diff --git a/guile/mu-guile-message.c b/guile/mu-guile-message.c
index 4ead16b2..24af3411 100644
--- a/guile/mu-guile-message.c
+++ b/guile/mu-guile-message.c
@@ -358,7 +358,7 @@ SCM_DEFINE (get_parts, "mu:c:get-parts", 1, 1, 0,
 	msgwrap = (MuMsgWrapper*) SCM_CDR(MSG);
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msgwrap->_msg,
 			     (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_part,
-			     &attinfo, MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_NONE);
+			     &attinfo, MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 
 	/* explicitly close the file backend, so we won't run of fds */
 	mu_msg_unload_msg_file (msgwrap->_msg);
diff --git a/lib/mu-msg-crypto.c b/lib/mu-msg-crypto.c
index dffa905c..35002e2a 100644
--- a/lib/mu-msg-crypto.c
+++ b/lib/mu-msg-crypto.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ dummy_password_requester (GMimeCryptoContext *ctx, const char *user_id,
 
 
 GMimeCryptoContext*
-get_gpg_crypto_context (MuMsgPartOptions opts, GError **err)
+get_gpg_crypto_context (MuMsgOptions opts, GError **err)
 {
 	GMimeCryptoContext *ctx;
 	const char *prog;
@@ -72,18 +72,18 @@ get_gpg_crypto_context (MuMsgPartOptions opts, GError **err)
 
 	g_mime_gpg_context_set_use_agent
 		(GMIME_GPG_CONTEXT(ctx),
-		 opts & MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_USE_AGENT);
+		 opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_AGENT);
 	g_mime_gpg_context_set_always_trust
 		(GMIME_GPG_CONTEXT(ctx), FALSE);
 	g_mime_gpg_context_set_auto_key_retrieve
 		(GMIME_GPG_CONTEXT(ctx),
-		 opts & MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY);
+		 opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY);
 
 	return ctx;
 }
 
 GMimeCryptoContext*
-get_pkcs7_crypto_context (MuMsgPartOptions opts, GError **err)
+get_pkcs7_crypto_context (MuMsgOptions opts, GError **err)
 {
 	GMimeCryptoContext *ctx;
 
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ error_sig_infos (void)
 
 
 GSList*
-mu_msg_mime_sig_infos (GMimeMultipartSigned *sigmpart, MuMsgPartOptions opts,
+mu_msg_mime_sig_infos (GMimeMultipartSigned *sigmpart, MuMsgOptions opts,
 		       GError **err)
 {
 	int i;
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ mu_msg_mime_sig_infos (GMimeMultipartSigned *sigmpart, MuMsgPartOptions opts,
 		return NULL; /* error */
 	}
 
-	if (opts & MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_USE_PKCS7)
+	if (opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_PKCS7)
 		cctx =  get_pkcs7_crypto_context (opts, err);
 	else
 		cctx =  get_gpg_crypto_context (opts, err);
diff --git a/lib/mu-msg-part.c b/lib/mu-msg-part.c
index c26c51fe..72d0589f 100644
--- a/lib/mu-msg-part.c
+++ b/lib/mu-msg-part.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 /* -*-mode: c; tab-width: 8; indent-tabs-mode: t; c-basic-offset: 8 -*-*/
 
 /*
-** Copyright (C) 2008-2011 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
+** Copyright (C) 2008-2012 Dirk-Jan C. Binnema <djcb@djcbsoftware.nl>
 **
 ** This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
 ** under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ struct _PartData {
 	MuMsgPartForeachFunc	_func;
 	gpointer		_user_data;
 	GMimePart               *_body_part;
-	MuMsgPartOptions        _opts;
+	MuMsgOptions        _opts;
 };
 typedef struct _PartData PartData;
 
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ msg_part_free (MuMsgPart *pi)
 
 static void
 check_signature_maybe (GMimeObject *parent, GMimeObject *mobj, MuMsgPart *pi,
-		       MuMsgPartOptions opts)
+		       MuMsgOptions opts)
 {
 #ifdef BUILD_CRYPTO
 
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ check_signature_maybe (GMimeObject *parent, GMimeObject *mobj, MuMsgPart *pi,
 	else return; /* don't know how to handle other kinds */
 
 	if (pkcs7)
-		opts |= MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_USE_PKCS7; /* gpg is the default */
+		opts |= MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_PKCS7; /* gpg is the default */
 
 	err = NULL;
 	pi->sig_infos = mu_msg_mime_sig_infos
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ part_foreach_cb (GMimeObject *parent, GMimeObject *mobj, PartData *pdata)
 		if (!mmsg)
 			return;
 		rv = init_msg_part_from_mime_message_part (mmsg, &pi);
-		if (rv && (pdata->_opts && MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_RECURSE_RFC822))
+		if (rv && (pdata->_opts && MU_MSG_OPTION_RECURSE_RFC822))
 			/* NOTE: this screws up the counting (pdata->_idx) */
 			g_mime_message_foreach /* recurse */
 				(mmsg, (GMimeObjectForeachFunc)part_foreach_cb,
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ part_foreach_cb (GMimeObject *parent, GMimeObject *mobj, PartData *pdata)
 		rv = FALSE; /* ignore */
 
 	/* if we have crypto support, check the signature if there is one */
-	if (pdata->_opts & MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES)
+	if (pdata->_opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES)
 		check_signature_maybe (parent, mobj, &pi, pdata->_opts);
 
 	if (rv)
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ part_foreach_cb (GMimeObject *parent, GMimeObject *mobj, PartData *pdata)
 
 void
 mu_msg_part_foreach (MuMsg *msg, MuMsgPartForeachFunc func, gpointer user_data,
-		     MuMsgPartOptions opts)
+		     MuMsgOptions opts)
 {
 	PartData pdata;
 	GMimeMessage *mime_msg;
diff --git a/lib/mu-msg-part.h b/lib/mu-msg-part.h
index 8a2adb1b..9a912708 100644
--- a/lib/mu-msg-part.h
+++ b/lib/mu-msg-part.h
@@ -211,19 +211,6 @@ GSList* mu_msg_part_find_files (MuMsg *msg, const GRegex *pattern);
 typedef void (*MuMsgPartForeachFunc) (MuMsg*, MuMsgPart*, gpointer);
 
 
-enum _MuMsgPartOptions {
-	MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_NONE              = 0,
-	MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_RECURSE_RFC822    = 1 << 0, /* recurse into submessages */
-
-	/* below options are for checking signatures; only effective
-	 * if mu was built with crypto support */
-	MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES  = 1 << 1,
-	MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY = 1 << 2,
-	MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_USE_AGENT         = 1 << 3,
-	MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_USE_PKCS7         = 1 << 4   /* gpg is the default */
-};
-typedef enum _MuMsgPartOptions MuMsgPartOptions;
-
 /**
  * call a function for each of the mime part in a message
  *
@@ -235,7 +222,7 @@ typedef enum _MuMsgPartOptions MuMsgPartOptions;
  *
  */
 void mu_msg_part_foreach (MuMsg *msg, MuMsgPartForeachFunc func, gpointer user_data,
-			  MuMsgPartOptions opts);
+			  MuMsgOptions opts);
 
 G_END_DECLS
 
diff --git a/lib/mu-msg-priv.h b/lib/mu-msg-priv.h
index 256e53cf..fc7897fa 100644
--- a/lib/mu-msg-priv.h
+++ b/lib/mu-msg-priv.h
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ GMimePart* mu_msg_mime_get_body_part (GMimeMessage *msg, gboolean want_html);
  * @return a list of MuMsgPartSig, or NULL
  */
 GSList* mu_msg_mime_sig_infos (GMimeMultipartSigned *sigmpart,
-			       MuMsgPartOptions opts, GError **err);
+			       MuMsgOptions opts, GError **err);
 #endif /*BUILD_CRYPTO*/
 
 G_END_DECLS
diff --git a/lib/mu-msg-sexp.c b/lib/mu-msg-sexp.c
index 462b6e55..5977a780 100644
--- a/lib/mu-msg-sexp.c
+++ b/lib/mu-msg-sexp.c
@@ -280,16 +280,15 @@ each_part (MuMsg *msg, MuMsgPart *part, PartInfo *pinfo)
 
 
 static void
-append_sexp_parts (GString *gstr, MuMsg *msg, gboolean want_images)
+append_sexp_parts (GString *gstr, MuMsg *msg, MuMsgOptions opts)
 {
 	PartInfo pinfo;
 
 	pinfo.parts       = NULL;
-	pinfo.want_images = want_images;
+	pinfo.want_images = opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_EXTRACT_IMAGES;
 
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msg, (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_part,
-			     &pinfo, MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES);
-
+			     &pinfo, opts);
 	if (pinfo.parts) {
 		g_string_append_printf (gstr, "\t:parts (%s)\n", pinfo.parts);
 		g_free (pinfo.parts);
@@ -330,15 +329,18 @@ append_sexp_thread_info (GString *gstr, const MuMsgIterThreadInfo *ti)
 
 char*
 mu_msg_to_sexp (MuMsg *msg, unsigned docid, const MuMsgIterThreadInfo *ti,
-		gboolean header_only, gboolean extract_images)
+		MuMsgOptions opts)
 {
 	GString *gstr;
 	time_t t;
 
 	g_return_val_if_fail (msg, NULL);
-	g_return_val_if_fail (!(header_only && extract_images), NULL);
+	g_return_val_if_fail (!((opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_HEADERS_ONLY) &&
+				(opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_EXTRACT_IMAGES)),
+			      NULL);
 
-	gstr = g_string_sized_new (header_only ? 1024 : 8192);
+	gstr = g_string_sized_new ((opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_HEADERS_ONLY) ?
+				   1024 : 8192);
 	g_string_append (gstr, "(\n");
 
 	if (docid != 0)
@@ -367,9 +369,9 @@ mu_msg_to_sexp (MuMsg *msg, unsigned docid, const MuMsgIterThreadInfo *ti,
 	/* headers are retrieved from the database, views from the message file
 	 * file attr things can only be gotten from the file (ie., mu
 	 * view), not from the database (mu find).  */
-	if (!header_only) {
+	if (!(opts & MU_MSG_OPTION_HEADERS_ONLY)) {
 		append_sexp_message_file_attr (gstr, msg);
-		append_sexp_parts (gstr, msg, extract_images);
+		append_sexp_parts (gstr, msg, opts);
 	}
 
 	/* note, some of the contacts info comes from the file, soe
diff --git a/lib/mu-msg.h b/lib/mu-msg.h
index b1844db9..66c22ead 100644
--- a/lib/mu-msg.h
+++ b/lib/mu-msg.h
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include <mu-flags.h>
 #include <mu-msg-fields.h>
 #include <mu-msg-prio.h>
+/* #include <mu-msg-part.h> */
 #include <mu-util.h> /* for MuError and XapianDocument */
 
 G_BEGIN_DECLS
@@ -31,6 +32,27 @@ G_BEGIN_DECLS
 struct _MuMsg;
 typedef struct _MuMsg MuMsg;
 
+/* options for various functions */
+enum _MuMsgOptions {
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE              = 0,
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_RECURSE_RFC822    = 1 << 0, /* recurse into submessages */
+
+	/* for -> sexp conversion */
+
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_HEADERS_ONLY      = 1 << 1,
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_EXTRACT_IMAGES    = 1 << 2,
+
+	/* below options are for checking signatures; only effective
+	 * if mu was built with crypto support */
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES  = 1 << 3,
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY = 1 << 4,
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_AGENT         = 1 << 5,
+	MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_PKCS7         = 1 << 6   /* gpg is the default */
+};
+typedef enum _MuMsgOptions MuMsgOptions;
+
+
+
 /**
  * create a new MuMsg* instance which parses a message and provides
  * read access to its properties; call mu_msg_unref when done with it.
@@ -403,17 +425,23 @@ struct _MuMsgIterThreadInfo;
  * @param msg a valid message
  * @param docid the docid for this message, or 0
  * @param ti thread info for the current message, or NULL
- * @param headers if TRUE, only include message fields which can be
- * obtained from the database (this is much faster if the MuMsg is
- * database-backed, so no file needs to be opened)
- * @param extract_images if TRUE, extract image attachments as temporary
- * files and include links to those in the sexp
+ * @param opts, bitwise OR'ed;
+ *    - MU_MSG_OPTION_HEADERS_ONLY: only include message fields which can be
+ *      obtained from the database (this is much faster if the MuMsg is
+ *      database-backed, so no file needs to be opened)
+ *    - MU_MSG_OPTION_EXTRACT_IMAGES: extract image attachments as temporary
+ *      files and include links to those in the sexp
+ *  and for message parts:
+ *  	MU_MSG_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES: check signatures
+ *	MU_MSG_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY: attempt to retrieve keys online
+ *	MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_AGENT: attempt to use GPG-agent
+ *	MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_PKCS7: attempt to use PKCS (instead of gpg)
  *
  * @return a string with the sexp (free with g_free) or NULL in case of error
  */
 char* mu_msg_to_sexp (MuMsg *msg, unsigned docid,
 		      const struct _MuMsgIterThreadInfo *ti,
-		      gboolean headers_only, gboolean extract_images);
+		      MuMsgOptions ops);
 
 /**
  * move a message to another maildir; note that this does _not_ update
diff --git a/lib/mu-store-write.cc b/lib/mu-store-write.cc
index 30677463..084361b4 100644
--- a/lib/mu-store-write.cc
+++ b/lib/mu-store-write.cc
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ add_terms_values_attach (Xapian::Document& doc, MuMsg *msg,
 	PartData pdata (doc, mfid, strchunk);
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msg,
 			     (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_part, &pdata,
-			     MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_RECURSE_RFC822);
+			     MU_MSG_OPTION_RECURSE_RFC822);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/mu/mu-cmd-extract.c b/mu/mu-cmd-extract.c
index 50b2eaee..de873d9f 100644
--- a/mu/mu-cmd-extract.c
+++ b/mu/mu-cmd-extract.c
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ save_certain_parts (MuMsg *msg, gboolean attachments_only,
 
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msg,
 			     (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)save_part_if,
-			     &sd, MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_NONE);
+			     &sd, MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 
 	if (sd.saved_num == 0) {
 		g_warning ("no %s extracted from this message",
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@ show_parts (const char* path, MuConfig *opts, GError **err)
 	mu_msg_part_foreach
 		(msg, (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_part_show,
 		 GUINT_TO_POINTER(!opts->nocolor),
-		 MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_NONE);
+		 MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 
 	mu_msg_unref (msg);
 
diff --git a/mu/mu-cmd-find.c b/mu/mu-cmd-find.c
index 98e65083..54a81637 100644
--- a/mu/mu-cmd-find.c
+++ b/mu/mu-cmd-find.c
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ output_sexp (MuMsg *msg, MuMsgIter *iter, MuConfig *opts, GError **err)
 
 	ti   = opts->threads ? mu_msg_iter_get_thread_info (iter) : NULL;
 	sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, mu_msg_iter_get_docid (iter),
-			       ti, TRUE, FALSE);
+			       ti, MU_MSG_OPTION_HEADERS_ONLY);
 	fputs (sexp, stdout);
 	g_free (sexp);
 
diff --git a/mu/mu-cmd-server.c b/mu/mu-cmd-server.c
index 6b35d484..53e71dab 100644
--- a/mu/mu-cmd-server.c
+++ b/mu/mu-cmd-server.c
@@ -453,7 +453,7 @@ include_attachments (MuMsg *msg)
 
 	attlist = NULL;
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msg, (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_part,
-			     &attlist, MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_NONE);
+			     &attlist, MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 
 	gstr = g_string_sized_new (512);
 	gstr = g_string_append_c (gstr, '(');
@@ -518,7 +518,8 @@ cmd_compose (ServerContext *ctx, GSList *args, GError **err)
 			print_and_clear_g_error (err);
 			return MU_OK;
 		}
-		sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, atoi(docidstr), NULL, FALSE, FALSE);
+		sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, atoi(docidstr), NULL,
+				       MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 		atts = (ctype == FORWARD) ? include_attachments (msg) : NULL;
 		mu_msg_unref (msg);
 	} else
@@ -655,7 +656,7 @@ print_sexps (MuMsgIter *iter, gboolean threads, unsigned maxnum)
 
 			ti = threads ? mu_msg_iter_get_thread_info (iter) : NULL;
 			sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, mu_msg_iter_get_docid (iter),
-					       ti, TRUE, FALSE);
+					       ti, MU_MSG_OPTION_HEADERS_ONLY);
 			print_expr ("%s", sexp);
 			g_free (sexp);
 			++u;
@@ -1081,8 +1082,7 @@ do_move (MuStore *store, unsigned docid, MuMsg *msg, const char *maildir,
 		print_and_clear_g_error (err);
 	}
 
-	sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, docid, NULL, FALSE/*include body*/,
-			       FALSE/*do not include images*/);
+	sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, docid, NULL, MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 	/* note, the :move t thing is a hint to the frontend that it
 	 * could remove the particular header */
 	print_expr ("(:update %s :move %s)", sexp,
@@ -1343,13 +1343,15 @@ cmd_view (ServerContext *ctx, GSList *args, GError **err)
 	MuMsg *msg;
 	unsigned docid;
 	char *sexp;
-	gboolean extract_images;
+	MuMsgOptions opts;
 
-	extract_images = get_bool_from_args (args, "extract-images", FALSE, err);
-	if (err && *err) {
-		print_and_clear_g_error (err);
-		return MU_OK;
-	}
+	opts = MU_MSG_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES;
+	if (get_bool_from_args (args, "extract-images", FALSE, err))
+		opts |= MU_MSG_OPTION_EXTRACT_IMAGES;
+	if (get_bool_from_args (args, "use-agent", FALSE, NULL))
+		opts |= MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_AGENT;
+	if (get_bool_from_args (args, "auto-retrieve-key", FALSE, NULL))
+		opts |= MU_MSG_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY;
 
 	docid = determine_docid (ctx->query, args, err);
 	if (docid == MU_STORE_INVALID_DOCID) {
@@ -1363,7 +1365,7 @@ cmd_view (ServerContext *ctx, GSList *args, GError **err)
 		return MU_OK;
 	}
 
-	sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, docid, NULL, FALSE, extract_images);
+	sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, docid, NULL, opts);
 	mu_msg_unref (msg);
 
 	print_expr ("(:view %s)\n", sexp);
diff --git a/mu/mu-cmd.c b/mu/mu-cmd.c
index bb11c78b..c0fed2bc 100644
--- a/mu/mu-cmd.c
+++ b/mu/mu-cmd.c
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ view_msg_sexp (MuMsg *msg)
 {
 	char *sexp;
 
-	sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, 0, NULL, FALSE, FALSE);
+	sexp = mu_msg_to_sexp (msg, 0, NULL, MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 	fputs (sexp, stdout);
 	g_free (sexp);
 
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ get_attach_str (MuMsg *msg)
 
 	attach = NULL;
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msg, (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_part, &attach,
-			     MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_NONE);
+			     MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 
 	return attach;
 }
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ MuError
 mu_cmd_verify (MuConfig *opts, GError **err)
 {
 	MuMsg *msg;
-	MuMsgPartOptions partopts;
+	MuMsgOptions msgopts;
 	VData vdata;
 
 	g_return_val_if_fail (opts, MU_ERROR_INTERNAL);
@@ -448,18 +448,18 @@ mu_cmd_verify (MuConfig *opts, GError **err)
 	if (!msg)
 		return MU_ERROR;
 
-	partopts = MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES;
+	msgopts = MU_MSG_OPTION_CHECK_SIGNATURES;
 	if (opts->auto_retrieve)
-		partopts |= MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY;
+		msgopts |= MU_MSG_OPTION_AUTO_RETRIEVE_KEY;
 	if (opts->use_agent)
-		partopts |= MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_USE_AGENT;
+		msgopts |= MU_MSG_OPTION_USE_AGENT;
 
 	vdata.status = MU_MSG_PART_SIG_STATUS_UNKNOWN;
 	vdata.opts   = opts;
 	vdata.msg    = NULL;
 
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msg,(MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_sig, &vdata,
-			     partopts);
+			     msgopts);
 
 	/* if there's anything bad, all goodness goes away */
 	if (vdata.status & MU_MSG_PART_SIG_STATUS_BAD ||
diff --git a/widgets/mu-msg-attach-view.c b/widgets/mu-msg-attach-view.c
index 6020dec0..4dd7956c 100644
--- a/widgets/mu-msg-attach-view.c
+++ b/widgets/mu-msg-attach-view.c
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ mu_msg_attach_view_set_message (MuMsgAttachView *self, MuMsg *msg)
 	cbdata.store = store;
 	cbdata.count = 0;
 	mu_msg_part_foreach (msg, (MuMsgPartForeachFunc)each_part, &cbdata,
-			     MU_MSG_PART_OPTION_NONE);
+			     MU_MSG_OPTION_NONE);
 
 	return cbdata.count;
 }