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+++ b/man/smtpmail.texi	Sun Feb 23 12:09:45 2003 +0000
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+\input texinfo  @c -*-texinfo-*-
+@setfilename ../info/smtpmail
+@settitle Emacs SMTP Library
+@syncodeindex vr fn
+@copying
+Copyright @copyright{} 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+@quotation
+Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
+any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
+Invariant Sections being ``The GNU Manifesto'', ``Distribution'' and
+``GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE'', with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
+Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below.  A copy of the
+license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
+License'' in the Emacs manual.
+
+(a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
+this GNU Manual, like GNU software.  Copies published by the Free
+Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
+
+This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
+Documentation License.  If you want to distribute this document
+separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
+license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
+@end quotation
+@end copying
+
+@dircategory Emacs
+@direntry
+* Emacs SMTP Library: (smtpmail). Emacs library for sending mail via SMTP.
+@end direntry
+
+@titlepage
+@title{Emacs SMTP Library}
+@subtitle{An Emacs package for sending mail via SMTP}
+@author{Simon Josefsson}
+@end titlepage
+
+@node Top
+@chapter Sending mail via SMTP
+@cindex SMTP
+
+   On the Internet, mail is sent from host to host using the simple
+mail transfer protocol (SMTP).  When you read and write mail you are
+using a mail program that does not use SMTP --- it just reads mails
+from files.  This is called a mail user agent (MUA).  The mail
+transfer agent (MTA) is the program that accepts mails via SMTP and
+stores them in files.  You also need a mail transfer agent when you
+send mails.  Your mail program has to send its mail to a MTA that can
+pass it on using SMTP.
+
+   Emacs includes a package for sending your mail to a SMTP server and
+have it take care of delivering it to the final destination, rather
+than letting the MTA on your local system take care of it.  This can
+be useful if you don't have a MTA set up on your host, or if your
+machine is often disconnected from the Internet.
+
+  Sending mail via SMTP requires configuring your mail user agent
+(@pxref{Mail Methods,,,emacs}) to use the SMTP library.  How to do
+this should be described for each mail user agent; for the default
+mail user agent the variable @code{send-mail-function} (@pxref{Mail
+Sending,,,emacs}) is used; for the Message and Gnus user agents the
+variable @code{message-send-mail-function} (@pxref{Mail
+Variables,,,message}) is used.
+
+@example
+;; If you use the default mail user agent.
+(setq send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
+;; If you use Message or Gnus.
+(setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it)
+@end example
+
+  Before using SMTP you must find out the hostname of the SMTP server
+to use.  Your system administrator should provide you with this
+information, but often it is the same as the server you receive mail
+from.
+
+@table @code
+@item smtpmail-smtp-server
+@vindex smtpmail-smtp-server
+@vindex SMTPSERVER
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-smtp-server} controls the hostname of
+the server to use.  It is a string with an IP address or hostname.  It
+defaults to the contents of the @code{SMTPSERVER} environment
+variable, or, if empty, the contents of
+@code{smtpmail-default-smtp-server}.
+
+@item smtpmail-default-smtp-server
+@vindex smtpmail-default-smtp-server
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-default-smtp-server} controls the
+default hostname of the server to use.  It is a string with an IP
+address or hostname.  It must be set before the SMTP library is
+loaded.  It has no effect if set after the SMTP library has been
+loaded, or if @code{smtpmail-smtp-server} is defined.  It is usually
+set by system administrators in a site wide initialization file.
+@end table
+
+The following example illustrates what you could put in
+@file{~/.emacs} to set the SMTP server name.
+
+@example
+;; Send mail using SMTP via mail.example.org.
+(setq smtpmail-smtp-server "mail.example.org")
+@end example
+
+@cindex Mail Submission
+SMTP is normally used on the registered ``smtp'' TCP service port 25.
+Some environments use SMTP in ``Mail Submission'' mode, which uses
+port 587.  Using other ports is not uncommon, either for security by
+obscurity purposes, port forwarding, or otherwise.
+
+@table @code
+@item smtpmail-smtp-service
+@vindex smtpmail-smtp-service
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-smtp-service} controls the port on the
+server to contact.  It is either a string, in which case it will be
+translated into an integer using system calls, or an integer.
+@end table
+
+The following example illustrates what you could put in
+@file{~/.emacs} to set the SMTP service port.
+
+@example
+;; Send mail using SMTP on the mail submission port 587.
+(setq smtpmail-smtp-service 587)
+@end example
+
+@menu
+* Authentication::	Authenticating yourself to the server.
+* Queued delivery::	Sending mail without an Internet connection.
+* Server workarounds::	Mail servers with special requirements.
+* Debugging::		Tracking down problems.
+* Index::		Index over variables and functions.
+@end menu
+
+@node Authentication
+@section Authentication
+
+Many environments require SMTP clients to authenticate themselves
+before they are allowed to route mail via a server.  The two following
+variables contains the authentication information needed for this.
+The first variable, @code{smtpmail-auth-credentials}, instructs the
+SMTP library to use a SASL authentication step, currently only the
+CRAM-MD5, PLAIN and LOGIN-MD5 mechanisms are supported and will be
+selected in that order if the server supports them.  The second
+variable, @code{smtpmail-starttls-credentials}, instructs the SMTP
+library to connect to the server using STARTTLS.  This means the
+protocol exchange can be integrity protected and confidential by using
+TLS, and optionally also authentication of the client.  It is common
+to use both these mechanisms, e.g., to use STARTTLS to achieve
+integrity and confidentiality and then use SASL for client
+authentication.
+
+@table @code
+@item smtpmail-auth-credentials
+@vindex smtpmail-auth-credentials
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-auth-credentials} contains a list of
+hostname, port, username and password tuples.  When the SMTP library
+connects to a host on a certain port, this variable is searched to
+find a matching entry for that hostname and port.  If an entry is
+found, the authentication process is invoked and the credentials are
+used.  The hostname field follows the same format as
+@code{smtpmail-smtp-server} (i.e., a string) and the port field the
+same format as @code{smtpmail-smtp-service} (i.e., a string or an
+integer).  The username and password fields, which either can be
+@samp{nil} to indicate that the user is queried for the value
+interactively, should be strings with the username and password,
+respectively, information that is normally provided by system
+administrators.
+
+@item smtpmail-starttls-credentials
+@vindex smtpmail-starttls-credentials
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-starttls-credentials} contains a list of
+tuples with hostname, port, name of file containing client key, and
+name of file containing client certificate.  The processing is similar
+to the previous variable.  The client key and certificate may be
+@samp{nil} if you do not wish to use client authentication.  The use
+of this variable requires the @samp{starttls} external program to be
+installed, you can get @file{starttls-*.tar.gz} from
+@uref{ftp://ftp.opaopa.org/pub/elisp/}.
+@end table
+
+The following example illustrates what you could put in
+@file{~/.emacs} to enable both SASL authentication and STARTTLS.  The
+server name (@code{smtpmail-smtp-server}) is @var{hostname}, the
+server port (@code{smtpmail-smtp-service}) is @var{port}, and the
+username and password are @var{username} and "@var{password}
+respectively.
+
+@example
+;; Authenticate using this username and password against my server.
+(setq smtpmail-auth-credentials
+      '(("@var{hostname}" "@var{port}" "@var{username}" "@var{password}")))
+;; Use STARTTLS without authentication against the server.
+(setq smtpmail-starttls-credentials
+      '(("@var{hostname}" "@var{port}" nil nil)))
+@end example
+
+@node Queued delivery
+@section Queued delivery
+
+If you connect to the Internet via a dialup connection, or for some
+other reason doesn't have permanent Internet connection, sending mail
+will fail when you are not connected.  The SMTP library implements
+queued delivery, and the following variable control its behaviour.
+
+@table @code
+
+@item smtpmail-queue-mail
+@vindex smtpmail-queue-mail
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-queue-mail} controls whether a simple
+off line mail sender is active.  This variable is a boolean, and
+defaults to @samp{nil} (disabled).  If this is non-nil, mail is not
+sent immediately but rather queued in the directory
+@code{smtpmail-queue-dir} and can be later sent manually by invoking
+@code{smtpmail-send-queued-mail} (typically when you connect to the
+Internet).
+
+@item smtpmail-queue-mail
+@vindex smtpmail-queue-dir
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-queue-dir} specifies the name of the
+directory to hold queued messages.  It defaults to
+@file{~/Mail/queued-mail/}.
+
+@findex smtpmail-send-queued-mail
+  The function @code{smtpmail-send-queued-mail} can be used to send
+any queued mail when @code{smtpmail-queue-mail} is enabled.  It is
+typically invoked interactively with @kbd{M-x RET
+smtpmail-send-queued-mail RET} when you are connected to the Internet.
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node Server workarounds
+@section Server workarounds
+
+Some SMTP servers have special requirements.  The following variables
+implement support for common requirements.
+
+@table @code
+
+@item smtpmail-local-domain
+@vindex smtpmail-local-domain
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-local-domain} controls the hostname sent
+in the first @code{EHLO} or @code{HELO} command sent to the server.
+It should only be set if the @code{system-name} function returns a
+name that isn't accepted by the server.  Do not set this variable
+unless your server complains.
+
+@item smtpmail-sendto-domain
+@vindex smtpmail-sendto-domain
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-sendto-domain} makes the SMTP library
+add @samp{@@} and the specified value to recipients specified in the
+message when they are sent using the @code{RCPT TO} command.  Some
+configurations of sendmail requires this behaviour.  Don't bother to
+set this unless you have get an error like:
+
+@example
+	Sending failed; SMTP protocol error
+@end example
+
+when sending mail, and the debug buffer (@pxref{Debugging})) contains
+an error such as:
+
+@example
+	RCPT TO: @var{someone}
+	501 @var{someone}: recipient address must contain a domain
+@end example
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node Debugging
+@section Debugging
+
+Sometimes delivery fails, often with the generic error message
+@samp{Sending failed; SMTP protocol error}.  Enabling one or both of
+the following variables and inspecting a trace buffer will often give
+clues to the reason for the error.
+
+@table @code
+
+@item smtpmail-debug-info
+@vindex smtpmail-debug-info
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-debug-info} controls whether to print
+the SMTP protocol exchange in the minibuffer, and retain the entire
+exchange in a buffer @samp{*trace of SMTP session to @var{server}*},
+where @var{server} is the name of the mail server to which you send
+mail.
+
+@item smtpmail-debug-verb
+@vindex smtpmail-debug-verb
+  The variable @code{smtpmail-debug-verb} controls whether to send the
+@code{VERB} token to the server.  The @code{VERB} server instructs the
+server to be more verbose, and often also to attempt final delivery
+while your SMTP session is still running.  It is usually only useful
+together with @code{smtpmail-debug-info}.  Note that this may cause
+mail delivery to take considerable time if the final destination
+cannot accept mail.
+
+@end table
+
+@node Index
+@section Function and Variable Index
+@printindex fn
+
+@contents
+@bye