1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message (Oort) Manual
10 * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
21 Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
22 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
25 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
26 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
27 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
28 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
29 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
30 License'' in the Emacs manual.
32 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
33 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
34 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
36 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
37 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
38 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
39 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
45 @title Message (Oort) Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
52 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
54 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
55 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
56 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
57 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
58 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
59 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
60 License'' in the Emacs manual.
62 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
63 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
64 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
66 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
67 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
68 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
69 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
78 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
82 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
83 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
84 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
85 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
86 * Appendices:: More technical things.
87 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
88 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
91 This manual corresponds to Oort Message. Message is distributed with
92 the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual.
98 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
99 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
100 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
101 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
102 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
106 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
107 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
108 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
109 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
110 * Followup:: Following up via news.
111 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
112 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
113 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
114 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
115 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
116 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
120 @node New Mail Message
121 @section New Mail Message
124 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
126 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
127 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
128 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
131 @node New News Message
132 @section New News Message
135 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
137 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
138 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
139 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
145 @findex message-reply
146 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
147 reply to the message in the current buffer.
149 @vindex message-reply-to-function
150 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
151 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
152 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
154 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
155 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
158 (setq message-reply-to-function
160 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
161 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
166 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
169 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
170 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
171 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
174 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
175 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
176 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
177 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
178 the head of the outgoing mail.
184 @findex message-wide-reply
185 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
186 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
187 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
188 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
190 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
191 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
192 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
193 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
194 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
196 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
197 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
198 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
200 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
201 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
202 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
203 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
208 @findex message-followup
209 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
210 followup to the message in the current buffer.
212 @vindex message-followup-to-function
213 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
214 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
215 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
216 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
218 @vindex message-use-followup-to
219 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
220 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
221 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
222 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
223 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
227 @section Canceling News
229 @findex message-cancel-news
230 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
233 @vindex message-cancel-message
234 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
235 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
239 @vindex message-insert-canlock
241 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
242 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
243 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
244 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
245 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
246 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
247 able to cancel your message.
249 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
250 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
252 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
253 this is expected to change in the future.
259 @findex message-supersede
260 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
261 supersede the message in the current buffer.
263 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
264 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
265 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
266 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
267 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
274 @findex message-forward
275 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
276 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
280 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
281 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
282 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
284 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
285 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
286 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
287 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
288 passed into each successive function.
290 The provided functions are:
293 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
294 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
295 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
298 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
299 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
302 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
303 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
304 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
305 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
306 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
307 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
309 @item message-forward-as-mime
310 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
311 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
312 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
313 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
314 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of gnus would do.
316 @item message-forward-before-signature
317 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
318 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
326 @findex message-resend
327 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
328 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
330 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
331 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
332 be removed before sending the message. The default is
333 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
339 @findex message-bounce
340 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
341 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
342 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
343 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
346 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
347 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
348 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
349 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
353 @section Mailing Lists
355 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
356 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
357 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
362 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
363 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
364 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
367 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
368 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
369 is not subscribed to the list.
372 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
373 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
374 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
375 and very difficult to follow.
379 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
380 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
381 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
384 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
385 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
388 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
389 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
391 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
392 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
393 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
394 way. The following variables would come in handy.
398 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
399 @item message-subscribed-addresses
400 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
401 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
403 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
404 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
407 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
408 @item message-subscribed-regexps
409 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
410 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
411 want to achieve the same result as above:
413 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
414 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
417 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
418 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
419 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
420 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
421 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
423 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
424 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
425 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
426 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
427 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-nil value. This
428 is how you would do it.
431 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
432 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
435 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
436 @item message-subscribed-address-file
437 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
438 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
439 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
443 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
444 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
446 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
447 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
448 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
449 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
450 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
451 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
452 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
453 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
454 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
455 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
456 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
459 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
461 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
462 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
463 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
464 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
465 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
466 to-address group parameter.) The function
467 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
468 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
469 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
470 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
472 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
473 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
475 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
476 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
477 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
478 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
482 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
483 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
486 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
489 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
493 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
494 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
501 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
502 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
503 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
504 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
505 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
506 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
507 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
508 * Various Commands:: Various things.
509 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
510 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
511 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
516 @section Buffer Entry
520 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
521 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
522 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
523 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
524 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
525 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
526 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
527 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
530 @node Header Commands
531 @section Header Commands
533 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
535 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
536 exist, it will be inserted.
542 @findex describe-mode
543 Describe the message mode.
547 @findex message-goto-to
548 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
552 @findex message-goto-from
553 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
554 in the key binding is for Originator.)
558 @findex message-goto-bcc
559 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
563 @findex message-goto-fcc
564 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
568 @findex message-goto-cc
569 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
573 @findex message-goto-subject
574 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
578 @findex message-goto-reply-to
579 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
583 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
584 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
588 @findex message-goto-distribution
589 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
593 @findex message-goto-followup-to
594 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
598 @findex message-goto-keywords
599 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
603 @findex message-goto-summary
604 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
608 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
609 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
610 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
611 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
612 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
613 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
617 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
618 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
619 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
620 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
621 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
622 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
623 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
624 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
625 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
627 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-nil, the addresses in
628 the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the @samp{Mail-Followup-To:}
633 @subsection Commands to change headers
639 @findex message-sort-headers
640 @vindex message-header-format-alist
641 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
642 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
646 @findex message-insert-to
647 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
648 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
649 (@code{message-insert-to}).
653 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
654 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
655 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
656 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
660 @findex message-to-list-only
661 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
662 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
666 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
667 Insert a request for a disposition
668 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
669 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
670 notification that she received the message.
672 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
673 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
674 @findex message-insert-importance-high
676 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
677 deleting headers if necessary.
679 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
680 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
681 @findex message-insert-importance-low
683 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
684 headers if necessary.
688 @findex message-change-subject
690 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
691 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
692 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
693 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
697 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
698 @vindex message-cross-post-default
701 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
702 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
703 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
704 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
705 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
710 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
711 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
716 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
717 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
722 @findex message-add-archive-header
723 @vindex message-archive-header
724 @vindex message-archive-note
726 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
727 The header and the note can be customized using
728 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
729 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
730 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
742 @findex message-goto-body
743 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
744 (@code{message-goto-body}).
748 @findex message-goto-signature
749 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
753 @findex message-beginning-of-line
754 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
755 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
756 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
757 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
758 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
770 @findex message-yank-original
771 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
772 (@code{message-yank-original}).
776 @findex message-yank-buffer
777 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
778 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
782 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
783 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
784 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
785 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
786 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
791 @findex message-insert-signature
792 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
793 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
797 @findex message-insert-headers
798 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
802 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
803 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
804 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
808 @findex message-mark-insert-file
809 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
810 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
822 Message is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
823 doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message will
824 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
825 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
827 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
828 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
829 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
830 name and a @acronym{MIME} type.
832 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
833 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
839 @cindex internationalized domain names
840 @cindex non-ascii domain names
842 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
843 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
844 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
845 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
847 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
848 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
849 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
850 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
851 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
853 @vindex message-use-idna
854 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
855 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
856 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
857 queried (the default), and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding
858 happens automatically.
860 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
861 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
862 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
863 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit the message.
865 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
866 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
878 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
879 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
880 support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}.
881 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
882 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
883 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
889 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
891 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
895 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
897 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
901 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
903 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
907 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
909 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
913 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
915 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
919 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
921 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
925 @findex mml-unsecure-message
926 Remove security related MML tags from message.
930 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
931 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
932 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
933 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
934 @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
935 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
936 encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
937 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
938 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
939 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
940 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
942 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
943 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the ``signencrypt''
944 mode. If you would like to disable this for a particular message,
945 give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefix argument. (for
946 example, @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}). Additionally, by default Gnus will
947 separately sign, then encrypt a message which has the mode
948 signencrypt. If you would like to change this behavior you can
949 customize the @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For
954 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" combined)
956 ("pgpmime" combined)))
959 Will cause Gnus to sign and encrypt in one pass, thus generating a
960 single signed and encrypted part. Note that combined sign and encrypt
961 does not work with all supported OpenPGP implementations (in
962 particular, @acronym{PGP} version 2 do not support this).
964 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
965 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
966 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
967 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
968 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
969 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
970 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
971 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
973 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
974 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
975 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
977 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
978 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
979 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
980 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
982 @subsection Using S/MIME
984 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
985 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
988 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
989 perform the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
990 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
991 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
992 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @acronym{MIME}
993 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
994 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
995 @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
997 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
998 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
999 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
1000 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
1001 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
1002 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
1003 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
1004 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
1005 Message (MML) is the first mail agent in the world to support
1006 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
1007 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
1008 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
1009 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
1010 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
1011 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
1013 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
1014 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
1015 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
1016 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
1017 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
1018 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
1020 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
1021 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
1022 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
1023 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1024 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1025 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1026 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1029 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1032 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1033 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1035 @emph{Note!} Your private key is stored unencrypted in the file, so take
1036 care in handling it.
1038 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1040 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1041 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. One Emacs
1042 interface to OpenPGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
1043 Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1044 @code{gpg.el} are also supported.
1046 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1047 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1048 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1051 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
1052 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1054 @node Various Commands
1055 @section Various Commands
1061 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1062 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1063 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1064 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1065 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1069 @findex message-elide-region
1070 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1071 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1072 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1073 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1078 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1079 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1080 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1084 @findex message-delete-not-region
1085 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1086 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1090 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1091 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1096 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1099 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1102 > This is some quoted text.
1106 > And here's more quoted text.
1109 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1113 @findex message-rename-buffer
1114 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1115 prompt for a new buffer name.
1120 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1121 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1122 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1123 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1134 @findex message-send-and-exit
1135 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1136 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1140 @findex message-send
1141 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1145 @findex message-dont-send
1146 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1150 @findex message-kill-buffer
1151 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
1158 @section Mail Aliases
1159 @cindex mail aliases
1162 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1163 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1164 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1165 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1166 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1168 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1169 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1172 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1173 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1176 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1177 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1178 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1180 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1181 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1187 @findex ispell-message
1189 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1190 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1191 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1192 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1193 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1194 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1197 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1200 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1201 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1202 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1205 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1206 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1207 (".*" . "default")))
1210 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1213 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1214 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1217 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1221 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1223 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1226 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1234 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1235 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1236 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1237 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1238 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1239 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1240 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1241 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1242 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1243 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1247 @node Message Headers
1248 @section Message Headers
1250 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1251 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1252 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1253 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1254 look sufficiently similar.
1258 @item message-generate-headers-first
1259 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1260 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1261 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1264 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1268 @vindex message-required-headers
1269 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1270 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1271 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1274 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1275 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1277 @item message-draft-headers
1278 @vindex message-draft-headers
1279 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1280 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1281 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1283 @item message-from-style
1284 @vindex message-from-style
1285 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1290 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1293 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1296 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1299 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1300 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1301 @code{angles} anyway.
1305 @item message-deletable-headers
1306 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1307 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1308 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1309 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1310 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1311 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1312 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1313 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1314 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1317 @item message-default-headers
1318 @vindex message-default-headers
1319 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1322 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1323 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1327 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1328 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1329 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1330 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1331 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1332 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1333 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1334 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1335 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1337 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1338 responding to a message:
1341 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1342 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\)")
1345 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1346 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1347 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1348 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1349 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1350 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1351 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1352 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1353 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1354 trailing old subject. In this case,
1355 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1357 @item message-alternative-emails
1358 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1359 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1360 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1362 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1363 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1364 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1365 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1366 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1367 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1369 @item message-hidden-headers
1370 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1371 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1372 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1373 hidden when composing a message.
1376 (setq message-hidden-headers
1377 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1384 @section Mail Headers
1387 @item message-required-mail-headers
1388 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1389 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1390 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1391 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1393 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1394 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1395 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1396 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1398 @item message-default-mail-headers
1399 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1400 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1401 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1406 @node Mail Variables
1407 @section Mail Variables
1410 @item message-send-mail-function
1411 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1412 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1413 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1414 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1415 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1416 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1417 @findex feedmail-send-it
1418 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1419 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1420 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1421 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1422 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1424 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1425 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1426 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1427 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1428 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1429 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1432 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1433 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1435 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1437 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1438 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1439 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1440 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1441 may also be a function.
1443 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1444 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1445 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1447 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1448 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1450 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1451 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1453 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1454 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1455 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1456 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1457 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1458 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1460 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1461 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1462 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1463 body together. (This problem exists on Sunos 4 when sendmail is run
1464 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1465 the problem will actually occur.
1467 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1468 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1469 @cindex split large message
1470 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1471 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1472 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1478 @section News Headers
1480 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1481 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1482 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1483 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1489 @findex user-full-name
1490 @findex user-mail-address
1491 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1492 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1493 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1494 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1498 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1502 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1503 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1506 @cindex organization
1507 @vindex message-user-organization
1508 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1509 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1510 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1511 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1512 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1513 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1514 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1518 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1522 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1523 @vindex mail-host-address
1524 @vindex user-mail-address
1527 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1528 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1529 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. For the
1530 domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1531 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1532 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1533 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1537 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1538 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1541 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1542 header of the article being replied to.
1546 @vindex message-expires
1547 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1548 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1549 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1552 @cindex Distribution
1553 @vindex message-distribution-function
1554 This optional header is filled out according to the
1555 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1556 much misunderstood header.
1560 @vindex message-user-path
1561 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1562 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1563 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1564 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1565 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1566 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1567 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1571 @cindex Mime-Version
1572 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1573 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1574 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1575 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1576 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1577 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1578 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1579 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1580 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1582 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1583 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1586 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1587 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1591 (setq message-required-news-headers
1592 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1595 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1599 @item message-syntax-checks
1600 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1601 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1602 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1605 (signature . disabled)
1614 Check the subject for commands.
1617 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1618 @item multiple-headers
1619 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1622 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1624 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1626 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1629 Check for too long lines.
1631 Check for invalid characters.
1633 Check for excessive size.
1635 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1637 Check the length of the signature.
1640 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1641 something only moderators should include.
1643 Check whether the article is empty.
1644 @item invisible-text
1645 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1647 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1648 @item existing-newsgroups
1649 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1650 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1651 @item valid-newsgroups
1652 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1653 are valid syntactically.
1654 @item repeated-newsgroups
1655 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1656 contains repeated group names.
1657 @item shorten-followup-to
1658 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1659 of groups to post to.
1662 All these conditions are checked by default.
1664 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1665 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1666 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1667 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1669 @item message-default-news-headers
1670 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1671 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1672 buffers that are initialized as news.
1677 @node News Variables
1678 @section News Variables
1681 @item message-send-news-function
1682 @vindex message-send-news-function
1683 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1684 @code{message-send-news}.
1686 @item message-post-method
1687 @vindex message-post-method
1688 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1689 posting a prepared news message.
1694 @node Insertion Variables
1695 @section Insertion Variables
1698 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1699 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1700 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1701 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1704 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1705 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1706 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1708 @item message-citation-line-function
1709 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1710 @cindex attribution line
1711 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1712 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1716 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1719 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1722 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1723 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1724 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1725 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1726 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1728 @item message-yank-prefix
1729 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1732 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1733 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1734 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1735 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1736 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1739 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1740 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1744 When yanking text from a article which contains no text or already
1745 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1746 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1747 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1749 @item message-indentation-spaces
1750 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1751 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1753 @item message-cite-function
1754 @vindex message-cite-function
1755 @findex message-cite-original
1756 @findex sc-cite-original
1757 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1759 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1760 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1761 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1762 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1763 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1766 @item message-indent-citation-function
1767 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1768 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1769 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1770 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1771 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1773 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1774 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1775 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1777 @item message-mark-insert-end
1778 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1779 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1781 @item message-signature
1782 @vindex message-signature
1783 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1784 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1785 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1786 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1787 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1789 @item message-signature-file
1790 @vindex message-signature-file
1791 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1792 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1794 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1795 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1796 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1797 signature separator.
1801 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1802 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1803 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1804 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1805 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1807 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1808 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
1809 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
1813 @node Various Message Variables
1814 @section Various Message Variables
1817 @item message-default-charset
1818 @vindex message-default-charset
1820 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}
1821 characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.
1822 The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variable
1823 is used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,
1824 Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on
1825 the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.
1827 @item message-signature-separator
1828 @vindex message-signature-separator
1829 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1832 @item mail-header-separator
1833 @vindex mail-header-separator
1834 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1835 follows this line--} by default.
1837 @item message-directory
1838 @vindex message-directory
1839 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1841 @item message-auto-save-directory
1842 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1843 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1844 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1846 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1847 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1848 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1849 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1851 @item message-setup-hook
1852 @vindex message-setup-hook
1853 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1854 but before yanked text is inserted.
1856 @item message-header-setup-hook
1857 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1858 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1860 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1861 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1862 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1865 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1866 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1867 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1868 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1869 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1870 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1872 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1873 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1876 @item message-send-hook
1877 @vindex message-send-hook
1878 Hook run before sending messages.
1880 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1881 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1882 @findex message-add-header
1885 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1886 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1887 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1888 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1891 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1893 @item message-send-mail-hook
1894 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1895 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1896 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1898 @item message-send-news-hook
1899 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1900 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1901 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1903 @item message-sent-hook
1904 @vindex message-sent-hook
1905 Hook run after sending messages.
1907 @item message-cancel-hook
1908 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1909 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1911 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1912 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1913 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1915 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1916 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1917 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1918 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1919 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1920 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1921 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1922 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1924 @item message-send-method-alist
1925 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1927 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1930 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1935 A symbol that names the method.
1938 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1939 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1942 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1943 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1947 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1948 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1957 @node Sending Variables
1958 @section Sending Variables
1962 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1963 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1964 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1965 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1966 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1968 @item message-courtesy-message
1969 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1970 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1971 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1972 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1973 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1974 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1975 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1977 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1978 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1979 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
1980 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
1982 @item message-interactive
1983 @vindex message-interactive
1984 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
1985 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
1990 @node Message Buffers
1991 @section Message Buffers
1993 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1994 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1995 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1996 message buffers are kept alive.
1999 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2000 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2001 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2002 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2003 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2004 The function should return the new buffer name.
2006 @item message-max-buffers
2007 @vindex message-max-buffers
2008 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2009 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2010 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2011 will ever be killed.
2013 @item message-send-rename-function
2014 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2015 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2016 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2017 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2018 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2022 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2025 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2026 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2027 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2032 @node Message Actions
2033 @section Message Actions
2035 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2036 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2037 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2040 @vindex message-kill-actions
2041 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2042 @vindex message-exit-actions
2043 @vindex message-send-actions
2044 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2045 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2046 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2047 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2048 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2049 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2050 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2051 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2053 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2054 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2055 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2056 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2060 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2061 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2064 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2065 killed, postponed or exited.
2067 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2068 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2069 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2073 @chapter Compatibility
2074 @cindex compatibility
2076 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2077 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2078 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2081 (require 'messcompat)
2084 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2085 corresponding mail variables.
2092 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2099 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2104 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2105 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2106 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2117 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2118 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2119 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2120 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2124 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2131 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2132 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2133 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2137 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2138 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2149 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2150 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is