1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Message 0.22 Manual
11 @setchapternewpage odd
15 This file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.
17 Copyright (C) 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
20 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
21 are preserved on all copies.
24 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
25 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
26 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
27 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
30 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
31 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
32 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
33 permission notice identical to this one.
35 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
36 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
42 @title Message 0.22 Manual
44 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
47 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
48 Copyright @copyright{} 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
50 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
51 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
52 are preserved on all copies.
54 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
55 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
56 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
57 permission notice identical to this one.
59 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
60 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
70 All message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place in
74 * Interface:: Setting up message buffers.
75 * Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.
76 * Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.
77 * Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.
78 * Appendices:: More technical things.
79 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
80 * Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.
83 This manual corresponds to Message 0.22. Message is distributed with
84 the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as this manual
91 When a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,
92 follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just put
93 point in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.
94 @code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer with
95 appropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message before
99 * New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.
100 * New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.
101 * Reply:: Replying via mail.
102 * Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.
103 * Followup:: Following up via news.
104 * Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.
105 * Superseding:: Superseding a message.
106 * Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.
107 * Resending:: Resending a mail message.
108 * Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.
112 @node New Mail Message
113 @section New Mail Message
116 The @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.
118 Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the
119 @code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If these
120 are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
123 @node New News Message
124 @section New News Message
127 The @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.
129 This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be used
130 as the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}
131 header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.
137 @findex message-reply
138 The @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's a
139 reply to the message in the current buffer.
141 @vindex message-reply-to-function
142 Message uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go
143 (@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needs
144 by fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.
146 If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the
147 @code{From}, you could do something like this:
150 (setq message-reply-to-function
152 (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody")
153 (mail-fetch-field "sender"))
158 This function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that is
161 As you can see, this function should return a string if it has an
162 opinion as to what the To header should be. If it does not, it should
163 just return @code{nil}, and the normal methods for determining the To
166 This function can also return a list. In that case, each list element
167 should be a cons, where the car should be the name of an header
168 (eg. @code{Cc}) and the cdr should be the header value
169 (eg. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will be inserted into
170 the head of the outgoing mail.
176 @findex message-wide-reply
177 The @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a wide
178 reply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is a
179 reply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}
180 (or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
182 @vindex message-wide-reply-to-function
183 Message uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,
184 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
185 @code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
186 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
188 @findex rmail-dont-reply-to-names
189 Addresses that match the @code{rmail-dont-reply-to-names} regular
190 expression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.
196 @findex message-followup
197 The @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's a
198 followup to the message in the current buffer.
200 @vindex message-followup-to-function
201 Message uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,
202 but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the
203 @code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as
204 @code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).
206 @vindex message-use-followup-to
207 The @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about
208 @code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.
209 If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use the
210 value. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. If
211 it is @code{nil}, don't use the value.
215 @section Canceling News
217 @findex message-cancel-news
218 The @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in the
225 @findex message-supersede
226 The @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that will
227 supersede the message in the current buffer.
229 @vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headers
230 Headers matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} are
231 removed before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*
232 @samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*
233 ^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.
240 @findex message-forward
241 The @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forward
242 the message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward using
246 @item message-forward-start-separator
247 @vindex message-forward-start-separator
248 Delimiter inserted before forwarded messages. The default is@*
249 @samp{------- Start of forwarded message -------\n}.
251 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
252 @item message-forward-end-separator
253 @vindex message-forward-end-separator
254 Delimiter inserted after forwarded messages. The default is@*
255 @samp{------- End of forwarded message -------\n}.
257 @item message-signature-before-forwarded-message
258 @vindex message-signature-before-forwarded-message
259 If this variable is @code{t}, which it is by default, your personal
260 signature will be inserted before the forwarded message. If not, the
261 forwarded message will be inserted first in the new mail.
263 @item message-included-forward-headers
264 @vindex message-included-forward-headers
265 Regexp matching header lines to be included in forwarded messages.
273 @findex message-resend
274 The @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an address
275 and resend the message in the current buffer to that address.
277 @vindex message-ignored-resent-headers
278 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp will
279 be removed before sending the message. The default is
280 @samp{^Return-receipt}.
286 @findex message-bounce
287 The @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains a
288 bounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounce
289 information. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sent
290 out that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} as
293 @vindex message-ignored-bounced-headers
294 Headers that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexp
295 will be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is
296 @samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.
303 * Header Commands:: Commands for moving to headers.
304 * Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.
305 * Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.
306 * Various Commands:: Various things.
307 * Sending:: Actually sending the message.
308 * Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.
312 @node Header Commands
313 @section Header Commands
315 All these commands move to the header in question. If it doesn't exist,
322 @findex message-goto-to
323 Describe the message mode.
327 @findex message-goto-to
328 Go to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).
332 @findex message-goto-bcc
333 Go to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).
337 @findex message-goto-fcc
338 Go to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).
342 @findex message-goto-cc
343 Go to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).
347 @findex message-goto-subject
348 Go to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).
352 @findex message-goto-reply-to
353 Go to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).
357 @findex message-goto-newsgroups
358 Go to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).
362 @findex message-goto-distribution
363 Go to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).
367 @findex message-goto-followup-to
368 Go to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).
372 @findex message-goto-keywords
373 Go to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).
377 @findex message-goto-summary
378 Go to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).
389 @findex message-goto-body
390 Move to the beginning of the body of the message
391 (@code{message-goto-body}).
395 @findex message-goto-signature
396 Move to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).
408 @findex message-yank-original
409 Yank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer
410 (@code{message-yank-original}).
414 @findex message-fill-yanked-message
415 Fill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:
416 Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions are
417 strange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,
418 just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll be
424 @findex message-insert-signature
425 Insert a signature at the end of the buffer
426 (@code{message-insert-signature}).
431 @item message-ignored-cited-headers
432 @vindex message-ignored-cited-headers
433 All headers that match this regexp will be removed from yanked
434 messages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will be
437 @item message-citation-line-function
438 @vindex message-citation-line-function
439 Function called to insert the citation line. The default is
440 @code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation lines
444 Hallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:
447 Point will be at the beginning of the body of the message when this
450 @item message-yank-prefix
451 @vindex message-yank-prefix
454 When you are replying to or following up an article, you normally want
455 to quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is done by
456 @dfn{yanking}, and each quoted line you yank will have
457 @code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it. The default is @samp{> }.
458 If it is @code{nil}, just indent the message.
460 @item message-indentation-spaces
461 @vindex message-indentation-spaces
462 Number of spaces to indent yanked messages.
464 @item message-cite-function
465 @vindex message-cite-function
466 @findex message-cite-original
467 @findex sc-cite-original
469 Function for citing an original message. The default is
470 @code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original message
471 and prepends @samp{> } to each line. You can also set it to
472 @code{sc-cite-original} to use Supercite.
474 @item message-indent-citation-function
475 @vindex message-indent-citation-function
476 Function for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.
477 This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find the
478 citation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each function
479 should leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.
481 @item message-signature
482 @vindex message-signature
483 String to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}
484 (which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will be
485 inserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will be
486 used instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.
487 If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.
489 @item message-signature-file
490 @vindex message-signature-file
491 File containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.
492 The default is @samp{~/.signature}.
496 Note that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the three
497 characters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make it
498 easier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process the
499 signature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feel
500 that they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.
502 Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.
503 Including ASCII graphics is an efficient way to get everybody to believe
504 that you are silly and have nothing important to say.
508 @node Various Commands
509 @section Various Commands
515 @findex message-caesar-buffer-body
516 Caesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message
517 (@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, just
518 rotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says how
519 many places to rotate the text. The default is 13.
523 @findex message-elide-region
524 Elide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).
525 The text is killed and an ellipsis (@samp{[...]}) will be inserted in
530 @findex message-kill-to-signature
531 Kill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to the
532 end of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).
536 @findex message-delete-not-region
537 Delete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region
538 (@code{message-delete-not-region}).
542 @kindex message-newline-and-reformat
543 Insert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.
548 > This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.
551 If point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:
554 > This is some quoted text.
558 > And here's more quoted text.
561 @samp{*} says where point will be placed.
565 @findex message-insert-to
566 Insert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or
567 @code{From} header of the message you're following up
568 (@code{message-insert-to}).
572 @findex message-insert-newsgroups
573 Insert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}
574 or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to
575 (@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).
579 @findex message-rename-buffer
580 Rename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,
581 prompt for a new buffer name.
592 @findex message-send-and-exit
593 Send the message and bury the current buffer
594 (@code{message-send-and-exit}).
599 Send the message (@code{message-send}).
603 @findex message-dont-send
604 Bury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).
608 @findex message-kill-buffer
609 Kill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).
616 @section Mail Aliases
620 @vindex message-mail-alias-type
621 The @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mail
622 alias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Message
623 uses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is
624 @code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.
626 @code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and
627 @file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:
630 alias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"
631 alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"
634 After adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you should
635 be able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and so
636 on) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.
638 No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---all
639 expansions have to be done explicitly.
647 * Message Headers:: General message header stuff.
648 * Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.
649 * Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.
650 * News Headers:: Customizing news headers.
651 * News Variables:: Other news variables.
652 * Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.
653 * Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.
654 * Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.
655 * Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.
659 @node Message Headers
660 @section Message Headers
662 Message is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has to
663 be -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combined
664 messages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting the
665 mail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messages
666 look sufficiently similar.
670 @item message-generate-headers-first
671 @vindex message-generate-headers-first
672 If non-@code{nil}, generate all headers before starting to compose the
675 @item message-from-style
676 @vindex message-from-style
677 Specifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four legal
682 Just the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.
685 @samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.
688 @samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.
691 Look like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and
692 @code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use
693 @code{angles} anyway.
697 @item message-deletable-headers
698 @vindex message-deletable-headers
699 Headers in this list that were previously generated by Message will be
700 deleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decide
701 to post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump back
702 to the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, and
703 ship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the old
704 generated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. If
705 this isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy would
706 prevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.
709 @item message-default-headers
710 @vindex message-default-headers
711 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
718 @section Mail Headers
721 @item message-required-mail-headers
722 @vindex message-required-mail-headers
723 @xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is
724 @code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines
725 (optional . X-Mailer))} by default.
727 @item message-ignored-mail-headers
728 @vindex message-ignored-mail-headers
729 Regexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is
730 @samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
732 @item message-default-mail-headers
733 @vindex message-default-mail-headers
734 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
735 buffers that are initialized as mail.
741 @section Mail Variables
744 @item message-send-mail-function
745 @vindex message-send-mail-function
746 Function used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is
747 @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. If you prefer using MH
748 instead, set this variable to @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}.
750 @item message-mh-deletable-headers
751 @vindex message-mh-deletable-headers
752 Most versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain the
753 headers in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which is
754 the default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sending
755 messages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle these
762 @section News Headers
764 @vindex message-required-news-headers
765 @code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. These
766 headers will either be automatically generated, or, if that's
767 impossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are legal:
773 @findex user-full-name
774 @findex user-mail-address
775 This required header will be filled out with the result of the
776 @code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the
777 @code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},
778 @code{user-mail-address} variables.
782 This required header will be prompted for if not present already.
786 This required header says which newsgroups the article is to be posted
787 to. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.
791 This optional header will be filled out depending on the
792 @code{message-user-organization} variable.
793 @code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is
794 @code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this string
795 will be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with no
796 parameters and should return a string to be used).
800 This optional header will be computed by Message.
804 @vindex mail-host-address
807 This required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will be
808 created based on the date, time, user name and system name. Message will
809 use @code{mail-host-address} as the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
810 of the machine if that variable is defined. If not, it will use
811 @code{system-name}, which doesn't report a FQDN on some machines --
816 This optional header will be filled out according to the
817 @code{message-newsreader} local variable.
820 This optional header will be filled out according to the
821 @code{message-mailer} local variable, unless there already is an
822 @code{X-Newsreader} header present.
825 This optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}
826 header of the article being replied to.
830 This extremely optional header will be inserted according to the
831 @code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn't
832 be used unless you know what you're doing.
836 This optional header is filled out according to the
837 @code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated and
838 much misunderstood header.
842 This extremely optional header should probably never be used.
843 However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header is
844 present. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this
845 @code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server name
846 as the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neither
847 a string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highly
848 unlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.
853 In addition, you can enter conses into this list. The car of this cons
854 should be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, and
855 the cdr can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value of
856 this header, or it can be a function to be called. This function should
857 return a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert
858 @code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}
859 into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could enter
860 something like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function
861 @code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.
863 If the list contains a cons where the car of the cons is
864 @code{optional}, the cdr of this cons will only be inserted if it is
867 Other variables for customizing outgoing news articles:
871 @item message-syntax-checks
872 @vindex message-syntax-checks
873 If non-@code{nil}, Message will attempt to check the legality of the
874 headers, as well as some other stuff, before posting. You can control
875 the granularity of the check by adding or removing elements from this
876 list. Legal elements are:
880 Check the subject for commands.
883 Insert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.
884 @item multiple-headers
885 Check for the existence of multiple equal headers.
888 Check for the existence of version and sendsys commands.
890 Check whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.
892 Check whether the @code{From} header seems nice.
895 Check for too long lines.
897 Check for illegal characters.
899 Check for excessive size.
901 Check whether there is any new text in the messages.
903 Check the length of the signature.
906 Check whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which is
907 something only moderators should include.
909 Check whether the article is empty.
911 Check whether any of the headers are empty.
912 @item existing-newsgroups
913 Check whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and
914 @code{Followup-To} headers exist.
915 @item valid-newsgroups
916 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
917 are valid syntactically.
918 @item repeated-newsgroups
919 Check whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headers
920 contains repeated group names.
921 @item shorten-followup-to
922 Check whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the number
923 of groups to post to.
926 All these conditions are checked by default.
928 @item message-ignored-news-headers
929 @vindex message-ignored-news-headers
930 Regexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*
931 @samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:}.
933 @item message-default-news-headers
934 @vindex message-default-news-headers
935 This string is inserted at the end of the headers in all message
936 buffers that are initialized as news.
942 @section News Variables
945 @item message-send-news-function
946 @vindex message-send-news-function
947 Function used to send the current buffer as news. The default is
948 @code{message-send-news}.
950 @item message-post-method
951 @vindex message-post-method
952 Gnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used for
953 posting a prepared news message.
958 @node Various Message Variables
959 @section Various Message Variables
962 @item message-signature-separator
963 @vindex message-signature-separator
964 Regexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} by
967 @item mail-header-separator
968 @vindex mail-header-separator
969 String used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--text
970 follows this line--} by default.
972 @item message-directory
973 @vindex message-directory
974 Directory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.
976 @item message-autosave-directory
977 @vindex message-autosave-directory
978 Directory where message buffers will be autosaved to.
980 @item message-signature-setup-hook
981 @vindex message-signature-setup-hook
982 Hook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after the
983 headers have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.
985 @item message-setup-hook
986 @vindex message-setup-hook
987 Hook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,
988 but before yanked text is inserted.
990 @item message-header-setup-hook
991 @vindex message-header-setup-hook
992 Hook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.
994 For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a
995 @samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messages
996 you send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:
999 (defun my-message-header-setup-hook ()
1000 (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name "")))
1001 (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups")
1002 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address)
1003 (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list))
1004 (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))
1006 (add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook
1007 'my-message-header-setup-hook)
1010 @item message-send-hook
1011 @vindex message-send-hook
1012 Hook run before sending messages.
1014 If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the
1015 @code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:
1016 @findex message-add-header
1019 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)
1020 (defun my-message-add-content ()
1023 "Content-Type: text/plain"
1024 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit"))
1027 This function won't add the header if the header is already present.
1029 @item message-send-mail-hook
1030 @vindex message-send-mail-hook
1031 Hook run before sending mail messages.
1033 @item message-send-news-hook
1034 @vindex message-send-news-hook
1035 Hook run before sending news messages.
1037 @item message-sent-hook
1038 @vindex message-sent-hook
1039 Hook run after sending messages.
1041 @item message-mode-syntax-table
1042 @vindex message-mode-syntax-table
1043 Syntax table used in message mode buffers.
1045 @item message-send-method-alist
1046 @vindex message-send-method-alist
1048 Alist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form
1051 (TYPE PREDICATE FUNCTION)
1056 A symbol that names the method.
1059 A function called without any parameters to determine whether the
1060 message is a message of type @var{type}.
1063 A function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.
1064 @var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.
1068 ((news message-news-p message-send-via-news)
1069 (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))
1078 @node Sending Variables
1079 @section Sending Variables
1083 @item message-fcc-handler-function
1084 @vindex message-fcc-handler-function
1085 A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
1086 called with the name of the file to store the article in. The default
1087 function is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.
1089 @item message-courtesy-message
1090 @vindex message-courtesy-message
1091 When sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start of
1092 the mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, the
1093 newsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. If
1094 this variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.
1095 The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy of
1096 an article\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\n\n"}.
1101 @node Message Buffers
1102 @section Message Buffers
1104 Message will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when you
1105 request a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn't
1106 normally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of old
1107 message buffers are kept alive.
1110 @item message-generate-new-buffers
1111 @vindex message-generate-new-buffers
1112 If non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. If
1113 this is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,
1114 the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)
1115 The function should return the new buffer name.
1117 @item message-max-buffers
1118 @vindex message-max-buffers
1119 This variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there are
1120 more message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. The
1121 default is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message buffers
1122 will ever be killed.
1124 @item message-send-rename-function
1125 @vindex message-send-rename-function
1126 After sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,
1127 @samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don't
1128 like this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in a
1129 manner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you can
1133 (setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)
1136 @item message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1137 @findex message-kill-buffer-on-exit
1138 If non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.
1143 @node Message Actions
1144 @section Message Actions
1146 When Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likely
1147 to want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhaps
1148 return to the previous window configuration or mark an article as
1151 @vindex message-kill-actions
1152 @vindex message-postpone-actions
1153 @vindex message-exit-actions
1154 @vindex message-send-actions
1155 The user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The most
1156 common is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Other
1157 possibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-c
1158 C-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,
1159 and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actions
1160 have lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:
1161 @code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},
1162 @code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.
1164 Message provides a function to interface with these lists:
1165 @code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to be
1166 added, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this action
1167 to. Here's an example from Gnus:
1171 `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration))
1172 'exit 'postpone 'kill)
1175 This restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer is
1176 killed, postponed or exited.
1178 An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the
1179 @code{car} is a function and the @code{cdr} is the list of arguments, or
1180 a form to be @code{eval}ed.
1184 @chapter Compatibility
1185 @cindex compatibility
1187 Message uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}
1188 variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variables
1189 into account, you can put the following in your @code{.emacs} file:
1192 (require 'messcompat)
1195 This will initialize many Message variables from the values in the
1196 corresponding mail variables.
1203 * Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.
1210 To determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is used
1215 A @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person who
1216 sent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. To
1217 determine who the recipient will be, the following headers are
1228 A @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entities
1229 mentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from the
1230 following headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing
1231 @code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:
1235 (unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).
1242 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be included
1243 in the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that means
1244 that the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.
1248 A @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers
1249 (listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to be
1260 If a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as the
1261 basis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is