Subject: Re: bug#70338: message-fcc-externalize-attachments has no effect

From: Nicolas Graner <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2024 19:29:25 +0200

Eric Abrahamsen <[email-masked]> wrote on 2024-04-20 08:36:
> So far I don't see that this option would actually do anything in an FCC
> context. `message-fcc-externalize-attachments' is only used in
> `message-do-fcc`, where its value is let-bound to
> `mml-externalize-attachments'.
>
> But `mml-externalize-attachments' is only consulted in
> `gnus-inews-do-gcc', which already doesn't sound very promising. That
> function first let-binds `mml-externalize-attachments' to nil, before
> doing its own setting, so any dynamic value is getting overridden
> anyway.
>
> I tried starting with `gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments' and sending a
> message with an attachment, just to see how it's supposed to work.
> Nothing seemed to happen.
>
> Can you tell me what the desired effect is supposed to be? Does the
> "gcc" version of this option work for you?
>
> Eric

When you attach a file to a mail message you are writing, only an anchor
with the file name is inserted in the message buffer. When the message
is sent, the anchor is replaced with the actual MIME-encoded contents of
the attached file. The copy of the message that is written to the FCC
file also includes the MIME-encoded attached file.

I was expecting that externalization would mean that the copy in the FCC
file would only include an anchor rather than the attachment, which
would be extremely useful. I must admit this was only a guess (wishful
thinking?) since the documentation is not explicit at all.

I don't use gnus. To test the gnus version of the variable, I guess I
would need access to a free, public NNTP server, which I don't know
where to find. Can you help?

Nicolas