1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
22 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
25 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
26 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
27 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
28 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
29 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
30 License'' in the Emacs manual.
32 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
33 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
34 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
36 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
37 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
38 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
39 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
52 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
54 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
55 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
56 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
57 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
58 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
59 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
60 License'' in the Emacs manual.
62 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
63 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
64 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
66 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
67 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
68 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
69 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
78 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
82 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
83 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
84 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
85 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
86 * Appendices:: More technical things.
87 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
88 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
91 This manual corresponds to Message 5.10.1. Message is distributed
92 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
99 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
100 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
101 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
102 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
103 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
107 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
108 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
109 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
110 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
111 * Followup:: Following up via news.
112 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
113 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
114 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
115 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
116 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
117 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
121 @node New Mail Message
122 @section New Mail Message
125 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
127 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
128 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
129 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
132 @node New News Message
133 @section New News Message
136 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
138 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
139 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
140 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
146 @findex message-reply
147 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
148 reply to the message in the current buffer.
150 @vindex message-reply-to-function
151 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
152 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
153 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
155 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
156 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
159 (setq message-reply-to-function
161 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
162 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
167 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
170 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
171 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
172 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
175 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
176 should be a cons, where the @sc{car} should be the name of a header
177 (e.g. @code{Cc}) and the @sc{cdr} should be the header value
178 (e.g. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
179 the head of the outgoing mail.
185 @findex message-wide-reply
186 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
187 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
188 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
189 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
191 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
192 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
193 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
194 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
195 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
197 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
198 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
199 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
201 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
202 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
203 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
204 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
209 @findex message-followup
210 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
211 followup to the message in the current buffer.
213 @vindex message-followup-to-function
214 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
215 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
216 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
217 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
219 @vindex message-use-followup-to
220 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
221 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
222 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
223 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
224 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
228 @section Canceling News
230 @findex message-cancel-news
231 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
234 @vindex message-cancel-message
235 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
236 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
240 @vindex message-insert-canlock
242 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
243 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
244 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
245 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
246 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
247 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
248 able to cancel your message.
250 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
251 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
253 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
254 this is expected to change in the future.
260 @findex message-supersede
261 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
262 supersede the message in the current buffer.
264 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
265 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
266 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
267 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
268 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
275 @findex message-forward
276 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
277 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
281 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
282 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
283 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
285 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
286 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
287 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
288 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
289 passed into each successive function.
291 The provided functions are:
294 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
295 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
296 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
299 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
300 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
303 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
304 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
305 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
306 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
307 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
308 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
310 @item message-forward-as-mime
311 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
312 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
313 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
314 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
315 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.
317 @item message-forward-before-signature
318 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
319 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
327 @findex message-resend
328 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
329 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
331 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
332 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
333 be removed before sending the message. The default is
334 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
340 @findex message-bounce
341 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
342 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
343 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
344 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
347 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
348 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
349 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
350 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
354 @section Mailing Lists
356 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
357 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
358 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
363 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
364 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
365 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
368 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
369 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
370 is not subscribed to the list.
373 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
374 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
375 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
376 and very difficult to follow.
380 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
381 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
382 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
385 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
386 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
389 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
390 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
392 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
393 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
394 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
395 way. The following variables would come in handy.
399 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
400 @item message-subscribed-addresses
401 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
402 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
404 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
405 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
408 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
409 @item message-subscribed-regexps
410 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
411 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
412 want to achieve the same result as above:
414 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
415 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
418 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
419 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
420 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
421 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
422 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
424 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
425 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
426 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
427 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
428 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.
429 This is how you would do it.
432 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
433 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
436 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
437 @item message-subscribed-address-file
438 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
439 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
440 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
444 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
445 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
447 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
448 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
449 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
450 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
451 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
452 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
453 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
454 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
455 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
456 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
457 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
460 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
462 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
463 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
464 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
465 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
466 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
467 to-address group parameter.) The function
468 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
469 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
470 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
471 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
473 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
474 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
476 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
477 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
478 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
479 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
483 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
484 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
487 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
490 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
494 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
495 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
502 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
503 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
504 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
505 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
506 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
507 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
508 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
509 * Various Commands:: Various things.
510 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
511 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
512 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
517 @section Buffer Entry
521 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
522 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
523 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
524 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
525 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
526 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
527 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
528 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
531 @node Header Commands
532 @section Header Commands
534 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
536 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
537 exist, it will be inserted.
543 @findex describe-mode
544 Describe the message mode.
548 @findex message-goto-to
549 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
553 @findex message-goto-from
554 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
555 in the key binding is for Originator.)
559 @findex message-goto-bcc
560 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
564 @findex message-goto-fcc
565 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
569 @findex message-goto-cc
570 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
574 @findex message-goto-subject
575 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
579 @findex message-goto-reply-to
580 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
584 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
585 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
589 @findex message-goto-distribution
590 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
594 @findex message-goto-followup-to
595 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
599 @findex message-goto-keywords
600 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
604 @findex message-goto-summary
605 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
609 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
610 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
611 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
612 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
613 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
614 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
618 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
619 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
620 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
621 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
622 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
623 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
624 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
625 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
626 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
628 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, the
629 addresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the
630 @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.
634 @subsection Commands to change headers
640 @findex message-sort-headers
641 @vindex message-header-format-alist
642 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
643 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
647 @findex message-insert-to
648 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
649 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
650 (@code{message-insert-to}).
654 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
655 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
656 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
657 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
661 @findex message-to-list-only
662 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
663 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
667 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
668 Insert a request for a disposition
669 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
670 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
671 notification that she received the message.
673 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
674 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
675 @findex message-insert-importance-high
677 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
678 deleting headers if necessary.
680 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
681 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
682 @findex message-insert-importance-low
684 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
685 headers if necessary.
689 @findex message-change-subject
691 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
692 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
693 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
694 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
698 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
699 @vindex message-cross-post-default
702 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
703 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
704 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
705 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
706 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
711 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
712 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
717 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
718 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
723 @findex message-add-archive-header
724 @vindex message-archive-header
725 @vindex message-archive-note
727 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
728 The header and the note can be customized using
729 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
730 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
731 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
743 @findex message-goto-body
744 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
745 (@code{message-goto-body}).
749 @findex message-goto-signature
750 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
754 @findex message-beginning-of-line
755 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
756 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
757 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
758 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
759 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
771 @findex message-yank-original
772 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
773 (@code{message-yank-original}).
777 @findex message-yank-buffer
778 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
779 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
783 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
784 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
785 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
786 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
787 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
792 @findex message-insert-signature
793 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
794 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
798 @findex message-insert-headers
799 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
803 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
804 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
805 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
809 @findex message-mark-insert-file
810 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
811 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
823 Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
824 doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
825 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
826 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
828 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
829 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
830 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
831 name and a @acronym{MIME} type.
833 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
834 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
840 @cindex internationalized domain names
841 @cindex non-ascii domain names
843 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
844 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
845 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
846 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
848 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
849 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
850 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
851 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
852 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
854 @vindex message-use-idna
855 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
856 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
857 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
858 queried (the default), and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding
859 happens automatically.
861 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
862 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
863 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
864 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit the message.
866 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
867 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
879 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
880 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
881 support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}.
882 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
883 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
884 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
890 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
892 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
896 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
898 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
902 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
904 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
908 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
910 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
914 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
916 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
920 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
922 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
926 @findex mml-unsecure-message
927 Remove security related MML tags from message.
931 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
932 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
933 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
934 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
935 @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
936 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
937 encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
938 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
939 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
940 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
941 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
943 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
944 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
945 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
946 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
947 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
948 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
949 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
950 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
952 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
953 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
954 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
956 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
957 ``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed and
958 encrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particular
959 message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix
960 argument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.
962 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
963 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
964 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
965 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
967 @subsection Using S/MIME
969 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
970 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
973 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
974 performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
975 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
976 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
977 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @acronym{MIME}
978 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
979 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
980 @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
982 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
983 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
984 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
985 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
986 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
987 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
988 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
989 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
990 Message (MML) is the first mail agent in the world to support
991 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
992 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
993 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
994 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
995 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
996 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
998 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
999 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
1000 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
1001 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
1002 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
1003 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
1005 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
1006 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
1007 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
1008 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1009 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1010 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1011 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1014 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1017 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1018 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1020 @emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,
1021 so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk are
1022 supported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invoking
1023 OpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. If
1024 you use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or if
1025 you are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} at
1026 the passphrase prompt.
1028 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1030 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1031 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGP
1032 implementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. One
1033 Emacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,
1034 pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1035 @code{gpg.el} are also supported.
1037 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1038 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1039 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1042 Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation of
1043 your PGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1045 If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to send
1046 signed and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'll
1047 discover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. One
1048 solution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set
1049 @code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to use
1050 GnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}
1052 @url{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. You
1053 could also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.
1054 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
1055 As a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work in
1056 two steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would like
1057 to change this behavior you can customize the
1058 @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:
1061 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate)
1063 ("pgpauto" separate)
1064 ("pgpmime" separate)))
1067 This causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating a
1068 message that can be understood by PGP version 2.
1070 (Refer to @url{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for more
1071 information about the problem.)
1073 @node Various Commands
1074 @section Various Commands
1080 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1081 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1082 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1083 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1084 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1088 @findex message-elide-region
1089 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1090 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1091 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1092 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1097 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1098 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1099 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1103 @findex message-delete-not-region
1104 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1105 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1109 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1110 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1115 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1118 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1121 > This is some quoted text.
1125 > And here's more quoted text.
1128 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1132 @findex message-rename-buffer
1133 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1134 prompt for a new buffer name.
1139 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1140 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1141 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1142 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1153 @findex message-send-and-exit
1154 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1155 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1159 @findex message-send
1160 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1164 @findex message-dont-send
1165 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1169 @findex message-kill-buffer
1170 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
1177 @section Mail Aliases
1178 @cindex mail aliases
1181 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1182 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1183 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1184 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1185 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1187 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1188 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1191 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1192 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1195 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1196 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1197 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1199 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1200 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1206 @findex ispell-message
1208 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1209 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1210 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1211 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1212 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1213 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1216 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1219 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1220 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1221 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1224 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1225 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1226 (".*" . "default")))
1229 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1232 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1233 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1236 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1240 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1242 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1245 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1253 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1254 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1255 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1256 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1257 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1258 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1259 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1260 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1261 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1262 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1266 @node Message Headers
1267 @section Message Headers
1269 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1270 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1271 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1272 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1273 look sufficiently similar.
1277 @item message-generate-headers-first
1278 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1279 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1280 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1283 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1287 @vindex message-required-headers
1288 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1289 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1290 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1293 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1294 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1296 @item message-draft-headers
1297 @vindex message-draft-headers
1298 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1299 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1300 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1302 @item message-from-style
1303 @vindex message-from-style
1304 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1309 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1312 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1315 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1318 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1319 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1320 @code{angles} anyway.
1324 @item message-deletable-headers
1325 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1326 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1327 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1328 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1329 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1330 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1331 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1332 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1333 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1336 @item message-default-headers
1337 @vindex message-default-headers
1338 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1341 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1342 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1346 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1347 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1348 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1349 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1350 to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1351 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1352 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1353 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1354 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1356 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1357 responding to a message:
1360 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1365 "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw
1367 "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd
1368 "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp
1370 "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref
1373 "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)"
1380 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1381 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1382 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1383 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1384 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1385 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1386 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1387 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1388 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1389 trailing old subject. In this case,
1390 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1392 @item message-alternative-emails
1393 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1394 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1395 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1397 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1398 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1399 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1400 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1401 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1402 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1404 @item message-hidden-headers
1405 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1406 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1407 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1408 hidden when composing a message.
1411 (setq message-hidden-headers
1412 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1419 @section Mail Headers
1422 @item message-required-mail-headers
1423 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1424 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1425 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1426 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1428 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1429 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1430 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1431 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1433 @item message-default-mail-headers
1434 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1435 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1436 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1441 @node Mail Variables
1442 @section Mail Variables
1445 @item message-send-mail-function
1446 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1447 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1448 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1449 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1450 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1451 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1452 @findex feedmail-send-it
1453 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1454 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1455 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1456 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1457 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1459 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1460 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1461 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1462 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1463 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1464 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1467 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1468 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1470 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1472 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1473 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1474 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1475 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1476 may also be a function.
1478 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1479 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1480 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1482 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1483 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1485 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1486 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1488 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1489 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1490 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1491 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1492 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1493 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1495 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1496 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1497 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1498 body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
1499 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1500 the problem will actually occur.
1502 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1503 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1504 @cindex split large message
1505 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1506 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1507 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1513 @section News Headers
1515 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1516 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1517 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1518 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1524 @findex user-full-name
1525 @findex user-mail-address
1526 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1527 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1528 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1529 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1533 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1537 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1538 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1541 @cindex organization
1542 @vindex message-user-organization
1543 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1544 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1545 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1546 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1547 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1548 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1549 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1553 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1557 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1558 @vindex mail-host-address
1559 @vindex user-mail-address
1562 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1563 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1564 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. For the
1565 domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1566 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1567 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1568 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1572 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1573 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1576 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1577 header of the article being replied to.
1581 @vindex message-expires
1582 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1583 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1584 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1587 @cindex Distribution
1588 @vindex message-distribution-function
1589 This optional header is filled out according to the
1590 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1591 much misunderstood header.
1595 @vindex message-user-path
1596 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1597 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1598 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1599 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1600 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1601 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1602 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1606 @cindex Mime-Version
1607 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this cons
1608 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1609 the @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1610 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1611 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1612 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1613 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1614 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1615 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1617 If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is
1618 @code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1621 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1622 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1626 (setq message-required-news-headers
1627 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1630 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1634 @item message-syntax-checks
1635 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1636 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1637 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1640 (signature . disabled)
1649 Check the subject for commands.
1652 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1653 @item multiple-headers
1654 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1657 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1659 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1661 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1664 Check for too long lines.
1666 Check for invalid characters.
1668 Check for excessive size.
1670 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1672 Check the length of the signature.
1675 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1676 something only moderators should include.
1678 Check whether the article is empty.
1679 @item invisible-text
1680 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1682 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1683 @item existing-newsgroups
1684 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1685 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1686 @item valid-newsgroups
1687 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1688 are valid syntactically.
1689 @item repeated-newsgroups
1690 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1691 contains repeated group names.
1692 @item shorten-followup-to
1693 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1694 of groups to post to.
1697 All these conditions are checked by default.
1699 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1700 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1701 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1702 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1704 @item message-default-news-headers
1705 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1706 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1707 buffers that are initialized as news.
1712 @node News Variables
1713 @section News Variables
1716 @item message-send-news-function
1717 @vindex message-send-news-function
1718 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1719 @code{message-send-news}.
1721 @item message-post-method
1722 @vindex message-post-method
1723 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1724 posting a prepared news message.
1729 @node Insertion Variables
1730 @section Insertion Variables
1733 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1734 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1735 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1736 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1739 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1740 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1741 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1743 @item message-citation-line-function
1744 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1745 @cindex attribution line
1746 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1747 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1751 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1754 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1757 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1758 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1759 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1760 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1761 Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.
1763 @item message-yank-prefix
1764 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1767 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1768 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1769 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1770 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1771 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1774 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1775 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1779 When yanking text from an article which contains no text or already
1780 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1781 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1782 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1784 @item message-indentation-spaces
1785 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1786 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1788 @item message-cite-function
1789 @vindex message-cite-function
1790 @findex message-cite-original
1791 @findex sc-cite-original
1792 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1794 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1795 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1796 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1797 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1798 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1801 @item message-indent-citation-function
1802 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1803 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1804 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1805 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1806 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1808 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1809 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1810 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1812 @item message-mark-insert-end
1813 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1814 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1816 @item message-signature
1817 @vindex message-signature
1818 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1819 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1820 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1821 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1822 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1824 @item message-signature-file
1825 @vindex message-signature-file
1826 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1827 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1829 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1830 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1831 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1832 signature separator.
1836 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1837 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1838 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1839 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1840 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1842 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1843 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
1844 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
1848 @node Various Message Variables
1849 @section Various Message Variables
1852 @item message-default-charset
1853 @vindex message-default-charset
1855 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}
1856 characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.
1857 The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variable
1858 is used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,
1859 Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on
1860 the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.
1862 @item message-signature-separator
1863 @vindex message-signature-separator
1864 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1867 @item mail-header-separator
1868 @vindex mail-header-separator
1869 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1870 follows this line--} by default.
1872 @item message-directory
1873 @vindex message-directory
1874 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1876 @item message-auto-save-directory
1877 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1878 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1879 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1881 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1882 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1883 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1884 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1886 @item message-setup-hook
1887 @vindex message-setup-hook
1888 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1889 but before yanked text is inserted.
1891 @item message-header-setup-hook
1892 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1893 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1895 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1896 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1897 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1900 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1901 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1902 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1903 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1904 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1905 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1907 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1908 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1911 @item message-send-hook
1912 @vindex message-send-hook
1913 Hook run before sending messages.
1915 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1916 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1917 @findex message-add-header
1920 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1921 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1922 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1923 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1926 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1928 @item message-send-mail-hook
1929 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1930 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1931 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1933 @item message-send-news-hook
1934 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1935 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1936 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1938 @item message-sent-hook
1939 @vindex message-sent-hook
1940 Hook run after sending messages.
1942 @item message-cancel-hook
1943 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1944 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1946 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1947 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1948 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1950 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1951 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1952 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1953 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1954 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1955 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1956 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1957 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1959 @item message-send-method-alist
1960 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1962 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1965 (@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})
1970 A symbol that names the method.
1973 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1974 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1977 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1978 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1982 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1983 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1992 @node Sending Variables
1993 @section Sending Variables
1997 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1998 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1999 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
2000 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
2001 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
2003 @item message-courtesy-message
2004 @vindex message-courtesy-message
2005 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
2006 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
2007 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2008 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2009 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2010 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2012 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2013 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2014 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2015 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2017 @item message-interactive
2018 @vindex message-interactive
2019 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2020 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2025 @node Message Buffers
2026 @section Message Buffers
2028 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2029 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2030 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2031 message buffers are kept alive.
2034 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2035 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2036 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2037 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2038 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2039 The function should return the new buffer name.
2041 @item message-max-buffers
2042 @vindex message-max-buffers
2043 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2044 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2045 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2046 will ever be killed.
2048 @item message-send-rename-function
2049 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2050 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2051 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2052 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2053 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2057 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2060 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2061 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2062 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2067 @node Message Actions
2068 @section Message Actions
2070 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2071 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2072 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2075 @vindex message-kill-actions
2076 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2077 @vindex message-exit-actions
2078 @vindex message-send-actions
2079 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2080 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2081 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2082 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2083 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2084 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2085 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2086 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2088 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2089 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2090 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2091 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2095 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2096 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2099 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2100 killed, postponed or exited.
2102 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2103 @sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2104 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2108 @chapter Compatibility
2109 @cindex compatibility
2111 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2112 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2113 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2116 (require 'messcompat)
2119 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2120 corresponding mail variables.
2127 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2134 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2139 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2140 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2141 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2152 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2153 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2154 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2155 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2159 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2166 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2167 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2168 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2172 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2173 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2184 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2185 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is