1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message Manual
9 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
11 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
12 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
16 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
17 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
18 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
19 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
20 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
21 License'' in the Emacs manual.
23 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
24 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
25 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
27 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
28 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
29 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
30 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
36 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
41 @setchapternewpage odd
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
57 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
61 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
62 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
63 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
64 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
65 * Appendices:: More technical things.
66 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
67 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
70 This manual corresponds to Message v5.10.6. Message is distributed
71 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
78 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message---reply,
79 follow up, forward, cancel---the program (or person) should just put
80 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
81 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
82 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
86 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
87 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
88 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
89 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
90 * Followup:: Following up via news.
91 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
92 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
93 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
94 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
95 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
96 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
100 @node New Mail Message
101 @section New Mail Message
104 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
106 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
107 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
108 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
111 @node New News Message
112 @section New News Message
115 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
117 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
118 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
119 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
125 @findex message-reply
126 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
127 reply to the message in the current buffer.
129 @vindex message-reply-to-function
130 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
131 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
132 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
134 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
135 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
138 (setq message-reply-to-function
140 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
141 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
146 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
149 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
150 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
151 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
154 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
155 should be a cons, where the @sc{car} should be the name of a header
156 (e.g. @code{Cc}) and the @sc{cdr} should be the header value
157 (e.g. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
158 the head of the outgoing mail.
164 @findex message-wide-reply
165 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
166 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
167 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
168 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
170 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
171 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
172 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
173 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
174 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
176 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
177 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
178 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
180 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
181 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
182 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
183 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
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
213 @vindex message-cancel-message
214 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
215 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
219 @vindex message-insert-canlock
221 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
222 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
223 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
224 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
225 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
226 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
227 able to cancel your message.
229 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
230 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
232 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
233 this is expected to change in the future.
239 @findex message-supersede
240 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
241 supersede the message in the current buffer.
243 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
244 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
245 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
246 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
247 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
254 @findex message-forward
255 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
256 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
260 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
261 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
262 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
264 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
265 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
266 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
267 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
268 passed into each successive function.
270 The provided functions are:
273 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
274 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
275 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
278 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
279 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
282 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
283 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
284 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
285 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
286 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
287 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
289 @item message-forward-as-mime
290 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
291 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
292 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
293 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
294 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.
296 @item message-forward-before-signature
297 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
298 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
306 @findex message-resend
307 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
308 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
310 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
311 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
312 be removed before sending the message. The default is
313 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
319 @findex message-bounce
320 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
321 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
322 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
323 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
326 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
327 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
328 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
329 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
333 @section Mailing Lists
335 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
336 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
337 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
338 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
343 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
344 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
345 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
348 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
349 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
350 is not subscribed to the list.
353 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
354 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
355 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
356 and very difficult to follow.
360 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
361 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
362 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
365 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
366 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
369 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
370 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
372 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
373 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
374 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
375 way. The following variables would come in handy.
379 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
380 @item message-subscribed-addresses
381 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
382 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
384 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
385 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
388 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
389 @item message-subscribed-regexps
390 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
391 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
392 want to achieve the same result as above:
394 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
395 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
398 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
399 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
400 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
401 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
402 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
404 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
405 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
406 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
407 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
408 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.
409 This is how you would do it.
412 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
413 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
416 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
417 @item message-subscribed-address-file
418 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
419 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
420 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
424 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
425 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
427 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
428 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
429 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
430 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
431 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
432 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
433 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
434 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
435 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
436 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
437 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
440 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
442 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
443 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
444 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
445 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
446 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
447 to-address group parameter.) The function
448 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
449 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
450 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
451 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
453 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
454 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
456 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
457 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
458 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
459 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
463 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
464 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
467 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
470 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
474 It is considered good netiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
475 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
482 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
483 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
484 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
485 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
486 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
487 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
488 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
489 * Various Commands:: Various things.
490 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
491 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
492 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
497 @section Buffer Entry
501 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
502 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
503 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
504 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
505 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
506 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
507 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
508 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
511 @node Header Commands
512 @section Header Commands
514 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
516 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
517 exist, it will be inserted.
523 @findex describe-mode
524 Describe the message mode.
528 @findex message-goto-to
529 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
533 @findex message-goto-from
534 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
535 in the key binding is for Originator.)
539 @findex message-goto-bcc
540 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
544 @findex message-goto-fcc
545 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
549 @findex message-goto-cc
550 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
554 @findex message-goto-subject
555 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
559 @findex message-goto-reply-to
560 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
564 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
565 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
569 @findex message-goto-distribution
570 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
574 @findex message-goto-followup-to
575 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
579 @findex message-goto-keywords
580 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
584 @findex message-goto-summary
585 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
589 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
590 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
591 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
592 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
593 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
594 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
598 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
599 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
600 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
601 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
602 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
603 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
604 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
605 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
606 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
608 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, the
609 addresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the
610 @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.
614 @subsection Commands to change headers
620 @findex message-sort-headers
621 @vindex message-header-format-alist
622 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
623 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
627 @findex message-insert-to
628 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
629 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
630 (@code{message-insert-to}).
634 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
635 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
636 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
637 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
641 @findex message-to-list-only
642 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
643 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
647 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
648 Insert a request for a disposition
649 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
650 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
651 notification that she received the message.
653 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
654 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
655 @findex message-insert-importance-high
657 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
658 deleting headers if necessary.
660 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
661 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
662 @findex message-insert-importance-low
664 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
665 headers if necessary.
669 @findex message-change-subject
671 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
672 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
673 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
674 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
678 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
679 @vindex message-cross-post-default
682 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
683 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
684 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
685 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
686 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
691 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
692 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
697 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
698 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
703 @findex message-add-archive-header
704 @vindex message-archive-header
705 @vindex message-archive-note
707 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
708 The header and the note can be customized using
709 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
710 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
711 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
723 @findex message-goto-body
724 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
725 (@code{message-goto-body}).
729 @findex message-goto-signature
730 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
734 @findex message-beginning-of-line
735 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
736 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
737 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
738 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
739 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
751 @findex message-yank-original
752 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
753 (@code{message-yank-original}).
757 @findex message-yank-buffer
758 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
759 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
763 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
764 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
765 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
766 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
767 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
772 @findex message-insert-signature
773 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
774 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
778 @findex message-insert-headers
779 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
783 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
784 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
785 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
789 @findex message-mark-insert-file
790 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
791 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
803 Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
804 doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
805 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
806 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
808 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
809 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out.
810 This can be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for
811 a file name and a @acronym{MIME} type. If your Emacs supports drag
812 and drop, you can also drop the file in the Message buffer.
814 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the @acronym{MML}
815 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
821 @cindex internationalized domain names
822 @cindex non-ascii domain names
824 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
825 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
826 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
827 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
829 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
830 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
831 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
832 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
833 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
835 @vindex message-use-idna
836 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
837 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
838 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
839 queried (the default), and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding
840 happens automatically.
842 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
843 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
844 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
845 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit the message.
847 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
848 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
860 Using the @acronym{MML} language, Message is able to create digitally
861 signed and digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather
862 @acronym{MML}) currently support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991),
863 @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}. Instructing
864 @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
865 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m
866 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
872 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
874 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
878 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
880 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
884 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
886 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
890 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
892 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
896 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
898 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
902 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
904 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
908 @findex mml-unsecure-message
909 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
913 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
914 merely insert the proper @acronym{MML} secure tag to instruct the
915 @acronym{MML} engine to perform that operation when the message is
916 actually sent. They may perform other operations too, such as locating
917 and retrieving a @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to
918 send encrypted mail to. When the mml parsing engine converts your
919 @acronym{MML} into a properly encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure
920 tag will be replaced with either a part or a multipart tag. If your
921 message contains other mml parts, a multipart tag will be used; if no
922 other parts are present in your message a single part tag will be used.
923 This way, message mode will do the Right Thing (TM) with
924 signed/encrypted multipart messages.
926 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
927 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
928 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
929 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
930 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
931 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
932 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
933 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
935 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
936 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
937 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
939 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
940 ``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed and
941 encrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particular
942 message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix
943 argument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.
945 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
946 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
947 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
948 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
950 @subsection Using S/MIME
952 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
953 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
956 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and @acronym{MML}) require
957 OpenSSL. OpenSSL performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt
958 operations. OpenSSL can be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.
959 OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail
960 addresses from certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into
961 @acronym{MIME} separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like
962 to avoid being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by
963 sending @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that
966 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
967 required. Message (@acronym{MML}) need a certificate for the person to whom you
968 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
969 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
970 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
971 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
972 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
973 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
974 Message (@acronym{MML}) is the first mail agent in the world to support
975 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
976 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
977 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
978 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
979 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
980 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
982 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
983 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
984 where your private key and your certificate is stored. @acronym{MML}
985 uses an Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
986 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
987 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
989 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
990 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
991 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
992 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
993 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
994 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
995 certificate in PEM format as follows.
998 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1001 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1002 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1004 @emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,
1005 so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk are
1006 supported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invoking
1007 OpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. If
1008 you use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or if
1009 you are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} at
1010 the passphrase prompt.
1012 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1014 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1015 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGP
1016 implementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. One
1017 Emacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,
1018 pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1019 @code{gpg.el} are also supported.
1021 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1022 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1023 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1026 Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation of
1027 your PGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1029 If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to send
1030 signed and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'll
1031 discover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. One
1032 solution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set
1033 @code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to use
1034 GnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}
1036 @uref{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. You
1037 could also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.
1038 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
1039 As a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work in
1040 two steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would like
1041 to change this behavior you can customize the
1042 @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:
1045 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate)
1047 ("pgpauto" separate)
1048 ("pgpmime" separate)))
1051 This causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating a
1052 message that can be understood by PGP version 2.
1054 (Refer to @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for more
1055 information about the problem.)
1057 @node Various Commands
1058 @section Various Commands
1064 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1065 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1066 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1067 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1068 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1072 @findex message-elide-region
1073 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1074 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1075 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1076 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1081 @findex message-kill-address
1082 Kill the address under point.
1086 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1087 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1088 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1092 @findex message-delete-not-region
1093 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1094 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1098 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1099 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1104 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1107 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1110 > This is some quoted text.
1114 > And here's more quoted text.
1117 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1121 @findex message-rename-buffer
1122 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1123 prompt for a new buffer name.
1128 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1129 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1130 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1131 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1142 @findex message-send-and-exit
1143 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1144 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1148 @findex message-send
1149 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1153 @findex message-dont-send
1154 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1158 @findex message-kill-buffer
1159 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
1166 @section Mail Aliases
1167 @cindex mail aliases
1170 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1171 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1172 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1173 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1174 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1176 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1177 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1180 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1181 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1184 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1185 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1186 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1188 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1189 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1195 @findex ispell-message
1197 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1198 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1199 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1200 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1201 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1202 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1205 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1208 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1209 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1210 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1213 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1214 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1215 (".*" . "default")))
1218 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1221 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1222 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1225 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1229 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1231 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1234 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1242 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1243 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1244 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1245 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1246 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1247 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1248 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1249 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1250 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1251 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1255 @node Message Headers
1256 @section Message Headers
1258 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1259 be---it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1260 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1261 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1262 look sufficiently similar.
1266 @item message-generate-headers-first
1267 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1268 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1269 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1272 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1276 @vindex message-required-headers
1277 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1278 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1279 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1282 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1283 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1285 @item message-draft-headers
1286 @vindex message-draft-headers
1287 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1288 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1289 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1291 @item message-from-style
1292 @vindex message-from-style
1293 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1298 Just the address---@samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1301 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1304 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1307 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1308 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1309 @code{angles} anyway.
1313 @item message-deletable-headers
1314 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1315 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1316 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1317 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1318 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1319 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1320 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1321 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1322 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1325 @item message-default-headers
1326 @vindex message-default-headers
1327 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1330 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1331 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1335 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1336 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1337 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1338 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1339 to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1340 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1341 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1342 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1343 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1345 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1346 responding to a message:
1349 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1354 "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw
1356 "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd
1357 "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp
1359 "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref
1362 "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)"
1369 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1370 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1371 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1372 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1373 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1374 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1375 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1376 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1377 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1378 trailing old subject. In this case,
1379 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1381 @item message-alternative-emails
1382 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1383 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1384 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1386 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1387 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1388 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1389 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1390 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1391 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1393 @item message-hidden-headers
1394 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1395 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1396 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1397 hidden when composing a message.
1400 (setq message-hidden-headers
1401 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1404 @item message-header-synonyms
1405 @vindex message-header-synonyms
1406 A list of lists of header synonyms. E.g., if this list contains a
1407 member list with elements @code{Cc} and @code{To}, then
1408 @code{message-carefully-insert-headers} will not insert a @code{To}
1409 header when the message is already @code{Cc}ed to the recipient.
1415 @section Mail Headers
1418 @item message-required-mail-headers
1419 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1420 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1421 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1422 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1424 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1425 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1426 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1427 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1429 @item message-default-mail-headers
1430 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1431 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1432 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1437 @node Mail Variables
1438 @section Mail Variables
1441 @item message-send-mail-function
1442 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1443 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1444 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1445 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1446 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1447 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1448 @findex feedmail-send-it
1449 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1450 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1451 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1452 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1453 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1455 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1456 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1457 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1458 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1459 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1460 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1463 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1464 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1466 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1468 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1469 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1470 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1471 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1472 may also be a function.
1474 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1475 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1476 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1478 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1479 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1481 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1482 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1484 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1485 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1486 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1487 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1488 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1489 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1491 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1492 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1493 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1494 body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
1495 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1496 the problem will actually occur.
1498 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1499 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1500 @cindex split large message
1501 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1502 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1503 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1509 @section News Headers
1511 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1512 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1513 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1514 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1520 @findex user-full-name
1521 @findex user-mail-address
1522 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1523 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1524 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1525 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1529 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1533 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1534 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1537 @cindex organization
1538 @vindex message-user-organization
1539 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1540 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1541 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1542 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1543 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1544 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1545 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1549 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1553 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1554 @vindex mail-host-address
1555 @vindex user-mail-address
1558 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1559 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1560 created based on the date, time, user name (for the local part) and the
1561 domain part. For the domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1562 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1563 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1564 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1568 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1569 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1572 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1573 header of the article being replied to.
1577 @vindex message-expires
1578 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1579 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1580 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1583 @cindex Distribution
1584 @vindex message-distribution-function
1585 This optional header is filled out according to the
1586 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1587 much misunderstood header.
1591 @vindex message-user-path
1592 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1593 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1594 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1595 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1596 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1597 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1598 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1602 @cindex Mime-Version
1603 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this cons
1604 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1605 the @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1606 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1607 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1608 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1609 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1610 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1611 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1613 If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is
1614 @code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1617 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1618 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1622 (setq message-required-news-headers
1623 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1626 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1630 @item message-syntax-checks
1631 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1632 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1633 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1636 (signature . disabled)
1645 Check the subject for commands.
1648 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1649 @item multiple-headers
1650 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1653 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1655 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1657 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1660 Check for too long lines.
1662 Check for invalid characters.
1664 Check for excessive size.
1666 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1668 Check the length of the signature.
1671 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1672 something only moderators should include.
1674 Check whether the article is empty.
1675 @item invisible-text
1676 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1678 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1679 @item existing-newsgroups
1680 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1681 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1682 @item valid-newsgroups
1683 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1684 are valid syntactically.
1685 @item repeated-newsgroups
1686 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1687 contains repeated group names.
1688 @item shorten-followup-to
1689 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1690 of groups to post to.
1693 All these conditions are checked by default.
1695 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1696 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1697 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1698 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1700 @item message-default-news-headers
1701 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1702 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1703 buffers that are initialized as news.
1708 @node News Variables
1709 @section News Variables
1712 @item message-send-news-function
1713 @vindex message-send-news-function
1714 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1715 @code{message-send-news}.
1717 @item message-post-method
1718 @vindex message-post-method
1719 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1720 posting a prepared news message.
1725 @node Insertion Variables
1726 @section Insertion Variables
1729 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1730 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1731 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1732 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1735 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1736 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1737 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1739 @item message-citation-line-function
1740 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1741 @cindex attribution line
1742 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1743 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1747 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1750 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1753 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1754 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1755 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1756 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1757 Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.
1759 @item message-yank-prefix
1760 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1763 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1764 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1765 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1766 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1767 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1770 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1771 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1775 When yanking text from an article which contains no text or already
1776 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1777 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1778 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1780 @item message-indentation-spaces
1781 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1782 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1784 @item message-cite-function
1785 @vindex message-cite-function
1786 @findex message-cite-original
1787 @findex sc-cite-original
1788 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1790 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1791 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1792 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1793 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1794 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1797 @item message-indent-citation-function
1798 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1799 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1800 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1801 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1802 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1804 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1805 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1806 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1808 @item message-mark-insert-end
1809 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1810 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1812 @item message-signature
1813 @vindex message-signature
1814 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1815 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1816 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1817 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1818 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1820 @item message-signature-file
1821 @vindex message-signature-file
1822 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1823 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1825 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1826 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1827 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1828 signature separator.
1832 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1833 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1834 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1835 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1836 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1838 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1839 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
1840 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
1844 @node Various Message Variables
1845 @section Various Message Variables
1848 @item message-default-charset
1849 @vindex message-default-charset
1851 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}
1852 characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.
1853 The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variable
1854 is used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,
1855 Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on
1856 the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.
1858 @item message-signature-separator
1859 @vindex message-signature-separator
1860 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1863 @item mail-header-separator
1864 @vindex mail-header-separator
1865 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1866 follows this line--} by default.
1868 @item message-directory
1869 @vindex message-directory
1870 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1872 @item message-auto-save-directory
1873 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1874 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1875 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1877 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1878 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1879 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1880 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1882 @item message-setup-hook
1883 @vindex message-setup-hook
1884 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1885 but before yanked text is inserted.
1887 @item message-header-setup-hook
1888 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1889 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1891 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1892 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1893 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1896 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1897 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1898 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1899 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1900 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1901 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1903 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1904 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1907 @item message-send-hook
1908 @vindex message-send-hook
1909 Hook run before sending messages.
1911 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1912 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1913 @findex message-add-header
1916 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1917 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1918 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1919 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1922 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1924 @item message-send-mail-hook
1925 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1926 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1927 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1929 @item message-send-news-hook
1930 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1931 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1932 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1934 @item message-sent-hook
1935 @vindex message-sent-hook
1936 Hook run after sending messages.
1938 @item message-cancel-hook
1939 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1940 Hook run when canceling news articles.
1942 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1943 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1944 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1946 @item message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
1947 @vindex message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
1948 If non-@code{nil}, don't strip quoted text from articles that have
1949 @samp{X-No-Archive} set. Even if this variable isn't set, you can
1950 undo the stripping by hitting the @code{undo} keystroke.
1952 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1953 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1954 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1955 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1956 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1957 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1958 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1959 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1961 @item message-send-method-alist
1962 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1964 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1967 (@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})
1972 A symbol that names the method.
1975 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1976 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1979 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1980 @var{function} is called with one parameter---the prefix.
1984 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1985 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1993 @node Sending Variables
1994 @section Sending Variables
1998 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1999 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
2000 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
2001 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
2002 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
2004 @item message-courtesy-message
2005 @vindex message-courtesy-message
2006 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
2007 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
2008 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2009 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2010 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2011 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2013 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2014 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2015 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2016 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2018 @item message-interactive
2019 @vindex message-interactive
2020 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2021 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2026 @node Message Buffers
2027 @section Message Buffers
2029 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2030 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2031 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2032 message buffers are kept alive.
2035 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2036 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2037 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2038 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2039 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2040 The function should return the new buffer name.
2042 @item message-max-buffers
2043 @vindex message-max-buffers
2044 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2045 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2046 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2047 will ever be killed.
2049 @item message-send-rename-function
2050 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2051 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2052 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2053 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2054 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2058 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2061 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2062 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2063 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2068 @node Message Actions
2069 @section Message Actions
2071 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2072 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2073 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2076 @vindex message-kill-actions
2077 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2078 @vindex message-exit-actions
2079 @vindex message-send-actions
2080 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2081 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2082 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2083 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2084 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2085 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2086 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2087 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2089 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2090 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2091 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2092 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2096 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2097 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2100 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2101 killed, postponed or exited.
2103 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2104 @sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2105 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2109 @chapter Compatibility
2110 @cindex compatibility
2112 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2113 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2114 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2117 (require 'messcompat)
2120 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2121 corresponding mail variables.
2128 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2135 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2140 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2141 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2142 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2153 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2154 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2155 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2156 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2160 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2167 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2168 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2169 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2173 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2174 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2185 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2186 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is
2208 arch-tag: 16ab76af-a281-4e34-aed6-5624569f7601