-headers
790 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
794 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
795 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags. See
796 @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
797 When called with a prefix argument, use slrn style verbatim marks
798 (@samp{#v+} and @samp{#v-}).
802 @findex message-mark-insert-file
803 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
804 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
805 When called with a prefix argument, use slrn style verbatim marks
806 (@samp{#v+} and @samp{#v-}).
818 Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
819 doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
820 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
821 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
823 @findex mml-attach-file
825 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
826 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out.
827 This can be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command (@kbd{M-x mml-attach-file}),
828 which will prompt for a file name and a @acronym{MIME} type.
830 @vindex mml-dnd-protocol-alist
831 @vindex mml-dnd-attach-options
832 If your Emacs supports drag and drop, you can also drop the file in the
833 Message buffer. The variable @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} specifies
834 what kind of action is done when you drop a file into the Message
835 buffer. The variable @code{mml-dnd-attach-options} controls which
836 @acronym{MIME} options you want to specify when dropping a file. If it
837 is a list, valid members are @code{type}, @code{description} and
838 @code{disposition}. @code{disposition} implies @code{type}. If it is
839 @code{nil}, don't ask for options. If it is @code{t}, ask the user
840 whether or not to specify options.
842 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the @acronym{MML}
843 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
849 @cindex internationalized domain names
850 @cindex non-ascii domain names
852 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
853 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
854 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
855 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
857 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
858 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
859 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
860 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
861 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
863 @vindex message-use-idna
864 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
865 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
866 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
867 queried, and if set to @code{t} (which is the default if @acronym{IDNA}
868 is fully available) @acronym{IDNA} encoding happens automatically.
870 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
871 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
872 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
873 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit
876 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
877 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
889 Using the @acronym{MML} language, Message is able to create digitally
890 signed and digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather
891 @acronym{MML}) currently support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991),
892 @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}.
895 * Signing and encryption:: Signing and encrypting commands.
896 * Using S/MIME:: Using S/MIME
897 * Using PGP/MIME:: Using PGP/MIME
898 * PGP Compatibility:: Compatibility with older implementations
901 @node Signing and encryption
902 @subsection Signing and encrypting commands
904 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
905 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
906 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
911 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
913 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
917 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
919 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
923 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
925 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
929 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
931 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
935 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
937 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
941 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
943 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
947 @findex mml-unsecure-message
948 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
952 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
953 merely insert the proper @acronym{MML} secure tag to instruct the
954 @acronym{MML} engine to perform that operation when the message is
955 actually sent. They may perform other operations too, such as locating
956 and retrieving a @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to
957 send encrypted mail to. When the mml parsing engine converts your
958 @acronym{MML} into a properly encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure
959 tag will be replaced with either a part or a multipart tag. If your
960 message contains other mml parts, a multipart tag will be used; if no
961 other parts are present in your message a single part tag will be used.
962 This way, message mode will do the Right Thing (TM) with
963 signed/encrypted multipart messages.
965 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
966 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
967 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
968 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
969 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
970 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
971 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
972 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
974 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
975 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
976 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
978 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
979 ``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed and
980 encrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particular
981 message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix
982 argument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.
984 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
985 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
986 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
987 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
990 @subsection Using S/MIME
992 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
993 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
996 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and @acronym{MML}) require
997 OpenSSL. OpenSSL performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt
998 operations. OpenSSL can be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.
999 OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail
1000 addresses from certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into
1001 @acronym{MIME} separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like
1002 to avoid being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by
1003 sending @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that
1006 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
1007 required. Message (@acronym{MML}) need a certificate for the person to whom you
1008 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
1009 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
1010 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
1011 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
1012 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
1013 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
1014 Message (@acronym{MML}) is the first mail agent in the world to support
1015 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
1016 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
1017 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
1018 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
1019 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
1020 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
1022 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
1023 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
1024 where your private key and your certificate is stored. @acronym{MML}
1025 uses an Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
1026 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
1027 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
1029 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
1030 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
1031 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
1032 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1033 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1034 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1035 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1038 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1041 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1042 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1044 @emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,
1045 so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk are
1046 supported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invoking
1047 OpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. If
1048 you use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or if
1049 you are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} at
1050 the passphrase prompt.
1052 @node Using PGP/MIME
1053 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1055 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1056 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGP
1057 implementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. One
1058 Emacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,
1059 pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1060 @code{gpg.el} are also supported. @xref{PGP Compatibility}.
1063 Message internally calls GnuPG (the @command{gpg} command) to perform
1064 data encryption, and in certain cases (decrypting or signing for
1065 example), @command{gpg} requires user's passphrase. Currently the
1066 recommended way to supply your passphrase to @command{gpg} is to use the
1067 @command{gpg-agent} program.
1069 To use @command{gpg-agent} in Emacs, you need to run the following
1070 command from the shell before starting Emacs.
1073 eval `gpg-agent --daemon`
1076 This will invoke @command{gpg-agent} and set the environment variable
1077 @code{GPG_AGENT_INFO} to allow @command{gpg} to communicate with it.
1078 It might be good idea to put this command in your @file{.xsession} or
1079 @file{.bash_profile}. @xref{Invoking GPG-AGENT, , , gnupg, Using the
1082 Once your @command{gpg-agent} is set up, it will ask you for a
1083 passphrase as needed for @command{gpg}. Under the X Window System,
1084 you will see a new passphrase input dialog appear. The dialog is
1085 provided by PIN Entry (the @command{pinentry} command), and as of
1086 version 0.7.2, @command{pinentry} cannot cooperate with Emacs on a
1087 single tty. So, if you are using a text console, you may need to put
1088 a passphrase into gpg-agent's cache beforehand. The following command
1092 gpg --use-agent --sign < /dev/null > /dev/null
1095 The Lisp variable @code{pgg-gpg-use-agent} controls whether to use
1096 @command{gpg-agent}. See also @xref{Caching passphrase, , , pgg, The
1100 @node PGP Compatibility
1101 @subsection Compatibility with older implementations
1103 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1104 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1105 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1108 Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation of
1109 your PGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1111 If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to send
1112 signed and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'll
1113 discover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. One
1114 solution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set
1115 @code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to use
1116 GnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}
1118 @uref{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. You
1119 could also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.
1120 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
1121 As a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work in
1122 two steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would like
1123 to change this behavior you can customize the
1124 @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:
1127 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate)
1129 ("pgpauto" separate)
1130 ("pgpmime" separate)))
1133 This causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating a
1134 message that can be understood by PGP version 2.
1136 (Refer to @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for more
1137 information about the problem.)
1139 @node Various Commands
1140 @section Various Commands
1146 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1147 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1148 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1149 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1150 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1154 @findex message-elide-region
1155 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1156 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1157 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1158 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1163 @findex message-kill-address
1164 Kill the address under point.
1168 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1169 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1170 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1174 @findex message-delete-not-region
1175 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1176 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1180 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1181 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1186 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1189 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1192 > This is some quoted text.
1196 > And here's more quoted text.
1199 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1203 @findex message-rename-buffer
1204 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1205 prompt for a new buffer name.
1210 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1211 If @code{message-tab-body-function} is non-@code{nil}, execute the
1212 function it specifies. Otherwise use the function bound to @kbd{TAB} in
1213 @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1224 @findex message-send-and-exit
1225 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1226 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1230 @findex message-send
1231 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1235 @findex message-dont-send
1236 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1240 @findex message-kill-buffer
1241 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
1248 @section Mail Aliases
1249 @cindex mail aliases
1254 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1255 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1256 alias expansion to use. Currently two forms are supported:
1257 @code{mailabbrev} and @code{ecomplete}. If this variable is
1258 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1260 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1261 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1264 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1265 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1268 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1269 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1270 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1272 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1273 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1275 If you're using @code{ecomplete}, all addresses from @code{To} and
1276 @code{Cc} headers will automatically be put into the
1277 @file{~/.ecompleterc} file. When you enter text in the @code{To} and
1278 @code{Cc} headers, @code{ecomplete} will check out the values stored
1279 there and ``electrically'' say what completions are possible. To
1280 choose one of these completions, use the @kbd{M-n} command to move
1281 down to the list. Use @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p} to move down and up the
1282 list, and @kbd{RET} to choose a completion.
1287 @findex ispell-message
1289 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1290 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1291 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1292 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1293 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1294 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1297 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1300 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1301 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1302 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1305 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1306 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1307 (".*" . "default")))
1310 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1313 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1314 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1317 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1321 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1323 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1326 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1334 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1335 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1336 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1337 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1338 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1339 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1340 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1341 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1342 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1343 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1347 @node Message Headers
1348 @section Message Headers
1350 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1351 be---it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1352 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1353 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1354 look sufficiently similar.
1358 @item message-generate-headers-first
1359 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1360 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1361 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1364 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1368 @vindex message-required-headers
1369 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1370 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1371 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1374 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1375 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1377 @item message-draft-headers
1378 @vindex message-draft-headers
1379 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1380 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1381 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1383 @item message-from-style
1384 @vindex message-from-style
1385 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1390 Just the address---@samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1393 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1396 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1399 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1400 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1401 @code{angles} anyway.
1405 @item message-deletable-headers
1406 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1407 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1408 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1409 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1410 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1411 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1412 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1413 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1414 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1417 @item message-default-headers
1418 @vindex message-default-headers
1419 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1422 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1423 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1427 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1428 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1429 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1430 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1431 to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1432 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1433 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1434 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1435 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1437 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1438 responding to a message:
1441 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1446 "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw
1448 "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd
1449 "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp
1451 "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref
1454 "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)"
1461 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1462 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1463 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1464 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1465 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1466 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1467 @code{ask}, query the user what to do. In this case, the subject is
1468 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1469 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is @code{t}, always strip the
1470 trailing old subject. In this case,
1471 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1473 @item message-alternative-emails
1474 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1475 Regexp matching alternative email addresses. The first address in the
1476 To, Cc or From headers of the original article matching this variable is
1477 used as the From field of outgoing messages, replacing the default From
1480 For example, if you have two secondary email addresses john@@home.net
1481 and john.doe@@work.com and want to use them in the From field when
1482 composing a reply to a message addressed to one of them, you could set
1483 this variable like this:
1486 (setq message-alternative-emails
1487 (regexp-opt '("john@@home.net" "john.doe@@work.com")))
1490 This variable has precedence over posting styles and anything that runs
1491 off @code{message-setup-hook}.
1493 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1494 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1495 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1496 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1497 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1498 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1500 @item message-hidden-headers
1501 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1502 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1503 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1504 hidden when composing a message.
1507 (setq message-hidden-headers
1508 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1511 Headers are hidden using narrowing, you can use @kbd{M-x widen} to
1512 expose them in the buffer.
1514 @item message-header-synonyms
1515 @vindex message-header-synonyms
1516 A list of lists of header synonyms. E.g., if this list contains a
1517 member list with elements @code{Cc} and @code{To}, then
1518 @code{message-carefully-insert-headers} will not insert a @code{To}
1519 header when the message is already @code{Cc}ed to the recipient.
1525 @section Mail Headers
1528 @item message-required-mail-headers
1529 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1530 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1531 @code{(From Subject Date (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID
1532 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1534 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1535 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1536 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is@*
1537 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:\\|@*
1538 ^X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information:}.
1540 @item message-default-mail-headers
1541 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1542 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1543 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1545 @item message-generate-hashcash
1546 @vindex message-generate-hashcash
1547 Variable that indicates whether @samp{X-Hashcash} headers
1548 should be computed for the message. @xref{Hashcash, ,Hashcash,gnus,
1549 The Gnus Manual}. If @code{opportunistic}, only generate the headers
1550 when it doesn't lead to the user having to wait.
1555 @node Mail Variables
1556 @section Mail Variables
1559 @item message-send-mail-function
1560 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1561 @findex message-send-mail-function
1562 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1563 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1564 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1565 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1566 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1567 @findex feedmail-send-it
1568 @findex message-send-mail-with-mailclient
1569 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1570 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, or @code{smtpmail-send-it}
1571 according to the system. Other valid values include
1572 @code{message-send-mail-with-mailclient},
1573 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1574 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1577 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail} pipes your article to the
1578 @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and sending. When your local
1579 system is not configured for sending mail using @code{sendmail}, and you
1580 have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP} server, you can set
1581 @code{message-send-mail-function} to @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make
1582 sure to setup the @code{smtpmail} package correctly. An example:
1585 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
1586 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
1589 To the thing similar to this, there is
1590 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
1591 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
1592 @xref{POP before SMTP, , POP before SMTP, gnus, The Gnus Manual}.
1594 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1595 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1596 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1597 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1598 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1599 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1602 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1603 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1605 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1607 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1608 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1609 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1610 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1611 may also be a function.
1613 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1614 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1615 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1617 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1618 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1620 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1621 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1623 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1624 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1625 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1626 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1627 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1628 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1630 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1631 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1632 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1633 body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
1634 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1635 the problem will actually occur.
1637 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1638 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1639 @cindex split large message
1640 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1641 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1642 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1648 @section News Headers
1650 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1651 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1652 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1653 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1659 @findex user-full-name
1660 @findex user-mail-address
1661 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1662 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1663 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1664 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1668 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1672 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1673 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1676 @cindex organization
1677 @vindex message-user-organization
1678 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1679 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1680 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1681 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1682 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1683 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1684 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1688 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1692 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1693 @vindex mail-host-address
1694 @vindex user-mail-address
1697 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1698 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1699 created based on the date, time, user name (for the local part) and the
1700 domain part. For the domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1701 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1702 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1703 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1707 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1708 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1711 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1712 header of the article being replied to.
1716 @vindex message-expires
1717 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1718 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1719 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1722 @cindex Distribution
1723 @vindex message-distribution-function
1724 This optional header is filled out according to the
1725 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1726 much misunderstood header.
1730 @vindex message-user-path
1731 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1732 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1733 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1734 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1735 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1736 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1737 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1741 @cindex Mime-Version
1742 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this cons
1743 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1744 the @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1745 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1746 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1747 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1748 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1749 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1750 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1752 If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is
1753 @code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1756 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1757 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1761 (setq message-required-news-headers
1762 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1765 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1769 @item message-syntax-checks
1770 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1771 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1772 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1775 (signature . disabled)
1785 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1786 something only moderators should include.
1787 @item continuation-headers
1788 Check whether there are continuation header lines that don't begin with
1791 Check for invalid characters.
1793 Check whether the article is empty.
1794 @item existing-newsgroups
1795 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1796 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1798 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1799 @item illegible-text
1800 Check whether there is any non-printable character in the body.
1801 @item invisible-text
1802 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1803 @item long-header-lines
1804 Check for too long header lines.
1807 Check for too long lines in the body.
1809 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks syntactically ok.
1810 @item multiple-headers
1811 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1813 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1815 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} header exists and is not empty.
1817 Check whether text follows last quoted portion.
1818 @item repeated-newsgroups
1819 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1820 contains repeated group names.
1822 Check whether the @code{Reply-To} header looks ok.
1825 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1828 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1830 Check whether the domain part of the @code{Message-ID} header looks ok.
1831 @item shorten-followup-to
1832 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1833 of groups to post to.
1835 Check the length of the signature.
1837 Check for excessive size.
1839 Check whether the @code{Subject} header exists and is not empty.
1841 Check the subject for commands.
1842 @item valid-newsgroups
1843 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1844 are valid syntactically.
1847 All these conditions are checked by default, except for @code{sender}
1848 for which the check is disabled by default if
1849 @code{message-insert-canlock} is non-@code{nil} (@pxref{Canceling News}).
1851 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1852 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1853 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1854 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|@*
1855 ^X-Draft-From:\\|^X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information:}.
1857 @item message-default-news-headers
1858 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1859 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1860 buffers that are initialized as news.
1865 @node News Variables
1866 @section News Variables
1869 @item message-send-news-function
1870 @vindex message-send-news-function
1871 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1872 @code{message-send-news}.
1874 @item message-post-method
1875 @vindex message-post-method
1876 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1877 posting a prepared news message.
1882 @node Insertion Variables
1883 @section Insertion Variables
1886 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1887 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1888 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1889 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1892 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1893 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1894 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1896 @item message-citation-line-function
1897 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1898 @cindex attribution line
1899 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1900 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1904 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1907 @c FIXME: Add `message-insert-formated-citation-line' and
1908 @c `message-citation-line-format'
1910 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1913 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1914 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1915 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1916 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1917 Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.
1919 @item message-yank-prefix
1920 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1923 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1924 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
1925 @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1926 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted lines
1927 which use @code{message-yank-cited-prefix} and empty lines which use
1928 @code{message-yank-empty-prefix}). The default is @samp{> }.
1930 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1931 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1935 When yanking text from an article which contains already cited text,
1936 each line will be prefixed with the contents of this variable. The
1937 default is @samp{>}. See also @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1939 @item message-yank-empty-prefix
1940 @vindex message-yank-empty-prefix
1943 When yanking text from an article, each empty line will be prefixed with
1944 the contents of this variable. The default is @samp{>}. You can set
1945 this variable to an empty string to split the cited text into paragraphs
1946 automatically. See also @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1948 @item message-indentation-spaces
1949 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1950 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1952 @item message-cite-function
1953 @vindex message-cite-function
1954 @findex message-cite-original
1955 @findex sc-cite-original
1956 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1958 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1959 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1960 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1961 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1962 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1965 @item message-indent-citation-function
1966 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1967 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1968 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1969 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1970 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1972 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1973 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1974 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1976 @item message-mark-insert-end
1977 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1978 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1980 @item message-signature
1981 @vindex message-signature
1982 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1983 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1984 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1985 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1986 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1988 @item message-signature-file
1989 @vindex message-signature-file
1990 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1991 If a path is specified, the value of
1992 @code{message-signature-directory} is ignored, even if set.
1993 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1995 @item message-signature-directory
1996 @vindex message-signature-directory
1997 Name of directory containing signature files. Comes in handy if you
1998 have many such files, handled via Gnus posting styles for instance.
1999 If @code{nil} (the default), @code{message-signature-file} is expected
2000 to specify the directory if needed.
2003 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
2004 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
2005 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
2006 signature separator.
2010 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
2011 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
2012 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
2013 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
2014 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
2016 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
2017 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
2018 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
2022 @node Various Message Variables
2023 @section Various Message Variables
2026 @item message-default-charset
2027 @vindex message-default-charset
2029 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters
2030 in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default
2031 is @code{iso-8859-1} on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen; otherwise @code{nil},
2032 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
2033 Emacsen.) @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
2034 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME}
2035 translation process.
2037 @item message-fill-column
2038 @vindex message-fill-column
2040 Local value for the column beyond which automatic line-wrapping should
2041 happen for message buffers. If non-nil (the default), also turn on
2042 auto-fill in message buffers.
2044 @item message-signature-separator
2045 @vindex message-signature-separator
2046 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
2049 @item mail-header-separator
2050 @vindex mail-header-separator
2051 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
2052 follows this line--} by default.
2054 @item message-directory
2055 @vindex message-directory
2056 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
2057 All other mail file variables are derived from @code{message-directory}.
2059 @item message-auto-save-directory
2060 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
2061 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
2062 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
2064 @item message-signature-setup-hook
2065 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
2066 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
2067 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
2069 @item message-setup-hook
2070 @vindex message-setup-hook
2071 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
2072 but before yanked text is inserted.
2074 @item message-header-setup-hook
2075 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
2076 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
2078 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
2079 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
2080 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
2083 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
2084 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
2085 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
2086 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
2087 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
2088 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
2090 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
2091 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
2094 @item message-send-hook
2095 @vindex message-send-hook
2096 Hook run before sending messages.
2098 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
2099 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
2100 @findex message-add-header
2103 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
2104 (defun my-message-add-content ()
2105 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
2106 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
2109 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
2111 @item message-send-mail-hook
2112 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
2113 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
2114 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
2116 @item message-send-news-hook
2117 @vindex message-send-news-hook
2118 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
2119 just before the message is actually sent as news.
2121 @item message-sent-hook
2122 @vindex message-sent-hook
2123 Hook run after sending messages.
2125 @item message-cancel-hook
2126 @vindex message-cancel-hook
2127 Hook run when canceling news articles.
2129 @item message-mode-syntax-table
2130 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
2131 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
2133 @item message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
2134 @vindex message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
2135 If non-@code{nil}, don't strip quoted text from articles that have
2136 @samp{X-No-Archive} set. Even if this variable isn't set, you can
2137 undo the stripping by hitting the @code{undo} keystroke.
2139 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
2140 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
2141 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
2142 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
2143 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
2144 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
2145 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
2146 message composition doesn't break too bad.
2148 @item message-send-method-alist
2149 @vindex message-send-method-alist
2150 @findex message-mail-p
2151 @findex message-news-p
2152 @findex message-send-via-mail
2153 @findex message-send-via-news
2154 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form:
2157 (@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})
2162 A symbol that names the method.
2165 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
2166 message is a message of type @var{type}. The function will be called in
2167 the buffer where the message is.
2170 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
2171 @var{function} is called with one parameter---the prefix.
2177 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
2178 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
2181 The @code{message-news-p} function returns non-@code{nil} if the message
2182 looks like news, and the @code{message-send-via-news} function sends the
2183 message according to the @code{message-send-news-function} variable
2184 (@pxref{News Variables}). The @code{message-mail-p} function returns
2185 non-@code{nil} if the message looks like mail, and the
2186 @code{message-send-via-mail} function sends the message according to the
2187 @code{message-send-mail-function} variable (@pxref{Mail Variables}).
2189 All the elements in this alist will be tried in order, so a message
2190 containing both a valid @samp{Newsgroups} header and a valid @samp{To}
2191 header, for example, will be sent as news, and then as mail.
2196 @node Sending Variables
2197 @section Sending Variables
2201 @item message-fcc-handler-function
2202 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
2203 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
2204 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
2205 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
2207 @item message-courtesy-message
2208 @vindex message-courtesy-message
2209 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
2210 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
2211 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2212 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2213 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2214 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2216 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2217 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2218 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2219 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2221 @item message-interactive
2222 @vindex message-interactive
2223 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2224 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2226 @item message-confirm-send
2227 @vindex message-confirm-send
2228 When non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask for confirmation when sending a
2234 @node Message Buffers
2235 @section Message Buffers
2237 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2238 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2239 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2240 message buffers are kept alive.
2243 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2244 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2245 Controls whether to create a new message buffer to compose a message.
2246 Valid values include:
2250 Generate the buffer name in the Message way (e.g., *mail*, *news*, *mail
2251 to whom*, *news on group*, etc.) and continue editing in the existing
2252 buffer of that name. If there is no such buffer, it will be newly
2257 Create the new buffer with the name generated in the Message way. This
2261 Similar to @code{unique} but the buffer name begins with "*unsent ".
2264 Similar to @code{nil} but the buffer name is simpler like *mail
2269 If this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The
2270 type, the To address and the group name (any of these may be
2271 @code{nil}). The function should return the new buffer name.
2274 The default value is @code{unique}.
2276 @item message-max-buffers
2277 @vindex message-max-buffers
2278 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2279 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2280 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2281 will ever be killed.
2283 @item message-send-rename-function
2284 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2285 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2286 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2287 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2288 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2292 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2295 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2296 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2297 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2302 @node Message Actions
2303 @section Message Actions
2305 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2306 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2307 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2310 @vindex message-kill-actions
2311 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2312 @vindex message-exit-actions
2313 @vindex message-send-actions
2314 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2315 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2316 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2317 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2318 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2319 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2320 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2321 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2323 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2324 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2325 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2326 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2330 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2331 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2334 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2335 killed, postponed or exited.
2337 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2338 @sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2339 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2343 @chapter Compatibility
2344 @cindex compatibility
2346 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2347 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2348 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2351 (require 'messcompat)
2354 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2355 corresponding mail variables.
2362 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2369 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2374 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2375 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2376 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2387 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2388 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2389 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2390 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2394 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2401 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2402 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2403 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2407 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2408 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2419 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2420 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is
2426 @node GNU Free Documentation License
2427 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
2428 @include doclicense.texi
2445 arch-tag: 16ab76af-a281-4e34-aed6-5624569f7601