1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message 5.8.7 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) 1996,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
24 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
25 are preserved on all copies.
28 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
29 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
30 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
31 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
34 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
35 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
36 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
37 permission notice identical to this one.
39 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
40 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
46 @title Message 5.8.7 Manual
48 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
51 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
52 Copyright @copyright{} 1996,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
54 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
55 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
56 are preserved on all copies.
58 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
59 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
60 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
61 permission notice identical to this one.
63 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
64 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
74 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
78 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
79 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
80 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
81 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
82 * Appendices:: More technical things.
83 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
84 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
87 This manual corresponds to Message 5.8.7. Message is distributed with
88 the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual.
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 (list (cons 'To (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-forward-ignored-headers
250 @vindex message-forward-ignored-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 replaced with the contents of the variable
577 @code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis
582 @findex message-kill-to-signature
583 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
584 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
588 @findex message-delete-not-region
589 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
590 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
594 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
595 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
600 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
603 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
606 > This is some quoted text.
610 > And here's more quoted text.
613 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
617 @findex message-insert-to
618 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
619 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
620 (@code{message-insert-to}).
624 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
625 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
626 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
627 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
631 @findex message-rename-buffer
632 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
633 prompt for a new buffer name.
644 @findex message-send-and-exit
645 Send the message and bury the current buffer
646 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
651 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
655 @findex message-dont-send
656 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
660 @findex message-kill-buffer
661 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
668 @section Mail Aliases
672 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
673 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
674 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
675 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
676 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
678 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
679 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
682 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
683 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
686 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
687 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
688 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
690 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
691 expansions have to be done explicitly.
699 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
700 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
701 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
702 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
703 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
704 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
705 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
706 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
707 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
711 @node Message Headers
712 @section Message Headers
714 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
715 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
716 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
717 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
718 look sufficiently similar.
722 @item message-generate-headers-first
723 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
724 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
727 @item message-from-style
728 @vindex message-from-style
729 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four valid
734 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
737 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
740 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
743 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
744 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
745 @code{angles} anyway.
749 @item message-deletable-headers
750 @vindex message-deletable-headers
751 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
752 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
753 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
754 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
755 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
756 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
757 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
758 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
761 @item message-default-headers
762 @vindex message-default-headers
763 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
766 @item message-subject-re-regexp
767 @vindex message-subject-re-regexp
768 Responses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. This
769 is @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but in
770 Latin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops have
771 failed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their software
772 to use abonimations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }
773 (``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you may
774 have to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you may
775 set this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, I
776 just throw away non-compliant mail.
782 @section Mail Headers
785 @item message-required-mail-headers
786 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
787 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
788 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
789 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
791 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
792 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
793 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
794 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
796 @item message-default-mail-headers
797 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
798 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
799 buffers that are initialized as mail.
805 @section Mail Variables
808 @item message-send-mail-function
809 @vindex message-send-mail-function
810 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
811 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
812 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
814 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
815 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
816 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
817 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
818 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
819 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
826 @section News Headers
828 @vindex message-required-news-headers
829 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
830 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
831 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:
837 @findex user-full-name
838 @findex user-mail-address
839 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
840 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
841 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
842 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
846 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
850 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
851 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
855 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
856 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
857 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
858 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
859 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
860 parameters and should return a string to be used).
864 This optional header will be computed by Message.
868 @vindex mail-host-address
871 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
872 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message
873 will use @code{system-name} to determine the name of the system. If
874 this isn't a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), Message will use
875 @code{mail-host-address} as the FQDN of the machine.
879 This optional header will be filled out according to the
880 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
883 This optional header will be filled out according to the
884 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
885 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
888 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
889 header of the article being replied to.
893 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
894 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
895 be used unless you know what you're doing.
899 This optional header is filled out according to the
900 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
901 much misunderstood header.
905 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
906 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
907 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
908 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
909 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
910 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
911 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
916 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
917 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
918 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
919 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
920 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
921 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
922 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
923 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
924 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
926 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
927 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
930 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
934 @item message-syntax-checks
935 @vindex message-syntax-checks
936 Controls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.
937 To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add
940 (signature . disabled)
949 Check the subject for commands.
952 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
953 @item multiple-headers
954 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
957 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
959 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
961 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
964 Check for too long lines.
966 Check for invalid characters.
968 Check for excessive size.
970 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
972 Check the length of the signature.
975 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
976 something only moderators should include.
978 Check whether the article is empty.
980 Check whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.
982 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
983 @item existing-newsgroups
984 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
985 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
986 @item valid-newsgroups
987 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
988 are valid syntactically.
989 @item repeated-newsgroups
990 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
991 contains repeated group names.
992 @item shorten-followup-to
993 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
994 of groups to post to.
997 All these conditions are checked by default.
999 @item message-ignored-news-headers
1000 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
1001 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
1002 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
1004 @item message-default-news-headers
1005 @vindex message-default-news-headers
1006 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
1007 buffers that are initialized as news.
1012 @node News Variables
1013 @section News Variables
1016 @item message-send-news-function
1017 @vindex message-send-news-function
1018 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
1019 @code{message-send-news}.
1021 @item message-post-method
1022 @vindex message-post-method
1023 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
1024 posting a prepared news message.
1029 @node Various Message Variables
1030 @section Various Message Variables
1033 @item message-default-charset
1034 @vindex message-default-charset
1036 Symbol naming a @sc{mime} charset. Non-ASCII characters in messages are
1037 assumed to be encoded using this charset. The default is @code{nil},
1038 which means ask the user. (This variable is used only on non-@sc{mule}
1040 @xref{Charset Translation, , Charset Translation, emacs-mime,
1041 Emacs MIME Manual}, for details on the @sc{mule}-to-@sc{mime}
1042 translation process.
1044 @item message-signature-separator
1045 @vindex message-signature-separator
1046 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
1049 @item mail-header-separator
1050 @vindex mail-header-separator
1051 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
1052 follows this line--} by default.
1054 @item message-directory
1055 @vindex message-directory
1056 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
1058 @item message-signature-setup-hook
1059 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
1060 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
1061 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
1063 @item message-setup-hook
1064 @vindex message-setup-hook
1065 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
1066 but before yanked text is inserted.
1068 @item message-header-setup-hook
1069 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
1070 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
1072 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
1073 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
1074 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
1077 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1078 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1079 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1080 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1081 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1082 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1084 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1085 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1088 @item message-send-hook
1089 @vindex message-send-hook
1090 Hook run before sending messages.
1092 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1093 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1094 @findex message-add-header
1097 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1098 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1100 "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense"
1104 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1106 @item message-send-mail-hook
1107 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1108 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1110 @item message-send-news-hook
1111 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1112 Hook run before sending news messages.
1114 @item message-sent-hook
1115 @vindex message-sent-hook
1116 Hook run after sending messages.
1118 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1119 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1120 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1122 @item message-send-method-alist
1123 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1125 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1128 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1133 A symbol that names the method.
1136 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1137 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1140 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1141 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1145 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1146 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1155 @node Sending Variables
1156 @section Sending Variables
1160 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1161 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1162 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1163 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1164 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1166 @item message-courtesy-message
1167 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1168 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1169 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1170 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1171 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1172 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1173 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1178 @node Message Buffers
1179 @section Message Buffers
1181 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1182 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1183 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1184 message buffers are kept alive.
1187 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1188 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1189 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1190 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1191 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1192 The function should return the new buffer name.
1194 @item message-max-buffers
1195 @vindex message-max-buffers
1196 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1197 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1198 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1199 will ever be killed.
1201 @item message-send-rename-function
1202 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1203 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1204 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1205 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1206 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1210 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1213 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1214 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1215 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1220 @node Message Actions
1221 @section Message Actions
1223 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1224 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1225 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1228 @vindex message-kill-actions
1229 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1230 @vindex message-exit-actions
1231 @vindex message-send-actions
1232 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1233 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1234 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1235 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1236 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1237 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1238 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1239 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1241 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1242 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1243 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1244 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1248 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1249 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1252 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1253 killed, postponed or exited.
1255 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1256 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1257 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1261 @chapter Compatibility
1262 @cindex compatibility
1264 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1265 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1266 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1269 (require 'messcompat)
1272 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1273 corresponding mail variables.
1280 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1287 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1292 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1293 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1294 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1305 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1306 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1307 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1308 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1312 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1319 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1320 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1321 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1325 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1326 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1337 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1338 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is