2001-11-15 Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com>

[gnus] / texi / message.texi

\input texinfo                  @c -*-texinfo-*-

@setfilename message
@settitle Message (Oort) Manual
@synindex fn cp
@synindex vr cp
@synindex pg cp
@dircategory Emacs
@direntry
* Message: (message).   Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
@end direntry
@iftex
@finalout
@end iftex
@setchapternewpage odd

@ifnottex

This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.

Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.  A copy of the
license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
License'' in the Emacs manual.

(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
this GNU Manual, like GNU software.  Copies published by the Free
Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''

This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
Documentation License.  If you want to distribute this document
separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
@end ifnottex

@tex

@titlepage
@title Message (Oort) Manual

@author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
@page

@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 
     Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.  A copy of the
license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
License'' in the Emacs manual.

(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
this GNU Manual, like GNU software.  Copies published by the Free
Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''

This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
Documentation License.  If you want to distribute this document
separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
@end titlepage
@page

@end tex

@node Top
@top Message

All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
Message mode buffers.

@menu
* Interface::         Setting up message buffers.
* Commands::          Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
* Variables::         Customizing the message buffers.
* Compatibility::     Making Message backwards compatible.
* Appendices::        More technical things.
* Index::             Variable, function and concept index.
* Key Index::         List of Message mode keys.
@end menu

This manual corresponds to Oort Message.   Message is distributed with
the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual.


@node Interface
@chapter Interface

When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
@code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
sending it.

@menu
* New Mail Message::     Editing a brand new mail message.
* New News Message::     Editing a brand new news message.
* Reply::                Replying via mail.
* Wide Reply::           Responding to all people via mail.
* Followup::             Following up via news.
* Canceling News::       Canceling a news article.
* Superseding::          Superseding a message.
* Forwarding::           Forwarding a message via news or mail.
* Resending::            Resending a mail message.
* Bouncing::             Bouncing a mail message.
@end menu


@node New Mail Message
@section New Mail Message

@findex message-mail
The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.

Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
@code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header.  If these
are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.


@node New News Message
@section New News Message

@findex message-news
The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.

This function accepts two optional parameters.  The first will be used
as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
header.  If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.


@node Reply
@section Reply

@findex message-reply
The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
reply to the message in the current buffer.

@vindex message-reply-to-function
Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
(@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.

If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
@code{From}, you could do something like this:

@lisp
(setq message-reply-to-function
      (lambda ()
       (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
               (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
             (t
              nil))))
@end lisp

This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
being replied to.

As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
opinion as to what the To header should be.  If it does not, it should
just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
header will be used.

This function can also return a list.  In that case, each list element
should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
(eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
(eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}).  All these headers will be inserted into
the head of the outgoing mail.


@node Wide Reply
@section Wide Reply

@findex message-wide-reply
The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
reply to the message in the current buffer.  A @dfn{wide reply} is a
reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
(or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.

@vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
@code{message-wide-reply-to-function}.  It is used in the same way as
@code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).

@findex message-dont-reply-to-names
Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.


@node Followup
@section Followup

@findex message-followup
The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
followup to the message in the current buffer.

@vindex message-followup-to-function
Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
@code{message-followup-to-function}.  It is used in the same way as
@code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).

@vindex message-use-followup-to
The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
@code{Followup-To} headers.  If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
value.  If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}.  If
it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.


@node Canceling News
@section Canceling News

@findex message-cancel-news
The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
current buffer.


@node Superseding
@section Superseding

@findex message-supersede
The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
supersede the message in the current buffer.

@vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
removed before popping up the new message buffer.  The default is@*
@samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.



@node Forwarding
@section Forwarding

@findex message-forward
The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
the message in the current buffer.  If given a prefix, forward using
news.

@table @code
@item message-forward-ignored-headers
@vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.

@item message-make-forward-subject-function
@vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
forwarded messages.  The subject generated by the previous function is
passed into each successive function.

The provided functions are:

@table @code
@item message-forward-subject-author-subject
@findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
subject.

@item message-forward-subject-fwd
Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
@end table

@item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
@vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
@samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
constructed.  The default value is @code{nil}.

@item message-forward-as-mime
@vindex message-forward-as-mime
If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
included as inline MIME RFC822 parts.  If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
@end table


@node Resending
@section Resending

@findex message-resend
The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.

@vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
be removed before sending the message.  The default is
@samp{^Return-receipt}.


@node Bouncing
@section Bouncing

@findex message-bounce
The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
information.  A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
undeliverable.

@vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
will be removed before popping up the buffer.  The default is
@samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.


@node Commands
@chapter Commands

@menu
* Buffer Entry::        Commands after entering a Message buffer.
* Header Commands::     Commands for moving to headers.
* Movement::            Moving around in message buffers.
* Insertion::           Inserting things into message buffers.
* MIME::                @sc{mime} considerations.
* Security::            Signing and encrypting messages.
* Various Commands::    Various things.
* Sending::             Actually sending the message.
* Mail Aliases::        How to use mail aliases.
* Spelling::            Having Emacs check your spelling.
@end menu


@node Buffer Entry
@section Buffer Entry
@cindex undo
@kindex C-_

You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
message of some sort.  Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
which used settings you're using.  Message usually gets things right,
but sometimes it stumbles.  To help the user unwind these stumblings,
Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
takes.  If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.


@node Header Commands
@section Header Commands

All these commands move to the header in question.  If it doesn't exist,
it will be inserted.

@table @kbd

@item C-c ?
@kindex C-c ?
@findex message-goto-to
Describe the message mode.

@item C-c C-f C-t
@kindex C-c C-f C-t
@findex message-goto-to
Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).

@item C-c C-f C-b
@kindex C-c C-f C-b
@findex message-goto-bcc
Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).

@item C-c C-f C-f
@kindex C-c C-f C-f
@findex message-goto-fcc
Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).

@item C-c C-f C-c
@kindex C-c C-f C-c
@findex message-goto-cc
Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).

@item C-c C-f C-s
@kindex C-c C-f C-s
@findex message-goto-subject
Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).

@item C-c C-f C-r
@kindex C-c C-f C-r
@findex message-goto-reply-to
Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).

@item C-c C-f C-n
@kindex C-c C-f C-n
@findex message-goto-newsgroups
Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).

@item C-c C-f C-d
@kindex C-c C-f C-d
@findex message-goto-distribution
Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).

@item C-c C-f C-o
@kindex C-c C-f C-o
@findex message-goto-followup-to
Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).

@item C-c C-f C-k
@kindex C-c C-f C-k
@findex message-goto-keywords
Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).

@item C-c C-f C-u
@kindex C-c C-f C-u
@findex message-goto-summary
Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).

@end table


@node Movement
@section Movement

@table @kbd
@item C-c C-b
@kindex C-c C-b
@findex message-goto-body
Move to the beginning of the body of the message
(@code{message-goto-body}).

@item C-c C-i
@kindex C-c C-i
@findex message-goto-signature
Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).

@item C-a
@kindex C-a
@findex message-beginning-of-line
If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
beginning of header value.  (The header value comes after the header
name and the colon.)

@end table


@node Insertion
@section Insertion

@table @kbd

@item C-c C-y
@kindex C-c C-y
@findex message-yank-original
Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
(@code{message-yank-original}).

@item C-c C-M-y
@kindex C-c C-M-y
@findex message-yank-buffer
Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).

@item C-c C-q
@kindex C-c C-q
@findex message-fill-yanked-message
Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}).  Warning:
Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
strange.  You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though.  Anyway,
just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
all right.

@item C-c C-w
@kindex C-c C-w
@findex message-insert-signature
Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
(@code{message-insert-signature}).

@item C-c M-h
@kindex C-c M-h
@findex message-insert-headers
Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).

@item C-c C-p
@kindex C-c C-p
@findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
@samp{high}.  This header is used to signal the importance of the
message to the receiver.  If the header is already present in the
buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.

@item M-x message-insert-importance-high
@kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
@findex message-insert-importance-high
Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{high},
deleting headers if necessary.

@item M-x message-insert-importance-low
@kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
@findex message-insert-importance-low
Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{low},
deleting headers if necessary.

@end table


@node MIME
@section MIME
@cindex MML
@cindex MIME
@cindex multipart
@cindex attachment

Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent.  The user generally
doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
@code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.

The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
@sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out.  This can
be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
name and a @sc{mime} type.

You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
Manual}).

@node Security
@section Security
@cindex Security
@cindex S/MIME
@cindex PGP
@cindex PGP/MIME
@cindex sign
@cindex encrypt

Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
digitally encrypted messages.  Message (or rather MML) currently
support PGP (RFC 1991), PGP/MIME (RFC 2015/3156) and S/MIME.
Instructing MML to perform security operations on a MIME part is done
using the @code{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @code{C-c C-m
c} key map for encryption, as follows.

@table @kbd

@item C-c C-m s s
@kindex C-c C-m s s
@findex mml-secure-sign-smime

Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.

@item C-c C-m s o
@kindex C-c C-m s o
@findex mml-secure-sign-pgp

Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP.

@item C-c C-m s p
@kindex C-c C-m s p
@findex mml-secure-sign-pgp

Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.

@item C-c C-m c s
@kindex C-c C-m c s
@findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime

Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.

@item C-c C-m c o
@kindex C-c C-m c o
@findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgp

Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP.

@item C-c C-m c p
@kindex C-c C-m c p
@findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime

Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.

@end table

These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
merely insert proper MML tags to instruct the MML engine to perform that
operation when the message is actually sent.  They may perform other
operations too, such as locating and retrieving a S/MIME certificate of
the person you wish to send encrypted mail to.

Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
mail is actually signed or encrypted.  After invoking the above
sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
using @code{C-u C-m P} (@code{mml-preview}).  Then you can verify that
your long rant about what your ex-significant other or whomever actually
did with that funny looking person at that strange party the other
night, actually will be sent encrypted.

@emph{Note!}  Neither PGP/MIME nor S/MIME encrypt/signs RFC822 headers.
They only operate on the MIME object.  Keep this in mind before sending
mail with a sensitive Subject line.

Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult.  At
least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
other properly.  Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.

@subsection Using S/MIME

@emph{Note!}  This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
modern cryptography, S/MIME, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and so on.

The S/MIME support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL.  OpenSSL
perform the actual S/MIME sign/encrypt operations.  OpenSSL can be found
at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.  OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work.
Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from certificates, and it
insert a spurious CR character into MIME separators so you may wish to
avoid it if you would like to avoid being regarded as someone who send
strange mail. (Although by sending S/MIME messages you've probably
already lost that contest.)

To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
required.  Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
wish to communicate with though.  You're asked for this when you type
@code{C-c C-m c s}.  Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
certificate, from a local file or from DNS.  If you chose a local file,
it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format.  If you chose DNS,
you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is stored, the
default is a good guess.  To my belief, Message (MML) is the first mail
agent in the world to support retrieving S/MIME certificates from DNS,
so you're not likely to find very many certificates out there.  At least
there should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}.
LDAP is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for
it is planned.  (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)

As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
without some kind of configuration.  Especially, you need to tell it
where your private key and your certificate is stored.  MML uses an
Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it contain
a @code{custom} group used for this configuration.  So, try @code{M-x
customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.

Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create your
own certificate.  None is planned either.  You need to do this manually
with OpenSSL or using some other program.  I used Netscape and got a
free S/MIME certificate from one of the big CA's on the net.  Netscape
is able to export your private key and certificate in PKCS #12 format.
Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509 certificate in PEM format
as follows.

@example
$ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
@end example

The @code{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
@code{smime-keys} variable.  You should now be able to send signed mail.

@emph{Note!}  Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
care in handling it.

@subsection Using PGP/MIME

PGP/MIME requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}).  It also requires an Emacs
interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
@uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.

Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.

@node Various Commands
@section Various Commands

@table @kbd

@item C-c C-r
@kindex C-c C-r
@findex message-caesar-buffer-body
Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
(@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}).  If narrowing is in effect, just
rotate the visible portion of the buffer.  A numerical prefix says how
many places to rotate the text.  The default is 13.

@item C-c C-e
@kindex C-c C-e
@findex message-elide-region
Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
@code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
(@samp{[...]}).

@item C-c C-z
@kindex C-c C-x
@findex message-kill-to-signature
Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).

@item C-c C-v
@kindex C-c C-v
@findex message-delete-not-region
Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
(@code{message-delete-not-region}).

@item M-RET
@kindex M-RET
@findex message-newline-and-reformat
Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.

Here's an example:

@example
> This is some quoted text.  And here's more quoted text.
@end example

If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:

@example
> This is some quoted text.

*

> And here's more quoted text.
@end example

@samp{*} says where point will be placed.

@item C-c C-t
@kindex C-c C-t
@findex message-insert-to
Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
@code{From} header of the message you're following up
(@code{message-insert-to}).

@item C-c C-n
@kindex C-c C-n
@findex message-insert-newsgroups
Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
(@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).

@item C-c M-r
@kindex C-c M-r
@findex message-rename-buffer
Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}).  If given a prefix,
prompt for a new buffer name.

@end table


@node Sending
@section Sending

@table @kbd
@item C-c C-c
@kindex C-c C-c
@findex message-send-and-exit
Send the message and bury the current buffer
(@code{message-send-and-exit}).

@item C-c C-s
@kindex C-c C-s
@findex message-send
Send the message (@code{message-send}).

@item C-c C-d
@kindex C-c C-d
@findex message-dont-send
Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).

@item C-c C-k
@kindex C-c C-k
@findex message-kill-buffer
Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).

@end table



@node Mail Aliases
@section Mail Aliases
@cindex mail aliases
@cindex aliases

@vindex message-mail-alias-type
The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
alias expansion to use.  Currently only one form is supported---Message
uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases.  If this variable is
@code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.

@code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
@file{~/.mailrc} files.  These files look like:

@example
alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
@end example

After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.

No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
expansions have to be done explicitly.


@node Spelling
@section Spelling
@cindex spelling
@findex ispell-message

There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
@code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}.  @code{ispell} is the older and
probably more popular package.  You typically first write the message,
and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
typos.  To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:

@lisp
(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
@end lisp

@vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:

@lisp
(setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
      '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
        (".*" . "default")))
@end lisp

@code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
installed.

The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}.  This package checks
your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
various ways.

To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
@file{.emacs} file:

@lisp
(defun my-message-setup-routine ()
  (flyspell-mode 1))
(add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
@end lisp

@code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
installed.


@node Variables
@chapter Variables

@menu
* Message Headers::             General message header stuff.
* Mail Headers::                Customizing mail headers.
* Mail Variables::              Other mail variables.
* News Headers::                Customizing news headers.
* News Variables::              Other news variables.
* Insertion Variables::         Customizing how things are inserted.
* Various Message Variables::   Other message variables.
* Sending Variables::           Variables for sending.
* Message Buffers::             How Message names its buffers.
* Message Actions::             Actions to be performed when exiting.
@end menu


@node Message Headers
@section Message Headers

Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front.  It has to
be -- it's a combined news and mail agent.  To be able to send combined
messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
look sufficiently similar.

@table @code

@item message-generate-headers-first
@vindex message-generate-headers-first
If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
compose the message.

The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
@code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.

Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).

@item message-from-style
@vindex message-from-style
Specifies how @code{From} headers should look.  There are four valid
values:

@table @code
@item nil
Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.

@item parens
@samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.

@item angles
@samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.

@item default
Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
@code{parens} if it does.  If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
@code{angles} anyway.

@end table

@item message-deletable-headers
@vindex message-deletable-headers
Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
deleted before posting.  Let's say you post an article.  Then you decide
to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
ship it off again.  By default, this variable makes sure that the old
generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated.  If
this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
Allegedly.

@item message-default-headers
@vindex message-default-headers
This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
buffers.

@item message-subject-re-regexp
@vindex message-subject-re-regexp
Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }.  This
is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
Latin, and means ``in response to''.  Some illiterate nincompoops have
failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
(``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil.  However, you may
have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes.  Myself, I
just throw away non-compliant mail.

@item message-alternative-emails
@vindex message-alternative-emails
A regexp to match the alternative email addresses.  The first matched
address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.

@end table


@node Mail Headers
@section Mail Headers

@table @code
@item message-required-mail-headers
@vindex message-required-mail-headers
@xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable.  It is
@code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
(optional . User-Agent))} by default.

@item message-ignored-mail-headers
@vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing.  The default is
@samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.

@item message-default-mail-headers
@vindex message-default-mail-headers
This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
buffers that are initialized as mail.

@end table


@node Mail Variables
@section Mail Variables

@table @code
@item message-send-mail-function
@vindex message-send-mail-function
@findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
@findex message-send-mail-with-mh
@findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
@findex smtpmail-send-it
@findex feedmail-send-it
Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
@code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
@code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
@code{smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.

@item message-mh-deletable-headers
@vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
headers in this variable.  If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
messages via MH.  Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
headers.

@item message-send-mail-partially-limit
@vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message 
should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.

@end table


@node News Headers
@section News Headers

@vindex message-required-news-headers
@code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols.  These
headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
impossible, they will be prompted for.  The following symbols are valid:

@table @code

@item From
@cindex From
@findex user-full-name
@findex user-mail-address
This required header will be filled out with the result of the
@code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
@code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
@code{user-mail-address} variables.

@item Subject
@cindex Subject
This required header will be prompted for if not present already.

@item Newsgroups
@cindex Newsgroups
This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
to.  If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.

@item Organization
@cindex organization
This optional header will be filled out depending on the
@code{message-user-organization} variable.
@code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
@code{t}.  This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
parameters and should return a string to be used).

@item Lines
@cindex Lines
This optional header will be computed by Message.

@item Message-ID
@cindex Message-ID
@vindex mail-host-address
@findex system-name
@cindex Sun
This required header will be generated by Message.  A unique ID will be
created based on the date, time, user name and system name.  Message
will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system.  If
this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
@code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.

@item User-Agent
@cindex User-Agent
This optional header will be filled out according to the
@code{message-newsreader} local variable.

@item In-Reply-To
This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
header of the article being replied to.

@item Expires
@cindex Expires
This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
@code{message-expires} variable.  It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
be used unless you know what you're doing.

@item Distribution
@cindex Distribution
This optional header is filled out according to the
@code{message-distribution-function} variable.  It is a deprecated and
much misunderstood header.

@item Path
@cindex path
This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
present.  @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
@code{Path} header is to look.  If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
as the leaf node.  If it is a string, use the string.  If it is neither
a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only.  However, it is highly
unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
@end table

@findex yow
@cindex Mime-Version
In addition, you can enter conses into this list.  The car of this cons
should be a symbol.  This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
this header, or it can be a function to be called.  This function should
return a string to be inserted.  For instance, if you want to insert
@code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
into the list.  If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list.  The function
@code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.

If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
@code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
non-@code{nil}.

Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:

@table @code

@item message-syntax-checks
@vindex message-syntax-checks
Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add

@lisp
(signature . disabled)
@end lisp

to this list.

Valid checks are:

@table @code
@item subject-cmsg
Check the subject for commands.
@item sender
@cindex Sender
Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
@item multiple-headers
Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
@item sendsys
@cindex sendsys
Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
@item message-id
Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
@item from
Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
@item long-lines
@cindex long lines
Check for too long lines.
@item control-chars
Check for invalid characters.
@item size
Check for excessive size.
@item new-text
Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
@item signature
Check the length of the signature.
@item approved
@cindex approved
Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
something only moderators should include.
@item empty
Check whether the article is empty.
@item invisible-text
Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
@item empty-headers
Check whether any of the headers are empty.
@item existing-newsgroups
Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
@code{Followup-To} headers exist.
@item valid-newsgroups
Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
are valid syntactically.
@item repeated-newsgroups
Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
contains repeated group names.
@item shorten-followup-to
Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
of groups to post to.
@end table

All these conditions are checked by default.

@item message-ignored-news-headers
@vindex message-ignored-news-headers
Regexp of headers to be removed before posting.  The default is@*
@samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.

@item message-default-news-headers
@vindex message-default-news-headers
This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
buffers that are initialized as news.

@end table


@node News Variables
@section News Variables

@table @code
@item message-send-news-function
@vindex message-send-news-function
Function used to send the current buffer as news.  The default is
@code{message-send-news}.

@item message-post-method
@vindex message-post-method
Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
posting a prepared news message.

@end table


@node Insertion Variables
@section Insertion Variables

@table @code
@item message-ignored-cited-headers
@vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
messages.  The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
removed.

@item message-cite-prefix-regexp
@vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.

@item message-citation-line-function
@vindex message-citation-line-function
@cindex attribution line
Function called to insert the citation line.  The default is
@code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
that look like:

@example
Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
@end example

Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
function is called.

Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
cited text.  If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too.  See the variable
@code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}.  @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.

@item message-yank-prefix
@vindex message-yank-prefix
@cindex yanking
@cindex quoting
When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
to quote the person you are answering.  Inserting quoted text is done
by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
@code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
is @samp{> }.

@item message-yank-cited-prefix
@vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
@cindex yanking
@cindex cited
@cindex quoting
When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
variable.  The default is @samp{>}.  See also
@code{message-yank-prefix}.

@item message-indentation-spaces
@vindex message-indentation-spaces
Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.

@item message-cite-function
@vindex message-cite-function
@findex message-cite-original
@findex sc-cite-original
@findex message-cite-original-without-signature
@cindex Supercite
Function for citing an original message.  The default is
@code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
@code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
the signature.  You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
Supercite.

@item message-indent-citation-function
@vindex message-indent-citation-function
Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
This can also be a list of functions.  Each function can find the
citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}.  And each function
should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.

@item message-signature
@vindex message-signature
String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer.  If @code{t}
(which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
inserted instead.  If a function, the result from the function will be
used instead.  If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.

@item message-signature-file
@vindex message-signature-file
File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
The default is @samp{~/.signature}.

@end table

Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves.  This is to make it
easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
signature.  So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.

Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
that you are silly and have nothing important to say.


@node Various Message Variables
@section Various Message Variables

@table @code
@item message-default-charset
@vindex message-default-charset
@cindex charset
Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset.  Non-ASCII characters in messages are
assumed to be encoded using this charset.  The default is @code{nil},
which means ask the user.  (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
Emacsen.  
@xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime, 
      Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
translation process.

@item message-signature-separator
@vindex message-signature-separator
Regexp matching the signature separator.  It is @samp{^-- *$} by
default.

@item mail-header-separator
@vindex mail-header-separator
String used to separate the headers from the body.  It is @samp{--text
follows this line--} by default.

@item message-directory
@vindex message-directory
Directory used by many mailey things.  The default is @file{~/Mail/}.

@item message-signature-setup-hook
@vindex message-signature-setup-hook
Hook run when initializing the message buffer.  It is run after the
headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.

@item message-setup-hook
@vindex message-setup-hook
Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
but before yanked text is inserted.

@item message-header-setup-hook
@vindex message-header-setup-hook
Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.

For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
@samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:

@lisp
(defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
  (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
    (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
              (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
              (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
      (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))

(add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
          'my-message-header-setup-hook)
@end lisp

@item message-send-hook
@vindex message-send-hook
Hook run before sending messages.

If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
@code{message-add-header} function in this hook.  For instance:
@findex message-add-header

@lisp
(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
(defun my-message-add-content ()
  (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
  (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
@end lisp

This function won't add the header if the header is already present.

@item message-send-mail-hook
@vindex message-send-mail-hook
Hook run before sending mail messages.

@item message-send-news-hook
@vindex message-send-news-hook
Hook run before sending news messages.

@item message-sent-hook
@vindex message-sent-hook
Hook run after sending messages.

@item message-mode-syntax-table
@vindex message-mode-syntax-table
Syntax table used in message mode buffers.

@item message-send-method-alist
@vindex message-send-method-alist

Alist of ways to send outgoing messages.  Each element has the form

@lisp
(TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
@end lisp

@table @var
@item type
A symbol that names the method.

@item predicate
A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
message is a message of type @var{type}.

@item function
A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
@var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
@end table

@lisp
((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
@end lisp



@end table



@node Sending Variables
@section Sending Variables

@table @code

@item message-fcc-handler-function
@vindex message-fcc-handler-function
A function called to save outgoing articles.  This function will be
called with the name of the file to store the article in.  The default
function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.

@item message-courtesy-message
@vindex message-courtesy-message
When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
the mailed copy.  If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there.  If
this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.

@end table


@node Message Buffers
@section Message Buffers

Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
request a message buffer.  When you send the message, the buffer isn't
normally killed off.  Its name is changed and a certain number of old
message buffers are kept alive.

@table @code
@item message-generate-new-buffers
@vindex message-generate-new-buffers
If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers.  The default is @code{t}.  If
this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
the to address and the group name.  (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
The function should return the new buffer name.

@item message-max-buffers
@vindex message-max-buffers
This variable says how many old message buffers to keep.  If there are
more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed.  The
default is 10.  If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
will ever be killed.

@item message-send-rename-function
@vindex message-send-rename-function
After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
@samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}.  If you don't
like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
manner you like.  If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
say:

@lisp
(setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
@end lisp

@item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
@findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.

@end table


@node Message Actions
@section Message Actions

When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
to want to perform some task after the message has been sent.  Perhaps
return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
replied.

@vindex message-kill-actions
@vindex message-postpone-actions
@vindex message-exit-actions
@vindex message-send-actions
The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways.  The most
common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits.  Other
possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer.  Each of these actions
have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
@code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
@code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.

Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
@code{message-add-action}.  The first parameter is the action to be
added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
to.  Here's an example from Gnus:

@lisp
  (message-add-action
   `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
   'exit 'postpone 'kill)
@end lisp

This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
killed, postponed or exited.

An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
@code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
a form to be @code{eval}ed.


@node Compatibility
@chapter Compatibility
@cindex compatibility

Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
variables aren't consulted.  To force Message to take those variables
into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:

@lisp
(require 'messcompat)
@end lisp

This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
corresponding mail variables.


@node Appendices
@chapter Appendices

@menu
* Responses::          Standard rules for determining where responses go.
@end menu


@node Responses
@section Responses

To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
by default.

@table @dfn
@item reply
A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
sent the message via mail.  There will only be one recipient.  To
determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
consulted, in turn:

@table @code
@item Reply-To

@item From
@end table


@item wide reply
A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
mentioned in the message you are responded to.  All mailboxes from the
following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
@code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:

@table @code
@item From
(unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).

@item Cc

@item To
@end table

If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
in the list of mailboxes.  If this header is @samp{never}, that means
that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.


@item followup
A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news.  The following headers
(listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
sent:

@table @code

@item Followup-To

@item Newsgroups

@end table

If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is
@samp{never}.

@end table



@node Index
@chapter Index
@printindex cp

@node Key Index
@chapter Key Index
@printindex ky

@summarycontents
@contents
@bye

@c End: