1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Pterodactyl Message 0.69 Manual
9 @c * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
14 @setchapternewpage odd
18 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
20 Copyright (C) 1996,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
23 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
24 are preserved on all copies.
27 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
28 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
29 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
30 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
33 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
34 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
35 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
36 permission notice identical to this one.
38 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
39 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
45 @title Pterodactyl Message 0.69 Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
54 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
55 are preserved on all copies.
57 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
58 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
59 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
60 permission notice identical to this one.
62 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
63 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
73 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
77 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
78 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
79 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
80 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
81 * Appendices:: More technical things.
82 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
83 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
86 This manual corresponds to Pterodactyl Message 0.69. Message is
87 distributed with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number
94 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
95 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
96 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
97 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
98 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
102 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
103 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
104 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
105 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
106 * Followup:: Following up via news.
107 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
108 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
109 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
110 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
111 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
115 @node New Mail Message
116 @section New Mail Message
119 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
121 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
122 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
123 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
126 @node New News Message
127 @section New News Message
130 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
132 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
133 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
134 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
140 @findex message-reply
141 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
142 reply to the message in the current buffer.
144 @vindex message-reply-to-function
145 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
146 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
147 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
149 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
150 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
153 (setq message-reply-to-function
155 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
156 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
161 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
164 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
165 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
166 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
169 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
170 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
171 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
172 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
173 the head of the outgoing mail.
179 @findex message-wide-reply
180 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
181 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
182 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
183 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
185 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
186 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
187 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
188 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
189 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
191 @findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
192 Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
193 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
199 @findex message-followup
200 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
201 followup to the message in the current buffer.
203 @vindex message-followup-to-function
204 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
205 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
206 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
207 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
209 @vindex message-use-followup-to
210 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
211 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
212 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
213 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
214 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
218 @section Canceling News
220 @findex message-cancel-news
221 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
228 @findex message-supersede
229 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
230 supersede the message in the current buffer.
232 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
233 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
234 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
235 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
236 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
243 @findex message-forward
244 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
245 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
249 @item message-forward-start-separator
250 @vindex message-forward-start-separator
251 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is@*
252 @samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
254 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
255 @item message-forward-end-separator
256 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
257 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is@*
258 @samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
260 @item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
261 @vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
262 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
263 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
264 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
266 @item message-included-forward-headers
267 @vindex message-included-forward-headers
268 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
270 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
271 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
272 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
273 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
274 passed into each successive function.
276 The provided functions are:
279 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
280 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
281 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
284 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
285 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
288 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
289 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
290 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
291 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
292 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
293 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
301 @findex message-resend
302 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
303 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
305 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
306 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
307 be removed before sending the message. The default is
308 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
314 @findex message-bounce
315 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
316 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
317 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
318 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
321 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
322 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
323 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
324 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
331 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
332 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
333 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
334 * Various Commands:: Various things.
335 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
336 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
340 @node Header Commands
341 @section Header Commands
343 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
350 @findex message-goto-to
351 Describe the message mode.
355 @findex message-goto-to
356 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
360 @findex message-goto-bcc
361 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
365 @findex message-goto-fcc
366 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
370 @findex message-goto-cc
371 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
375 @findex message-goto-subject
376 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
380 @findex message-goto-reply-to
381 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
385 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
386 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
390 @findex message-goto-distribution
391 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
395 @findex message-goto-followup-to
396 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
400 @findex message-goto-keywords
401 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
405 @findex message-goto-summary
406 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
417 @findex message-goto-body
418 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
419 (@code{message-goto-body}).
423 @findex message-goto-signature
424 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
436 @findex message-yank-original
437 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
438 (@code{message-yank-original}).
442 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
443 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
444 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
445 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
446 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
451 @findex message-insert-signature
452 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
453 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
457 @findex message-insert-headers
458 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
463 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
464 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
465 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
466 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
469 @item message-citation-line-function
470 @vindex message-citation-line-function
471 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
472 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
476 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
479 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
482 @item message-yank-prefix
483 @vindex message-yank-prefix
486 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
487 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
488 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
489 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
490 If it is @code{nil}, just indent the message.
492 @item message-indentation-spaces
493 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
494 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
496 @item message-cite-function
497 @vindex message-cite-function
498 @findex message-cite-original
499 @findex sc-cite-original
500 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
502 Function for citing an original message. The default is
503 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
504 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
505 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
506 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
509 @item message-indent-citation-function
510 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
511 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
512 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
513 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
514 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
516 @item message-signature
517 @vindex message-signature
518 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
519 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
520 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
521 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
522 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
524 @item message-signature-file
525 @vindex message-signature-file
526 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
527 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
531 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
532 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
533 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
534 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
535 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
537 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
538 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
539 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
543 @node Various Commands
544 @section Various Commands
550 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
551 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
552 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
553 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
554 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
558 @findex message-elide-region
559 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
560 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
565 @findex message-kill-to-signature
566 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
567 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
571 @findex message-delete-not-region
572 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
573 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
577 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
578 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
583 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
586 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
589 > This is some quoted text.
593 > And here's more quoted text.
596 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
600 @findex message-insert-to
601 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
602 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
603 (@code{message-insert-to}).
607 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
608 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
609 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
610 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
614 @findex message-rename-buffer
615 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
616 prompt for a new buffer name.
627 @findex message-send-and-exit
628 Send the message and bury the current buffer
629 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
634 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
638 @findex message-dont-send
639 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
643 @findex message-kill-buffer
644 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
651 @section Mail Aliases
655 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
656 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
657 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
658 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
659 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
661 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
662 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
665 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
666 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
669 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
670 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
671 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
673 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
674 expansions have to be done explicitly.
682 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
683 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
684 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
685 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
686 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
687 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
688 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
689 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
690 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
694 @node Message Headers
695 @section Message Headers
697 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
698 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
699 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
700 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
701 look sufficiently similar.
705 @item message-generate-headers-first
706 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
707 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
710 @item message-from-style
711 @vindex message-from-style
712 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
717 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
720 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
723 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
726 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
727 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
728 @code{angles} anyway.
732 @item message-deletable-headers
733 @vindex message-deletable-headers
734 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
735 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
736 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
737 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
738 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
739 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
740 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
741 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
744 @item message-default-headers
745 @vindex message-default-headers
746 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
749 @item message-subject-re-regexp
750 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
751 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
752 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
753 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
754 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
755 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
756 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
757 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
758 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
759 just throw away non-compliant mail.
765 @section Mail Headers
768 @item message-required-mail-headers
769 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
770 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
771 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
772 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
774 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
775 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
776 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
777 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
779 @item message-default-mail-headers
780 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
781 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
782 buffers that are initialized as mail.
788 @section Mail Variables
791 @item message-send-mail-function
792 @vindex message-send-mail-function
793 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
794 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
795 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
797 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
798 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
799 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
800 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
801 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
802 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
809 @section News Headers
811 @vindex message-required-news-headers
812 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
813 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
814 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
820 @findex user-full-name
821 @findex user-mail-address
822 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
823 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
824 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
825 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
829 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
833 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
834 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
838 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
839 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
840 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
841 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
842 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
843 parameters and should return a string to be used).
847 This optional header will be computed by Message.
851 @vindex mail-host-address
854 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
855 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
856 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
857 of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
858 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
863 This optional header will be filled out according to the
864 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
867 This optional header will be filled out according to the
868 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
869 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
872 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
873 header of the article being replied to.
877 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
878 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
879 be used unless you know what you're doing.
883 This optional header is filled out according to the
884 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
885 much misunderstood header.
889 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
890 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
891 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
892 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
893 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
894 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
895 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
900 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
901 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
902 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
903 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
904 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
905 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
906 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
907 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
908 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
910 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
911 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
914 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
918 @item message-syntax-checks
919 @vindex message-syntax-checks
920 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
921 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
924 (signature . disabled)
933 Check the subject for commands.
936 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
937 @item multiple-headers
938 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
941 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
943 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
945 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
948 Check for too long lines.
950 Check for invalid characters.
952 Check for excessive size.
954 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
956 Check the length of the signature.
959 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
960 something only moderators should include.
962 Check whether the article is empty.
964 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
966 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
967 @item existing-newsgroups
968 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
969 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
970 @item valid-newsgroups
971 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
972 are valid syntactically.
973 @item repeated-newsgroups
974 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
975 contains repeated group names.
976 @item shorten-followup-to
977 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
978 of groups to post to.
981 All these conditions are checked by default.
983 @item message-ignored-news-headers
984 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
985 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
986 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
988 @item message-default-news-headers
989 @vindex message-default-news-headers
990 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
991 buffers that are initialized as news.
997 @section News Variables
1000 @item message-send-news-function
1001 @vindex message-send-news-function
1002 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1003 @code{message-send-news}.
1005 @item message-post-method
1006 @vindex message-post-method
1007 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1008 posting a prepared news message.
1013 @node Various Message Variables
1014 @section Various Message Variables
1017 @item message-signature-separator
1018 @vindex message-signature-separator
1019 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1022 @item mail-header-separator
1023 @vindex mail-header-separator
1024 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1025 follows this line--} by default.
1027 @item message-directory
1028 @vindex message-directory
1029 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1031 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1032 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1033 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1034 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1036 @item message-setup-hook
1037 @vindex message-setup-hook
1038 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1039 but before yanked text is inserted.
1041 @item message-header-setup-hook
1042 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1043 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1045 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1046 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1047 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1050 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1051 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1052 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1053 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1054 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1055 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1057 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1058 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1061 @item message-send-hook
1062 @vindex message-send-hook
1063 Hook run before sending messages.
1065 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1066 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1067 @findex message-add-header
1070 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1071 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1074 "Content-Type: text/plain"
1075 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit"))
1078 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1080 @item message-send-mail-hook
1081 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1082 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1084 @item message-send-news-hook
1085 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1086 Hook run before sending news messages.
1088 @item message-sent-hook
1089 @vindex message-sent-hook
1090 Hook run after sending messages.
1092 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1093 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1094 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1096 @item message-send-method-alist
1097 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1099 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1102 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1107 A symbol that names the method.
1110 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1111 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1114 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1115 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1119 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1120 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1129 @node Sending Variables
1130 @section Sending Variables
1134 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1135 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1136 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1137 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1138 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1140 @item message-courtesy-message
1141 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1142 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1143 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1144 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1145 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1146 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1147 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1152 @node Message Buffers
1153 @section Message Buffers
1155 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1156 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1157 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1158 message buffers are kept alive.
1161 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1162 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1163 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1164 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1165 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1166 The function should return the new buffer name.
1168 @item message-max-buffers
1169 @vindex message-max-buffers
1170 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1171 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1172 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1173 will ever be killed.
1175 @item message-send-rename-function
1176 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1177 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1178 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1179 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1180 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1184 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1187 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1188 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1189 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1194 @node Message Actions
1195 @section Message Actions
1197 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1198 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1199 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1202 @vindex message-kill-actions
1203 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1204 @vindex message-exit-actions
1205 @vindex message-send-actions
1206 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1207 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1208 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1209 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1210 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1211 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1212 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1213 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1215 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1216 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1217 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1218 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1222 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1223 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1226 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1227 killed, postponed or exited.
1229 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1230 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1231 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1235 @chapter Compatibility
1236 @cindex compatibility
1238 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1239 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1240 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1243 (require 'messcompat)
1246 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1247 corresponding mail variables.
1254 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1261 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1266 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1267 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1268 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1279 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1280 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1281 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1282 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1286 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1293 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1294 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1295 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1299 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1300 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1311 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1312 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is