1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message Manual
9 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
11 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
12 2004, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
16 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
17 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
18 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
19 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
20 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
21 License'' in the Emacs manual.
23 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
24 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
25 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
27 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
28 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
29 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
30 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
36 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
41 @setchapternewpage odd
46 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
49 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
57 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
61 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
62 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
63 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
64 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
65 * Appendices:: More technical things.
66 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
67 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
70 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following lines:
71 Message is distributed with Gnus. The Gnus distribution
73 corresponding to this manual is No Gnus v0.4.
79 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message---reply,
80 follow up, forward, cancel---the program (or person) should just put
81 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
82 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
83 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
87 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
88 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
89 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
90 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
91 * Followup:: Following up via news.
92 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
93 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
94 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
95 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
96 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
97 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
100 You can customize the Message Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
101 customize-apropos RET message-tool-bar}. This feature is only available
104 @node New Mail Message
105 @section New Mail Message
108 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
110 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
111 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
112 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
115 @node New News Message
116 @section New News Message
119 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
121 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
122 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
123 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
129 @findex message-reply
130 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
131 reply to the message in the current buffer.
133 @vindex message-reply-to-function
134 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
135 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
136 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
138 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
139 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
142 (setq message-reply-to-function
144 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
145 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
150 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
153 As you can see, this function should return a list. In this case, it
154 returns @code{((To . "Whom"))} if it has an opinion as to what the To
155 header should be. If it does not, it should just return @code{nil}, and
156 the normal methods for determining the To header will be used.
158 Each list element should be a cons, where the @sc{car} should be the
159 name of a header (e.g. @code{Cc}) and the @sc{cdr} should be the header
160 value (e.g. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be
161 inserted into the head of the outgoing mail.
167 @findex message-wide-reply
168 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
169 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
170 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
171 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
173 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
174 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
175 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
176 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
177 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
179 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
180 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
181 expression (or list of regular expressions) will be removed from the
182 @code{Cc} header. A value of @code{nil} means exclude your name only.
184 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
185 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
186 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
187 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
192 @findex message-followup
193 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
194 followup to the message in the current buffer.
196 @vindex message-followup-to-function
197 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
198 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
199 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
200 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
202 @vindex message-use-followup-to
203 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
204 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
205 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
206 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
207 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
211 @section Canceling News
213 @findex message-cancel-news
214 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
217 @vindex message-cancel-message
218 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
219 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
223 @vindex message-insert-canlock
225 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
226 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
227 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
228 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
229 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
230 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
231 able to cancel your message. If you want to manage a password yourself,
232 you can put something like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
235 (setq canlock-password "geheimnis"
236 canlock-password-for-verify canlock-password)
239 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
240 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
242 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
243 this is expected to change in the future.
249 @findex message-supersede
250 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
251 supersede the message in the current buffer.
253 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
254 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
255 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
256 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
257 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|^X-Trace:\\|^X-Complaints-To:\\|@*
258 Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:\\|^NNTP-Posting-Date:\\|^X-Trace:\\|@*
259 ^X-Complaints-To:\\|^Cancel-Lock:\\|^Cancel-Key:\\|^X-Hashcash:\\|@*
260 ^X-Payment:\\|^Approved:}.
267 @findex message-forward
268 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
269 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
273 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
274 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
275 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
277 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
278 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
279 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
280 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
281 passed into each successive function.
283 The provided functions are:
286 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
287 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
288 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
291 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
292 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
295 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
296 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
297 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
298 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
299 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
300 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
302 @item message-forward-as-mime
303 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
304 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
305 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
306 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
307 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.
309 @item message-forward-before-signature
310 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
311 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
319 @findex message-resend
320 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
321 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
323 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
324 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
325 be removed before sending the message.
331 @findex message-bounce
332 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
333 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
334 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
335 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
338 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
339 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
340 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
341 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\|Delivered-To\\):}.
345 @section Mailing Lists
347 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
348 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
349 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
350 was created to enable just this. Three example scenarios where this is
355 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
356 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
357 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
360 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
361 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
362 is not subscribed to the list.
365 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
366 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
367 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
368 and very difficult to follow.
372 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
373 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
374 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
377 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
378 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
381 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
382 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
384 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
385 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
386 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
387 way. The following variables would come in handy.
391 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
392 @item message-subscribed-addresses
393 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
394 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
396 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
397 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
400 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
401 @item message-subscribed-regexps
402 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
403 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
404 want to achieve the same result as above:
406 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
407 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
410 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
411 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
412 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
413 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
414 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
416 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
417 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
418 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
419 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
420 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.
421 This is how you would do it.
424 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
425 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
428 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
429 @item message-subscribed-address-file
430 You might be one organized human freak and have a list of addresses of
431 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
432 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
436 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
437 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
439 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
440 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
441 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
442 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
443 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
444 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
445 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
446 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
447 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
448 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
449 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
452 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
454 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
455 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
456 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
457 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
458 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
459 to-address group parameter.) The function
460 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
461 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
462 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
463 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
465 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
466 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
468 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
469 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
470 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
471 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
475 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
476 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
479 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
482 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
486 It is considered good netiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
487 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
494 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
495 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
496 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
497 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
498 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
499 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
500 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
501 * Various Commands:: Various things.
502 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
503 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
504 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
509 @section Buffer Entry
513 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
514 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
515 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
516 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
517 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
518 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
519 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
520 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
523 @node Header Commands
524 @section Header Commands
526 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
528 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
529 exist, it will be inserted.
535 @findex describe-mode
536 Describe the message mode.
540 @findex message-goto-to
541 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
545 @findex message-goto-from
546 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
547 in the key binding is for Originator.)
551 @findex message-goto-bcc
552 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
556 @findex message-goto-fcc
557 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
561 @findex message-goto-cc
562 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
566 @findex message-goto-subject
567 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
571 @findex message-goto-reply-to
572 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
576 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
577 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
581 @findex message-goto-distribution
582 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
586 @findex message-goto-followup-to
587 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
591 @findex message-goto-keywords
592 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
596 @findex message-goto-summary
597 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
601 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
602 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
603 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
604 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
605 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
606 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
610 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
611 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
612 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
613 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
614 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
615 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
616 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
617 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
618 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
620 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, the
621 addresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the
622 @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.
626 @subsection Commands to change headers
632 @findex message-sort-headers
633 @vindex message-header-format-alist
634 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
635 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
639 @findex message-insert-to
640 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
641 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
642 (@code{message-insert-to}).
646 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
647 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
648 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
649 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
653 @findex message-to-list-only
654 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
655 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
659 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
660 Insert a request for a disposition
661 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
662 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
663 notification that she received the message.
665 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
666 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
667 @findex message-insert-importance-high
669 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
670 deleting headers if necessary.
672 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
673 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
674 @findex message-insert-importance-low
676 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
677 headers if necessary.
681 @findex message-change-subject
683 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
684 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
685 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
686 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
690 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
691 @vindex message-cross-post-default
692 @vindex message-cross-post-note-function
695 Set up the @samp{FollowUp-To} header with a target newsgroup for a
696 cross-post, add that target newsgroup to the @samp{Newsgroups} header if
697 it is not a member of @samp{Newsgroups}, and insert a note in the body.
698 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if this command is
699 called with a prefix-argument, only the @samp{FollowUp-To} header will
700 be set but the target newsgroup will not be added to the
701 @samp{Newsgroups} header. The function to insert a note is controlled
702 by the @code{message-cross-post-note-function} variable.
706 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
707 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
708 @samp{Bcc} header. (Iff @samp{Cc} header is not present, @samp{Bcc}
709 header will be used instead.)
713 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
714 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
715 reply even if the message was not made for a wide reply first.
719 @findex message-add-archive-header
720 @vindex message-archive-header
721 @vindex message-archive-note
723 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
724 The header and the note can be customized using
725 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
726 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
727 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
739 @findex message-goto-body
740 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
741 (@code{message-goto-body}).
745 @findex message-goto-signature
746 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
750 @findex message-beginning-of-line
751 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
752 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
753 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
754 name and the colon.) This behavior can be disabled by toggling
755 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
767 @findex message-yank-original
768 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
769 (@code{message-yank-original}).
773 @findex message-yank-buffer
774 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
775 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
779 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
780 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
781 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
782 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
783 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
788 @findex message-insert-signature
789 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
790 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
794 @findex message-insert-headers
795 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
799 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
800 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags. See
801 @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
802 When called with a prefix argument, use slrn style verbatim marks
803 (@samp{#v+} and @samp{#v-}).
807 @findex message-mark-insert-file
808 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
809 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
810 When called with a prefix argument, use slrn style verbatim marks
811 (@samp{#v+} and @samp{#v-}).
823 Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
824 doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
825 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
826 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
830 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
831 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out.
832 This can be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command (@kbd{M-x mml-attach}),
833 which will prompt for a file name and a @acronym{MIME} type.
835 @vindex mml-dnd-protocol-alist
836 @vindex mml-dnd-attach-options
837 If your Emacs supports drag and drop, you can also drop the file in the
838 Message buffer. The variable @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} specifies
839 what kind of action is done when you drop a file into the Message
840 buffer. The variable @code{mml-dnd-attach-options} controls which
841 @acronym{MIME} options you want to specify when dropping a file. If it
842 is a list, valid members are @code{type}, @code{description} and
843 @code{disposition}. @code{disposition} implies @code{type}. If it is
844 @code{nil}, don't ask for options. If it is @code{t}, ask the user
845 whether or not to specify options.
847 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the @acronym{MML}
848 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
854 @cindex internationalized domain names
855 @cindex non-ascii domain names
857 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
858 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
859 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
860 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
862 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
863 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
864 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
865 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
866 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
868 @vindex message-use-idna
869 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
870 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
871 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
872 queried, and if set to @code{t} (which is the default if @acronym{IDNA}
873 is fully available) @acronym{IDNA} encoding happens automatically.
875 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
876 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
877 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
878 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit
881 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
882 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
894 Using the @acronym{MML} language, Message is able to create digitally
895 signed and digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather
896 @acronym{MML}) currently support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991),
897 @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}. Instructing
898 @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
899 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m
900 c} key map for encryption, as follows.
906 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
908 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
912 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
914 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
918 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
920 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
924 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
926 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
930 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
932 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
936 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
938 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
942 @findex mml-unsecure-message
943 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
947 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
948 merely insert the proper @acronym{MML} secure tag to instruct the
949 @acronym{MML} engine to perform that operation when the message is
950 actually sent. They may perform other operations too, such as locating
951 and retrieving a @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to
952 send encrypted mail to. When the mml parsing engine converts your
953 @acronym{MML} into a properly encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure
954 tag will be replaced with either a part or a multipart tag. If your
955 message contains other mml parts, a multipart tag will be used; if no
956 other parts are present in your message a single part tag will be used.
957 This way, message mode will do the Right Thing (TM) with
958 signed/encrypted multipart messages.
960 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
961 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
962 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
963 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
964 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
965 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
966 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
967 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
969 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
970 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
971 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
973 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
974 ``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed and
975 encrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particular
976 message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix
977 argument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.
979 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
980 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
981 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
982 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
984 @subsection Using S/MIME
986 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
987 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
990 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and @acronym{MML}) require
991 OpenSSL. OpenSSL performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt
992 operations. OpenSSL can be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.
993 OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail
994 addresses from certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into
995 @acronym{MIME} separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like
996 to avoid being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by
997 sending @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that
1000 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
1001 required. Message (@acronym{MML}) need a certificate for the person to whom you
1002 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
1003 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
1004 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
1005 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
1006 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
1007 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
1008 Message (@acronym{MML}) is the first mail agent in the world to support
1009 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
1010 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
1011 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
1012 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
1013 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
1014 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
1016 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
1017 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
1018 where your private key and your certificate is stored. @acronym{MML}
1019 uses an Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
1020 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
1021 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
1023 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
1024 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
1025 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
1026 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1027 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1028 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1029 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1032 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1035 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1036 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1038 @emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,
1039 so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk are
1040 supported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invoking
1041 OpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. If
1042 you use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or if
1043 you are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} at
1044 the passphrase prompt.
1046 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1048 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1049 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGP
1050 implementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. One
1051 Emacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,
1052 pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1053 @code{gpg.el} are also supported.
1055 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1056 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1057 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1060 Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation of
1061 your PGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1063 If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to send
1064 signed and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'll
1065 discover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. One
1066 solution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set
1067 @code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to use
1068 GnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}
1070 @uref{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. You
1071 could also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.
1072 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
1073 As a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work in
1074 two steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would like
1075 to change this behavior you can customize the
1076 @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:
1079 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate)
1081 ("pgpauto" separate)
1082 ("pgpmime" separate)))
1085 This causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating a
1086 message that can be understood by PGP version 2.
1088 (Refer to @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for more
1089 information about the problem.)
1091 @node Various Commands
1092 @section Various Commands
1098 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1099 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1100 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1101 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1102 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1106 @findex message-elide-region
1107 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1108 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1109 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1110 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1115 @findex message-kill-address
1116 Kill the address under point.
1120 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1121 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1122 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1126 @findex message-delete-not-region
1127 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1128 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1132 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1133 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1138 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1141 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1144 > This is some quoted text.
1148 > And here's more quoted text.
1151 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1155 @findex message-rename-buffer
1156 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1157 prompt for a new buffer name.
1162 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1163 If @code{message-tab-body-function} is non-@code{nil}, execute the
1164 function it specifies. Otherwise use the function bound to @kbd{TAB} in
1165 @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1176 @findex message-send-and-exit
1177 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1178 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1182 @findex message-send
1183 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1187 @findex message-dont-send
1188 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1192 @findex message-kill-buffer
1193 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
1200 @section Mail Aliases
1201 @cindex mail aliases
1206 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1207 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1208 alias expansion to use. Currently two forms are supported:
1209 @code{mailabbrev} and @code{ecomplete}. If this variable is
1210 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1212 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1213 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1216 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1217 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1220 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1221 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1222 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1224 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1225 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1227 If you're using @code{ecomplete}, all addresses from @code{To} and
1228 @code{Cc} headers will automatically be put into the
1229 @file{~/.ecompleterc} file. When you enter text in the @code{To} and
1230 @code{Cc} headers, @code{ecomplete} will check out the values stored
1231 there and ``electrically'' say what completions are possible. To
1232 choose one of these completions, use the @kbd{M-n} command to move
1233 down to the list. Use @kbd{M-n} and @kbd{M-p} to move down and up the
1234 list, and @kbd{RET} to choose a completion.
1239 @findex ispell-message
1241 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1242 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1243 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1244 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1245 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1246 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1249 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1252 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1253 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1254 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1257 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1258 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1259 (".*" . "default")))
1262 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1265 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1266 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1269 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1273 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1275 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1278 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1286 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1287 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1288 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1289 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1290 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1291 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1292 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1293 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1294 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1295 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1299 @node Message Headers
1300 @section Message Headers
1302 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1303 be---it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1304 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1305 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1306 look sufficiently similar.
1310 @item message-generate-headers-first
1311 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1312 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1313 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1316 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1320 @vindex message-required-headers
1321 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1322 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1323 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1326 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1327 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1329 @item message-draft-headers
1330 @vindex message-draft-headers
1331 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1332 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1333 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1335 @item message-from-style
1336 @vindex message-from-style
1337 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1342 Just the address---@samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1345 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1348 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1351 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1352 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1353 @code{angles} anyway.
1357 @item message-deletable-headers
1358 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1359 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1360 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1361 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1362 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1363 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1364 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1365 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1366 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1369 @item message-default-headers
1370 @vindex message-default-headers
1371 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1374 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1375 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1379 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1380 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1381 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1382 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1383 to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1384 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1385 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1386 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1387 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1389 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1390 responding to a message:
1393 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1398 "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw
1400 "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd
1401 "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp
1403 "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref
1406 "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)"
1413 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1414 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1415 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1416 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1417 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1418 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1419 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1420 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1421 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is @code{t}, always strip the
1422 trailing old subject. In this case,
1423 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1425 @item message-alternative-emails
1426 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1427 Regexp matching alternative email addresses. The first address in the
1428 To, Cc or From headers of the original article matching this variable is
1429 used as the From field of outgoing messages, replacing the default From
1432 For example, if you have two secondary email addresses john@@home.net
1433 and john.doe@@work.com and want to use them in the From field when
1434 composing a reply to a message addressed to one of them, you could set
1435 this variable like this:
1438 (setq message-alternative-emails
1439 (regexp-opt '("john@@home.net" "john.doe@@work.com")))
1442 This variable has precedence over posting styles and anything that runs
1443 off @code{message-setup-hook}.
1445 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1446 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1447 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1448 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1449 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1450 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1452 @item message-hidden-headers
1453 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1454 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1455 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1456 hidden when composing a message.
1459 (setq message-hidden-headers
1460 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1463 Headers are hidden using narrowing, you can use @kbd{M-x widen} to
1464 expose them in the buffer.
1466 @item message-header-synonyms
1467 @vindex message-header-synonyms
1468 A list of lists of header synonyms. E.g., if this list contains a
1469 member list with elements @code{Cc} and @code{To}, then
1470 @code{message-carefully-insert-headers} will not insert a @code{To}
1471 header when the message is already @code{Cc}ed to the recipient.
1477 @section Mail Headers
1480 @item message-required-mail-headers
1481 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1482 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1483 @code{(From Subject Date (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID
1484 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1486 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1487 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1488 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is@*
1489 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:\\|@*
1490 ^X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information:}.
1492 @item message-default-mail-headers
1493 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1494 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1495 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1497 @item message-generate-hashcash
1498 @vindex message-generate-hashcash
1499 Boolean variable that indicate whether @samp{X-Hashcash} headers
1500 should be computed for the message. @xref{Hashcash, ,Hashcash,gnus,
1506 @node Mail Variables
1507 @section Mail Variables
1510 @item message-send-mail-function
1511 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1512 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1513 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1514 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1515 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1516 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1517 @findex feedmail-send-it
1518 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1519 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, or @code{smtpmail-send-it}
1520 according to the system. Other valid values include
1521 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1522 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1524 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1525 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1526 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1527 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1528 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1529 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1532 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1533 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1535 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1537 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1538 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1539 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1540 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1541 may also be a function.
1543 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1544 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1545 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1547 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1548 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1550 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1551 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1553 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1554 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1555 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1556 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1557 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1558 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1560 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1561 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1562 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1563 body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
1564 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1565 the problem will actually occur.
1567 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1568 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1569 @cindex split large message
1570 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1571 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1572 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1578 @section News Headers
1580 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1581 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1582 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1583 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1589 @findex user-full-name
1590 @findex user-mail-address
1591 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1592 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1593 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1594 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1598 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1602 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1603 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1606 @cindex organization
1607 @vindex message-user-organization
1608 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1609 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1610 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1611 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1612 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1613 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1614 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1618 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1622 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1623 @vindex mail-host-address
1624 @vindex user-mail-address
1627 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1628 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1629 created based on the date, time, user name (for the local part) and the
1630 domain part. For the domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1631 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1632 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1633 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1637 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1638 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1641 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1642 header of the article being replied to.
1646 @vindex message-expires
1647 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1648 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1649 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1652 @cindex Distribution
1653 @vindex message-distribution-function
1654 This optional header is filled out according to the
1655 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1656 much misunderstood header.
1660 @vindex message-user-path
1661 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1662 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1663 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1664 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1665 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1666 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1667 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1671 @cindex Mime-Version
1672 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this cons
1673 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1674 the @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1675 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1676 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1677 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1678 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1679 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1680 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1682 If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is
1683 @code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1686 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1687 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1691 (setq message-required-news-headers
1692 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1695 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1699 @item message-syntax-checks
1700 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1701 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1702 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1705 (signature . disabled)
1715 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1716 something only moderators should include.
1717 @item continuation-headers
1718 Check whether there are continuation header lines that don't begin with
1721 Check for invalid characters.
1723 Check whether the article is empty.
1724 @item existing-newsgroups
1725 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1726 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1728 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1729 @item illegible-text
1730 Check whether there is any non-printable character in the body.
1731 @item invisible-text
1732 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1733 @item long-header-lines
1734 Check for too long header lines.
1737 Check for too long lines in the body.
1739 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks syntactically ok.
1740 @item multiple-headers
1741 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1743 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1745 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} header exists and is not empty.
1747 Check whether text follows last quoted portion.
1748 @item repeated-newsgroups
1749 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1750 contains repeated group names.
1752 Check whether the @code{Reply-To} header looks ok.
1755 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1758 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1760 Check whether the domain part of the @code{Message-ID} header looks ok.
1761 @item shorten-followup-to
1762 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1763 of groups to post to.
1765 Check the length of the signature.
1767 Check for excessive size.
1769 Check whether the @code{Subject} header exists and is not empty.
1771 Check the subject for commands.
1772 @item valid-newsgroups
1773 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1774 are valid syntactically.
1777 All these conditions are checked by default, except for @code{sender}
1778 for which the check is disabled by default if
1779 @code{message-insert-canlock} is non-@code{nil} (@pxref{Canceling News}).
1781 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1782 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1783 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1784 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|@*
1785 ^X-Draft-From:\\|^X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information:}.
1787 @item message-default-news-headers
1788 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1789 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1790 buffers that are initialized as news.
1795 @node News Variables
1796 @section News Variables
1799 @item message-send-news-function
1800 @vindex message-send-news-function
1801 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1802 @code{message-send-news}.
1804 @item message-post-method
1805 @vindex message-post-method
1806 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1807 posting a prepared news message.
1812 @node Insertion Variables
1813 @section Insertion Variables
1816 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1817 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1818 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1819 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1822 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1823 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1824 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1826 @item message-citation-line-function
1827 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1828 @cindex attribution line
1829 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1830 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1834 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1837 @c FIXME: Add `message-insert-formated-citation-line' and
1838 @c `message-citation-line-format'
1840 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1843 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1844 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1845 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1846 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1847 Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.
1849 @item message-yank-prefix
1850 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1853 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1854 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
1855 @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1856 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted lines
1857 which use @code{message-yank-cited-prefix} and empty lines which use
1858 @code{message-yank-empty-prefix}). The default is @samp{> }.
1860 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1861 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1865 When yanking text from an article which contains already cited text,
1866 each line will be prefixed with the contents of this variable. The
1867 default is @samp{>}. See also @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1869 @item message-yank-empty-prefix
1870 @vindex message-yank-empty-prefix
1873 When yanking text from an article, each empty line will be prefixed with
1874 the contents of this variable. The default is @samp{>}. You can set
1875 this variable to an empty string to split the cited text into paragraphs
1876 automatically. See also @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1878 @item message-indentation-spaces
1879 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1880 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1882 @item message-cite-function
1883 @vindex message-cite-function
1884 @findex message-cite-original
1885 @findex sc-cite-original
1886 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1888 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1889 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1890 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1891 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1892 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1895 @item message-indent-citation-function
1896 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1897 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1898 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1899 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1900 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1902 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1903 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1904 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1906 @item message-mark-insert-end
1907 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1908 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1910 @item message-signature
1911 @vindex message-signature
1912 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1913 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1914 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1915 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1916 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1918 @item message-signature-file
1919 @vindex message-signature-file
1920 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1921 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1923 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1924 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1925 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1926 signature separator.
1930 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1931 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1932 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1933 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1934 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1936 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1937 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
1938 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
1942 @node Various Message Variables
1943 @section Various Message Variables
1946 @item message-default-charset
1947 @vindex message-default-charset
1949 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII} characters
1950 in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default
1951 is @code{iso-8859-1} on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen; otherwise @code{nil},
1952 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1953 Emacsen.) @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1954 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME}
1955 translation process.
1957 @item message-signature-separator
1958 @vindex message-signature-separator
1959 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1962 @item mail-header-separator
1963 @vindex mail-header-separator
1964 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1965 follows this line--} by default.
1967 @item message-directory
1968 @vindex message-directory
1969 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1970 All other mail file variables are derived from @code{message-directory}.
1972 @item message-auto-save-directory
1973 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1974 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1975 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1977 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1978 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1979 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1980 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1982 @item message-setup-hook
1983 @vindex message-setup-hook
1984 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1985 but before yanked text is inserted.
1987 @item message-header-setup-hook
1988 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1989 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1991 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1992 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1993 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1996 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1997 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1998 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1999 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
2000 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
2001 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
2003 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
2004 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
2007 @item message-send-hook
2008 @vindex message-send-hook
2009 Hook run before sending messages.
2011 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
2012 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
2013 @findex message-add-header
2016 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
2017 (defun my-message-add-content ()
2018 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
2019 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
2022 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
2024 @item message-send-mail-hook
2025 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
2026 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
2027 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
2029 @item message-send-news-hook
2030 @vindex message-send-news-hook
2031 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
2032 just before the message is actually sent as news.
2034 @item message-sent-hook
2035 @vindex message-sent-hook
2036 Hook run after sending messages.
2038 @item message-cancel-hook
2039 @vindex message-cancel-hook
2040 Hook run when canceling news articles.
2042 @item message-mode-syntax-table
2043 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
2044 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
2046 @item message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
2047 @vindex message-cite-articles-with-x-no-archive
2048 If non-@code{nil}, don't strip quoted text from articles that have
2049 @samp{X-No-Archive} set. Even if this variable isn't set, you can
2050 undo the stripping by hitting the @code{undo} keystroke.
2052 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
2053 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
2054 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
2055 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
2056 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
2057 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
2058 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
2059 message composition doesn't break too bad.
2061 @item message-send-method-alist
2062 @vindex message-send-method-alist
2063 @findex message-mail-p
2064 @findex message-news-p
2065 @findex message-send-via-mail
2066 @findex message-send-via-news
2067 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form:
2070 (@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})
2075 A symbol that names the method.
2078 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
2079 message is a message of type @var{type}. The function will be called in
2080 the buffer where the message is.
2083 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
2084 @var{function} is called with one parameter---the prefix.
2090 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
2091 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
2094 The @code{message-news-p} function returns non-@code{nil} if the message
2095 looks like news, and the @code{message-send-via-news} function sends the
2096 message according to the @code{message-send-news-function} variable
2097 (@pxref{News Variables}). The @code{message-mail-p} function returns
2098 non-@code{nil} if the message looks like mail, and the
2099 @code{message-send-via-mail} function sends the message according to the
2100 @code{message-send-mail-function} variable (@pxref{Mail Variables}).
2102 All the elements in this alist will be tried in order, so a message
2103 containing both a valid @samp{Newsgroups} header and a valid @samp{To}
2104 header, for example, will be sent as news, and then as mail.
2109 @node Sending Variables
2110 @section Sending Variables
2114 @item message-fcc-handler-function
2115 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
2116 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
2117 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
2118 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
2120 @item message-courtesy-message
2121 @vindex message-courtesy-message
2122 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
2123 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
2124 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
2125 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
2126 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
2127 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
2129 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2130 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
2131 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
2132 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
2134 @item message-interactive
2135 @vindex message-interactive
2136 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
2137 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
2142 @node Message Buffers
2143 @section Message Buffers
2145 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
2146 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
2147 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
2148 message buffers are kept alive.
2151 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2152 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2153 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2154 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2155 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2156 The function should return the new buffer name.
2158 @item message-max-buffers
2159 @vindex message-max-buffers
2160 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2161 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2162 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2163 will ever be killed.
2165 @item message-send-rename-function
2166 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2167 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2168 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2169 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2170 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2174 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2177 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2178 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2179 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2184 @node Message Actions
2185 @section Message Actions
2187 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2188 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2189 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2192 @vindex message-kill-actions
2193 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2194 @vindex message-exit-actions
2195 @vindex message-send-actions
2196 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2197 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2198 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2199 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2200 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2201 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2202 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2203 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2205 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2206 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2207 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2208 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2212 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2213 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2216 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2217 killed, postponed or exited.
2219 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2220 @sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2221 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2225 @chapter Compatibility
2226 @cindex compatibility
2228 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2229 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2230 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2233 (require 'messcompat)
2236 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2237 corresponding mail variables.
2244 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2251 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2256 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2257 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2258 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2269 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2270 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2271 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2272 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2276 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2283 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2284 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2285 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2289 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2290 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2301 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2302 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is
2324 arch-tag: 16ab76af-a281-4e34-aed6-5624569f7601