1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message 5.6.32 Manual
9 @c * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
14 @setchapternewpage odd
18 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
20 Copyright (C) 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
23 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
24 are preserved on all copies.
27 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
28 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
29 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
30 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
33 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
34 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
35 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
36 permission notice identical to this one.
38 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
39 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
45 @title Message 5.6.32 Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
54 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
55 are preserved on all copies.
57 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
58 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
59 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
60 permission notice identical to this one.
62 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
63 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
73 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
77 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
78 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
79 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
80 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
81 * Appendices:: More technical things.
82 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
83 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
86 This manual corresponds to Message 5.6.32. Message is distributed with
87 the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual
94 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
95 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
96 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
97 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
98 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
102 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
103 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
104 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
105 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
106 * Followup:: Following up via news.
107 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
108 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
109 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
110 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
111 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
115 @node New Mail Message
116 @section New Mail Message
119 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
121 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
122 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
123 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
126 @node New News Message
127 @section New News Message
130 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
132 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
133 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
134 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
140 @findex message-reply
141 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
142 reply to the message in the current buffer.
144 @vindex message-reply-to-function
145 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
146 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
147 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
149 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
150 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
153 (setq message-reply-to-function
155 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
156 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
161 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
164 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
165 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
166 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
169 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
170 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
171 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
172 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
173 the head of the outgoing mail.
179 @findex message-wide-reply
180 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
181 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
182 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
183 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
185 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
186 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
187 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
188 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
189 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
191 @findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
192 Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
193 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
199 @findex message-followup
200 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
201 followup to the message in the current buffer.
203 @vindex message-followup-to-function
204 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
205 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
206 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
207 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
209 @vindex message-use-followup-to
210 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
211 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
212 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
213 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
214 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
218 @section Canceling News
220 @findex message-cancel-news
221 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
228 @findex message-supersede
229 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
230 supersede the message in the current buffer.
232 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
233 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
234 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
235 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
236 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
243 @findex message-forward
244 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
245 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
249 @item message-forward-start-separator
250 @vindex message-forward-start-separator
251 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is@*
252 @samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
254 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
255 @item message-forward-end-separator
256 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
257 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is@*
258 @samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
260 @item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
261 @vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
262 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
263 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
264 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
266 @item message-included-forward-headers
267 @vindex message-included-forward-headers
268 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
276 @findex message-resend
277 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
278 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
280 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
281 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
282 be removed before sending the message. The default is
283 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
289 @findex message-bounce
290 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
291 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
292 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
293 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
296 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
297 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
298 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
299 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
306 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
307 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
308 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
309 * Various Commands:: Various things.
310 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
311 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
315 @node Header Commands
316 @section Header Commands
318 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
325 @findex message-goto-to
326 Describe the message mode.
330 @findex message-goto-to
331 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
335 @findex message-goto-bcc
336 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
340 @findex message-goto-fcc
341 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
345 @findex message-goto-cc
346 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
350 @findex message-goto-subject
351 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
355 @findex message-goto-reply-to
356 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
360 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
361 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
365 @findex message-goto-distribution
366 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
370 @findex message-goto-followup-to
371 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
375 @findex message-goto-keywords
376 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
380 @findex message-goto-summary
381 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
392 @findex message-goto-body
393 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
394 (@code{message-goto-body}).
398 @findex message-goto-signature
399 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
411 @findex message-yank-original
412 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
413 (@code{message-yank-original}).
417 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
418 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
419 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
420 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
421 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
427 @findex message-insert-signature
428 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
429 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
434 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
435 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
436 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
437 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
440 @item message-citation-line-function
441 @vindex message-citation-line-function
442 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
443 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
447 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
450 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
453 @item message-yank-prefix
454 @vindex message-yank-prefix
457 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
458 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
459 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
460 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
461 If it is @code{nil}, just indent the message.
463 @item message-indentation-spaces
464 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
465 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
467 @item message-cite-function
468 @vindex message-cite-function
469 @findex message-cite-original
470 @findex sc-cite-original
471 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
473 Function for citing an original message. The default is
474 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
475 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
476 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
477 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
480 @item message-indent-citation-function
481 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
482 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
483 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
484 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
485 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
487 @item message-signature
488 @vindex message-signature
489 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
490 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
491 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
492 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
493 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
495 @item message-signature-file
496 @vindex message-signature-file
497 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
498 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
502 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
503 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
504 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
505 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
506 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
508 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
509 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
510 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
514 @node Various Commands
515 @section Various Commands
521 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
522 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
523 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
524 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
525 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
529 @findex message-elide-region
530 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
531 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
536 @findex message-kill-to-signature
537 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
538 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
542 @findex message-delete-not-region
543 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
544 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
548 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
549 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
554 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
557 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
560 > This is some quoted text.
564 > And here's more quoted text.
567 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
571 @findex message-insert-to
572 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
573 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
574 (@code{message-insert-to}).
578 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
579 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
580 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
581 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
585 @findex message-rename-buffer
586 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
587 prompt for a new buffer name.
598 @findex message-send-and-exit
599 Send the message and bury the current buffer
600 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
605 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
609 @findex message-dont-send
610 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
614 @findex message-kill-buffer
615 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
622 @section Mail Aliases
626 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
627 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
628 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
629 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
630 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
632 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
633 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
636 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
637 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
640 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
641 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
642 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
644 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
645 expansions have to be done explicitly.
653 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
654 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
655 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
656 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
657 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
658 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
659 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
660 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
661 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
665 @node Message Headers
666 @section Message Headers
668 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
669 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
670 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
671 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
672 look sufficiently similar.
676 @item message-generate-headers-first
677 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
678 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
681 @item message-from-style
682 @vindex message-from-style
683 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
688 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
691 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
694 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
697 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
698 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
699 @code{angles} anyway.
703 @item message-deletable-headers
704 @vindex message-deletable-headers
705 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
706 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
707 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
708 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
709 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
710 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
711 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
712 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
715 @item message-default-headers
716 @vindex message-default-headers
717 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
720 @item message-subject-re-regexp
721 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
722 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
723 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
724 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
725 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
726 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
727 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
728 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
729 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
730 just throw away non-compliant mail.
736 @section Mail Headers
739 @item message-required-mail-headers
740 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
741 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
742 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
743 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
745 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
746 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
747 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
748 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
750 @item message-default-mail-headers
751 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
752 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
753 buffers that are initialized as mail.
759 @section Mail Variables
762 @item message-send-mail-function
763 @vindex message-send-mail-function
764 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
765 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
766 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
768 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
769 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
770 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
771 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
772 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
773 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
780 @section News Headers
782 @vindex message-required-news-headers
783 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
784 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
785 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
791 @findex user-full-name
792 @findex user-mail-address
793 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
794 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
795 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
796 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
800 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
804 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
805 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
809 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
810 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
811 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
812 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
813 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
814 parameters and should return a string to be used).
818 This optional header will be computed by Message.
822 @vindex mail-host-address
825 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
826 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
827 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
828 of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
829 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
834 This optional header will be filled out according to the
835 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
838 This optional header will be filled out according to the
839 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
840 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
843 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
844 header of the article being replied to.
848 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
849 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
850 be used unless you know what you're doing.
854 This optional header is filled out according to the
855 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
856 much misunderstood header.
860 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
861 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
862 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
863 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
864 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
865 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
866 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
871 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
872 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
873 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
874 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
875 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
876 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
877 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
878 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
879 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
881 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
882 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
885 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
889 @item message-syntax-checks
890 @vindex message-syntax-checks
891 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
892 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
895 (signature . disabled)
904 Check the subject for commands.
907 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
908 @item multiple-headers
909 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
912 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
914 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
916 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
919 Check for too long lines.
921 Check for invalid characters.
923 Check for excessive size.
925 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
927 Check the length of the signature.
930 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
931 something only moderators should include.
933 Check whether the article is empty.
935 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
936 @item existing-newsgroups
937 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
938 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
939 @item valid-newsgroups
940 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
941 are valid syntactically.
942 @item repeated-newsgroups
943 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
944 contains repeated group names.
945 @item shorten-followup-to
946 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
947 of groups to post to.
950 All these conditions are checked by default.
952 @item message-ignored-news-headers
953 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
954 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
955 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
957 @item message-default-news-headers
958 @vindex message-default-news-headers
959 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
960 buffers that are initialized as news.
966 @section News Variables
969 @item message-send-news-function
970 @vindex message-send-news-function
971 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
972 @code{message-send-news}.
974 @item message-post-method
975 @vindex message-post-method
976 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
977 posting a prepared news message.
982 @node Various Message Variables
983 @section Various Message Variables
986 @item message-signature-separator
987 @vindex message-signature-separator
988 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
991 @item mail-header-separator
992 @vindex mail-header-separator
993 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
994 follows this line--} by default.
996 @item message-directory
997 @vindex message-directory
998 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1000 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1001 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1002 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1003 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1005 @item message-setup-hook
1006 @vindex message-setup-hook
1007 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1008 but before yanked text is inserted.
1010 @item message-header-setup-hook
1011 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1012 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1014 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1015 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1016 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1019 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1020 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1021 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1022 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1023 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1024 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1026 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1027 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1030 @item message-send-hook
1031 @vindex message-send-hook
1032 Hook run before sending messages.
1034 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1035 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1036 @findex message-add-header
1039 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1040 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1043 "Content-Type: text/plain"
1044 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit"))
1047 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1049 @item message-send-mail-hook
1050 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1051 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1053 @item message-send-news-hook
1054 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1055 Hook run before sending news messages.
1057 @item message-sent-hook
1058 @vindex message-sent-hook
1059 Hook run after sending messages.
1061 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1062 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1063 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1065 @item message-send-method-alist
1066 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1068 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1071 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1076 A symbol that names the method.
1079 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1080 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1083 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1084 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1088 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1089 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1098 @node Sending Variables
1099 @section Sending Variables
1103 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1104 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1105 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1106 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1107 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1109 @item message-courtesy-message
1110 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1111 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1112 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1113 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1114 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1115 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1116 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1121 @node Message Buffers
1122 @section Message Buffers
1124 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1125 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1126 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1127 message buffers are kept alive.
1130 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1131 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1132 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1133 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1134 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1135 The function should return the new buffer name.
1137 @item message-max-buffers
1138 @vindex message-max-buffers
1139 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1140 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1141 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1142 will ever be killed.
1144 @item message-send-rename-function
1145 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1146 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1147 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1148 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1149 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1153 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1156 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1157 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1158 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1163 @node Message Actions
1164 @section Message Actions
1166 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1167 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1168 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1171 @vindex message-kill-actions
1172 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1173 @vindex message-exit-actions
1174 @vindex message-send-actions
1175 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1176 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1177 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1178 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1179 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1180 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1181 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1182 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1184 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1185 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1186 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1187 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1191 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1192 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1195 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1196 killed, postponed or exited.
1198 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1199 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1200 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1204 @chapter Compatibility
1205 @cindex compatibility
1207 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1208 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1209 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1212 (require 'messcompat)
1215 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1216 corresponding mail variables.
1223 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1230 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1235 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1236 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1237 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1248 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1249 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1250 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1251 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1255 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1262 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1263 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1264 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1268 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1269 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1280 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1281 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is