1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message 5.8.7 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) 1996,97,98,99,2000 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 5.8.7 Manual
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
50 Copyright @copyright{} 1996,97,98,99,2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
52 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
53 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
54 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
55 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
56 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
57 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
58 License'' in the Emacs manual.
60 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
61 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
62 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
64 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
65 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
66 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
67 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
76 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
80 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
81 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
82 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
83 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
84 * Appendices:: More technical things.
85 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
86 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
89 This manual corresponds to Message 5.8.7. Message is distributed with
90 the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual.
96 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
97 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
98 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
99 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
100 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
104 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
105 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
106 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
107 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
108 * Followup:: Following up via news.
109 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
110 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
111 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
112 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
113 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
117 @node New Mail Message
118 @section New Mail Message
121 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
123 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
124 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
125 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
128 @node New News Message
129 @section New News Message
132 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
134 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
135 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
136 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
142 @findex message-reply
143 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
144 reply to the message in the current buffer.
146 @vindex message-reply-to-function
147 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
148 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
149 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
151 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
152 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
155 (setq message-reply-to-function
157 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
158 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
163 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
166 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
167 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
168 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
171 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
172 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
173 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
174 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
175 the head of the outgoing mail.
181 @findex message-wide-reply
182 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
183 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
184 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
185 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
187 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
188 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
189 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
190 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
191 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
193 @findex message-dont-reply-to-names
194 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
195 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
201 @findex message-followup
202 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
203 followup to the message in the current buffer.
205 @vindex message-followup-to-function
206 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
207 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
208 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
209 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
211 @vindex message-use-followup-to
212 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
213 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
214 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
215 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
216 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
220 @section Canceling News
222 @findex message-cancel-news
223 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
230 @findex message-supersede
231 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
232 supersede the message in the current buffer.
234 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
235 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
236 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
237 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
238 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
245 @findex message-forward
246 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
247 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
251 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
252 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
253 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
255 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
256 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
257 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
258 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
259 passed into each successive function.
261 The provided functions are:
264 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
265 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
266 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
269 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
270 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
273 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
274 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
275 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
276 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
277 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
278 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
280 @item message-forward-as-mime
281 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
282 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
283 included as inline MIME RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
284 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
285 non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
292 @findex message-resend
293 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
294 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
296 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
297 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
298 be removed before sending the message. The default is
299 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
305 @findex message-bounce
306 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
307 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
308 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
309 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
312 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
313 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
314 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
315 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
322 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
323 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
324 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
325 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
326 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
327 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
328 * Various Commands:: Various things.
329 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
330 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
331 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
336 @section Buffer Entry
340 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
341 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
342 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
343 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
344 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
345 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
346 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
347 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
350 @node Header Commands
351 @section Header Commands
353 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
360 @findex message-goto-to
361 Describe the message mode.
365 @findex message-goto-to
366 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
370 @findex message-goto-bcc
371 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
375 @findex message-goto-fcc
376 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
380 @findex message-goto-cc
381 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
385 @findex message-goto-subject
386 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
390 @findex message-goto-reply-to
391 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
395 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
396 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
400 @findex message-goto-distribution
401 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
405 @findex message-goto-followup-to
406 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
410 @findex message-goto-keywords
411 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
415 @findex message-goto-summary
416 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
427 @findex message-goto-body
428 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
429 (@code{message-goto-body}).
433 @findex message-goto-signature
434 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
446 @findex message-yank-original
447 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
448 (@code{message-yank-original}).
452 @findex message-yank-buffer
453 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
454 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
458 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
459 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
460 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
461 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
462 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
467 @findex message-insert-signature
468 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
469 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
473 @findex message-insert-headers
474 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
479 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
480 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
481 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
482 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
485 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
486 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
487 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
489 @item message-citation-line-function
490 @vindex message-citation-line-function
491 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
492 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
496 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
499 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
502 @item message-yank-prefix
503 @vindex message-yank-prefix
506 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
507 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
508 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
509 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
511 @item message-indentation-spaces
512 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
513 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
515 @item message-cite-function
516 @vindex message-cite-function
517 @findex message-cite-original
518 @findex sc-cite-original
519 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
521 Function for citing an original message. The default is
522 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
523 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
524 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
525 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
528 @item message-indent-citation-function
529 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
530 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
531 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
532 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
533 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
535 @item message-signature
536 @vindex message-signature
537 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
538 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
539 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
540 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
541 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
543 @item message-signature-file
544 @vindex message-signature-file
545 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
546 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
550 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
551 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
552 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
553 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
554 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
556 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
557 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
558 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
568 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
569 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
570 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
571 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
573 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
574 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
575 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
576 name and a @sc{mime} type.
578 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
579 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
590 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
591 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently support
592 PGP/MIME and S/MIME. Instructing MML to perform security operations on
593 a MIME part is done using the @code{M-m s} key map for signing and the
594 @code{M-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
600 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
602 Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.
606 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
608 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
612 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
614 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.
618 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
620 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
624 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
625 merely insert proper MML tags to instruct the MML engine to perform that
626 operation when the message is actually sent. They may perform other
627 operations too, such as locating and retrieving a S/MIME certificate of
628 the person you wish to send encrypted mail to.
630 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
631 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
632 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
633 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
634 using @code{C-u M-m P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can verify that
635 your long rant about what your ex-significant other or whomever actually
636 did with that funny looking person at that strange party the other
637 night, actually will be sent encrypted.
639 @emph{Note!} Neither PGP/MIME nor S/MIME encrypt/signs RFC822 headers.
640 They only operate on the MIME object. Keep this in mind before sending
641 mail with a sensitive Subject line.
643 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
644 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
645 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
646 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
648 @subsection Using S/MIME
650 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
651 modern cryptography, S/MIME, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and so on.
653 The S/MIME support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
654 perform the actual S/MIME sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can be found
655 at @code{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.5a and later should
656 work. However, version 0.9.5a insert a spurious CR character into MIME
657 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid being
658 regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending S/MIME
659 messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
661 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
662 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
663 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
664 @code{M-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
665 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local file,
666 it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you chose DNS,
667 you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is stored, the
668 default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is the first mail
669 agent in the world to support retrieving S/MIME certificates from DNS,
670 so you're not likely to find very many certificates out there. At least
671 there should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}.
672 LDAP is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for
673 it is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
674 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
676 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
677 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
678 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
679 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it contain
680 a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try @code{M-x
681 customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
683 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create your
684 own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this manually
685 with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape and got a
686 free S/MIME certificate from one of the big CA's on the net. Netscape
687 is able to export your private key and certificate in PKCS #12 format.
688 Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509 certificate in PEM format
692 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
695 The @code{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
696 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
698 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
701 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
703 PGP/MIME require an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU Privacy
704 Guard (@code{http://www.gnupg.org/}. It also require a Emacs interface
705 to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
706 @code{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
707 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
709 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
710 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
712 @node Various Commands
713 @section Various Commands
719 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
720 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
721 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
722 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
723 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
727 @findex message-elide-region
728 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
729 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
730 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
735 @findex message-kill-to-signature
736 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
737 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
741 @findex message-delete-not-region
742 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
743 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
747 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
748 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
753 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
756 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
759 > This is some quoted text.
763 > And here's more quoted text.
766 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
770 @findex message-insert-to
771 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
772 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
773 (@code{message-insert-to}).
777 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
778 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
779 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
780 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
784 @findex message-rename-buffer
785 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
786 prompt for a new buffer name.
797 @findex message-send-and-exit
798 Send the message and bury the current buffer
799 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
804 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
808 @findex message-dont-send
809 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
813 @findex message-kill-buffer
814 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
821 @section Mail Aliases
825 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
826 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
827 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
828 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
829 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
831 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
832 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
835 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
836 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
839 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
840 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
841 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
843 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
844 expansions have to be done explicitly.
850 @findex ispell-message
852 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
853 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
854 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
855 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
856 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
857 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
860 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
863 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
864 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
865 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
868 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
869 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
873 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
876 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
877 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
880 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
884 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
886 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
889 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
897 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
898 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
899 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
900 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
901 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
902 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
903 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
904 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
905 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
909 @node Message Headers
910 @section Message Headers
912 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
913 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
914 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
915 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
916 look sufficiently similar.
920 @item message-generate-headers-first
921 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
922 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
925 @item message-from-style
926 @vindex message-from-style
927 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
932 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
935 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
938 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
941 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
942 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
943 @code{angles} anyway.
947 @item message-deletable-headers
948 @vindex message-deletable-headers
949 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
950 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
951 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
952 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
953 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
954 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
955 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
956 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
959 @item message-default-headers
960 @vindex message-default-headers
961 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
964 @item message-subject-re-regexp
965 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
966 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
967 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
968 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
969 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
970 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
971 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
972 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
973 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
974 just throw away non-compliant mail.
976 @item message-alternative-emails
977 @vindex message-alternative-emails
978 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
979 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
985 @section Mail Headers
988 @item message-required-mail-headers
989 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
990 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
991 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
992 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
994 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
995 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
996 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
997 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
999 @item message-default-mail-headers
1000 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1001 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1002 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1007 @node Mail Variables
1008 @section Mail Variables
1011 @item message-send-mail-function
1012 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1013 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1014 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
1015 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
1017 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1018 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1019 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1020 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1021 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1022 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1029 @section News Headers
1031 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1032 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1033 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1034 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1040 @findex user-full-name
1041 @findex user-mail-address
1042 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1043 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1044 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1045 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1049 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1053 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1054 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1057 @cindex organization
1058 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1059 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1060 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1061 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1062 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1063 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1067 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1071 @vindex mail-host-address
1074 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1075 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1076 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1077 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1078 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1081 @cindex X-Newsreader
1082 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1083 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1086 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1087 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
1088 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
1091 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1092 header of the article being replied to.
1096 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1097 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1098 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1101 @cindex Distribution
1102 This optional header is filled out according to the
1103 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1104 much misunderstood header.
1108 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1109 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1110 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1111 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1112 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1113 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1114 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1118 @cindex Mime-Version
1119 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1120 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1121 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1122 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1123 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1124 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1125 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1126 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1127 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1129 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1130 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1133 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1137 @item message-syntax-checks
1138 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1139 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1140 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1143 (signature . disabled)
1152 Check the subject for commands.
1155 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1156 @item multiple-headers
1157 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1160 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1162 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1164 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1167 Check for too long lines.
1169 Check for invalid characters.
1171 Check for excessive size.
1173 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1175 Check the length of the signature.
1178 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1179 something only moderators should include.
1181 Check whether the article is empty.
1182 @item invisible-text
1183 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1185 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1186 @item existing-newsgroups
1187 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1188 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1189 @item valid-newsgroups
1190 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1191 are valid syntactically.
1192 @item repeated-newsgroups
1193 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1194 contains repeated group names.
1195 @item shorten-followup-to
1196 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1197 of groups to post to.
1200 All these conditions are checked by default.
1202 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1203 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1204 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1205 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
1207 @item message-default-news-headers
1208 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1209 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1210 buffers that are initialized as news.
1215 @node News Variables
1216 @section News Variables
1219 @item message-send-news-function
1220 @vindex message-send-news-function
1221 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1222 @code{message-send-news}.
1224 @item message-post-method
1225 @vindex message-post-method
1226 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1227 posting a prepared news message.
1232 @node Various Message Variables
1233 @section Various Message Variables
1236 @item message-default-charset
1237 @vindex message-default-charset
1239 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1240 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1241 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1243 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1244 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1245 translation process.
1247 @item message-signature-separator
1248 @vindex message-signature-separator
1249 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1252 @item mail-header-separator
1253 @vindex mail-header-separator
1254 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1255 follows this line--} by default.
1257 @item message-directory
1258 @vindex message-directory
1259 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1261 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1262 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1263 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1264 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1266 @item message-setup-hook
1267 @vindex message-setup-hook
1268 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1269 but before yanked text is inserted.
1271 @item message-header-setup-hook
1272 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1273 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1275 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1276 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1277 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1280 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1281 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1282 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1283 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1284 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1285 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1287 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1288 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1291 @item message-send-hook
1292 @vindex message-send-hook
1293 Hook run before sending messages.
1295 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1296 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1297 @findex message-add-header
1300 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1301 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1303 "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense"
1307 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1309 @item message-send-mail-hook
1310 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1311 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1313 @item message-send-news-hook
1314 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1315 Hook run before sending news messages.
1317 @item message-sent-hook
1318 @vindex message-sent-hook
1319 Hook run after sending messages.
1321 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1322 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1323 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1325 @item message-send-method-alist
1326 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1328 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1331 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1336 A symbol that names the method.
1339 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1340 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1343 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1344 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1348 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1349 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1358 @node Sending Variables
1359 @section Sending Variables
1363 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1364 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1365 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1366 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1367 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1369 @item message-courtesy-message
1370 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1371 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1372 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1373 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1374 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1375 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1376 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1381 @node Message Buffers
1382 @section Message Buffers
1384 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1385 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1386 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1387 message buffers are kept alive.
1390 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1391 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1392 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1393 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1394 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1395 The function should return the new buffer name.
1397 @item message-max-buffers
1398 @vindex message-max-buffers
1399 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1400 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1401 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1402 will ever be killed.
1404 @item message-send-rename-function
1405 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1406 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1407 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1408 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1409 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1413 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1416 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1417 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1418 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1423 @node Message Actions
1424 @section Message Actions
1426 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1427 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1428 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1431 @vindex message-kill-actions
1432 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1433 @vindex message-exit-actions
1434 @vindex message-send-actions
1435 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1436 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1437 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1438 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1439 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1440 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1441 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1442 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1444 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1445 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1446 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1447 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1451 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1452 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1455 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1456 killed, postponed or exited.
1458 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1459 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1460 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1464 @chapter Compatibility
1465 @cindex compatibility
1467 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1468 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1469 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1472 (require 'messcompat)
1475 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1476 corresponding mail variables.
1483 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1490 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1495 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1496 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1497 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1508 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1509 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1510 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1511 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1515 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1522 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1523 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1524 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1528 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1529 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1540 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1541 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is