1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message 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.
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 Message 5.10.1. Message is distributed
92 with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this
99 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
100 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
101 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
102 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
103 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
107 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
108 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
109 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
110 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
111 * Followup:: Following up via news.
112 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
113 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
114 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
115 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
116 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
117 * Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.
121 @node New Mail Message
122 @section New Mail Message
125 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
127 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
128 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
129 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
132 @node New News Message
133 @section New News Message
136 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
138 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
139 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
140 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
146 @findex message-reply
147 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
148 reply to the message in the current buffer.
150 @vindex message-reply-to-function
151 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
152 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
153 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
155 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
156 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
159 (setq message-reply-to-function
161 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
162 (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender"))))
167 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
170 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
171 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
172 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
175 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
176 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
177 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
178 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
179 the head of the outgoing mail.
185 @findex message-wide-reply
186 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
187 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
188 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
189 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
191 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
192 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
193 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
194 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
195 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
197 @vindex message-dont-reply-to-names
198 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
199 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
201 @vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients
202 If @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} you
203 will be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiple
204 recipients. The default is @code{nil}.
209 @findex message-followup
210 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
211 followup to the message in the current buffer.
213 @vindex message-followup-to-function
214 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
215 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
216 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
217 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
219 @vindex message-use-followup-to
220 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
221 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
222 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
223 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
224 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
228 @section Canceling News
230 @findex message-cancel-news
231 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
234 @vindex message-cancel-message
235 The value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body of
236 the cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my own
240 @vindex message-insert-canlock
242 When Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}
243 headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures that
244 only you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downside
245 is that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnus
246 stores the secret cancel lock password (which is generated
247 automatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't be
248 able to cancel your message.
250 Whether to insert the header or not is controlled by the
251 @code{message-insert-canlock} variable.
253 Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, but
254 this is expected to change in the future.
260 @findex message-supersede
261 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
262 supersede the message in the current buffer.
264 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
265 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
266 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
267 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
268 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
275 @findex message-forward
276 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
277 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
281 @item message-forward-ignored-headers
282 @vindex message-forward-ignored-headers
283 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
285 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
286 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
287 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
288 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
289 passed into each successive function.
291 The provided functions are:
294 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
295 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
296 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
299 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
300 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
303 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
304 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
305 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
306 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
307 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
308 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
310 @item message-forward-as-mime
311 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
312 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
313 included as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
314 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
315 non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of gnus would do.
317 @item message-forward-before-signature
318 @vindex message-forward-before-signature
319 If non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.
327 @findex message-resend
328 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
329 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
331 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
332 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
333 be removed before sending the message. The default is
334 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
340 @findex message-bounce
341 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
342 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
343 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
344 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
347 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
348 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
349 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
350 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
354 @section Mailing Lists
356 Sometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to direct
357 followups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)
358 was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this is
363 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
364 sent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happen
365 if the poster is already subscribed to the list.
368 A mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should be
369 sent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the poster
370 is not subscribed to the list.
373 If a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be used
374 to direct the following discussion to one list only, because
375 discussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmented
376 and very difficult to follow.
380 Gnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while following
381 up to someone else's post) and also provides support for generating
382 sensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.
385 @c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists
386 @c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.
389 @c @node Composing with a MFT header
390 @subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagically
392 The first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT header
393 in posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing lists
394 addresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than one
395 way. The following variables would come in handy.
399 @vindex message-subscribed-addresses
400 @item message-subscribed-addresses
401 This should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Its
402 default value is @code{nil}. Example:
404 (setq message-subscribed-addresses
405 '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))
408 @vindex message-subscribed-regexps
409 @item message-subscribed-regexps
410 This should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailing
411 lists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If you
412 want to achieve the same result as above:
414 (setq message-subscribed-regexps
415 '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")
418 @vindex message-subscribed-address-functions
419 @item message-subscribed-address-functions
420 This can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) to
421 determine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that these
422 functions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.
424 There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate for
425 this variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a function
426 that returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that have
427 the @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,
428 gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-nil value. This
429 is how you would do it.
432 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
433 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
436 @vindex message-subscribed-address-file
437 @item message-subscribed-address-file
438 You might be one organised human freak and have a list of addresses of
439 all subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can just
440 set this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.
444 You can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are
445 ``added'' in some way that works :-)
447 Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.
448 And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'
449 MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has a
450 MFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -
451 in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with an
452 automatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on a
453 per-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipient
454 addresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of them
455 is a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a list
456 address, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to the
457 other headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:
460 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
462 @findex message-goto-mail-followup-to
463 Hm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am not
464 subscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (This
465 is supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were no
466 MFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else's
467 to-address group parameter.) The function
468 @code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come in
469 handy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, you
470 can insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}
471 (@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.
473 @c @node Honoring an MFT post
474 @subsection Honoring an MFT post
476 @vindex message-use-mail-followup-to
477 When you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFT
478 header, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable
479 @code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:
483 Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be
484 derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.
487 Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)
490 Gnus will prompt you for an action.
494 It is considered good nettiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed the
495 fellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to go
502 * Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.
503 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.
504 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
505 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
506 * MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.
507 * IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.
508 * Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.
509 * Various Commands:: Various things.
510 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
511 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
512 * Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.
517 @section Buffer Entry
521 You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some other
522 message of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, and
523 may remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending on
524 which used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,
525 but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,
526 Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action it
527 takes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a few
528 times, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.
531 @node Header Commands
532 @section Header Commands
534 @subsection Commands for moving to headers
536 These following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't
537 exist, it will be inserted.
543 @findex describe-mode
544 Describe the message mode.
548 @findex message-goto-to
549 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
553 @findex message-goto-from
554 Go to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''
555 in the key binding is for Originator.)
559 @findex message-goto-bcc
560 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
564 @findex message-goto-fcc
565 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
569 @findex message-goto-cc
570 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
574 @findex message-goto-subject
575 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
579 @findex message-goto-reply-to
580 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
584 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
585 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
589 @findex message-goto-distribution
590 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
594 @findex message-goto-followup-to
595 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
599 @findex message-goto-keywords
600 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
604 @findex message-goto-summary
605 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
609 @findex message-insert-or-toggle-importance
610 This inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of
611 @samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of the
612 message to the receiver. If the header is already present in the
613 buffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC
614 1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.
618 @findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to
619 Insert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
620 (@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to an
621 unsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you are
622 not subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header
623 by hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and your
624 own address. This function inserts such a header automatically. It
625 fetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mail
626 buffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.
628 If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-nil, the addresses in
629 the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the @samp{Mail-Followup-To:}
634 @subsection Commands to change headers
640 @findex message-sort-headers
641 @vindex message-header-format-alist
642 Sort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}
643 (@code{message-sort-headers}).
647 @findex message-insert-to
648 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
649 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
650 (@code{message-insert-to}).
654 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
655 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
656 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
657 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
661 @findex message-to-list-only
662 Send a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the list
663 address from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.
667 @findex message-insert-disposition-notification-to
668 Insert a request for a disposition
669 notification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).
670 This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you a
671 notification that she received the message.
673 @item M-x message-insert-importance-high
674 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high
675 @findex message-insert-importance-high
677 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},
678 deleting headers if necessary.
680 @item M-x message-insert-importance-low
681 @kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low
682 @findex message-insert-importance-low
684 Insert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deleting
685 headers if necessary.
689 @findex message-change-subject
691 Change the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}
692 header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can be
693 stripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}
694 (@pxref{Message Headers}).
698 @findex message-cross-post-followup-to
699 @vindex message-cross-post-default
702 Ask for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for a
703 cross-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles
704 @samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.
705 If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with a
706 prefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is not
711 @findex message-reduce-to-to-cc
712 Replace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or
717 @findex message-insert-wide-reply
718 Insert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a wide
723 @findex message-add-archive-header
724 @vindex message-archive-header
725 @vindex message-archive-note
727 Insert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.
728 The header and the note can be customized using
729 @code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. When
730 called with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don't
731 want the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to
743 @findex message-goto-body
744 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
745 (@code{message-goto-body}).
749 @findex message-goto-signature
750 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
754 @findex message-beginning-of-line
755 @vindex message-beginning-of-line
756 If at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go to
757 beginning of header value. (The header value comes after the header
758 name and the colon.) This behaviour can be disabled by toggling
759 the variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.
771 @findex message-yank-original
772 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
773 (@code{message-yank-original}).
777 @findex message-yank-buffer
778 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
779 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
783 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
784 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
785 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
786 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
787 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
792 @findex message-insert-signature
793 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
794 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
798 @findex message-insert-headers
799 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
803 @findex message-mark-inserted-region
804 Mark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.
805 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
809 @findex message-mark-insert-file
810 Insert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.
811 See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.
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.
828 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
829 @acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
830 be done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
831 name and a @acronym{MIME} type.
833 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
834 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
840 @cindex internationalized domain names
841 @cindex non-ascii domain names
843 Message is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The user
844 generally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}
845 happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},
846 @code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.
848 Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries you
849 whether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really should
850 occur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can contain
851 non-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidently
852 typed a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.
854 @vindex message-use-idna
855 The @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} is
856 used. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding will
857 ever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will be
858 queried (the default), and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding
859 happens automatically.
861 @findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhs
862 If you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you can
863 invoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message buffer
864 to have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you edit the message.
866 Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU
867 Libidn} installed in order to use this functionality.
879 Using the MML language, Message is able to create digitally signed and
880 digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather MML) currently
881 support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}.
882 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
883 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
884 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
890 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
892 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
896 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
898 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
902 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmime
904 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
908 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
910 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
914 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
916 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
920 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
922 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
926 @findex mml-unsecure-message
927 Remove security related MML tags from message.
931 These commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, they
932 merely insert the proper MML secure tag to instruct the MML engine to
933 perform that operation when the message is actually sent. They may
934 perform other operations too, such as locating and retrieving a
935 @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish to send encrypted mail
936 to. When the mml parsing engine converts your MML into a properly
937 encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the secure tag will be replaced with either
938 a part or a multipart tag. If your message contains other mml parts,
939 a multipart tag will be used; if no other parts are present in your
940 message a single part tag will be used. This way, message mode will
941 do the Right Thing (TM) with signed/encrypted multipart messages.
943 @vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alist
944 By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the
945 ``signencrypt'' mode. If you would like to disable this for a
946 particular message, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*}
947 command a prefix argument. (for example, @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}).
948 Additionally, by default Gnus will separately sign, then encrypt a
949 message which has the mode signencrypt. If you would like to change
950 this behavior you can customize the @code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist}
951 variable. For example:
955 (setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" combined)
957 ("pgpmime" combined)))
960 Will cause Gnus to sign and encrypt in one pass, thus generating a
961 single signed and encrypted part. Note that combined sign and encrypt
962 does not work with all supported OpenPGP implementations (in
963 particular, @acronym{PGP} version 2 do not support this).
965 Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitive
966 information is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that your
967 mail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the above
968 sign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article by
969 using @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you can
970 verify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other or
971 whomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strange
972 party the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.
974 @emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signs
975 RFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep this
976 in mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.
978 Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. At
979 least not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with each
980 other properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries or
981 programs are required to make things work, and some small general hints.
983 @subsection Using S/MIME
985 @emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity with
986 modern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL and
989 The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and MML) require OpenSSL. OpenSSL
990 perform the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encrypt operations. OpenSSL can
991 be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later
992 should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mail addresses from
993 certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into @acronym{MIME}
994 separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would like to avoid
995 being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although by sending
996 @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost that contest.)
998 To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is not
999 required. Message (MML) need a certificate for the person to whom you
1000 wish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type
1001 @kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve this
1002 certificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a local
1003 file, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.
1004 If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where the
1005 certificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,
1006 Message (MML) is the first mail agent in the world to support
1007 retrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're not
1008 likely to find very many certificates out there. At least there
1009 should be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAP
1010 is a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for it
1011 is planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from the
1012 command line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)
1014 As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operations
1015 without some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell it
1016 where your private key and your certificate is stored. MML uses an
1017 Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and it
1018 contain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try
1019 @kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.
1021 Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to create
1022 your own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do this
1023 manually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscape
1024 and got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on the
1025 net. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate in
1026 PKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509
1027 certificate in PEM format as follows.
1030 $ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem
1033 The @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the
1034 @code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.
1036 @emph{Note!} Your private key is stored unencrypted in the file, so take
1037 care in handling it.
1039 @subsection Using PGP/MIME
1041 @acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, such
1042 as @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. One Emacs
1043 interface to OpenPGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
1044 Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's
1045 @code{gpg.el} are also supported.
1047 @vindex gpg-temp-directory
1048 Note, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that the
1049 directory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions
1052 Creating your own OpenPGP key is described in detail in the
1053 documentation of your OpenPGP implementation, so we refer to it.
1055 @node Various Commands
1056 @section Various Commands
1062 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
1063 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
1064 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
1065 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
1066 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
1070 @findex message-elide-region
1071 @vindex message-elide-ellipsis
1072 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
1073 The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable
1074 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
1079 @findex message-kill-to-signature
1080 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
1081 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
1085 @findex message-delete-not-region
1086 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
1087 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
1091 @findex message-newline-and-reformat
1092 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
1097 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
1100 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
1103 > This is some quoted text.
1107 > And here's more quoted text.
1110 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
1114 @findex message-rename-buffer
1115 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
1116 prompt for a new buffer name.
1121 @vindex message-tab-body-function
1122 If non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in
1123 @code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to
1124 @kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.
1135 @findex message-send-and-exit
1136 Send the message and bury the current buffer
1137 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
1141 @findex message-send
1142 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
1146 @findex message-dont-send
1147 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
1151 @findex message-kill-buffer
1152 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
1159 @section Mail Aliases
1160 @cindex mail aliases
1163 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
1164 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
1165 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
1166 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
1167 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
1169 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
1170 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
1173 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
1174 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
1177 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
1178 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
1179 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
1181 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
1182 expansions have to be done explicitly.
1188 @findex ispell-message
1190 There are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:
1191 @code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older and
1192 probably more popular package. You typically first write the message,
1193 and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all the
1194 typos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, put
1195 something like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
1198 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
1201 @vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1202 If you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can be
1203 controlled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:
1206 (setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist
1207 '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8")
1208 (".*" . "default")))
1211 @code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1214 The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checks
1215 your spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words in
1218 To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your
1222 (defun my-message-setup-routine ()
1224 (add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)
1227 @code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} command
1235 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
1236 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
1237 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
1238 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
1239 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
1240 * Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.
1241 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
1242 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
1243 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
1244 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
1248 @node Message Headers
1249 @section Message Headers
1251 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
1252 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
1253 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
1254 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
1255 look sufficiently similar.
1259 @item message-generate-headers-first
1260 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
1261 If @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting to
1262 compose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:
1265 (setq message-generate-headers-first
1269 @vindex message-required-headers
1270 The variables @code{message-required-headers},
1271 @code{message-required-mail-headers} and
1272 @code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers are
1275 Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,
1276 because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).
1278 @item message-draft-headers
1279 @vindex message-draft-headers
1280 When running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associated
1281 with a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headers
1282 should be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.
1284 @item message-from-style
1285 @vindex message-from-style
1286 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
1291 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
1294 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
1297 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
1300 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
1301 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
1302 @code{angles} anyway.
1306 @item message-deletable-headers
1307 @vindex message-deletable-headers
1308 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
1309 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
1310 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
1311 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
1312 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
1313 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
1314 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
1315 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
1318 @item message-default-headers
1319 @vindex message-default-headers
1320 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1323 @item message-subject-re-regexp
1324 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
1328 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
1329 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but is
1330 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
1331 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
1332 to use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
1333 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
1334 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
1335 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
1336 just throw away non-compliant mail.
1338 Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers when
1339 responding to a message:
1342 (setq message-subject-re-regexp
1343 "^\\(\\(\\([Rr][Ee]\\|[Ss][Vv]\\|[Aa][Ww]\\): *\\)+\\)")
1346 @item message-subject-trailing-was-query
1347 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query
1348 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp
1349 @vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexp
1350 Controls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subject
1351 lines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol
1352 @code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject is
1353 matched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If
1354 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is t, always strip the
1355 trailing old subject. In this case,
1356 @code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.
1358 @item message-alternative-emails
1359 @vindex message-alternative-emails
1360 A regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matched
1361 address (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.
1363 @item message-allow-no-recipients
1364 @vindex message-allow-no-recipients
1365 Specifies what to do when there are no recipients other than
1366 @code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting is
1367 allowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is
1368 @code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.
1370 @item message-hidden-headers
1371 @vindex message-hidden-headers
1372 A regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is
1373 @code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keep
1374 hidden when composing a message.
1377 (setq message-hidden-headers
1378 '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))
1385 @section Mail Headers
1388 @item message-required-mail-headers
1389 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
1390 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
1391 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
1392 (optional . User-Agent))} by default.
1394 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
1395 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
1396 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
1397 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1399 @item message-default-mail-headers
1400 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
1401 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1402 buffers that are initialized as mail.
1407 @node Mail Variables
1408 @section Mail Variables
1411 @item message-send-mail-function
1412 @vindex message-send-mail-function
1413 @findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail
1414 @findex message-send-mail-with-mh
1415 @findex message-send-mail-with-qmail
1416 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
1417 @findex smtpmail-send-it
1418 @findex feedmail-send-it
1419 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
1420 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include
1421 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
1422 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
1423 @code{feedmail-send-it}.
1425 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
1426 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
1427 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
1428 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
1429 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
1430 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
1433 @item message-qmail-inject-program
1434 @vindex message-qmail-inject-program
1436 Location of the qmail-inject program.
1438 @item message-qmail-inject-args
1439 @vindex message-qmail-inject-args
1440 Arguments passed to qmail-inject programs.
1441 This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. It
1442 may also be a function.
1444 For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bounces
1445 go to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, you
1446 might set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.
1448 @item message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1449 @vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil
1451 Non-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmail
1452 command line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.
1454 @item message-sendmail-envelope-from
1455 @vindex message-sendmail-envelope-from
1456 When @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifies
1457 the address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is
1458 @code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol
1459 @code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.
1461 @item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1462 @vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-line
1463 Set this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header and
1464 body together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is run
1465 in remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whether
1466 the problem will actually occur.
1468 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
1469 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
1470 @cindex split large message
1471 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower bound
1472 of message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sent
1473 in several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.
1479 @section News Headers
1481 @vindex message-required-news-headers
1482 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
1483 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
1484 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
1490 @findex user-full-name
1491 @findex user-mail-address
1492 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
1493 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
1494 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
1495 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
1499 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
1503 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
1504 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
1507 @cindex organization
1508 @vindex message-user-organization
1509 @vindex message-user-organization-file
1510 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
1511 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
1512 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
1513 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
1514 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
1515 parameters and should return a string to be used).
1519 This optional header will be computed by Message.
1523 @vindex message-user-fqdn
1524 @vindex mail-host-address
1525 @vindex user-mail-address
1528 @cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-me
1529 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
1530 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. For the
1531 domain part, message will look (in this order) at
1532 @code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}
1533 and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})
1534 until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.
1538 This optional header will be filled out according to the
1539 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
1542 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
1543 header of the article being replied to.
1547 @vindex message-expires
1548 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
1549 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
1550 be used unless you know what you're doing.
1553 @cindex Distribution
1554 @vindex message-distribution-function
1555 This optional header is filled out according to the
1556 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
1557 much misunderstood header.
1561 @vindex message-user-path
1562 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
1563 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
1564 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
1565 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
1566 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
1567 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
1568 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
1572 @cindex Mime-Version
1573 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
1574 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
1575 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
1576 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
1577 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
1578 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
1579 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
1580 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
1581 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
1583 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
1584 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
1587 If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lisp
1588 snippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to remove
1592 (setq message-required-news-headers
1593 (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))
1596 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
1600 @item message-syntax-checks
1601 @vindex message-syntax-checks
1602 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
1603 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
1606 (signature . disabled)
1615 Check the subject for commands.
1618 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
1619 @item multiple-headers
1620 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
1623 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
1625 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
1627 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
1630 Check for too long lines.
1632 Check for invalid characters.
1634 Check for excessive size.
1636 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
1638 Check the length of the signature.
1641 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
1642 something only moderators should include.
1644 Check whether the article is empty.
1645 @item invisible-text
1646 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
1648 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
1649 @item existing-newsgroups
1650 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
1651 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
1652 @item valid-newsgroups
1653 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1654 are valid syntactically.
1655 @item repeated-newsgroups
1656 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
1657 contains repeated group names.
1658 @item shorten-followup-to
1659 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
1660 of groups to post to.
1663 All these conditions are checked by default.
1665 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1666 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1667 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1668 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.
1670 @item message-default-news-headers
1671 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1672 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1673 buffers that are initialized as news.
1678 @node News Variables
1679 @section News Variables
1682 @item message-send-news-function
1683 @vindex message-send-news-function
1684 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1685 @code{message-send-news}.
1687 @item message-post-method
1688 @vindex message-post-method
1689 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1690 posting a prepared news message.
1695 @node Insertion Variables
1696 @section Insertion Variables
1699 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
1700 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
1701 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
1702 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
1705 @item message-cite-prefix-regexp
1706 @vindex message-cite-prefix-regexp
1707 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
1709 @item message-citation-line-function
1710 @vindex message-citation-line-function
1711 @cindex attribution line
1712 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
1713 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
1717 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
1720 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
1723 Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides the
1724 cited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of your
1725 messages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable
1726 @code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,
1727 Article Highlighting, gnus}, for details.
1729 @item message-yank-prefix
1730 @vindex message-yank-prefix
1733 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
1734 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done
1735 by @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have
1736 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted and
1737 empty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The default
1740 @item message-yank-cited-prefix
1741 @vindex message-yank-cited-prefix
1745 When yanking text from an article which contains no text or already
1746 cited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of this
1747 variable. The default is @samp{>}. See also
1748 @code{message-yank-prefix}.
1750 @item message-indentation-spaces
1751 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
1752 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
1754 @item message-cite-function
1755 @vindex message-cite-function
1756 @findex message-cite-original
1757 @findex sc-cite-original
1758 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
1760 Function for citing an original message. The default is
1761 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
1762 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
1763 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
1764 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
1767 @item message-indent-citation-function
1768 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
1769 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
1770 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
1771 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
1772 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
1774 @item message-mark-insert-begin
1775 @vindex message-mark-insert-begin
1776 String to mark the beginning of some inserted text.
1778 @item message-mark-insert-end
1779 @vindex message-mark-insert-end
1780 String to mark the end of some inserted text.
1782 @item message-signature
1783 @vindex message-signature
1784 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
1785 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
1786 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
1787 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
1788 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
1790 @item message-signature-file
1791 @vindex message-signature-file
1792 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
1793 The default is @file{~/.signature}.
1795 @item message-signature-insert-empty-line
1796 @vindex message-signature-insert-empty-line
1797 If @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before the
1798 signature separator.
1802 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
1803 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
1804 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
1805 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
1806 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
1808 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
1809 Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to get
1810 everybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important to
1814 @node Various Message Variables
1815 @section Various Message Variables
1818 @item message-default-charset
1819 @vindex message-default-charset
1821 Symbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}
1822 characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.
1823 The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variable
1824 is used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,
1825 Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on
1826 the @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.
1828 @item message-signature-separator
1829 @vindex message-signature-separator
1830 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1833 @item mail-header-separator
1834 @vindex mail-header-separator
1835 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1836 follows this line--} by default.
1838 @item message-directory
1839 @vindex message-directory
1840 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1842 @item message-auto-save-directory
1843 @vindex message-auto-save-directory
1844 Directory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If
1845 @code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.
1847 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1848 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1849 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1850 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1852 @item message-setup-hook
1853 @vindex message-setup-hook
1854 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1855 but before yanked text is inserted.
1857 @item message-header-setup-hook
1858 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1859 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1861 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1862 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1863 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1866 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1867 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1868 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1869 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1870 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1871 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1873 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1874 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1877 @item message-send-hook
1878 @vindex message-send-hook
1879 Hook run before sending messages.
1881 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1882 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1883 @findex message-add-header
1886 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1887 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1888 (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense")
1889 (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))
1892 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1894 @item message-send-mail-hook
1895 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1896 Hook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --
1897 just before the message is actually sent as mail.
1899 @item message-send-news-hook
1900 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1901 Hook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --
1902 just before the message is actually sent as news.
1904 @item message-sent-hook
1905 @vindex message-sent-hook
1906 Hook run after sending messages.
1908 @item message-cancel-hook
1909 @vindex message-cancel-hook
1910 Hook run when cancelling news articles.
1912 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1913 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1914 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1916 @item message-strip-special-text-properties
1917 @vindex message-strip-special-text-properties
1918 Emacs has a number of special text properties which can break message
1919 composing in various ways. If this option is set, message will strip
1920 these properties from the message composition buffer. However, some
1921 packages requires these properties to be present in order to work. If
1922 you use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope the
1923 message composition doesn't break too bad.
1925 @item message-send-method-alist
1926 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1928 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1931 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1936 A symbol that names the method.
1939 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1940 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1943 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1944 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1948 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1949 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1958 @node Sending Variables
1959 @section Sending Variables
1963 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1964 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1965 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1966 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1967 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1969 @item message-courtesy-message
1970 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1971 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1972 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1973 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1974 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1975 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1976 an article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.
1978 @item message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1979 @vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachments
1980 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it is
1981 non-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.
1983 @item message-interactive
1984 @vindex message-interactive
1985 If non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;
1986 if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.
1991 @node Message Buffers
1992 @section Message Buffers
1994 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1995 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1996 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1997 message buffers are kept alive.
2000 @item message-generate-new-buffers
2001 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
2002 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
2003 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
2004 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
2005 The function should return the new buffer name.
2007 @item message-max-buffers
2008 @vindex message-max-buffers
2009 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
2010 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
2011 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
2012 will ever be killed.
2014 @item message-send-rename-function
2015 @vindex message-send-rename-function
2016 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
2017 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
2018 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
2019 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
2023 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
2026 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2027 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
2028 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
2033 @node Message Actions
2034 @section Message Actions
2036 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
2037 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
2038 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
2041 @vindex message-kill-actions
2042 @vindex message-postpone-actions
2043 @vindex message-exit-actions
2044 @vindex message-send-actions
2045 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
2046 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
2047 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
2048 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
2049 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
2050 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
2051 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
2052 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
2054 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
2055 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
2056 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
2057 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
2061 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
2062 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
2065 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
2066 killed, postponed or exited.
2068 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
2069 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
2070 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
2074 @chapter Compatibility
2075 @cindex compatibility
2077 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
2078 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
2079 into account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:
2082 (require 'messcompat)
2085 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
2086 corresponding mail variables.
2093 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
2100 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
2105 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
2106 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
2107 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
2118 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
2119 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
2120 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
2121 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
2125 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
2132 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
2133 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
2134 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
2138 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
2139 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
2150 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
2151 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is