1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message (Oort) 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 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
24 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
25 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
26 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
27 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
28 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
29 License'' in the Emacs manual.
31 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
32 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
33 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
35 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
36 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
37 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
38 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
44 @title Message (Oort) Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
51 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
54 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
55 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
56 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
57 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
58 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
59 License'' in the Emacs manual.
61 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
62 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
63 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
65 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
66 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
67 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
68 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
77 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
81 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
82 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
83 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
84 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
85 * Appendices:: More technical things.
86 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
87 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
90 This manual corresponds to Oort Message. Message is distributed with
91 the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual.
97 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
98 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
99 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
100 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
101 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
105 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
106 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
107 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
108 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
109 * Followup:: Following up via news.
110 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
111 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
112 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
113 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
114 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
118 @node New Mail Message
119 @section New Mail Message
122 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
124 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
125 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
126 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
129 @node New News Message
130 @section New News Message
133 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
135 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
136 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
137 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
143 @findex message-reply
144 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
145 reply to the message in the current buffer.
147 @vindex message-reply-to-function
148 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
149 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
150 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
152 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
153 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
156 (setq message-reply-to-function
158 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
159 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
164 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
167 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
168 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
169 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
172 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
173 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
174 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
175 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
176 the head of the outgoing mail.
182 @findex message-wide-reply
183 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
184 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
185 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
186 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
188 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
189 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
190 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
191 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
192 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
194 @findex message-dont-reply-to-names
195 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
196 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
202 @findex message-followup
203 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
204 followup to the message in the current buffer.
206 @vindex message-followup-to-function
207 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
208 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
209 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
210 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
212 @vindex message-use-followup-to
213 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
214 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
215 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
216 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
217 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
221 @section Canceling News
223 @findex message-cancel-news
224 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
231 @findex message-supersede
232 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
233 supersede the message in the current buffer.
235 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
236 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
237 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
238 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
239 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
246 @findex message-forward
247 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
248 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
252 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
253 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
254 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
256 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
257 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
258 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
259 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
260 passed into each successive function.
262 The provided functions are:
265 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
266 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
267 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
270 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
271 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
274 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
275 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
276 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
277 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
278 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
279 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
281 @item message-forward-as-mime
282 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
283 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
284 included as inline MIME RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
285 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
286 non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
293 @findex message-resend
294 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
295 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
297 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
298 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
299 be removed before sending the message. The default is
300 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
306 @findex message-bounce
307 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
308 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
309 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
310 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
313 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
314 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
315 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
316 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
323 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
324 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
325 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
326 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
327 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
328 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
329 * Various Commands:: Various things.
330 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
331 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
332 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
337 @section Buffer Entry
341 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
342 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
343 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
344 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
345 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
346 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
347 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
348 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
351 @node Header Commands
352 @section Header Commands
354 All these commands move to the header in question (except for the
355 @samp{Importance:} related commands). If it doesn't exist, it will be
362 @findex describe-mode
363 Describe the message mode.
367 @findex message-goto-to
368 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
372 @findex message-goto-from
373 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
374 in the key binding is for Originator.)
378 @findex message-goto-bcc
379 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
383 @findex message-goto-fcc
384 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
388 @findex message-goto-cc
389 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
393 @findex message-goto-subject
394 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
398 @findex message-goto-reply-to
399 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
403 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
404 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
408 @findex message-goto-distribution
409 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
413 @findex message-goto-followup-to
414 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
418 @findex message-goto-keywords
419 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
423 @findex message-goto-summary
424 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
428 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
429 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
430 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
431 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
432 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
433 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
435 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
436 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
437 @findex message-insert-importance-high
438 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{high},
439 deleting headers if necessary.
441 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
442 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
443 @findex message-insert-importance-low
444 Insert a @samp{Importance:} header with a value of @samp{low},
445 deleting headers if necessary.
456 @findex message-goto-body
457 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
458 (@code{message-goto-body}).
462 @findex message-goto-signature
463 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
467 @findex message-beginning-of-line
468 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
469 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
482 @findex message-yank-original
483 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
484 (@code{message-yank-original}).
488 @findex message-yank-buffer
489 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
490 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
494 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
495 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
496 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
497 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
498 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
503 @findex message-insert-signature
504 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
505 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
509 @findex message-insert-headers
510 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
514 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
515 Insert a request for a disposition
516 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
517 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
518 notification that she received the message.
530 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
531 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
532 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
533 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
535 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
536 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
537 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
538 name and a @sc{mime} type.
540 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
541 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
553 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
554 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
555 support PGP (RFC 1991), PGP/MIME (RFC 2015/3156) and S/MIME.
556 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a MIME part is done
557 using the @code{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @code{C-c C-m
558 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
564 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
566 Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.
570 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
572 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP.
576 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
578 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
582 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
584 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.
588 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgp
590 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP.
594 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
596 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
600 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
601 merely insert proper MML tags to instruct the MML engine to perform that
602 operation when the message is actually sent. They may perform other
603 operations too, such as locating and retrieving a S/MIME certificate of
604 the person you wish to send encrypted mail to.
606 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
607 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
608 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
609 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
610 using @code{C-u C-m P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can verify that
611 your long rant about what your ex-significant other or whomever actually
612 did with that funny looking person at that strange party the other
613 night, actually will be sent encrypted.
615 @emph{Note!} Neither PGP/MIME nor S/MIME encrypt/signs RFC822 headers.
616 They only operate on the MIME object. Keep this in mind before sending
617 mail with a sensitive Subject line.
619 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
620 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
621 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
622 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
624 @subsection Using S/MIME
626 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
627 modern cryptography, S/MIME, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and so on.
629 The S/MIME support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
630 perform the actual S/MIME sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can be found
631 at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work.
632 Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from certificates, and it
633 insert a spurious CR character into MIME separators so you may wish to
634 avoid it if you would like to avoid being regarded as someone who send
635 strange mail. (Although by sending S/MIME messages you've probably
636 already lost that contest.)
638 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
639 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
640 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
641 @code{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
642 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local file,
643 it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you chose DNS,
644 you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is stored, the
645 default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is the first mail
646 agent in the world to support retrieving S/MIME certificates from DNS,
647 so you're not likely to find very many certificates out there. At least
648 there should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}.
649 LDAP is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for
650 it is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
651 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
653 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
654 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
655 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
656 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it contain
657 a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try @code{M-x
658 customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
660 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create your
661 own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this manually
662 with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape and got a
663 free S/MIME certificate from one of the big CA's on the net. Netscape
664 is able to export your private key and certificate in PKCS #12 format.
665 Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509 certificate in PEM format
669 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
672 The @code{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
673 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
675 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
678 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
680 PGP/MIME requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
681 Privacy Guard (@uref{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an Emacs
682 interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
683 @uref{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
684 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
686 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
687 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
688 path specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions 0700.
690 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
691 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
693 @node Various Commands
694 @section Various Commands
700 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
701 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
702 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
703 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
704 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
708 @findex message-elide-region
709 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
710 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
711 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
716 @findex message-kill-to-signature
717 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
718 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
722 @findex message-delete-not-region
723 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
724 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
728 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
729 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
734 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
737 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
740 > This is some quoted text.
744 > And here's more quoted text.
747 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
751 @findex message-insert-to
752 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
753 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
754 (@code{message-insert-to}).
758 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
759 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
760 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
761 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
765 @findex message-rename-buffer
766 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
767 prompt for a new buffer name.
778 @findex message-send-and-exit
779 Send the message and bury the current buffer
780 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
785 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
789 @findex message-dont-send
790 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
794 @findex message-kill-buffer
795 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
802 @section Mail Aliases
806 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
807 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
808 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
809 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
810 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
812 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
813 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
816 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
817 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
820 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
821 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
822 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
824 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
825 expansions have to be done explicitly.
831 @findex ispell-message
833 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
834 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
835 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
836 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
837 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
838 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
841 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
844 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
845 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
846 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
849 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
850 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
854 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
857 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
858 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
861 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
865 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
867 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
870 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
878 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
879 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
880 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
881 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
882 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
883 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
884 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
885 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
886 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
887 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
891 @node Message Headers
892 @section Message Headers
894 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
895 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
896 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
897 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
898 look sufficiently similar.
902 @item message-generate-headers-first
903 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
904 If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
907 The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
908 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.
910 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
911 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
913 @item message-from-style
914 @vindex message-from-style
915 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
920 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
923 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
926 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
929 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
930 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
931 @code{angles} anyway.
935 @item message-deletable-headers
936 @vindex message-deletable-headers
937 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
938 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
939 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
940 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
941 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
942 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
943 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
944 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
947 @item message-default-headers
948 @vindex message-default-headers
949 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
952 @item message-subject-re-regexp
953 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
957 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
958 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
959 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
960 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
961 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
962 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
963 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
964 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
965 just throw away non-compliant mail.
967 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
968 responding to a message:
971 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
972 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\))
975 @item message-alternative-emails
976 @vindex message-alternative-emails
977 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
978 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
984 @section Mail Headers
987 @item message-required-mail-headers
988 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
989 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
990 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
991 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
993 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
994 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
995 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
996 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
998 @item message-default-mail-headers
999 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1000 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1001 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1006 @node Mail Variables
1007 @section Mail Variables
1010 @item message-send-mail-function
1011 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1012 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1013 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1014 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1015 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1016 @findex feedmail-send-it
1017 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1018 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1019 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1020 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1022 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1023 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1024 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1025 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1026 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1027 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1030 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1031 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1032 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1033 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1034 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1040 @section News Headers
1042 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1043 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1044 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1045 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1051 @findex user-full-name
1052 @findex user-mail-address
1053 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1054 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1055 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1056 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1060 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1064 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1065 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1068 @cindex organization
1069 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1070 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1071 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1072 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1073 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1074 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1078 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1082 @vindex mail-host-address
1085 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1086 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1087 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1088 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1089 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1093 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1094 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1097 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1098 header of the article being replied to.
1102 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1103 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1104 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1107 @cindex Distribution
1108 This optional header is filled out according to the
1109 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1110 much misunderstood header.
1114 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1115 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1116 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1117 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1118 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1119 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1120 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1124 @cindex Mime-Version
1125 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1126 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1127 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1128 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1129 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1130 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1131 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1132 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1133 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1135 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1136 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1139 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1143 @item message-syntax-checks
1144 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1145 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1146 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1149 (signature . disabled)
1158 Check the subject for commands.
1161 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1162 @item multiple-headers
1163 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1166 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1168 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1170 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1173 Check for too long lines.
1175 Check for invalid characters.
1177 Check for excessive size.
1179 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1181 Check the length of the signature.
1184 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1185 something only moderators should include.
1187 Check whether the article is empty.
1188 @item invisible-text
1189 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1191 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1192 @item existing-newsgroups
1193 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1194 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1195 @item valid-newsgroups
1196 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1197 are valid syntactically.
1198 @item repeated-newsgroups
1199 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1200 contains repeated group names.
1201 @item shorten-followup-to
1202 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1203 of groups to post to.
1206 All these conditions are checked by default.
1208 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1209 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1210 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1211 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1213 @item message-default-news-headers
1214 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1215 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1216 buffers that are initialized as news.
1221 @node News Variables
1222 @section News Variables
1225 @item message-send-news-function
1226 @vindex message-send-news-function
1227 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1228 @code{message-send-news}.
1230 @item message-post-method
1231 @vindex message-post-method
1232 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1233 posting a prepared news message.
1238 @node Insertion Variables
1239 @section Insertion Variables
1242 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1243 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1244 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1245 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1248 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1249 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1250 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1252 @item message-citation-line-function
1253 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1254 @cindex attribution line
1255 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1256 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1260 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1263 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1266 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1267 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1268 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1269 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1270 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1272 @item message-yank-prefix
1273 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1276 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1277 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1278 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1279 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1280 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1283 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1284 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1288 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1289 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1290 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1291 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1293 @item message-indentation-spaces
1294 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1295 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1297 @item message-cite-function
1298 @vindex message-cite-function
1299 @findex message-cite-original
1300 @findex sc-cite-original
1301 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1303 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1304 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1305 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1306 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1307 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1310 @item message-indent-citation-function
1311 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1312 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1313 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1314 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1315 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1317 @item message-signature
1318 @vindex message-signature
1319 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1320 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1321 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1322 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1323 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1325 @item message-signature-file
1326 @vindex message-signature-file
1327 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1328 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
1332 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1333 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1334 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1335 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1336 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1338 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1339 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
1340 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
1343 @node Various Message Variables
1344 @section Various Message Variables
1347 @item message-default-charset
1348 @vindex message-default-charset
1350 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1351 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1352 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1354 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1355 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1356 translation process.
1358 @item message-signature-separator
1359 @vindex message-signature-separator
1360 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1363 @item mail-header-separator
1364 @vindex mail-header-separator
1365 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1366 follows this line--} by default.
1368 @item message-directory
1369 @vindex message-directory
1370 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1372 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1373 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1374 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1375 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1377 @item message-setup-hook
1378 @vindex message-setup-hook
1379 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1380 but before yanked text is inserted.
1382 @item message-header-setup-hook
1383 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1384 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1386 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1387 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1388 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1391 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1392 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1393 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1394 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1395 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1396 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1398 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1399 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1402 @item message-send-hook
1403 @vindex message-send-hook
1404 Hook run before sending messages.
1406 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1407 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1408 @findex message-add-header
1411 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1412 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1413 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1414 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1417 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1419 @item message-send-mail-hook
1420 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1421 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1423 @item message-send-news-hook
1424 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1425 Hook run before sending news messages.
1427 @item message-sent-hook
1428 @vindex message-sent-hook
1429 Hook run after sending messages.
1431 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1432 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1433 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1435 @item message-send-method-alist
1436 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1438 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1441 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1446 A symbol that names the method.
1449 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1450 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1453 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1454 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1458 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1459 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1468 @node Sending Variables
1469 @section Sending Variables
1473 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1474 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1475 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1476 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1477 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1479 @item message-courtesy-message
1480 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1481 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1482 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1483 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1484 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1485 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1486 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1491 @node Message Buffers
1492 @section Message Buffers
1494 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1495 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1496 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1497 message buffers are kept alive.
1500 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1501 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1502 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1503 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1504 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1505 The function should return the new buffer name.
1507 @item message-max-buffers
1508 @vindex message-max-buffers
1509 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1510 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1511 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1512 will ever be killed.
1514 @item message-send-rename-function
1515 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1516 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1517 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1518 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1519 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1523 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1526 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1527 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1528 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1533 @node Message Actions
1534 @section Message Actions
1536 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1537 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1538 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1541 @vindex message-kill-actions
1542 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1543 @vindex message-exit-actions
1544 @vindex message-send-actions
1545 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1546 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1547 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1548 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1549 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1550 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1551 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1552 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1554 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1555 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1556 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1557 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1561 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1562 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1565 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1566 killed, postponed or exited.
1568 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1569 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1570 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1574 @chapter Compatibility
1575 @cindex compatibility
1577 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1578 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1579 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1582 (require 'messcompat)
1585 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1586 corresponding mail variables.
1593 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1600 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1605 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1606 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1607 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1618 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1619 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1620 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1621 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1625 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1632 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1633 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1634 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1638 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1639 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1650 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1651 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is