1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message Manual
11 @setchapternewpage odd
15 This file documents Messa, the Emacs message composition mode.
17 Copyright (C) 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
20 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
21 are preserved on all copies.
24 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
25 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
26 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
27 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
30 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
31 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
32 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
33 permission notice identical to this one.
35 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
36 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
44 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
47 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
48 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
50 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
51 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
52 are preserved on all copies.
54 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
55 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
56 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
57 permission notice identical to this one.
59 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
60 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
70 All message composition (both mail and news) takes place in Message mode
74 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
75 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
76 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
77 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
78 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
79 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
86 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
87 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
88 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
89 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
90 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
94 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
95 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
96 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
97 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
98 * Followup:: Following up via news.
99 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
100 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
101 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
102 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
103 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
107 @node New Mail Message
108 @section New Mail Message
111 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
113 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
114 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
115 aren't present, those two headers will be empty.
118 @node New News Message
119 @section New News Message
122 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
124 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
125 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
126 header. If these aren't present, those two headers will be empty.
132 @findex message-reply
133 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
134 reply to the message in the current buffer.
136 @vindex message-reply-to-function
137 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go,
138 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
139 @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
141 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
142 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
145 (setq message-reply-to-function
147 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
148 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
153 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
156 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
157 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
158 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
161 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
162 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
163 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
164 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
165 the head of the outgoing mail.
171 @findex message-wide-reply
172 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
173 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
174 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
175 and @code{Cc} headers.
177 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
178 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
179 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
180 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
181 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
183 @findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
184 Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
185 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
191 @findex message-followup
192 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
193 followup to the message in the current buffer.
195 @vindex message-followup-to-function
196 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
197 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
198 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
199 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
201 @vindex message-use-followup-to
202 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
203 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
204 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
205 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
206 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
210 @section Canceling News
212 @findex message-cancel-news
213 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
220 @findex message-supersede
221 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
222 supersede the message in the current buffer.
224 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
225 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
226 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
227 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
228 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:}.
235 @findex message-forward
236 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
237 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
241 @item message-forward-start-separator
242 @vindex message-forward-start-separator
243 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is@*
244 @samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
246 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
247 @item message-forward-end-separator
248 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
249 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is@*
250 @samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
252 @item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
253 @vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
254 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
255 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
256 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
258 @item message-included-forward-headers
259 @vindex message-included-forward-headers
260 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
268 @findex message-resend
269 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
270 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
272 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
273 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
274 be removed before sending the message. The default is
275 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
281 @findex message-bounce
282 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
283 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
284 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
285 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
288 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
289 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
290 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
298 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
299 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
300 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
301 * Various Commands:: Various things.
302 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
303 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
307 @node Header Commands
308 @section Header Commands
310 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
317 @findex message-goto-to
318 Describe the message mode.
322 @findex message-goto-to
323 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
327 @findex message-goto-bcc
328 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
332 @findex message-goto-fcc
333 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
337 @findex message-goto-cc
338 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
342 @findex message-goto-subject
343 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
347 @findex message-goto-reply-to
348 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
352 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
353 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
357 @findex message-goto-distribution
358 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
362 @findex message-goto-followup-to
363 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
367 @findex message-goto-keywords
368 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
372 @findex message-goto-summary
373 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
384 @findex message-goto-body
385 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
386 (@code{message-goto-body}).
390 @findex message-goto-signature
391 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
403 @findex message-yank-original
404 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
405 (@code{message-yank-original}).
409 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
410 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}).
414 @findex message-insert-signature
415 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
416 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
421 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
422 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
423 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
424 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
427 @item message-citation-line-function
428 @vindex message-citation-line-function
429 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
430 @code{message-insert-citation-line}.
432 @item message-yank-prefix
433 @vindex message-yank-prefix
436 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
437 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
438 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
439 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
440 If it is @code{nil}, just indent the message.
442 @item message-indentation-spaces
443 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
444 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
446 @item message-cite-function
447 @vindex message-cite-function
448 @findex message-cite-original
449 @findex sc-cite-original
451 Function for citing an original message. The default is
452 @code{message-cite-original}. You can also set it to
453 @code{sc-cite-original} to use Supercite.
455 @item message-indent-citation-function
456 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
457 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
458 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
459 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
460 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
462 @item message-signature
463 @vindex message-signature
464 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
465 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
466 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
467 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
468 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
470 @item message-signature-file
471 @vindex message-signature-file
472 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
473 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
477 Note that RFC1036 says that a signature should be preceded by the three
478 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
479 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
480 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
481 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
483 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
484 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
485 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
489 @node Various Commands
490 @section Various Commands
496 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
497 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
498 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
499 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
500 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
504 @findex message-elide-region
505 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
506 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
511 @findex message-insert-to
512 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
513 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
514 (@code{message-insert-to}).
518 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
519 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
520 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
521 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
525 @findex message-rename-buffer
526 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
527 prompt for a new buffer name.
538 @findex message-send-and-exit
539 Send the message and bury the current buffer
540 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
545 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
549 @findex message-dont-send
550 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
554 @findex message-kill-buffer
555 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
562 @section Mail Aliases
566 Message uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases.
567 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
568 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
571 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
572 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
575 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
576 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
577 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
579 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
580 expansions have to be done explicitly.
588 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
589 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
590 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
591 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
592 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
593 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
594 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
595 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
596 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
600 @node Message Headers
601 @section Message Headers
603 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has
604 to be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send
605 combined messages, it has to generate all headers itself to ensure that
606 mail and news copies of messages look sufficiently similar.
610 @item message-generate-headers-first
611 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
612 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
615 @item message-from-style
616 @vindex message-from-style
617 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four legal
622 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
625 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
628 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
631 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
632 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
633 @code{angles} anyway.
637 @item message-deletable-headers
638 @vindex message-deletable-headers
639 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
640 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
641 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
642 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
643 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
644 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
645 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
646 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
649 @item message-default-headers
650 @vindex message-default-headers
651 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
658 @section Mail Headers
661 @item message-required-mail-headers
662 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
663 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
664 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
665 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
667 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
668 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
669 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
670 @samp{^Gcc:\\|^Fcc:}.
672 @item message-default-mail-headers
673 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
674 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
675 buffers that are initialized as mail.
681 @section Mail Variables
684 @item message-send-mail-function
685 @vindex message-send-mail-function
686 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
687 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
688 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
690 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
691 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
692 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
693 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
694 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing. Set it to
695 @code{nil} if your MH can handle these headers.
701 @section News Headers
703 @vindex message-required-news-headers
704 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
705 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
706 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are legal:
712 @findex user-full-name
713 @findex user-mail-address
714 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
715 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
716 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
717 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
721 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
725 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
726 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
730 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
731 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
732 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
733 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
734 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
735 parameters and should return a string to be used).
739 This optional header will be computed by Message.
743 @vindex mail-host-address
746 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
747 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
748 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
749 of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
750 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
755 This optional header will be filled out according to the
756 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
759 This optional header will be filled out according to the
760 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
761 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
764 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
765 header of the article being replied to.
769 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
770 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
771 be used unless you know what you're doing.
775 This optional header is filled out according to the
776 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
777 much misunderstood header.
781 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
782 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
783 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
784 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
785 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
786 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
787 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
792 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
793 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
794 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
795 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
796 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
797 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
798 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
799 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
800 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
802 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
803 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
806 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
810 @item message-syntax-checks
811 @vindex message-syntax-checks
812 If non-@code{nil}, Message will attempt to check the legality of the
813 headers, as well as some other stuff, before posting. You can control
814 the granularity of the check by adding or removing elements from this
815 list. Legal elements are:
819 Check the subject for commands.
822 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
823 @item multiple-headers
824 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
827 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
829 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
831 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
834 Check for too long lines.
836 Check for illegal characters.
838 Check for excessive size.
840 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
842 Check the length of the signature.
845 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
846 something only moderators should include.
848 Check whether the article is empty.
850 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
851 @item existing-newsgroups
852 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
853 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
854 @item valid-newsgroups
855 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
856 are valid syntactically.
857 @item shorten-followup-to
858 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
859 of groups to post to.
862 All these conditions are checked by default.
864 @item message-ignored-news-headers
865 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
866 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
867 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Bcc:\\|^Gcc:\\|^Fcc:}.
869 @item message-default-news-headers
870 @vindex message-default-news-headers
871 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
872 buffers that are initialized as news.
878 @section News Variables
881 @item message-send-news-function
882 @vindex message-send-news-function
883 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
884 @code{message-send-news}.
886 @item message-post-method
887 @vindex message-post-method
888 Method used for posting a prepared news message.
893 @node Various Message Variables
894 @section Various Message Variables
897 @item message-signature-separator
898 @vindex message-signature-separator
899 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
902 @item mail-header-separator
903 @vindex mail-header-separator
904 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
905 follows this line--} by default.
907 @item message-directory
908 @vindex message-directory
909 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
911 @item message-autosave-directory
912 @vindex message-autosave-directory
913 Directory where message buffers will be autosaved to.
915 @item message-signature-setup-hook
916 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
917 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
918 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
920 @item message-setup-hook
921 @vindex message-setup-hook
922 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized.
924 @item message-header-setup-hook
925 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
926 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
928 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
929 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
930 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
933 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
934 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
935 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
936 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
937 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
938 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
940 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
943 @item message-send-hook
944 @vindex message-send-hook
945 Hook run before sending messages.
947 @item message-send-mail-hook
948 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
949 Hook run before sending mail messages.
951 @item message-send-news-hook
952 @vindex message-send-news-hook
953 Hook run before sending news messages.
955 @item message-sent-hook
956 @vindex message-sent-hook
957 Hook run after sending messages.
959 @item message-mode-syntax-table
960 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
961 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
967 @node Sending Variables
968 @section Sending Variables
972 @item message-fcc-handler-function
973 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
974 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
975 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
976 function is @code{rmail-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
978 @item message-courtesy-message
979 @vindex message-courtesy-message
980 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
981 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
982 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
983 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
984 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
985 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
990 @node Message Buffers
991 @section Message Buffers
993 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
994 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
995 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
996 message buffers are kept alive.
999 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1000 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1001 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1002 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1003 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1004 The function should return the new buffer name.
1006 @item message-max-buffers
1007 @vindex message-max-buffers
1008 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1009 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1010 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1011 will ever be killed.
1013 @item message-send-rename-function
1014 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1015 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1016 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1017 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1018 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1022 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1025 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1026 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1027 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1032 @node Message Actions
1033 @section Message Actions
1035 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1036 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1037 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1040 @vindex message-kill-actions
1041 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1042 @vindex message-exit-actions
1043 @vindex message-send-actions
1044 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1045 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1046 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1047 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1048 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1049 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1050 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1051 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1053 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1054 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1055 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1056 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1060 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1061 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1064 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1065 killed, postponed or exited.
1067 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1068 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1069 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1073 @chapter Compatibility
1074 @cindex compatibility
1076 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1077 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1078 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1081 (require 'messcompat)
1084 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1085 corresponding mail variables.