1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Pterodactyl Message 5.8.3 Manual
9 @c * Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.
14 @setchapternewpage odd
18 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
20 Copyright (C) 1996,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
23 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
24 are preserved on all copies.
27 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
28 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
29 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
30 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
33 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
34 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
35 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
36 permission notice identical to this one.
38 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
39 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
45 @title Pterodactyl Message 5.8.3 Manual
47 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
50 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
51 Copyright @copyright{} 1996,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
53 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
54 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
55 are preserved on all copies.
57 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
58 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
59 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
60 permission notice identical to this one.
62 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
63 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
73 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
77 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
78 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
79 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
80 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
81 * Appendices:: More technical things.
82 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
83 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
86 This manual corresponds to Pterodactyl Message 5.8.3. Message is
87 distributed with the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number
94 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
95 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
96 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
97 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
98 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
102 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
103 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
104 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
105 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
106 * Followup:: Following up via news.
107 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
108 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
109 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
110 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
111 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
115 @node New Mail Message
116 @section New Mail Message
119 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
121 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
122 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
123 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
126 @node New News Message
127 @section New News Message
130 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
132 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
133 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
134 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
140 @findex message-reply
141 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
142 reply to the message in the current buffer.
144 @vindex message-reply-to-function
145 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
146 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
147 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
149 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
150 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
153 (setq message-reply-to-function
155 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
156 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
161 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
164 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
165 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
166 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
169 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
170 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
171 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
172 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
173 the head of the outgoing mail.
179 @findex message-wide-reply
180 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
181 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
182 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
183 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
185 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
186 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
187 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
188 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
189 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
191 @findex message-dont-reply-to-names
192 Addresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regular
193 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
199 @findex message-followup
200 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
201 followup to the message in the current buffer.
203 @vindex message-followup-to-function
204 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
205 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
206 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
207 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
209 @vindex message-use-followup-to
210 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
211 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
212 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
213 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
214 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
218 @section Canceling News
220 @findex message-cancel-news
221 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
228 @findex message-supersede
229 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
230 supersede the message in the current buffer.
232 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
233 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
234 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
235 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
236 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
243 @findex message-forward
244 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
245 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
249 @item message-ignored-forward-headers
250 @vindex message-ignored-forward-headers
251 All headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.
253 @item message-make-forward-subject-function
254 @vindex message-make-forward-subject-function
255 A list of functions that are called to generate a subject header for
256 forwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function is
257 passed into each successive function.
259 The provided functions are:
262 @item message-forward-subject-author-subject
263 @findex message-forward-subject-author-subject
264 Source of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by the
267 @item message-forward-subject-fwd
268 Subject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.
271 @item message-wash-forwarded-subjects
272 @vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjects
273 If this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages have
274 the evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},
275 @samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject is
276 constructed. The default value is @code{nil}.
278 @item message-forward-as-mime
279 @vindex message-forward-as-mime
280 If this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages are
281 included as inline MIME RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwarded
282 messages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,
283 non MIME-savvy versions of gnus would do.
290 @findex message-resend
291 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
292 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
294 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
295 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
296 be removed before sending the message. The default is
297 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
303 @findex message-bounce
304 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
305 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
306 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
307 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
310 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
311 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
312 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
313 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
320 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
321 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
322 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
323 * MIME:: @sc{mime} considerations.
324 * Various Commands:: Various things.
325 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
326 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
330 @node Header Commands
331 @section Header Commands
333 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
340 @findex message-goto-to
341 Describe the message mode.
345 @findex message-goto-to
346 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
350 @findex message-goto-bcc
351 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
355 @findex message-goto-fcc
356 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
360 @findex message-goto-cc
361 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
365 @findex message-goto-subject
366 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
370 @findex message-goto-reply-to
371 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
375 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
376 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
380 @findex message-goto-distribution
381 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
385 @findex message-goto-followup-to
386 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
390 @findex message-goto-keywords
391 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
395 @findex message-goto-summary
396 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
407 @findex message-goto-body
408 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
409 (@code{message-goto-body}).
413 @findex message-goto-signature
414 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
426 @findex message-yank-original
427 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
428 (@code{message-yank-original}).
432 @findex message-yank-buffer
433 Prompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into the
434 message buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).
438 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
439 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
440 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
441 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
442 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
447 @findex message-insert-signature
448 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
449 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
453 @findex message-insert-headers
454 Insert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).
459 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
460 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
461 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
462 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
465 @item message-citation-line-function
466 @vindex message-citation-line-function
467 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
468 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
472 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
475 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
478 @item message-yank-prefix
479 @vindex message-yank-prefix
482 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
483 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
484 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
485 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
487 @item message-indentation-spaces
488 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
489 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
491 @item message-cite-function
492 @vindex message-cite-function
493 @findex message-cite-original
494 @findex sc-cite-original
495 @findex message-cite-original-without-signature
497 Function for citing an original message. The default is
498 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
499 and prepends @samp{> } to each line.
500 @code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elides
501 the signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to use
504 @item message-indent-citation-function
505 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
506 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
507 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
508 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
509 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
511 @item message-signature
512 @vindex message-signature
513 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
514 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
515 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
516 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
517 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
519 @item message-signature-file
520 @vindex message-signature-file
521 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
522 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
526 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
527 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
528 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
529 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
530 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
532 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
533 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
534 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
544 Message is a @sc{mime}-compliant posting agent. The user generally
545 doesn't have to do anything to make the @sc{mime} happen---Message will
546 automatically add the @code{Content-Type} and
547 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.
549 The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in
550 @sc{mime} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This can
551 be done with the @code{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a file
552 name and a @sc{mime} type.
554 You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the MML
555 language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
559 @node Various Commands
560 @section Various Commands
566 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
567 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
568 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
569 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
570 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
574 @findex message-elide-region
575 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
576 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
581 @findex message-kill-to-signature
582 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
583 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
587 @findex message-delete-not-region
588 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
589 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
593 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
594 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
599 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
602 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
605 > This is some quoted text.
609 > And here's more quoted text.
612 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
616 @findex message-insert-to
617 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
618 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
619 (@code{message-insert-to}).
623 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
624 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
625 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
626 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
630 @findex message-rename-buffer
631 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
632 prompt for a new buffer name.
643 @findex message-send-and-exit
644 Send the message and bury the current buffer
645 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
650 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
654 @findex message-dont-send
655 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
659 @findex message-kill-buffer
660 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
667 @section Mail Aliases
671 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
672 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
673 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
674 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
675 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
677 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
678 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
681 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
682 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
685 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
686 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
687 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
689 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
690 expansions have to be done explicitly.
698 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
699 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
700 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
701 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
702 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
703 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
704 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
705 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
706 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
710 @node Message Headers
711 @section Message Headers
713 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
714 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
715 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
716 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
717 look sufficiently similar.
721 @item message-generate-headers-first
722 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
723 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
726 @item message-from-style
727 @vindex message-from-style
728 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
733 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
736 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
739 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
742 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
743 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
744 @code{angles} anyway.
748 @item message-deletable-headers
749 @vindex message-deletable-headers
750 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
751 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
752 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
753 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
754 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
755 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
756 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
757 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
760 @item message-default-headers
761 @vindex message-default-headers
762 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
765 @item message-subject-re-regexp
766 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
767 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
768 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
769 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
770 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
771 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
772 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
773 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
774 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
775 just throw away non-compliant mail.
781 @section Mail Headers
784 @item message-required-mail-headers
785 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
786 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
787 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
788 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
790 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
791 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
792 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
793 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
795 @item message-default-mail-headers
796 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
797 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
798 buffers that are initialized as mail.
804 @section Mail Variables
807 @item message-send-mail-function
808 @vindex message-send-mail-function
809 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
810 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
811 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
813 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
814 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
815 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
816 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
817 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
818 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
825 @section News Headers
827 @vindex message-required-news-headers
828 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
829 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
830 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
836 @findex user-full-name
837 @findex user-mail-address
838 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
839 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
840 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
841 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
845 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
849 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
850 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
854 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
855 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
856 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
857 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
858 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
859 parameters and should return a string to be used).
863 This optional header will be computed by Message.
867 @vindex mail-host-address
870 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
871 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
872 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
873 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
874 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
878 This optional header will be filled out according to the
879 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
882 This optional header will be filled out according to the
883 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
884 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
887 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
888 header of the article being replied to.
892 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
893 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
894 be used unless you know what you're doing.
898 This optional header is filled out according to the
899 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
900 much misunderstood header.
904 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
905 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
906 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
907 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
908 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
909 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
910 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
915 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
916 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
917 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
918 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
919 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
920 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
921 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
922 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
923 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
925 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
926 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
929 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
933 @item message-syntax-checks
934 @vindex message-syntax-checks
935 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
936 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
939 (signature . disabled)
948 Check the subject for commands.
951 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
952 @item multiple-headers
953 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
956 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
958 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
960 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
963 Check for too long lines.
965 Check for invalid characters.
967 Check for excessive size.
969 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
971 Check the length of the signature.
974 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
975 something only moderators should include.
977 Check whether the article is empty.
979 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
981 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
982 @item existing-newsgroups
983 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
984 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
985 @item valid-newsgroups
986 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
987 are valid syntactically.
988 @item repeated-newsgroups
989 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
990 contains repeated group names.
991 @item shorten-followup-to
992 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
993 of groups to post to.
996 All these conditions are checked by default.
998 @item message-ignored-news-headers
999 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1000 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1001 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
1003 @item message-default-news-headers
1004 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1005 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1006 buffers that are initialized as news.
1011 @node News Variables
1012 @section News Variables
1015 @item message-send-news-function
1016 @vindex message-send-news-function
1017 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1018 @code{message-send-news}.
1020 @item message-post-method
1021 @vindex message-post-method
1022 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1023 posting a prepared news message.
1028 @node Various Message Variables
1029 @section Various Message Variables
1032 @item message-signature-separator
1033 @vindex message-signature-separator
1034 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1037 @item mail-header-separator
1038 @vindex mail-header-separator
1039 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1040 follows this line--} by default.
1042 @item message-directory
1043 @vindex message-directory
1044 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1046 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1047 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1048 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1049 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1051 @item message-setup-hook
1052 @vindex message-setup-hook
1053 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1054 but before yanked text is inserted.
1056 @item message-header-setup-hook
1057 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1058 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1060 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1061 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1062 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1065 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1066 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1067 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1068 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1069 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1070 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1072 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1073 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1076 @item message-send-hook
1077 @vindex message-send-hook
1078 Hook run before sending messages.
1080 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1081 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1082 @findex message-add-header
1085 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1086 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1088 "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense"
1092 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1094 @item message-send-mail-hook
1095 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1096 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1098 @item message-send-news-hook
1099 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1100 Hook run before sending news messages.
1102 @item message-sent-hook
1103 @vindex message-sent-hook
1104 Hook run after sending messages.
1106 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1107 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1108 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1110 @item message-send-method-alist
1111 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1113 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1116 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1121 A symbol that names the method.
1124 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1125 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1128 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1129 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1133 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1134 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1143 @node Sending Variables
1144 @section Sending Variables
1148 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1149 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1150 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1151 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1152 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1154 @item message-courtesy-message
1155 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1156 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1157 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1158 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1159 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1160 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1161 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1166 @node Message Buffers
1167 @section Message Buffers
1169 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1170 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1171 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1172 message buffers are kept alive.
1175 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1176 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1177 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1178 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1179 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1180 The function should return the new buffer name.
1182 @item message-max-buffers
1183 @vindex message-max-buffers
1184 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1185 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1186 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1187 will ever be killed.
1189 @item message-send-rename-function
1190 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1191 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1192 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1193 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1194 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1198 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1201 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1202 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1203 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1208 @node Message Actions
1209 @section Message Actions
1211 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1212 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1213 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1216 @vindex message-kill-actions
1217 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1218 @vindex message-exit-actions
1219 @vindex message-send-actions
1220 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1221 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1222 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1223 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1224 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1225 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1226 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1227 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1229 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1230 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1231 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1232 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1236 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1237 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1240 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1241 killed, postponed or exited.
1243 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1244 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1245 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1249 @chapter Compatibility
1250 @cindex compatibility
1252 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1253 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1254 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1257 (require 'messcompat)
1260 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1261 corresponding mail variables.
1268 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1275 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1280 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1281 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1282 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1293 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1294 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1295 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1296 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1300 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1307 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1308 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1309 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1313 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1314 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1325 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1326 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is