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 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. If it doesn't exist,
361 @findex message-goto-to
362 Describe the message mode.
366 @findex message-goto-to
367 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
371 @findex message-goto-bcc
372 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
376 @findex message-goto-fcc
377 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
381 @findex message-goto-cc
382 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
386 @findex message-goto-subject
387 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
391 @findex message-goto-reply-to
392 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
396 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
397 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
401 @findex message-goto-distribution
402 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
406 @findex message-goto-followup-to
407 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
411 @findex message-goto-keywords
412 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
416 @findex message-goto-summary
417 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
428 @findex message-goto-body
429 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
430 (@code{message-goto-body}).
434 @findex message-goto-signature
435 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
439 @findex message-beginning-of-line
440 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
441 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
454 @findex message-yank-original
455 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
456 (@code{message-yank-original}).
460 @findex message-yank-buffer
461 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
462 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
466 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
467 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
468 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
469 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
470 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
475 @findex message-insert-signature
476 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
477 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
481 @findex message-insert-headers
482 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
487 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
488 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
489 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
490 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
493 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
494 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
495 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
497 @item message-citation-line-function
498 @vindex message-citation-line-function
499 @cindex attribution line
500 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
501 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
505 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
508 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
511 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
512 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
513 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
514 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
515 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
517 @item message-yank-prefix
518 @vindex message-yank-prefix
521 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
522 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
523 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
524 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
525 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
528 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
529 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
533 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
534 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
535 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
536 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
538 @item message-indentation-spaces
539 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
540 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
542 @item message-cite-function
543 @vindex message-cite-function
544 @findex message-cite-original
545 @findex sc-cite-original
546 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
548 Function for citing an original message. The default is
549 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
550 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
551 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
552 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
555 @item message-indent-citation-function
556 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
557 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
558 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
559 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
560 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
562 @item message-signature
563 @vindex message-signature
564 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
565 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
566 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
567 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
568 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
570 @item message-signature-file
571 @vindex message-signature-file
572 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
573 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
577 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
578 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
579 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
580 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
581 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
583 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
584 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
585 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
595 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
596 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
597 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
598 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
600 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
601 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
602 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
603 name and a @sc{mime} type.
605 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
606 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
617 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
618 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently support
619 PGP/MIME and S/MIME. Instructing MML to perform security operations on
620 a MIME part is done using the @code{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the
621 @code{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
627 @findex mml-secure-sign-smime
629 Digitally sign current MIME part using S/MIME.
633 @findex mml-secure-sign-pgp
635 Digitally sign current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
639 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-smime
641 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using S/MIME.
645 @findex mml-secure-encrypt-pgpmime
647 Digitally encrypt current MIME part using PGP/MIME.
651 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
652 merely insert proper MML tags to instruct the MML engine to perform that
653 operation when the message is actually sent. They may perform other
654 operations too, such as locating and retrieving a S/MIME certificate of
655 the person you wish to send encrypted mail to.
657 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
658 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
659 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
660 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
661 using @code{C-u C-m P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can verify that
662 your long rant about what your ex-significant other or whomever actually
663 did with that funny looking person at that strange party the other
664 night, actually will be sent encrypted.
666 @emph{Note!} Neither PGP/MIME nor S/MIME encrypt/signs RFC822 headers.
667 They only operate on the MIME object. Keep this in mind before sending
668 mail with a sensitive Subject line.
670 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
671 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
672 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
673 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
675 @subsection Using S/MIME
677 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
678 modern cryptography, S/MIME, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and so on.
680 The S/MIME support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
681 perform the actual S/MIME sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can be found
682 at @code{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work.
683 Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from certificates, and it
684 insert a spurious CR character into MIME separators so you may wish to
685 avoid it if you would like to avoid being regarded as someone who send
686 strange mail. (Although by sending S/MIME messages you've probably
687 already lost that contest.)
689 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
690 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
691 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
692 @code{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
693 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local file,
694 it need to contain a X.509 certificate in PEM format. If you chose DNS,
695 you're asked for the domain name where the certificate is stored, the
696 default is a good guess. To my belief, Message (MML) is the first mail
697 agent in the world to support retrieving S/MIME certificates from DNS,
698 so you're not likely to find very many certificates out there. At least
699 there should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}.
700 LDAP is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for
701 it is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
702 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
704 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
705 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
706 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
707 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it contain
708 a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try @code{M-x
709 customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
711 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create your
712 own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this manually
713 with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape and got a
714 free S/MIME certificate from one of the big CA's on the net. Netscape
715 is able to export your private key and certificate in PKCS #12 format.
716 Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509 certificate in PEM format
720 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
723 The @code{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
724 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
726 @emph{Note!} Your private key is store unencrypted in the file, so take
729 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
731 PGP/MIME requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such as GNU
732 Privacy Guard (@code{http://www.gnupg.org/}). It also requires an Emacs
733 interface to it, such as Mailcrypt (available from
734 @code{http://www.nb.net/~lbudney/linux/software/mailcrypt.html}) or
735 Florian Weimer's @code{gpg.el}.
737 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
738 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
740 @node Various Commands
741 @section Various Commands
747 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
748 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
749 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
750 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
751 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
755 @findex message-elide-region
756 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
757 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
758 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
763 @findex message-kill-to-signature
764 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
765 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
769 @findex message-delete-not-region
770 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
771 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
775 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
776 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
781 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
784 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
787 > This is some quoted text.
791 > And here's more quoted text.
794 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
798 @findex message-insert-to
799 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
800 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
801 (@code{message-insert-to}).
805 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
806 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
807 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
808 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
812 @findex message-rename-buffer
813 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
814 prompt for a new buffer name.
825 @findex message-send-and-exit
826 Send the message and bury the current buffer
827 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
832 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
836 @findex message-dont-send
837 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
841 @findex message-kill-buffer
842 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
849 @section Mail Aliases
853 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
854 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
855 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
856 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
857 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
859 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
860 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
863 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
864 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
867 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
868 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
869 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
871 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
872 expansions have to be done explicitly.
878 @findex ispell-message
880 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
881 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
882 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
883 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
884 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
885 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
888 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
891 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
892 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
893 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
896 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
897 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
901 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
904 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
905 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
908 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
912 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
914 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
917 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
925 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
926 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
927 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
928 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
929 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
930 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
931 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
932 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
933 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
937 @node Message Headers
938 @section Message Headers
940 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
941 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
942 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
943 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
944 look sufficiently similar.
948 @item message-generate-headers-first
949 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
950 If non-@code{nil}, generate all required headers before starting to
953 The variables @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
954 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are required.
956 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
957 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
959 @item message-from-style
960 @vindex message-from-style
961 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
966 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
969 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
972 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
975 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
976 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
977 @code{angles} anyway.
981 @item message-deletable-headers
982 @vindex message-deletable-headers
983 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
984 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
985 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
986 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
987 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
988 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
989 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
990 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
993 @item message-default-headers
994 @vindex message-default-headers
995 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
998 @item message-subject-re-regexp
999 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1000 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1001 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1002 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1003 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1004 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1005 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1006 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1007 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1008 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1010 @item message-alternative-emails
1011 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1012 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1013 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1019 @section Mail Headers
1022 @item message-required-mail-headers
1023 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1024 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1025 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1026 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1028 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1029 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1030 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1031 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1033 @item message-default-mail-headers
1034 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1035 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1036 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1041 @node Mail Variables
1042 @section Mail Variables
1045 @item message-send-mail-function
1046 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1047 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1048 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1049 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1050 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1051 @findex feedmail-send-it
1052 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1053 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1054 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1055 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1057 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1058 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1059 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1060 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1061 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1062 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1065 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1066 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1067 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
1068 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
1069 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
1075 @section News Headers
1077 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1078 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1079 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1080 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1086 @findex user-full-name
1087 @findex user-mail-address
1088 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1089 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1090 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1091 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1095 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1099 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1100 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1103 @cindex organization
1104 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1105 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1106 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1107 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1108 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1109 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1113 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1117 @vindex mail-host-address
1120 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1121 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
1122 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
1123 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
1124 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
1128 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1129 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1132 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1133 header of the article being replied to.
1137 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1138 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1139 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1142 @cindex Distribution
1143 This optional header is filled out according to the
1144 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1145 much misunderstood header.
1149 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1150 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1151 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1152 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1153 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1154 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1155 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1159 @cindex Mime-Version
1160 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1161 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1162 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1163 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1164 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1165 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1166 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1167 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1168 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1170 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1171 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1174 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1178 @item message-syntax-checks
1179 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1180 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1181 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1184 (signature . disabled)
1193 Check the subject for commands.
1196 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1197 @item multiple-headers
1198 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1201 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1203 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1205 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1208 Check for too long lines.
1210 Check for invalid characters.
1212 Check for excessive size.
1214 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1216 Check the length of the signature.
1219 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1220 something only moderators should include.
1222 Check whether the article is empty.
1223 @item invisible-text
1224 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1226 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1227 @item existing-newsgroups
1228 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1229 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1230 @item valid-newsgroups
1231 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1232 are valid syntactically.
1233 @item repeated-newsgroups
1234 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1235 contains repeated group names.
1236 @item shorten-followup-to
1237 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1238 of groups to post to.
1241 All these conditions are checked by default.
1243 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1244 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1245 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1246 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1248 @item message-default-news-headers
1249 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1250 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1251 buffers that are initialized as news.
1256 @node News Variables
1257 @section News Variables
1260 @item message-send-news-function
1261 @vindex message-send-news-function
1262 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1263 @code{message-send-news}.
1265 @item message-post-method
1266 @vindex message-post-method
1267 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1268 posting a prepared news message.
1273 @node Various Message Variables
1274 @section Various Message Variables
1277 @item message-default-charset
1278 @vindex message-default-charset
1280 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1281 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1282 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1284 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1285 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1286 translation process.
1288 @item message-signature-separator
1289 @vindex message-signature-separator
1290 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1293 @item mail-header-separator
1294 @vindex mail-header-separator
1295 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1296 follows this line--} by default.
1298 @item message-directory
1299 @vindex message-directory
1300 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1302 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1303 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1304 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1305 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1307 @item message-setup-hook
1308 @vindex message-setup-hook
1309 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1310 but before yanked text is inserted.
1312 @item message-header-setup-hook
1313 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1314 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1316 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1317 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1318 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1321 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1322 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1323 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1324 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1325 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1326 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1328 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1329 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1332 @item message-send-hook
1333 @vindex message-send-hook
1334 Hook run before sending messages.
1336 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1337 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1338 @findex message-add-header
1341 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1342 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1343 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1344 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1347 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1349 @item message-send-mail-hook
1350 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1351 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1353 @item message-send-news-hook
1354 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1355 Hook run before sending news messages.
1357 @item message-sent-hook
1358 @vindex message-sent-hook
1359 Hook run after sending messages.
1361 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1362 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1363 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1365 @item message-send-method-alist
1366 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1368 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1371 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1376 A symbol that names the method.
1379 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1380 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1383 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1384 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1388 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1389 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1398 @node Sending Variables
1399 @section Sending Variables
1403 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1404 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1405 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1406 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1407 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1409 @item message-courtesy-message
1410 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1411 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1412 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1413 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1414 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1415 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1416 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1421 @node Message Buffers
1422 @section Message Buffers
1424 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1425 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1426 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1427 message buffers are kept alive.
1430 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1431 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1432 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1433 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1434 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1435 The function should return the new buffer name.
1437 @item message-max-buffers
1438 @vindex message-max-buffers
1439 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1440 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1441 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1442 will ever be killed.
1444 @item message-send-rename-function
1445 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1446 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1447 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1448 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1449 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1453 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1456 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1457 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1458 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1463 @node Message Actions
1464 @section Message Actions
1466 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1467 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1468 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1471 @vindex message-kill-actions
1472 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1473 @vindex message-exit-actions
1474 @vindex message-send-actions
1475 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1476 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1477 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1478 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1479 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1480 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1481 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1482 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1484 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1485 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1486 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1487 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1491 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1492 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1495 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1496 killed, postponed or exited.
1498 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1499 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1500 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1504 @chapter Compatibility
1505 @cindex compatibility
1507 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1508 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1509 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1512 (require 'messcompat)
1515 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1516 corresponding mail variables.
1523 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1530 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1535 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1536 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1537 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1548 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1549 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1550 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1551 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1555 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1562 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1563 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1564 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1568 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1569 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1580 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1581 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is