\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-@setfilename ../info/message@settitle Message Manual@synindex fn cp@synindex vr cp@synindex pg cp@copyingThis file documents Message, the Emacs message composition mode.Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.@quotationPermission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this documentunder the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 orany later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with noInvariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNUManual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of thelicense is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free DocumentationLicense'' in the Emacs manual.(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modifythis GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the FreeSoftware Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU FreeDocumentation License. If you want to distribute this documentseparately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of thelicense to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.@end quotation@end copying@dircategory Emacs@direntry* Message: (message). Mail and news composition mode that goes with Gnus.@end direntry@iftex@finalout@end iftex@setchapternewpage odd@titlepage@title Message Manual@author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen@page@vskip 0pt plus 1filll@insertcopying@end titlepage@page@node Top@top MessageAll message composition from Gnus (both mail and news) takes place inMessage mode buffers.@menu* Interface:: Setting up message buffers.* Commands:: Commands you can execute in message mode buffers.* Variables:: Customizing the message buffers.* Compatibility:: Making Message backwards compatible.* Appendices:: More technical things.* Index:: Variable, function and concept index.* Key Index:: List of Message mode keys.@end menuThis manual corresponds to Message v5.10.6. Message is distributedwith the Gnus distribution bearing the same version number as thismanual.@node Interface@chapter InterfaceWhen a program (or a person) wants to respond to a message -- reply,follow up, forward, cancel -- the program (or person) should just putpoint in the buffer where the message is and call the required command.@code{Message} will then pop up a new @code{message} mode buffer withappropriate headers filled out, and the user can edit the message beforesending it.@menu* New Mail Message:: Editing a brand new mail message.* New News Message:: Editing a brand new news message.* Reply:: Replying via mail.* Wide Reply:: Responding to all people via mail.* Followup:: Following up via news.* Canceling News:: Canceling a news article.* Superseding:: Superseding a message.* Forwarding:: Forwarding a message via news or mail.* Resending:: Resending a mail message.* Bouncing:: Bouncing a mail message.* Mailing Lists:: Send mail to mailing lists.@end menu@node New Mail Message@section New Mail Message@findex message-mailThe @code{message-mail} command pops up a new message buffer.Two optional parameters are accepted: The first will be used as the@code{To} header and the second as the @code{Subject} header. If theseare @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.@node New News Message@section New News Message@findex message-newsThe @code{message-news} command pops up a new message buffer.This function accepts two optional parameters. The first will be usedas the @code{Newsgroups} header and the second as the @code{Subject}header. If these are @code{nil}, those two headers will be empty.@node Reply@section Reply@findex message-replyThe @code{message-reply} function pops up a message buffer that's areply to the message in the current buffer.@vindex message-reply-to-functionMessage uses the normal methods to determine where replies are to go(@pxref{Responses}), but you can change the behavior to suit your needsby fiddling with the @code{message-reply-to-function} variable.If you want the replies to go to the @code{Sender} instead of the@code{From}, you could do something like this:@lisp(setq message-reply-to-function (lambda () (cond ((equal (mail-fetch-field "from") "somebody") (list (cons 'To (mail-fetch-field "sender")))) (t nil))))@end lispThis function will be called narrowed to the head of the article that isbeing replied to.As you can see, this function should return a list. In this case, itreturns @code{((To . "Whom"))} if it has an opinion as to what the Toheader should be. If it does not, it should just return @code{nil}, andthe normal methods for determining the To header will be used.Each list element should be a cons, where the @sc{car} should be thename of a header (e.g. @code{Cc}) and the @sc{cdr} should be the headervalue (e.g. @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no}). All these headers will beinserted into the head of the outgoing mail.@node Wide Reply@section Wide Reply@findex message-wide-replyThe @code{message-wide-reply} pops up a message buffer that's a widereply to the message in the current buffer. A @dfn{wide reply} is areply that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From}(or @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.@vindex message-wide-reply-to-functionMessage uses the normal methods to determine where wide replies are to go,but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the@code{message-wide-reply-to-function}. It is used in the same way as@code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).@vindex message-dont-reply-to-namesAddresses that match the @code{message-dont-reply-to-names} regularexpression will be removed from the @code{Cc} header.@vindex message-wide-reply-confirm-recipientsIf @code{message-wide-reply-confirm-recipients} is non-@code{nil} youwill be asked to confirm that you want to reply to multiplerecipients. The default is @code{nil}.@node Followup@section Followup@findex message-followupThe @code{message-followup} command pops up a message buffer that's afollowup to the message in the current buffer.@vindex message-followup-to-functionMessage uses the normal methods to determine where followups are to go,but you can change the behavior to suit your needs by fiddling with the@code{message-followup-to-function}. It is used in the same way as@code{message-reply-to-function} (@pxref{Reply}).@vindex message-use-followup-toThe @code{message-use-followup-to} variable says what to do about@code{Followup-To} headers. If it is @code{use}, always use the value.If it is @code{ask} (which is the default), ask whether to use thevalue. If it is @code{t}, use the value unless it is @samp{poster}. Ifit is @code{nil}, don't use the value.@node Canceling News@section Canceling News@findex message-cancel-newsThe @code{message-cancel-news} command cancels the article in thecurrent buffer.@vindex message-cancel-messageThe value of @code{message-cancel-message} is inserted in the body ofthe cancel message. The default is @samp{I am canceling my ownarticle.}.@cindex Cancel Locks@vindex message-insert-canlock@cindex canlockWhen Message posts news messages, it inserts @code{Cancel-Lock}headers by default. This is a cryptographic header that ensures thatonly you can cancel your own messages, which is nice. The downsideis that if you lose your @file{.emacs} file (which is where Gnusstores the secret cancel lock password (which is generatedautomatically the first time you use this feature)), you won't beable to cancel your message. If you want to manage a password yourself,you can put something like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:@lisp(setq canlock-password "geheimnis" canlock-password-for-verify canlock-password)@end lispWhether to insert the header or not is controlled by the@code{message-insert-canlock} variable.Not many news servers respect the @code{Cancel-Lock} header yet, butthis is expected to change in the future.@node Superseding@section Superseding@findex message-supersedeThe @code{message-supersede} command pops up a message buffer that willsupersede the message in the current buffer.@vindex message-ignored-supersedes-headersHeaders matching the @code{message-ignored-supersedes-headers} areremoved before popping up the new message buffer. The default is@*@samp{^Path:\\|^Date\\|^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^Lines:\\|@*^Received:\\|^X-From-Line:\\|Return-Path:\\|^Supersedes:}.@node Forwarding@section Forwarding@findex message-forwardThe @code{message-forward} command pops up a message buffer to forwardthe message in the current buffer. If given a prefix, forward usingnews.@table @code@item message-forward-ignored-headers@vindex message-forward-ignored-headersAll headers that match this regexp will be deleted when forwarding a message.@item message-make-forward-subject-function@vindex message-make-forward-subject-functionA list of functions that are called to generate a subject header forforwarded messages. The subject generated by the previous function ispassed into each successive function.The provided functions are:@table @code@item message-forward-subject-author-subject@findex message-forward-subject-author-subjectSource of article (author or newsgroup), in brackets followed by thesubject.@item message-forward-subject-fwdSubject of article with @samp{Fwd:} prepended to it.@end table@item message-wash-forwarded-subjects@vindex message-wash-forwarded-subjectsIf this variable is @code{t}, the subjects of forwarded messages havethe evidence of previous forwards (such as @samp{Fwd:}, @samp{Re:},@samp{(fwd)}) removed before the new subject isconstructed. The default value is @code{nil}.@item message-forward-as-mime@vindex message-forward-as-mimeIf this variable is @code{t} (the default), forwarded messages areincluded as inline @acronym{MIME} RFC822 parts. If it's @code{nil}, forwardedmessages will just be copied inline to the new message, like previous,non @acronym{MIME}-savvy versions of Gnus would do.@item message-forward-before-signature@vindex message-forward-before-signatureIf non-@code{nil}, put forwarded message before signature, else after.@end table@node Resending@section Resending@findex message-resendThe @code{message-resend} command will prompt the user for an addressand resend the message in the current buffer to that address.@vindex message-ignored-resent-headersHeaders that match the @code{message-ignored-resent-headers} regexp willbe removed before sending the message.@node Bouncing@section Bouncing@findex message-bounceThe @code{message-bounce} command will, if the current buffer contains abounced mail message, pop up a message buffer stripped of the bounceinformation. A @dfn{bounced message} is typically a mail you've sentout that has been returned by some @code{mailer-daemon} asundeliverable.@vindex message-ignored-bounced-headersHeaders that match the @code{message-ignored-bounced-headers} regexpwill be removed before popping up the buffer. The default is@samp{^\\(Received\\|Return-Path\\):}.@node Mailing Lists@section Mailing Lists@cindex Mail-Followup-ToSometimes while posting to mailing lists, the poster needs to directfollowups to the post to specific places. The Mail-Followup-To (MFT)was created to enable just this. Two example scenarios where this isuseful:@itemize @bullet@itemA mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should besent to just the list, and not the poster as well. This will happenif the poster is already subscribed to the list.@itemA mailing list poster can use MFT to express that responses should besent to the list and the poster as well. This will happen if the posteris not subscribed to the list.@itemIf a message is posted to several mailing lists, MFT may also be usedto direct the following discussion to one list only, becausediscussions that are spread over several lists tend to be fragmentedand very difficult to follow.@end itemizeGnus honors the MFT header in other's messages (i.e. while followingup to someone else's post) and also provides support for generatingsensible MFT headers for outgoing messages as well.@c @menu@c * Honoring an MFT post:: What to do when one already exists@c * Composing with a MFT header:: Creating one from scratch.@c @end menu@c @node Composing with a MFT header@subsection Composing a correct MFT header automagicallyThe first step in getting Gnus to automagically generate a MFT headerin posts you make is to give Gnus a list of the mailing listsaddresses you are subscribed to. You can do this in more than oneway. The following variables would come in handy.@table @code@vindex message-subscribed-addresses@item message-subscribed-addressesThis should be a list of addresses the user is subscribed to. Itsdefault value is @code{nil}. Example:@lisp(setq message-subscribed-addresses '("ding@@gnus.org" "bing@@noose.org"))@end lisp@vindex message-subscribed-regexps@item message-subscribed-regexpsThis should be a list of regexps denoting the addresses of mailinglists subscribed to. Default value is @code{nil}. Example: If youwant to achieve the same result as above:@lisp(setq message-subscribed-regexps '("\\(ding@@gnus\\)\\|\\(bing@@noose\\)\\.org")@end lisp@vindex message-subscribed-address-functions@item message-subscribed-address-functionsThis can be a list of functions to be called (one at a time!!) todetermine the value of MFT headers. It is advisable that thesefunctions not take any arguments. Default value is @code{nil}.There is a pre-defined function in Gnus that is a good candidate forthis variable. @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses} is a functionthat returns a list of addresses corresponding to the groups that havethe @code{subscribed} (@pxref{Group Parameters, ,Group Parameters,gnus, The Gnus Manual}) group parameter set to a non-@code{nil} value.This is how you would do it.@lisp(setq message-subscribed-address-functions '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))@end lisp@vindex message-subscribed-address-file@item message-subscribed-address-fileYou might be one organized human freak and have a list of addresses ofall subscribed mailing lists in a separate file! Then you can justset this variable to the name of the file and life would be good.@end tableYou can use one or more of the above variables. All their values are``added'' in some way that works :-)Now you are all set. Just start composing a message as you normally do.And just send it; as always. Just before the message is sent out, Gnus'MFT generation thingy kicks in and checks if the message already has aMFT field. If there is one, it is left alone. (Except if it's empty -in that case, the field is removed and is not replaced with anautomatically generated one. This lets you disable MFT generation on aper-message basis.) If there is none, then the list of recipientaddresses (in the To: and Cc: headers) is checked to see if one of themis a list address you are subscribed to. If none of them is a listaddress, then no MFT is generated; otherwise, a MFT is added to theother headers and set to the value of all addresses in To: and Cc:@kindex C-c C-f C-a@findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to@kindex C-c C-f C-m@findex message-goto-mail-followup-toHm. ``So'', you ask, ``what if I send an email to a list I am notsubscribed to? I want my MFT to say that I want an extra copy.'' (Thisis supposed to be interpreted by others the same way as if there were noMFT, but you can use an explicit MFT to override someone else'sto-address group parameter.) The function@code{message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-to} might come inhandy. It is bound to @kbd{C-c C-f C-a} by default. In any case, youcan insert a MFT of your own choice; @kbd{C-c C-f C-m}(@code{message-goto-mail-followup-to}) will help you get started.@c @node Honoring an MFT post@subsection Honoring an MFT post@vindex message-use-mail-followup-toWhen you followup to a post on a mailing list, and the post has a MFTheader, Gnus' action will depend on the value of the variable@code{message-use-mail-followup-to}. This variable can be one of:@table @code@item use Always honor MFTs. The To: and Cc: headers in your followup will be derived from the MFT header of the original post. This is the default.@item nil Always dishonor MFTs (just ignore the darned thing)@item askGnus will prompt you for an action.@end tableIt is considered good netiquette to honor MFT, as it is assumed thefellow who posted a message knows where the followups need to gobetter than you do.@node Commands@chapter Commands@menu* Buffer Entry:: Commands after entering a Message buffer.* Header Commands:: Commands for moving headers or changing headers.* Movement:: Moving around in message buffers.* Insertion:: Inserting things into message buffers.* MIME:: @acronym{MIME} considerations.* IDNA:: Non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name considerations.* Security:: Signing and encrypting messages.* Various Commands:: Various things.* Sending:: Actually sending the message.* Mail Aliases:: How to use mail aliases.* Spelling:: Having Emacs check your spelling.@end menu@node Buffer Entry@section Buffer Entry@cindex undo@kindex C-_You most often end up in a Message buffer when responding to some othermessage of some sort. Message does lots of handling of quoted text, andmay remove signatures, reformat the text, or the like---depending onwhich used settings you're using. Message usually gets things right,but sometimes it stumbles. To help the user unwind these stumblings,Message sets the undo boundary before each major automatic action ittakes. If you press the undo key (usually located at @kbd{C-_}) a fewtimes, you will get back the un-edited message you're responding to.@node Header Commands@section Header Commands@subsection Commands for moving to headersThese following commands move to the header in question. If it doesn'texist, it will be inserted.@table @kbd@item C-c ?@kindex C-c ?@findex describe-modeDescribe the message mode.@item C-c C-f C-t@kindex C-c C-f C-t@findex message-goto-toGo to the @code{To} header (@code{message-goto-to}).@item C-c C-f C-o@kindex C-c C-f C-o@findex message-goto-fromGo to the @code{From} header (@code{message-goto-from}). (The ``o''in the key binding is for Originator.)@item C-c C-f C-b@kindex C-c C-f C-b@findex message-goto-bccGo to the @code{Bcc} header (@code{message-goto-bcc}).@item C-c C-f C-f@kindex C-c C-f C-f@findex message-goto-fccGo to the @code{Fcc} header (@code{message-goto-fcc}).@item C-c C-f C-c@kindex C-c C-f C-c@findex message-goto-ccGo to the @code{Cc} header (@code{message-goto-cc}).@item C-c C-f C-s@kindex C-c C-f C-s@findex message-goto-subjectGo to the @code{Subject} header (@code{message-goto-subject}).@item C-c C-f C-r@kindex C-c C-f C-r@findex message-goto-reply-toGo to the @code{Reply-To} header (@code{message-goto-reply-to}).@item C-c C-f C-n@kindex C-c C-f C-n@findex message-goto-newsgroupsGo to the @code{Newsgroups} header (@code{message-goto-newsgroups}).@item C-c C-f C-d@kindex C-c C-f C-d@findex message-goto-distributionGo to the @code{Distribution} header (@code{message-goto-distribution}).@item C-c C-f C-o@kindex C-c C-f C-o@findex message-goto-followup-toGo to the @code{Followup-To} header (@code{message-goto-followup-to}).@item C-c C-f C-k@kindex C-c C-f C-k@findex message-goto-keywordsGo to the @code{Keywords} header (@code{message-goto-keywords}).@item C-c C-f C-u@kindex C-c C-f C-u@findex message-goto-summaryGo to the @code{Summary} header (@code{message-goto-summary}).@item C-c C-f C-i@kindex C-c C-f C-i@findex message-insert-or-toggle-importanceThis inserts the @samp{Importance:} header with a value of@samp{high}. This header is used to signal the importance of themessage to the receiver. If the header is already present in thebuffer, it cycles between the three valid values according to RFC1376: @samp{low}, @samp{normal} and @samp{high}.@item C-c C-f C-a@kindex C-c C-f C-a@findex message-generate-unsubscribed-mail-followup-toInsert a reasonable @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header(@pxref{Mailing Lists}) in a post to anunsubscribed list. When making original posts to a mailing list you arenot subscribed to, you have to type in a @samp{Mail-Followup-To:} headerby hand. The contents, usually, are the addresses of the list and yourown address. This function inserts such a header automatically. Itfetches the contents of the @samp{To:} header in the current mailbuffer, and appends the current @code{user-mail-address}.If the optional argument @code{include-cc} is non-@code{nil}, theaddresses in the @samp{Cc:} header are also put into the@samp{Mail-Followup-To:} header.@end table@subsection Commands to change headers@table @kbd@item C-c C-o@kindex C-c C-o@findex message-sort-headers@vindex message-header-format-alistSort headers according to @code{message-header-format-alist}(@code{message-sort-headers}).@item C-c C-t@kindex C-c C-t@findex message-insert-toInsert a @code{To} header that contains the @code{Reply-To} or@code{From} header of the message you're following up(@code{message-insert-to}).@item C-c C-n@kindex C-c C-n@findex message-insert-newsgroupsInsert a @code{Newsgroups} header that reflects the @code{Followup-To}or @code{Newsgroups} header of the article you're replying to(@code{message-insert-newsgroups}).@item C-c C-l@kindex C-c C-l@findex message-to-list-onlySend a message to the list only. Remove all addresses but the listaddress from @code{To:} and @code{Cc:} headers.@item C-c M-n@kindex C-c M-n@findex message-insert-disposition-notification-toInsert a request for a dispositionnotification. (@code{message-insert-disposition-notification-to}).This means that if the recipient support RFC 2298 she might send you anotification that she received the message.@item M-x message-insert-importance-high@kindex M-x message-insert-importance-high@findex message-insert-importance-high@cindex ImportanceInsert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{high},deleting headers if necessary.@item M-x message-insert-importance-low@kindex M-x message-insert-importance-low@findex message-insert-importance-low@cindex ImportanceInsert an @samp{Importance} header with a value of @samp{low}, deletingheaders if necessary.@item C-c C-f s@kindex C-c C-f s@findex message-change-subject@cindex SubjectChange the current @samp{Subject} header. Ask for new @samp{Subject}header and append @samp{(was: <Old Subject>)}. The old subject can bestripped on replying, see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}(@pxref{Message Headers}).@item C-c C-f x@kindex C-c C-f x@findex message-cross-post-followup-to@vindex message-cross-post-default@cindex X-Post@cindex cross-postAsk for an additional @samp{Newsgroups} and @samp{FollowUp-To} for across-post. @code{message-cross-post-followup-to} mangles@samp{FollowUp-To} and @samp{Newsgroups} header to point to group.If @code{message-cross-post-default} is @code{nil} or if called with aprefix-argument @samp{Follow-Up} is set, but the message is notcross-posted.@item C-c C-f t@kindex C-c C-f t@findex message-reduce-to-to-ccReplace contents of @samp{To} header with contents of @samp{Cc} or@samp{Bcc} header.@item C-c C-f w@kindex C-c C-f w@findex message-insert-wide-replyInsert @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers as if you were doing a widereply.@item C-c C-f a@kindex C-c C-f a@findex message-add-archive-header@vindex message-archive-header@vindex message-archive-note@cindex X-No-ArchiveInsert @samp{X-No-Archive: Yes} in the header and a note in the body.The header and the note can be customized using@code{message-archive-header} and @code{message-archive-note}. Whencalled with a prefix argument, ask for a text to insert. If you don'twant the note in the body, set @code{message-archive-note} to@code{nil}.@end table@node Movement@section Movement@table @kbd@item C-c C-b@kindex C-c C-b@findex message-goto-bodyMove to the beginning of the body of the message(@code{message-goto-body}).@item C-c C-i@kindex C-c C-i@findex message-goto-signatureMove to the signature of the message (@code{message-goto-signature}).@item C-a@kindex C-a@findex message-beginning-of-line@vindex message-beginning-of-lineIf at beginning of header value, go to beginning of line, else go tobeginning of header value. (The header value comes after the headername and the colon.) This behavior can be disabled by togglingthe variable @code{message-beginning-of-line}.@end table@node Insertion@section Insertion@table @kbd@item C-c C-y@kindex C-c C-y@findex message-yank-originalYank the message that's being replied to into the message buffer(@code{message-yank-original}).@item C-c C-M-y@kindex C-c C-M-y@findex message-yank-bufferPrompt for a buffer name and yank the contents of that buffer into themessage buffer (@code{message-yank-buffer}).@item C-c C-q@kindex C-c C-q@findex message-fill-yanked-messageFill the yanked message (@code{message-fill-yanked-message}). Warning:Can severely mess up the yanked text if its quoting conventions arestrange. You'll quickly get a feel for when it's safe, though. Anyway,just remember that @kbd{C-x u} (@code{undo}) is available and you'll beall right.@item C-c C-w@kindex C-c C-w@findex message-insert-signatureInsert a signature at the end of the buffer(@code{message-insert-signature}).@item C-c M-h@kindex C-c M-h@findex message-insert-headersInsert the message headers (@code{message-insert-headers}).@item C-c M-m@kindex C-c M-m@findex message-mark-inserted-regionMark some region in the current article with enclosing tags.See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.@item C-c M-f@kindex C-c M-f@findex message-mark-insert-fileInsert a file in the current article with enclosing tags.See @code{message-mark-insert-begin} and @code{message-mark-insert-end}.@end table@node MIME@section MIME@cindex MML@cindex MIME@cindex multipart@cindex attachmentMessage is a @acronym{MIME}-compliant posting agent. The user generallydoesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{MIME} happen---Message willautomatically add the @code{Content-Type} and@code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} headers.The most typical thing users want to use the multipart things in@acronym{MIME} for is to add ``attachments'' to mail they send out. This canbe done with the @kbd{C-c C-a} command, which will prompt for a filename and a @acronym{MIME} type.You can also create arbitrarily complex multiparts using the @acronym{MML}language (@pxref{Composing, , Composing, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIMEManual}).@node IDNA@section IDNA@cindex IDNA@cindex internationalized domain names@cindex non-ascii domain namesMessage is a @acronym{IDNA}-compliant posting agent. The usergenerally doesn't have to do anything to make the @acronym{IDNA}happen---Message will encode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in @code{From},@code{To}, and @code{Cc} headers automatically.Until @acronym{IDNA} becomes more well known, Message queries youwhether @acronym{IDNA} encoding of the domain name really shouldoccur. Some users might not be aware that domain names can containnon-@acronym{ASCII} now, so this gives them a safety net if they accidentlytyped a non-@acronym{ASCII} domain name.@vindex message-use-idnaThe @code{message-use-idna} variable control whether @acronym{IDNA} isused. If the variable is @code{nil} no @acronym{IDNA} encoding willever happen, if it is set to the symbol @code{ask} the user will bequeried, and if set to @code{t} @acronym{IDNA} encoding happensautomatically (the default).@findex message-idna-to-ascii-rhsIf you want to experiment with the @acronym{IDNA} encoding, you caninvoke @kbd{M-x message-idna-to-ascii-rhs RET} in the message bufferto have the non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names encoded while you editthe message.Note that you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNULibidn} installed in order to use this functionality.@node Security@section Security@cindex Security@cindex S/MIME@cindex PGP@cindex PGP/MIME@cindex sign@cindex encrypt@cindex secureUsing the @acronym{MML} language, Message is able to create digitallysigned and digitally encrypted messages. Message (or rather@acronym{MML}) currently support @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991),@acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME}. Instructing@acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part isdone using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c C-mc} key map for encryption, as follows.@table @kbd@item C-c C-m s s@kindex C-c C-m s s@findex mml-secure-message-sign-smimeDigitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.@item C-c C-m s o@kindex C-c C-m s o@findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpDigitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.@item C-c C-m s p@kindex C-c C-m s p@findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgpmimeDigitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.@item C-c C-m c s@kindex C-c C-m c s@findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smimeDigitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.@item C-c C-m c o@kindex C-c C-m c o@findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpDigitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.@item C-c C-m c p@kindex C-c C-m c p@findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmimeDigitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.@item C-c C-m C-n@kindex C-c C-m C-n@findex mml-unsecure-messageRemove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.@end tableThese commands do not immediately sign or encrypt the message, theymerely insert the proper @acronym{MML} secure tag to instruct the@acronym{MML} engine to perform that operation when the message isactually sent. They may perform other operations too, such as locatingand retrieving a @acronym{S/MIME} certificate of the person you wish tosend encrypted mail to. When the mml parsing engine converts your@acronym{MML} into a properly encoded @acronym{MIME} message, the securetag will be replaced with either a part or a multipart tag. If yourmessage contains other mml parts, a multipart tag will be used; if noother parts are present in your message a single part tag will be used.This way, message mode will do the Right Thing (TM) withsigned/encrypted multipart messages.Since signing and especially encryption often is used when sensitiveinformation is sent, you may want to have some way to ensure that yourmail is actually signed or encrypted. After invoking the abovesign/encrypt commands, it is possible to preview the raw article byusing @kbd{C-u C-c RET P} (@code{mml-preview}). Then you canverify that your long rant about what your ex-significant other orwhomever actually did with that funny looking person at that strangeparty the other night, actually will be sent encrypted.@emph{Note!} Neither @acronym{PGP/MIME} nor @acronym{S/MIME} encrypt/signsRFC822 headers. They only operate on the @acronym{MIME} object. Keep thisin mind before sending mail with a sensitive Subject line.By default, when encrypting a message, Gnus will use the``signencrypt'' mode, which means the message is both signed andencrypted. If you would like to disable this for a particularmessage, give the @code{mml-secure-message-encrypt-*} command a prefixargument, e.g., @kbd{C-u C-c C-m c p}.Actually using the security commands above is not very difficult. Atleast not compared with making sure all involved programs talk with eachother properly. Thus, we now describe what external libraries orprograms are required to make things work, and some small general hints.@subsection Using S/MIME@emph{Note!} This section assume you have a basic familiarity withmodern cryptography, @acronym{S/MIME}, various PKCS standards, OpenSSL andso on.The @acronym{S/MIME} support in Message (and @acronym{MML}) requireOpenSSL. OpenSSL performs the actual @acronym{S/MIME} sign/encryptoperations. OpenSSL can be found at @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}.OpenSSL 0.9.6 and later should work. Version 0.9.5a cannot extract mailaddresses from certificates, and it insert a spurious CR character into@acronym{MIME} separators so you may wish to avoid it if you would liketo avoid being regarded as someone who send strange mail. (Although bysending @acronym{S/MIME} messages you've probably already lost thatcontest.)To be able to send encrypted mail, a personal certificate is notrequired. Message (@acronym{MML}) need a certificate for the person to whom youwish to communicate with though. You're asked for this when you type@kbd{C-c C-m c s}. Currently there are two ways to retrieve thiscertificate, from a local file or from DNS. If you chose a localfile, it need to contain a X.509 certificate in @acronym{PEM} format.If you chose DNS, you're asked for the domain name where thecertificate is stored, the default is a good guess. To my belief,Message (@acronym{MML}) is the first mail agent in the world to supportretrieving @acronym{S/MIME} certificates from DNS, so you're notlikely to find very many certificates out there. At least thereshould be one, stored at the domain @code{simon.josefsson.org}. LDAPis a more popular method of distributing certificates, support for itis planned. (Meanwhile, you can use @code{ldapsearch} from thecommand line to retrieve a certificate into a file and use it.)As for signing messages, OpenSSL can't perform signing operationswithout some kind of configuration. Especially, you need to tell itwhere your private key and your certificate is stored. @acronym{MML}uses an Emacs interface to OpenSSL, aptly named @code{smime.el}, and itcontain a @code{custom} group used for this configuration. So, try@kbd{M-x customize-group RET smime RET} and look around.Currently there is no support for talking to a CA (or RA) to createyour own certificate. None is planned either. You need to do thismanually with OpenSSL or using some other program. I used Netscapeand got a free @acronym{S/MIME} certificate from one of the big CA's on thenet. Netscape is able to export your private key and certificate inPKCS #12 format. Use OpenSSL to convert this into a plain X.509certificate in PEM format as follows.@example$ openssl pkcs12 -in ns.p12 -clcerts -nodes > key+cert.pem@end exampleThe @file{key+cert.pem} file should be pointed to from the@code{smime-keys} variable. You should now be able to send signed mail.@emph{Note!} Your private key is now stored unencrypted in the file,so take care in handling it. Storing encrypted keys on the disk aresupported, and Gnus will ask you for a passphrase before invokingOpenSSL. Read the OpenSSL documentation for how to achieve this. Ifyou use unencrypted keys (e.g., if they are on a secure storage, or ifyou are on a secure single user machine) simply press @code{RET} atthe passphrase prompt.@subsection Using PGP/MIME@acronym{PGP/MIME} requires an external OpenPGP implementation, suchas @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/, GNU Privacy Guard}. Pre-OpenPGPimplementations such as PGP 2.x and PGP 5.x are also supported. OneEmacs interface to the PGP implementations, PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG,pgg, PGG Manual}), is included, but Mailcrypt and Florian Weimer's@code{gpg.el} are also supported.@vindex gpg-temp-directoryNote, if you are using the @code{gpg.el} you must make sure that thedirectory specified by @code{gpg-temp-directory} have permissions0700.Creating your own key is described in detail in the documentation ofyour PGP implementation, so we refer to it.If you have imported your old PGP 2.x key into GnuPG, and want to sendsigned and encrypted messages to your fellow PGP 2.x users, you'lldiscover that the receiver cannot understand what you send. Onesolution is to use PGP 2.x instead (i.e., if you use @code{pgg}, set@code{pgg-default-scheme} to @code{pgp}). If you do want to useGnuPG, you can use a compatibility script called @code{gpg-2comp}available from@uref{http://muppet.faveve.uni-stuttgart.de/~gero/gpg-2comp/}. Youcould also convince your fellow PGP 2.x users to convert to GnuPG.@vindex mml-signencrypt-style-alistAs a final workaround, you can make the sign and encryption work intwo steps; separately sign, then encrypt a message. If you would liketo change this behavior you can customize the@code{mml-signencrypt-style-alist} variable. For example:@lisp(setq mml-signencrypt-style-alist '(("smime" separate) ("pgp" separate) ("pgpauto" separate) ("pgpmime" separate)))@end lispThis causes to sign and encrypt in two passes, thus generating amessage that can be understood by PGP version 2.(Refer to @uref{http://www.gnupg.org/gph/en/pgp2x.html} for moreinformation about the problem.)@node Various Commands@section Various Commands@table @kbd@item C-c C-r@kindex C-c C-r@findex message-caesar-buffer-bodyCaesar rotate (aka. rot13) the current message(@code{message-caesar-buffer-body}). If narrowing is in effect, justrotate the visible portion of the buffer. A numerical prefix says howmany places to rotate the text. The default is 13.@item C-c C-e@kindex C-c C-e@findex message-elide-region@vindex message-elide-ellipsisElide the text between point and mark (@code{message-elide-region}).The text is killed and replaced with the contents of the variable@code{message-elide-ellipsis}. The default value is to use an ellipsis(@samp{[...]}).@item C-c C-z@kindex C-c C-x@findex message-kill-to-signatureKill all the text up to the signature, or if that's missing, up to theend of the message (@code{message-kill-to-signature}).@item C-c C-v@kindex C-c C-v@findex message-delete-not-regionDelete all text in the body of the message that is outside the region(@code{message-delete-not-region}).@item M-RET@kindex M-RET@findex message-newline-and-reformatInsert four newlines, and then reformat if inside quoted text.Here's an example:@example> This is some quoted text. And here's more quoted text.@end exampleIf point is before @samp{And} and you press @kbd{M-RET}, you'll get:@example> This is some quoted text.*> And here's more quoted text.@end example@samp{*} says where point will be placed.@item C-c M-r@kindex C-c M-r@findex message-rename-bufferRename the buffer (@code{message-rename-buffer}). If given a prefix,prompt for a new buffer name.@item TAB@kindex TAB@findex message-tab@vindex message-tab-body-functionIf non-@code{nil} execute the function specified in@code{message-tab-body-function}. Otherwise use the function bound to@kbd{TAB} in @code{text-mode-map} or @code{global-map}.@end table@node Sending@section Sending@table @kbd@item C-c C-c@kindex C-c C-c@findex message-send-and-exitSend the message and bury the current buffer(@code{message-send-and-exit}).@item C-c C-s@kindex C-c C-s@findex message-sendSend the message (@code{message-send}).@item C-c C-d@kindex C-c C-d@findex message-dont-sendBury the message buffer and exit (@code{message-dont-send}).@item C-c C-k@kindex C-c C-k@findex message-kill-bufferKill the message buffer and exit (@code{message-kill-buffer}).@end table@node Mail Aliases@section Mail Aliases@cindex mail aliases@cindex aliases@vindex message-mail-alias-typeThe @code{message-mail-alias-type} variable controls what type of mailalias expansion to use. Currently only one form is supported---Messageuses @code{mailabbrev} to handle mail aliases. If this variable is@code{nil}, no mail alias expansion will be performed.@code{mailabbrev} works by parsing the @file{/etc/mailrc} and@file{~/.mailrc} files. These files look like:@examplealias lmi "Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@ifi.uio.no>"alias ding "ding@@ifi.uio.no (ding mailing list)"@end exampleAfter adding lines like this to your @file{~/.mailrc} file, you shouldbe able to just write @samp{lmi} in the @code{To} or @code{Cc} (and soon) headers and press @kbd{SPC} to expand the alias.No expansion will be performed upon sending of the message---allexpansions have to be done explicitly.@node Spelling@section Spelling@cindex spelling@findex ispell-messageThere are two popular ways to have Emacs spell-check your messages:@code{ispell} and @code{flyspell}. @code{ispell} is the older andprobably more popular package. You typically first write the message,and then run the entire thing through @code{ispell} and fix all thetypos. To have this happen automatically when you send a message, putsomething like the following in your @file{.emacs} file:@lisp(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)@end lisp@vindex ispell-message-dictionary-alistIf you're in the habit of writing in different languages, this can becontrolled by the @code{ispell-message-dictionary-alist} variable:@lisp(setq ispell-message-dictionary-alist '(("^Newsgroups:.*\\bde\\." . "deutsch8") (".*" . "default")))@end lisp@code{ispell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} commandinstalled.The other popular method is using @code{flyspell}. This package checksyour spelling while you're writing, and marks any mis-spelled words invarious ways.To use @code{flyspell}, put something like the following in your@file{.emacs} file:@lisp(defun my-message-setup-routine () (flyspell-mode 1))(add-hook 'message-setup-hook 'my-message-setup-routine)@end lisp@code{flyspell} depends on having the external @samp{ispell} commandinstalled.@node Variables@chapter Variables@menu* Message Headers:: General message header stuff.* Mail Headers:: Customizing mail headers.* Mail Variables:: Other mail variables.* News Headers:: Customizing news headers.* News Variables:: Other news variables.* Insertion Variables:: Customizing how things are inserted.* Various Message Variables:: Other message variables.* Sending Variables:: Variables for sending.* Message Buffers:: How Message names its buffers.* Message Actions:: Actions to be performed when exiting.@end menu@node Message Headers@section Message HeadersMessage is quite aggressive on the message generation front. It has tobe -- it's a combined news and mail agent. To be able to send combinedmessages, it has to generate all headers itself (instead of letting themail/news system do it) to ensure that mail and news copies of messageslook sufficiently similar.@table @code@item message-generate-headers-first@vindex message-generate-headers-firstIf @code{t}, generate all required headers before starting tocompose the message. This can also be a list of headers to generate:@lisp(setq message-generate-headers-first '(References))@end lisp@vindex message-required-headersThe variables @code{message-required-headers},@code{message-required-mail-headers} and@code{message-required-news-headers} specify which headers arerequired.Note that some headers will be removed and re-generated before posting,because of the variable @code{message-deletable-headers} (see below).@item message-draft-headers@vindex message-draft-headersWhen running Message from Gnus, the message buffers are associatedwith a draft group. @code{message-draft-headers} says which headersshould be generated when a draft is written to the draft group.@item message-from-style@vindex message-from-styleSpecifies how @code{From} headers should look. There are four validvalues:@table @code@item nilJust the address -- @samp{king@@grassland.com}.@item parens@samp{king@@grassland.com (Elvis Parsley)}.@item angles@samp{Elvis Parsley <king@@grassland.com>}.@item defaultLook like @code{angles} if that doesn't require quoting, and@code{parens} if it does. If even @code{parens} requires quoting, use@code{angles} anyway.@end table@item message-deletable-headers@vindex message-deletable-headersHeaders in this list that were previously generated by Message will bedeleted before posting. Let's say you post an article. Then you decideto post it again to some other group, you naughty boy, so you jump backto the @code{*post-buf*} buffer, edit the @code{Newsgroups} line, andship it off again. By default, this variable makes sure that the oldgenerated @code{Message-ID} is deleted, and a new one generated. Ifthis isn't done, the entire empire would probably crumble, anarchy wouldprevail, and cats would start walking on two legs and rule the world.Allegedly.@item message-default-headers@vindex message-default-headersThis string is inserted at the end of the headers in all messagebuffers.@item message-subject-re-regexp@vindex message-subject-re-regexp@cindex Aw@cindex Sv@cindex ReResponses to messages have subjects that start with @samp{Re: }. Thisis @emph{not} an abbreviation of the English word ``response'', but isLatin, and means ``in response to''. Some illiterate nincompoops havefailed to grasp this fact, and have ``internationalized'' their softwareto use abominations like @samp{Aw: } (``antwort'') or @samp{Sv: }(``svar'') instead, which is meaningless and evil. However, you mayhave to deal with users that use these evil tools, in which case you mayset this variable to a regexp that matches these prefixes. Myself, Ijust throw away non-compliant mail.Here's an example of a value to deal with these headers whenresponding to a message:@lisp(setq message-subject-re-regexp (concat "^[ \t]*" "\\(" "\\(" "[Aa][Nn][Tt][Ww]\\.?\\|" ; antw "[Aa][Ww]\\|" ; aw "[Ff][Ww][Dd]?\\|" ; fwd "[Oo][Dd][Pp]\\|" ; odp "[Rr][Ee]\\|" ; re "[Rr][\311\351][Ff]\\.?\\|" ; ref "[Ss][Vv]" ; sv "\\)" "\\(\\[[0-9]*\\]\\)" "*:[ \t]*" "\\)" "*[ \t]*" ))@end lisp@item message-subject-trailing-was-query@vindex message-subject-trailing-was-query@vindex message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp@vindex message-subject-trailing-was-regexpControls what to do with trailing @samp{(was: <old subject>)} in subjectlines. If @code{nil}, leave the subject unchanged. If it is the symbol@code{ask}, query the user what do do. In this case, the subject ismatched against @code{message-subject-trailing-was-ask-regexp}. If@code{message-subject-trailing-was-query} is @code{t}, always strip thetrailing old subject. In this case,@code{message-subject-trailing-was-regexp} is used.@item message-alternative-emails@vindex message-alternative-emailsA regexp to match the alternative email addresses. The first matchedaddress (not primary one) is used in the @code{From} field.@item message-allow-no-recipients@vindex message-allow-no-recipientsSpecifies what to do when there are no recipients other than@code{Gcc} or @code{Fcc}. If it is @code{always}, the posting isallowed. If it is @code{never}, the posting is not allowed. If it is@code{ask} (the default), you are prompted.@item message-hidden-headers@vindex message-hidden-headersA regexp, a list of regexps, or a list where the first element is@code{not} and the rest are regexps. It says which headers to keephidden when composing a message.@lisp(setq message-hidden-headers '(not "From" "Subject" "To" "Cc" "Newsgroups"))@end lisp@item message-header-synonyms@vindex message-header-synonymsA list of lists of header synonyms. E.g., if this list contains amember list with elements @code{Cc} and @code{To}, then@code{message-carefully-insert-headers} will not insert a @code{To}header when the message is already @code{Cc}ed to the recipient.@end table@node Mail Headers@section Mail Headers@table @code@item message-required-mail-headers@vindex message-required-mail-headers@xref{News Headers}, for the syntax of this variable. It is@code{(From Date Subject (optional . In-Reply-To) Message-ID Lines(optional . User-Agent))} by default.@item message-ignored-mail-headers@vindex message-ignored-mail-headersRegexp of headers to be removed before mailing. The default is@samp{^[GF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^Xref:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.@item message-default-mail-headers@vindex message-default-mail-headersThis string is inserted at the end of the headers in all messagebuffers that are initialized as mail.@end table@node Mail Variables@section Mail Variables@table @code@item message-send-mail-function@vindex message-send-mail-function@findex message-send-mail-with-sendmail@findex message-send-mail-with-mh@findex message-send-mail-with-qmail@findex message-smtpmail-send-it@findex smtpmail-send-it@findex feedmail-send-itFunction used to send the current buffer as mail. The default is@code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}. Other valid values include@code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},@code{message-smtpmail-send-it}, @code{smtpmail-send-it} and@code{feedmail-send-it}.@item message-mh-deletable-headers@vindex message-mh-deletable-headersMost versions of MH doesn't like being fed messages that contain theheaders in this variable. If this variable is non-@code{nil} (which isthe default), these headers will be removed before mailing when sendingmessages via MH. Set it to @code{nil} if your MH can handle theseheaders.@item message-qmail-inject-program@vindex message-qmail-inject-program@cindex qmailLocation of the qmail-inject program.@item message-qmail-inject-args@vindex message-qmail-inject-argsArguments passed to qmail-inject programs.This should be a list of strings, one string for each argument. Itmay also be a function.For e.g., if you wish to set the envelope sender address so that bouncesgo to the right place or to deal with listserv's usage of that address, youmight set this variable to @code{'("-f" "you@@some.where")}.@item message-sendmail-f-is-evil@vindex message-sendmail-f-is-evil@cindex sendmailNon-@code{nil} means don't add @samp{-f username} to the sendmailcommand line. Doing so would be even more evil than leaving it out.@item message-sendmail-envelope-from@vindex message-sendmail-envelope-fromWhen @code{message-sendmail-f-is-evil} is @code{nil}, this specifiesthe address to use in the @acronym{SMTP} envelope. If it is@code{nil}, use @code{user-mail-address}. If it is the symbol@code{header}, use the @samp{From} header of the message.@item message-mailer-swallows-blank-line@vindex message-mailer-swallows-blank-lineSet this to non-@code{nil} if the system's mailer runs the header andbody together. (This problem exists on SunOS 4 when sendmail is runin remote mode.) The value should be an expression to test whetherthe problem will actually occur.@item message-send-mail-partially-limit@vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit@cindex split large messageThe limitation of messages sent as message/partial. The lower boundof message size in characters, beyond which the message should be sentin several parts. If it is @code{nil}, the size is unlimited.@end table@node News Headers@section News Headers@vindex message-required-news-headers@code{message-required-news-headers} a list of header symbols. Theseheaders will either be automatically generated, or, if that'simpossible, they will be prompted for. The following symbols are valid:@table @code@item From@cindex From@findex user-full-name@findex user-mail-addressThis required header will be filled out with the result of the@code{message-make-from} function, which depends on the@code{message-from-style}, @code{user-full-name},@code{user-mail-address} variables.@item Subject@cindex SubjectThis required header will be prompted for if not present already.@item Newsgroups@cindex NewsgroupsThis required header says which newsgroups the article is to be postedto. If it isn't present already, it will be prompted for.@item Organization@cindex organization@vindex message-user-organization@vindex message-user-organization-fileThis optional header will be filled out depending on the@code{message-user-organization} variable.@code{message-user-organization-file} will be used if this variable is@code{t}. This variable can also be a string (in which case this stringwill be used), or it can be a function (which will be called with noparameters and should return a string to be used).@item Lines@cindex LinesThis optional header will be computed by Message.@item Message-ID@cindex Message-ID@vindex message-user-fqdn@vindex mail-host-address@vindex user-mail-address@findex system-name@cindex Sun@cindex i-did-not-set--mail-host-address--so-tickle-meThis required header will be generated by Message. A unique ID will becreated based on the date, time, user name (for the local part) and thedomain part. For the domain part, message will look (in this order) at@code{message-user-fqdn}, @code{system-name}, @code{mail-host-address}and @code{message-user-mail-address} (i.e. @code{user-mail-address})until a probably valid fully qualified domain name (FQDN) was found.@item User-Agent@cindex User-AgentThis optional header will be filled out according to the@code{message-newsreader} local variable.@item In-Reply-ToThis optional header is filled out using the @code{Date} and @code{From}header of the article being replied to.@item Expires@cindex Expires@vindex message-expiresThis extremely optional header will be inserted according to the@code{message-expires} variable. It is highly deprecated and shouldn'tbe used unless you know what you're doing.@item Distribution@cindex Distribution@vindex message-distribution-functionThis optional header is filled out according to the@code{message-distribution-function} variable. It is a deprecated andmuch misunderstood header.@item Path@cindex path@vindex message-user-pathThis extremely optional header should probably never be used.However, some @emph{very} old servers require that this header ispresent. @code{message-user-path} further controls how this@code{Path} header is to look. If it is @code{nil}, use the server nameas the leaf node. If it is a string, use the string. If it is neithera string nor @code{nil}, use the user name only. However, it is highlyunlikely that you should need to fiddle with this variable at all.@end table@findex yow@cindex Mime-VersionIn addition, you can enter conses into this list. The @sc{car} of this consshould be a symbol. This symbol's name is the name of the header, andthe @sc{cdr} can either be a string to be entered verbatim as the value ofthis header, or it can be a function to be called. This function shouldreturn a string to be inserted. For instance, if you want to insert@code{Mime-Version: 1.0}, you should enter @code{(Mime-Version . "1.0")}into the list. If you want to insert a funny quote, you could entersomething like @code{(X-Yow . yow)} into the list. The function@code{yow} will then be called without any arguments.If the list contains a cons where the @sc{car} of the cons is@code{optional}, the @sc{cdr} of this cons will only be inserted if it isnon-@code{nil}.If you want to delete an entry from this list, the following Lispsnippet might be useful. Adjust accordingly if you want to removeanother element.@lisp(setq message-required-news-headers (delq 'Message-ID message-required-news-headers))@end lispOther variables for customizing outgoing news articles:@table @code@item message-syntax-checks@vindex message-syntax-checksControls what syntax checks should not be performed on outgoing posts.To disable checking of long signatures, for instance, add@lisp(signature . disabled)@end lispto this list.Valid checks are:@table @code@item subject-cmsgCheck the subject for commands.@item sender@cindex SenderInsert a new @code{Sender} header if the @code{From} header looks odd.@item multiple-headersCheck for the existence of multiple equal headers.@item sendsys@cindex sendsysCheck for the existence of version and sendsys commands.@item message-idCheck whether the @code{Message-ID} looks ok.@item fromCheck whether the @code{From} header seems nice.@item long-lines@cindex long linesCheck for too long lines.@item control-charsCheck for invalid characters.@item sizeCheck for excessive size.@item new-textCheck whether there is any new text in the messages.@item signatureCheck the length of the signature.@item approved@cindex approvedCheck whether the article has an @code{Approved} header, which issomething only moderators should include.@item emptyCheck whether the article is empty.@item invisible-textCheck whether there is any invisible text in the buffer.@item empty-headersCheck whether any of the headers are empty.@item existing-newsgroupsCheck whether the newsgroups mentioned in the @code{Newsgroups} and@code{Followup-To} headers exist.@item valid-newsgroupsCheck whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headersare valid syntactically.@item repeated-newsgroupsCheck whether the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-to} headerscontains repeated group names.@item shorten-followup-toCheck whether to add a @code{Followup-to} header to shorten the numberof groups to post to.@end tableAll these conditions are checked by default.@item message-ignored-news-headers@vindex message-ignored-news-headersRegexp of headers to be removed before posting. The default is@*@samp{^NNTP-Posting-Host:\\|^Xref:\\|^[BGF]cc:\\|^Resent-Fcc:\\|^X-Draft-From:}.@item message-default-news-headers@vindex message-default-news-headersThis string is inserted at the end of the headers in all messagebuffers that are initialized as news.@end table@node News Variables@section News Variables@table @code@item message-send-news-function@vindex message-send-news-functionFunction used to send the current buffer as news. The default is@code{message-send-news}.@item message-post-method@vindex message-post-methodGnusish @dfn{select method} (see the Gnus manual for details) used forposting a prepared news message.@end table@node Insertion Variables@section Insertion Variables@table @code@item message-ignored-cited-headers@vindex message-ignored-cited-headersAll headers that match this regexp will be removed from yankedmessages. The default is @samp{.}, which means that all headers will beremoved.@item message-cite-prefix-regexp@vindex message-cite-prefix-regexpRegexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.@item message-citation-line-function@vindex message-citation-line-function@cindex attribution lineFunction called to insert the citation line. The default is@code{message-insert-citation-line}, which will lead to citation linesthat look like:@exampleHallvard B Furuseth <h.b.furuseth@@usit.uio.no> writes:@end examplePoint will be at the beginning of the body of the message when thisfunction is called.Note that Gnus provides a feature where clicking on `writes:' hides thecited text. If you change the citation line too much, readers of yourmessages will have to adjust their Gnus, too. See the variable@code{gnus-cite-attribution-suffix}. @xref{Article Highlighting, ,Article Highlighting, gnus, The Gnus Manual}, for details.@item message-yank-prefix@vindex message-yank-prefix@cindex yanking@cindex quotingWhen you are replying to or following up an article, you normally wantto quote the person you are answering. Inserting quoted text is doneby @dfn{yanking}, and each line you yank will have@code{message-yank-prefix} prepended to it (except for quoted andempty lines which uses @code{message-yank-cited-prefix}). The defaultis @samp{> }.@item message-yank-cited-prefix@vindex message-yank-cited-prefix@cindex yanking@cindex cited@cindex quotingWhen yanking text from an article which contains no text or alreadycited text, each line will be prefixed with the contents of thisvariable. The default is @samp{>}. See also@code{message-yank-prefix}.@item message-indentation-spaces@vindex message-indentation-spacesNumber of spaces to indent yanked messages.@item message-cite-function@vindex message-cite-function@findex message-cite-original@findex sc-cite-original@findex message-cite-original-without-signature@cindex SuperciteFunction for citing an original message. The default is@code{message-cite-original}, which simply inserts the original messageand prepends @samp{> } to each line.@code{message-cite-original-without-signature} does the same, but elidesthe signature. You can also set it to @code{sc-cite-original} to useSupercite.@item message-indent-citation-function@vindex message-indent-citation-functionFunction for modifying a citation just inserted in the mail buffer.This can also be a list of functions. Each function can find thecitation between @code{(point)} and @code{(mark t)}. And each functionshould leave point and mark around the citation text as modified.@item message-mark-insert-begin@vindex message-mark-insert-beginString to mark the beginning of some inserted text.@item message-mark-insert-end@vindex message-mark-insert-endString to mark the end of some inserted text.@item message-signature@vindex message-signatureString to be inserted at the end of the message buffer. If @code{t}(which is the default), the @code{message-signature-file} file will beinserted instead. If a function, the result from the function will beused instead. If a form, the result from the form will be used instead.If this variable is @code{nil}, no signature will be inserted at all.@item message-signature-file@vindex message-signature-fileFile containing the signature to be inserted at the end of the buffer.The default is @file{~/.signature}.@item message-signature-insert-empty-line@vindex message-signature-insert-empty-lineIf @code{t} (the default value) an empty line is inserted before thesignature separator.@end tableNote that RFC1036bis says that a signature should be preceded by the threecharacters @samp{-- } on a line by themselves. This is to make iteasier for the recipient to automatically recognize and process thesignature. So don't remove those characters, even though you might feelthat they ruin your beautiful design, like, totally.Also note that no signature should be more than four lines long.Including @acronym{ASCII} graphics is an efficient way to geteverybody to believe that you are silly and have nothing important tosay.@node Various Message Variables@section Various Message Variables@table @code@item message-default-charset@vindex message-default-charset@cindex charsetSymbol naming a @acronym{MIME} charset. Non-@acronym{ASCII}characters in messages are assumed to be encoded using this charset.The default is @code{nil}, which means ask the user. (This variableis used only on non-@sc{mule} Emacsen. @xref{Charset Translation, ,Charset Translation, emacs-mime, Emacs MIME Manual}, for details onthe @sc{mule}-to-@acronym{MIME} translation process.@item message-signature-separator@vindex message-signature-separatorRegexp matching the signature separator. It is @samp{^-- *$} bydefault.@item mail-header-separator@vindex mail-header-separatorString used to separate the headers from the body. It is @samp{--textfollows this line--} by default.@item message-directory@vindex message-directoryDirectory used by many mailey things. The default is @file{~/Mail/}.All other mail file variables are derived from @code{message-directory}.@item message-auto-save-directory@vindex message-auto-save-directoryDirectory where Message auto-saves buffers if Gnus isn't running. If@code{nil}, Message won't auto-save. The default is @file{~/Mail/drafts/}.@item message-signature-setup-hook@vindex message-signature-setup-hookHook run when initializing the message buffer. It is run after theheaders have been inserted but before the signature has been inserted.@item message-setup-hook@vindex message-setup-hookHook run as the last thing when the message buffer has been initialized,but before yanked text is inserted.@item message-header-setup-hook@vindex message-header-setup-hookHook called narrowed to the headers after initializing the headers.For instance, if you're running Gnus and wish to insert a@samp{Mail-Copies-To} header in all your news articles and all messagesyou send to mailing lists, you could do something like the following:@lisp(defun my-message-header-setup-hook () (let ((group (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))) (when (or (message-fetch-field "newsgroups") (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-address) (gnus-group-find-parameter group 'to-list)) (insert "Mail-Copies-To: never\n"))))(add-hook 'message-header-setup-hook 'my-message-header-setup-hook)@end lisp@item message-send-hook@vindex message-send-hookHook run before sending messages.If you want to add certain headers before sending, you can use the@code{message-add-header} function in this hook. For instance:@findex message-add-header@lisp(add-hook 'message-send-hook 'my-message-add-content)(defun my-message-add-content () (message-add-header "X-In-No-Sense: Nonsense") (message-add-header "X-Whatever: no"))@end lispThis function won't add the header if the header is already present.@item message-send-mail-hook@vindex message-send-mail-hookHook run before sending mail messages. This hook is run very late --just before the message is actually sent as mail.@item message-send-news-hook@vindex message-send-news-hookHook run before sending news messages. This hook is run very late --just before the message is actually sent as news.@item message-sent-hook@vindex message-sent-hookHook run after sending messages.@item message-cancel-hook@vindex message-cancel-hookHook run when canceling news articles.@item message-mode-syntax-table@vindex message-mode-syntax-tableSyntax table used in message mode buffers.@item message-strip-special-text-properties@vindex message-strip-special-text-propertiesEmacs has a number of special text properties which can break messagecomposing in various ways. If this option is set, message will stripthese properties from the message composition buffer. However, somepackages requires these properties to be present in order to work. Ifyou use one of these packages, turn this option off, and hope themessage composition doesn't break too bad.@item message-send-method-alist@vindex message-send-method-alistAlist of ways to send outgoing messages. Each element has the form@lisp(@var{type} @var{predicate} @var{function})@end lisp@table @var@item typeA symbol that names the method.@item predicateA function called without any parameters to determine whether themessage is a message of type @var{type}.@item functionA function to be called if @var{predicate} returns non-@code{nil}.@var{function} is called with one parameter -- the prefix.@end table@lisp((news message-news-p message-send-via-news) (mail message-mail-p message-send-via-mail))@end lisp@end table@node Sending Variables@section Sending Variables@table @code@item message-fcc-handler-function@vindex message-fcc-handler-functionA function called to save outgoing articles. This function will becalled with the name of the file to store the article in. The defaultfunction is @code{message-output} which saves in Unix mailbox format.@item message-courtesy-message@vindex message-courtesy-messageWhen sending combined messages, this string is inserted at the start ofthe mailed copy. If the string contains the format spec @samp{%s}, thenewsgroups the article has been posted to will be inserted there. Ifthis variable is @code{nil}, no such courtesy message will be added.The default value is @samp{"The following message is a courtesy copy ofan article\\nthat has been posted to %s as well.\\n\\n"}.@item message-fcc-externalize-attachments@vindex message-fcc-externalize-attachmentsIf @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Fcc copies; if it isnon-@code{nil}, attach local files as external parts.@item message-interactive@vindex message-interactiveIf non-@code{nil} wait for and display errors when sending a message;if @code{nil} let the mailer mail back a message to report errors.@end table@node Message Buffers@section Message BuffersMessage will generate new buffers with unique buffer names when yourequest a message buffer. When you send the message, the buffer isn'tnormally killed off. Its name is changed and a certain number of oldmessage buffers are kept alive.@table @code@item message-generate-new-buffers@vindex message-generate-new-buffersIf non-@code{nil}, generate new buffers. The default is @code{t}. Ifthis is a function, call that function with three parameters: The type,the to address and the group name. (Any of these may be @code{nil}.)The function should return the new buffer name.@item message-max-buffers@vindex message-max-buffersThis variable says how many old message buffers to keep. If there aremore message buffers than this, the oldest buffer will be killed. Thedefault is 10. If this variable is @code{nil}, no old message bufferswill ever be killed.@item message-send-rename-function@vindex message-send-rename-functionAfter sending a message, the buffer is renamed from, for instance,@samp{*reply to Lars*} to @samp{*sent reply to Lars*}. If you don'tlike this, set this variable to a function that renames the buffer in amanner you like. If you don't want to rename the buffer at all, you cansay:@lisp(setq message-send-rename-function 'ignore)@end lisp@item message-kill-buffer-on-exit@findex message-kill-buffer-on-exitIf non-@code{nil}, kill the buffer immediately on exit.@end table@node Message Actions@section Message ActionsWhen Message is being used from a news/mail reader, the reader is likelyto want to perform some task after the message has been sent. Perhapsreturn to the previous window configuration or mark an article asreplied.@vindex message-kill-actions@vindex message-postpone-actions@vindex message-exit-actions@vindex message-send-actionsThe user may exit from the message buffer in various ways. The mostcommon is @kbd{C-c C-c}, which sends the message and exits. Otherpossibilities are @kbd{C-c C-s} which just sends the message, @kbd{C-cC-d} which postpones the message editing and buries the message buffer,and @kbd{C-c C-k} which kills the message buffer. Each of these actionshave lists associated with them that contains actions to be executed:@code{message-send-actions}, @code{message-exit-actions},@code{message-postpone-actions}, and @code{message-kill-actions}.Message provides a function to interface with these lists:@code{message-add-action}. The first parameter is the action to beadded, and the rest of the arguments are which lists to add this actionto. Here's an example from Gnus:@lisp (message-add-action `(set-window-configuration ,(current-window-configuration)) 'exit 'postpone 'kill)@end lispThis restores the Gnus window configuration when the message buffer iskilled, postponed or exited.An @dfn{action} can be either: a normal function, or a list where the@sc{car} is a function and the @sc{cdr} is the list of arguments, ora form to be @code{eval}ed.@node Compatibility@chapter Compatibility@cindex compatibilityMessage uses virtually only its own variables---older @code{mail-}variables aren't consulted. To force Message to take those variablesinto account, you can put the following in your @file{.emacs} file:@lisp(require 'messcompat)@end lispThis will initialize many Message variables from the values in thecorresponding mail variables.@node Appendices@chapter Appendices@menu* Responses:: Standard rules for determining where responses go.@end menu@node Responses@section ResponsesTo determine where a message is to go, the following algorithm is usedby default.@table @dfn@item replyA @dfn{reply} is when you want to respond @emph{just} to the person whosent the message via mail. There will only be one recipient. Todetermine who the recipient will be, the following headers areconsulted, in turn:@table @code@item Reply-To@item From@end table@item wide replyA @dfn{wide reply} is a mail response that includes @emph{all} entitiesmentioned in the message you are responded to. All mailboxes from thefollowing headers will be concatenated to form the outgoing@code{To}/@code{Cc} headers:@table @code@item From(unless there's a @code{Reply-To}, in which case that is used instead).@item Cc@item To@end tableIf a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will also be includedin the list of mailboxes. If this header is @samp{never}, that meansthat the @code{From} (or @code{Reply-To}) mailbox will be suppressed.@item followupA @dfn{followup} is a response sent via news. The following headers(listed in order of precedence) determine where the response is to besent:@table @code@item Followup-To@item Newsgroups@end tableIf a @code{Mail-Copies-To} header is present, it will be used as thebasis of the new @code{Cc} header, except if this header is@samp{never}.@end table@node Index@chapter Index@printindex cp@node Key Index@chapter Key Index@printindex ky@summarycontents@contents@bye@c End:@ignore arch-tag: 16ab76af-a281-4e34-aed6-5624569f7601@end ignore