1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
3 @setfilename message.info
4 @settitle Message Manual
11 @setchapternewpage odd
15 This file documents Messa, the Emacs message composition mode.
17 Copyright (C) 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
20 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
21 are preserved on all copies.
24 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
25 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
26 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
27 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
30 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
31 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
32 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
33 permission notice identical to this one.
35 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
36 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
44 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
47 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
48 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
50 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
51 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
52 are preserved on all copies.
54 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
55 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
56 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
57 permission notice identical to this one.
59 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
60 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
70 All message composition (both mail and news) takes place in Message mode
74 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
75 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
76 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
77 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
78 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
85 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
86 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
87 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
88 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
89 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
93 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
94 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
95 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
96 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
97 * Followup:: Following up via news.
98 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
99 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
100 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
101 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
102 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
106 @node New Mail Message
107 @section New Mail Message
110 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
112 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
113 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
114 aren't present, those two headers will be empty.
117 @node New News Message
118 @section New News Message
121 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
123 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
124 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
125 header. If these aren't present, those two headers will be empty.
131 @findex message-reply
132 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
133 reply to the message in the current buffer.
135 @vindex message-reply-to-function
136 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go,
137 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
138 @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
140 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
141 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
144 (setq message-reply-to-function
146 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
147 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
152 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
155 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
156 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
157 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
160 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
161 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
162 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
163 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
164 the head of the outgoing mail.
170 @findex message-wide-reply
171 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
172 reply to the message in the current buffer.
174 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
175 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
176 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
177 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
178 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
180 @findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
181 Addresses that matches the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
182 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
188 @findex message-followup
189 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
190 followup to the message in the current buffer.
192 @vindex message-followup-to-function
193 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
194 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
195 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
196 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
198 @vindex message-use-followup-to
199 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
200 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
201 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
202 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
203 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
207 @section Canceling News
209 @findex message-cancel-news
210 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
217 @findex message-supersede
218 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
219 supersede the message in the current buffer.
221 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
222 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
223 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is
224 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:}.
231 @findex message-forward
232 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
233 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
237 @item message-forward-start-separator
238 @vindex message-forward-start-separator
239 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is
240 @samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
242 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
243 @item message-forward-end-separator
244 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
245 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is
246 @samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
248 @item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
249 @vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
250 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
251 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
252 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
254 @item message-included-forward-headers
255 @vindex message-included-forward-headers
256 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
264 @findex message-resend
265 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
266 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
268 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
269 Headers the match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
270 be removed before sending the message. The default is
271 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
277 @findex message-bounce
278 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
279 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
282 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
283 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
284 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
292 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
293 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
294 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
295 * Various Commands:: Various things.
296 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
300 @node Header Commands
301 @section Header Commands
303 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
310 @findex message-goto-to
311 Describe the message mode.
315 @findex message-goto-to
316 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
320 @findex message-goto-bcc
321 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
325 @findex message-goto-fcc
326 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
330 @findex message-goto-cc
331 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
335 @findex message-goto-subject
336 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
340 @findex message-goto-reply-to
341 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
345 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
346 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
350 @findex message-goto-distribution
351 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
355 @findex message-goto-followup-to
356 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
360 @findex message-goto-keywords
361 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
365 @findex message-goto-summary
366 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
377 @findex message-goto-body
378 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
379 (@code{message-goto-body}).
383 @findex message-goto-signature
384 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
396 @findex message-yank-original
397 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
398 (@code{message-yank-original}).
402 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
403 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}).
407 @findex message-insert-signature
408 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
409 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
414 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
415 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
416 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
417 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
420 @item message-citation-line-function
421 @vindex message-citation-line-function
422 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
423 @code{message-insert-citation-line}.
425 @item message-yank-prefix
426 @vindex message-yank-prefix
429 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
430 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
431 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
432 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
433 If it is @code{nil}, just indent the message.
435 @item message-indentation-spaces
436 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
437 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
439 @item message-cite-function
440 @vindex message-cite-function
441 @findex message-cite-original
442 @findex sc-cite-original
444 Function for citing an original message. The default is
445 @code{message-cite-original}. You can also set it to
446 @code{sc-cite-original} to use SuperCite.
448 @item message-indent-citation-function
449 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
450 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
451 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
452 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
453 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
455 @item message-signature
456 @vindex message-signature
457 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
458 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
459 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
460 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
461 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
463 @item message-signature-file
464 @vindex message-signature-file
465 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
466 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
470 Note that RFC1036 says that a signature should be preceded by the three
471 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
472 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
473 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
474 that they ruin you beautiful design, like, totally.
476 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
477 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
478 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
482 @node Various Commands
483 @section Various Commands
489 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
490 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
491 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
492 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
493 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
497 @findex message-insert-to
498 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
499 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
500 (@code{message-insert-to}).
504 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
505 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
506 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
507 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
511 @findex message-rename-buffer
512 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
513 prompt for a new buffer name.
524 @findex message-send-and-exit
525 Send the message and bury the current buffer
526 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
531 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
535 @findex message-dont-send
536 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
540 @findex message-kill-buffer
541 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
550 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
551 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
552 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
553 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
554 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
555 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
556 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
557 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
558 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
562 @node Message Headers
563 @section Message Headers
565 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has
566 to be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send
567 combined messages, it has to generate all headers itself to ensure that
568 mail and news copies of messages look sufficiently similar.
572 @item message-generate-headers-first
573 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
574 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
577 @item message-from-style
578 @vindex message-from-style
579 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four legal
584 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
587 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
590 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
593 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
594 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
595 @code{angles} anyway.
599 @item message-deletable-headers
600 @vindex message-deletable-headers
601 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
602 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
603 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
604 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
605 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
606 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
607 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
608 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
611 @item message-default-headers
612 @vindex message-default-headers
613 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
620 @section Mail Headers
623 @item message-required-mail-headers
624 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
625 See @pxref{News Headers} for the syntax of this variable. It is
626 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
627 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
629 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
630 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
631 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
632 @samp{^Gcc:\\|^Fcc:}.
634 @item message-default-mail-headers
635 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
636 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
637 buffers that are initialized as mail.
643 @section Mail Variables
646 @item message-send-mail-function
647 @vindex message-send-mail-function
648 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
649 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
650 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
656 @section News Headers
658 @vindex message-required-news-headers
659 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
660 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
661 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are legal:
667 @findex user-full-name
668 @findex user-mail-address
669 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
670 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
671 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
672 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
676 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
680 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
681 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
685 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
686 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
687 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if that variable is
692 This optional header will be computed by Message.
696 @vindex mail-host-address
699 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
700 created based on date, time, user name and system name. Message will
701 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
702 of the machine if that variable is define. If not, it will use
703 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
708 This optional header will be filled out according to the
709 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
712 This optional header will be filled out according to the
713 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
714 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
717 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
718 header of the article being replied.
722 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
723 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
724 be used unless you know what you're doing.
728 This optional header is filled out according to the
729 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
730 much misunderstood header.
734 This extremely optional header should probably not ever be used.
735 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
736 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
737 @code{Path} header is to look. If is is @code{nil}, the the server name
738 as the leaf node. If is is a string, use the string. If it is neither
739 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
740 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
745 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
746 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
747 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
748 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
749 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
750 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
751 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
752 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
753 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
755 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
756 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
759 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
763 @item message-syntax-checks
764 @vindex message-syntax-checks
765 If non-@code{nil}, message will attempt to check the legality of the
766 headers, as well as some other stuff, before posting. You can control
767 the granularity of the check by adding or removing elements from this
768 list. Legal elements are:
772 Check the subject for commands.
775 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
776 @item multiple-headers
777 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
780 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
782 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
784 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
787 Check for too long lines.
789 Check for illegal characters.
791 Check for excessive size.
793 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
795 Check the length of the signature.
798 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
799 something only moderators should include.
801 Check whether the article is empty.
803 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
804 @item existing-newsgroups
805 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the Newsgroups and
806 Followup-To headers exist.
807 @item valid-newsgroups
808 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
809 are valid syntactially.
812 All these conditions are checked by default.
814 @item message-ignored-news-headers
815 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
816 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is
817 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Bcc:\\|^Gcc:\\|^Fcc:}.
819 @item message-default-news-headers
820 @vindex message-default-news-headers
821 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
822 buffers that are initialized as news.
828 @section News Variables
831 @item message-send-news-function
832 @vindex message-send-news-function
833 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
834 @code{message-send-news}.
836 @item message-post-method
837 @vindex message-post-method
838 Method used for posting a prepared news message.
843 @node Various Message Variables
844 @section Various Message Variables
847 @item message-signature-separator
848 @vindex message-signature-separator
849 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
852 @item mail-header-separator
853 @vindex mail-header-separator
854 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
855 follows this line--} by default.
857 @item message-directory
858 @vindex message-directory
859 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
861 @item message-autosave-directory
862 @vindex message-autosave-directory
863 Directory where message buffers will be autosaved to.
865 @item message-signature-setup-hook
866 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
867 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
868 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
870 @item message-setup-hook
871 @vindex message-setup-hook
872 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized.
874 @item message-header-setup-hook
875 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
876 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
878 @item message-send-hook
879 @vindex message-send-hook
880 Hook run before sending messages.
882 @item message-sent-hook
883 @vindex message-sent-hook
884 Hook run after sending messages.
886 @item message-mode-syntax-table
887 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
888 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
894 @node Sending Variables
895 @section Sending Variables
899 @item message-fcc-handler-function
900 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
901 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
902 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
903 function is @code{rmail-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
905 @item message-courtesy-message
906 @vindex message-courtesy-message
907 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
908 the mailed copy. If this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy
909 message will be added.
914 @node Message Buffers
915 @section Message Buffers
917 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
918 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
919 normally killed off. It's name is changed and a certain number of old
920 message buffers are kept alive.
923 @item message-generate-new-buffers
924 @findex message-generate-new-buffers
925 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}.
927 @item message-max-buffers
928 @findex message-max-buffers
929 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
930 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
931 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
934 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
935 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
936 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
941 @node Message Actions
942 @section Message Actions
944 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
945 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
946 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
949 @vindex message-kill-actions
950 @vindex message-postpone-actions
951 @vindex message-exit-actions
952 @vindex message-send-actions
953 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
954 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
955 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
956 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
957 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
958 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
959 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
960 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
962 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
963 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
964 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
965 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
969 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
970 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
973 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
974 killed, postponed or exited.
976 An @dfn{action} can be either a normal function; or a list where the
977 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments; or
978 a form to be @code{eval}ed.