1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message (Oort) Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
24 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
25 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
26 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
27 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
28 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
29 License'' in the Emacs manual.
31 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
32 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
33 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
35 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
36 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
37 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
38 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
44 @title Message (Oort) Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
51 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
54 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
55 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
56 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
57 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
58 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
59 License'' in the Emacs manual.
61 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
62 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
63 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
65 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
66 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
67 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
68 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
77 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
81 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
82 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
83 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
84 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
85 * Appendices:: More technical things.
86 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
87 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
90 This manual corresponds to Oort Message. Message is distributed with
91 the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual.
97 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
98 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
99 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
100 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
101 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
105 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
106 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
107 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
108 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
109 * Followup:: Following up via news.
110 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
111 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
112 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
113 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
114 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
118 @node New Mail Message
119 @section New Mail Message
122 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
124 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
125 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
126 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
129 @node New News Message
130 @section New News Message
133 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
135 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
136 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
137 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
143 @findex message-reply
144 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
145 reply to the message in the current buffer.
147 @vindex message-reply-to-function
148 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
149 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
150 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
152 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
153 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
156 (setq message-reply-to-function
158 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
159 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
164 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
167 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
168 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
169 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
172 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
173 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
174 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
175 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
176 the head of the outgoing mail.
182 @findex message-wide-reply
183 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
184 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
185 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
186 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
188 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
189 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
190 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
191 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
192 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
194 @findex message-dont-reply-to-names
195 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
196 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
202 @findex message-followup
203 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
204 followup to the message in the current buffer.
206 @vindex message-followup-to-function
207 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
208 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
209 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
210 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
212 @vindex message-use-followup-to
213 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
214 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
215 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
216 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
217 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
221 @section Canceling News
223 @findex message-cancel-news
224 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
231 @findex message-supersede
232 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
233 supersede the message in the current buffer.
235 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
236 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
237 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
238 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
239 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
246 @findex message-forward
247 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
248 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
252 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
253 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
254 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
256 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
257 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
258 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
259 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
260 passed into each successive function.
262 The provided functions are:
265 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
266 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
267 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
270 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
271 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
274 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
275 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
276 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
277 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
278 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
279 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
281 @item message-forward-as-mime
282 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
283 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
284 included as inline MIME RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
285 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
286 non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
293 @findex message-resend
294 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
295 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
297 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
298 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
299 be removed before sending the message. The default is
300 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
306 @findex message-bounce
307 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
308 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
309 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
310 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
313 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
314 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
315 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
316 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
323 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
324 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
325 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
326 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
327 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
328 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
329 * Various Commands:: Various things.
330 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
331 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
332 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
337 @section Buffer Entry
341 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
342 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
343 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
344 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
345 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
346 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
347 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
348 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
351 @node Header Commands
352 @section Header Commands
354 All these commands move to the header in question (except for the
355 @samp{Importance:} related commands). If it doesn't exist, it will be
362 @findex message-goto-to
363 Describe the message mode.
367 @findex message-goto-to
368 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
372 @findex message-goto-bcc
373 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
377 @findex message-goto-fcc
378 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
382 @findex message-goto-cc
383 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
387 @findex message-goto-subject
388 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
392 @findex message-goto-reply-to
393 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
397 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
398 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
402 @findex message-goto-distribution
403 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
407 @findex message-goto-followup-to
408 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
412 @findex message-goto-keywords
413 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
417 @findex message-goto-summary
418 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
422 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
423 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
424 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
425 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
426 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
427 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
429 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
430 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
431 @findex message-insert-importance-high
432 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{high},
433 deleting headers if necessary.
435 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
436 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
437 @findex message-insert-importance-low
438 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{low},
439 deleting headers if necessary.
450 @findex message-goto-body
451 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
452 (@code{message-goto-body}).
456 @findex message-goto-signature
457 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
461 @findex message-beginning-of-line
462 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
463 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
476 @findex message-yank-original
477 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
478 (@code{message-yank-original}).
482 @findex message-yank-buffer
483 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
484 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
488 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
489 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
490 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
491 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
492 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
497 @findex message-insert-signature
498 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
499 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
503 @findex message-insert-headers
504 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
516 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
517 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
518 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
519 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
521 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
522 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
523 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
524 name and a @sc{mime} type.
526 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
527 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
539 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
540 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
541 support PGP (RFC 1991), PGP/MIME (RFC 2015/3156) and S/MIME.
542 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a MIME part is done
543 using the @code{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @code{C-c C-m
544 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
550 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
552 Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.
556 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
558 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP.
562 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
564 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
568 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
570 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.
574 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgp
576 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP.
580 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
582 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
586 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
587 merely insert proper MML tags to instruct the MML engine to perform that
588 operation when the message is actually sent. They may perform other
589 operations too, such as locating and retrieving a S/MIME certificate of
590 the person you wish to send encrypted mail to.
592 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
593 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
594 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
595 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
596 using @code{C-u C-m P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can verify that
597 your long rant about what your ex-significant other or whomever actually
598 did with that funny looking person at that strange party the other
599 night, actually will be sent encrypted.
601 @emph{Note!} Neither PGP/MIME nor S/MIME encrypt/signs RFC822 headers.
602 They only operate on the MIME object. Keep this in mind before sending
603 mail with a sensitive Subject line.
605 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
606 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
607 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
608 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
610 @subsection Using S/MIME
612 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
613 modern cryptography, S/MIME, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and so on.
615 The S/MIME support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
616 perform the actual S/MIME sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can be found
617 at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work.
618 Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from certificates, and it
619 insert a spurious CR character into MIME separators so you may wish to
620 avoid it if you would like to avoid being regarded as someone who send
621 strange mail. (Although by sending S/MIME messages you've probably
622 already lost that contest.)
624 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
625 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
626 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
627 @code{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
628 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local file,
629 it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you chose DNS,
630 you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is stored, the
631 default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is the first mail
632 agent in the world to support retrieving S/MIME certificates from DNS,
633 so you're not likely to find very many certificates out there. At least
634 there should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}.
635 LDAP is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for
636 it is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
637 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
639 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
640 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
641 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
642 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it contain
643 a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try @code{M-x
644 customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
646 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create your
647 own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this manually
648 with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape and got a
649 free S/MIME certificate from one of the big CA's on the net. Netscape
650 is able to export your private key and certificate in PKCS #12 format.
651 Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509 certificate in PEM format
655 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
658 The @code{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
659 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
661 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
664 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
666 PGP/MIME requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
667 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an Emacs
668 interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
669 @uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
670 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
672 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
673 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
675 @node Various Commands
676 @section Various Commands
682 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
683 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
684 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
685 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
686 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
690 @findex message-elide-region
691 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
692 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
693 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
698 @findex message-kill-to-signature
699 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
700 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
704 @findex message-delete-not-region
705 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
706 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
710 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
711 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
716 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
719 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
722 > This is some quoted text.
726 > And here's more quoted text.
729 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
733 @findex message-insert-to
734 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
735 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
736 (@code{message-insert-to}).
740 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
741 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
742 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
743 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
747 @findex message-rename-buffer
748 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
749 prompt for a new buffer name.
760 @findex message-send-and-exit
761 Send the message and bury the current buffer
762 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
767 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
771 @findex message-dont-send
772 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
776 @findex message-kill-buffer
777 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
784 @section Mail Aliases
788 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
789 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
790 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
791 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
792 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
794 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
795 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
798 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
799 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
802 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
803 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
804 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
806 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
807 expansions have to be done explicitly.
813 @findex ispell-message
815 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
816 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
817 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
818 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
819 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
820 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
823 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
826 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
827 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
828 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
831 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
832 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
836 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
839 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
840 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
843 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
847 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
849 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
852 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
860 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
861 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
862 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
863 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
864 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
865 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
866 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
867 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
868 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
869 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
873 @node Message Headers
874 @section Message Headers
876 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
877 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
878 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
879 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
880 look sufficiently similar.
884 @item message-generate-headers-first
885 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
886 If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
889 The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
890 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.
892 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
893 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
895 @item message-from-style
896 @vindex message-from-style
897 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
902 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
905 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
908 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
911 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
912 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
913 @code{angles} anyway.
917 @item message-deletable-headers
918 @vindex message-deletable-headers
919 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
920 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
921 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
922 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
923 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
924 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
925 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
926 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
929 @item message-default-headers
930 @vindex message-default-headers
931 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
934 @item message-subject-re-regexp
935 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
936 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
937 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
938 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
939 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
940 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
941 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
942 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
943 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
944 just throw away non-compliant mail.
946 @item message-alternative-emails
947 @vindex message-alternative-emails
948 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
949 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
955 @section Mail Headers
958 @item message-required-mail-headers
959 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
960 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
961 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
962 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
964 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
965 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
966 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
967 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
969 @item message-default-mail-headers
970 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
971 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
972 buffers that are initialized as mail.
978 @section Mail Variables
981 @item message-send-mail-function
982 @vindex message-send-mail-function
983 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
984 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
985 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
986 @findex smtpmail-send-it
987 @findex feedmail-send-it
988 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
989 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
990 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
991 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
993 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
994 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
995 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
996 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
997 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
998 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1001 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1002 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1003 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1004 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1005 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1011 @section News Headers
1013 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1014 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1015 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1016 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1022 @findex user-full-name
1023 @findex user-mail-address
1024 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1025 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1026 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1027 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1031 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1035 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1036 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1039 @cindex organization
1040 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1041 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1042 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1043 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1044 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1045 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1049 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1053 @vindex mail-host-address
1056 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1057 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1058 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1059 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1060 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1064 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1065 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1068 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1069 header of the article being replied to.
1073 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1074 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1075 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1078 @cindex Distribution
1079 This optional header is filled out according to the
1080 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1081 much misunderstood header.
1085 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1086 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1087 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1088 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1089 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1090 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1091 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1095 @cindex Mime-Version
1096 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1097 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1098 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1099 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1100 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1101 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1102 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1103 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1104 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1106 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1107 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1110 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1114 @item message-syntax-checks
1115 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1116 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1117 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1120 (signature . disabled)
1129 Check the subject for commands.
1132 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1133 @item multiple-headers
1134 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1137 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1139 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1141 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1144 Check for too long lines.
1146 Check for invalid characters.
1148 Check for excessive size.
1150 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1152 Check the length of the signature.
1155 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1156 something only moderators should include.
1158 Check whether the article is empty.
1159 @item invisible-text
1160 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1162 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1163 @item existing-newsgroups
1164 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1165 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1166 @item valid-newsgroups
1167 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1168 are valid syntactically.
1169 @item repeated-newsgroups
1170 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1171 contains repeated group names.
1172 @item shorten-followup-to
1173 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1174 of groups to post to.
1177 All these conditions are checked by default.
1179 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1180 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1181 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1182 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1184 @item message-default-news-headers
1185 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1186 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1187 buffers that are initialized as news.
1192 @node News Variables
1193 @section News Variables
1196 @item message-send-news-function
1197 @vindex message-send-news-function
1198 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1199 @code{message-send-news}.
1201 @item message-post-method
1202 @vindex message-post-method
1203 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1204 posting a prepared news message.
1209 @node Insertion Variables
1210 @section Insertion Variables
1213 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1214 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1215 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1216 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1219 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1220 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1221 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1223 @item message-citation-line-function
1224 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1225 @cindex attribution line
1226 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1227 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1231 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1234 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1237 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1238 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1239 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1240 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1241 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1243 @item message-yank-prefix
1244 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1247 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1248 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1249 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1250 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1251 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1254 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1255 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1259 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1260 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1261 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1262 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1264 @item message-indentation-spaces
1265 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1266 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1268 @item message-cite-function
1269 @vindex message-cite-function
1270 @findex message-cite-original
1271 @findex sc-cite-original
1272 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1274 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1275 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1276 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1277 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1278 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1281 @item message-indent-citation-function
1282 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1283 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1284 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1285 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1286 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1288 @item message-signature
1289 @vindex message-signature
1290 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1291 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1292 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1293 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1294 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1296 @item message-signature-file
1297 @vindex message-signature-file
1298 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1299 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
1303 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1304 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1305 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1306 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1307 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1309 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1310 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1311 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1314 @node Various Message Variables
1315 @section Various Message Variables
1318 @item message-default-charset
1319 @vindex message-default-charset
1321 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1322 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1323 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1325 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1326 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1327 translation process.
1329 @item message-signature-separator
1330 @vindex message-signature-separator
1331 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1334 @item mail-header-separator
1335 @vindex mail-header-separator
1336 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1337 follows this line--} by default.
1339 @item message-directory
1340 @vindex message-directory
1341 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1343 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1344 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1345 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1346 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1348 @item message-setup-hook
1349 @vindex message-setup-hook
1350 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1351 but before yanked text is inserted.
1353 @item message-header-setup-hook
1354 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1355 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1357 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1358 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1359 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1362 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1363 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1364 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1365 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1366 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1367 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1369 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1370 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1373 @item message-send-hook
1374 @vindex message-send-hook
1375 Hook run before sending messages.
1377 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1378 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1379 @findex message-add-header
1382 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1383 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1384 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1385 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1388 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1390 @item message-send-mail-hook
1391 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1392 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1394 @item message-send-news-hook
1395 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1396 Hook run before sending news messages.
1398 @item message-sent-hook
1399 @vindex message-sent-hook
1400 Hook run after sending messages.
1402 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1403 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1404 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1406 @item message-send-method-alist
1407 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1409 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1412 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1417 A symbol that names the method.
1420 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1421 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1424 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1425 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1429 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1430 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1439 @node Sending Variables
1440 @section Sending Variables
1444 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1445 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1446 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1447 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1448 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1450 @item message-courtesy-message
1451 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1452 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1453 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1454 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1455 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1456 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1457 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1462 @node Message Buffers
1463 @section Message Buffers
1465 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1466 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1467 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1468 message buffers are kept alive.
1471 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1472 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1473 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1474 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1475 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1476 The function should return the new buffer name.
1478 @item message-max-buffers
1479 @vindex message-max-buffers
1480 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1481 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1482 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1483 will ever be killed.
1485 @item message-send-rename-function
1486 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1487 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1488 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1489 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1490 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1494 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1497 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1498 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1499 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1504 @node Message Actions
1505 @section Message Actions
1507 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1508 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1509 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1512 @vindex message-kill-actions
1513 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1514 @vindex message-exit-actions
1515 @vindex message-send-actions
1516 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1517 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1518 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1519 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1520 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1521 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1522 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1523 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1525 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1526 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1527 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1528 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1532 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1533 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1536 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1537 killed, postponed or exited.
1539 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1540 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1541 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1545 @chapter Compatibility
1546 @cindex compatibility
1548 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1549 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1550 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1553 (require 'messcompat)
1556 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1557 corresponding mail variables.
1564 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1571 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1576 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1577 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1578 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1589 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1590 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1591 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1592 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1596 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1603 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1604 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1605 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1609 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1610 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1621 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1622 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is