4 @settitle T-gnus 6.17 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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295 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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304 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
306 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
309 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
310 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
311 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
312 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
313 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
314 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
315 License'' in the Emacs manual.
317 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
318 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
319 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
321 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
322 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
323 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
324 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
332 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
334 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
335 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
337 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
338 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
339 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
340 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
341 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
342 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
343 License'' in the Emacs manual.
345 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
346 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
347 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
349 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
350 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
351 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
352 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
358 @title T-gnus 6.17 Manual
360 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
363 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
364 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
366 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
368 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
369 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
370 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
371 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
372 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
373 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
374 License'' in the Emacs manual.
376 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
377 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
378 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
380 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
381 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
382 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
383 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
392 @top The gnus Newsreader
396 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using T-gnus. The news
397 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
398 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
401 T-gnus provides @acronym{MIME} features based on @acronym{SEMI} API. So
402 T-gnus supports your right to read strange messages including big images
403 or other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
404 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
405 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities. Oh,
406 if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
408 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.17.
419 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
420 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
422 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
423 being accused of plagiarism:
425 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
426 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
427 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
428 can even read news with it!
430 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
431 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
432 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
433 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
434 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
440 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
441 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
442 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
443 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
444 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
445 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
446 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
447 * Various:: General purpose settings.
448 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
449 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
450 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
451 * Key Index:: Key Index.
453 Other related manuals
455 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
456 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
457 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
458 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
459 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
462 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
466 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
467 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
468 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
469 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
470 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
471 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
472 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
473 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
474 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
475 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
476 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
480 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
481 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
482 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
486 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
487 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
488 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
489 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
490 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
491 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
492 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
493 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
494 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
495 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
496 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
497 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
498 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
499 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
500 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
501 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
502 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
506 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
507 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
508 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
512 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
513 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
514 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
515 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
516 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
520 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
521 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
522 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
523 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
524 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
528 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
529 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
530 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
531 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
532 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
533 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
534 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
535 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
536 * Threading:: How threads are made.
537 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
538 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
539 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
540 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
541 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
542 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
543 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
544 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
545 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
546 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
547 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
548 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
549 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
550 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
551 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
552 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
553 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
554 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
555 or reselecting the current group.
556 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
557 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
558 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
559 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
561 Summary Buffer Format
563 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
564 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
565 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
566 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
570 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
571 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
573 Reply, Followup and Post
575 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
576 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
577 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
578 * Canceling and Superseding::
582 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
583 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
584 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
588 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
589 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
590 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
594 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
595 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
597 Customizing Threading
599 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
600 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
601 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
602 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
606 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
607 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
608 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
609 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
610 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
611 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
615 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
616 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
617 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
621 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
622 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
623 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
624 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
625 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
626 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
627 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
628 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
629 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
630 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
631 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
633 Alternative Approaches
635 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
636 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
638 Various Summary Stuff
640 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
641 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
642 * Summary Generation Commands::
643 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
647 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
648 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
649 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
650 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
651 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
655 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
656 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
657 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
658 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
659 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
660 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
661 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
662 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
663 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
667 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
668 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
669 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
670 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
671 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
672 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
673 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
674 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
678 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
679 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
680 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
681 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
682 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
683 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
684 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
688 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
689 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
693 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
694 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
695 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
699 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
700 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
701 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
702 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
703 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
704 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
705 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
706 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
707 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
708 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
709 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
710 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
711 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
715 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
716 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
717 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
719 Choosing a Mail Back End
721 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
722 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
723 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
724 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
725 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
726 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
727 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
732 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
733 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
734 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
735 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
736 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
737 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
741 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
742 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
743 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
744 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
745 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
746 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
750 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
751 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
752 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
753 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
754 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
758 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
762 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
763 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
764 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
768 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
769 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
773 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
774 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
775 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
776 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
777 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
778 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
779 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
780 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
781 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
782 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
783 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
784 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
785 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
789 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
790 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
791 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
795 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
796 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
797 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
801 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
802 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
803 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
804 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
805 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
806 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
807 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
808 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
809 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
810 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
811 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
812 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
813 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
814 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
815 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
816 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
820 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
821 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
822 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
826 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
827 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
828 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
829 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
830 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
831 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
832 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
833 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
834 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
835 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
836 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
837 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
838 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
839 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
840 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
841 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
842 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
843 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
844 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
845 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
849 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
850 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
851 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
852 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
853 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
854 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
855 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
856 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
860 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
861 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
862 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
863 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
864 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
868 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
869 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
870 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
871 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
872 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
873 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
875 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
877 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
878 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
879 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
880 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
881 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
883 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
884 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
886 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
888 * SpamAssassin backend::
889 * ifile spam filtering::
890 * spam-stat spam filtering::
892 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
894 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
896 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
897 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
898 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
902 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
903 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
904 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
905 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
906 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
907 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
908 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
909 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
910 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
914 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
915 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
916 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
917 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
918 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
919 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
920 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
921 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
922 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
926 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
927 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
928 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
929 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
930 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
931 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
932 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
936 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
937 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
938 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
939 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
943 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
944 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
945 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
946 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
947 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
948 * Group Info:: The group info format.
949 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
950 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
951 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
955 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
956 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
957 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
958 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
959 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
960 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
964 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
965 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
969 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
970 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
976 @chapter Starting gnus
981 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
982 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
985 @findex gnus-other-frame
986 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
987 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
988 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
990 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
991 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
992 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
994 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
995 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
998 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
999 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
1000 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
1001 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
1002 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
1003 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
1004 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
1005 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
1006 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
1007 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
1008 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
1012 @node Finding the News
1013 @section Finding the News
1014 @cindex finding news
1016 @vindex gnus-select-method
1018 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
1019 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1020 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1021 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1024 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1025 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1028 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1031 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1034 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1037 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1038 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1039 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1041 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1043 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1044 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1045 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1046 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1047 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1048 If that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1049 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1051 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1052 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1053 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1054 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1056 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1057 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1058 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1059 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1060 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1061 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1062 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1063 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1064 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1067 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1069 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1070 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1071 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1072 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1073 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1074 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1076 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1078 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1079 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1080 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1081 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1082 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1083 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1086 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1087 you would typically set this variable to
1090 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1094 @node The First Time
1095 @section The First Time
1096 @cindex first time usage
1098 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1099 be subscribed by default.
1101 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1102 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1103 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1104 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1107 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1108 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1109 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1111 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1112 help you with most common problems.
1114 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1115 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1119 @node The Server is Down
1120 @section The Server is Down
1121 @cindex server errors
1123 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1124 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1125 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1127 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1128 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1129 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1130 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1131 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1132 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1133 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1135 @findex gnus-no-server
1136 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1138 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1139 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1140 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1141 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1142 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1143 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1144 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1148 @section Slave Gnusae
1151 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1152 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1153 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1154 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1156 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1157 @file{.newsrc} file.
1159 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1160 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1161 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1162 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1163 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1164 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1165 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1168 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1169 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1170 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1171 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1172 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1173 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1174 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1175 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1177 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1178 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1180 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1181 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1182 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1183 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1184 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1186 @node Fetching a Group
1187 @section Fetching a Group
1188 @cindex fetching a group
1190 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1191 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1192 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1193 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1194 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1195 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1201 @cindex subscription
1203 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1204 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1205 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1206 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1207 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1208 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1209 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1210 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1211 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1214 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1215 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1216 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1220 @node Checking New Groups
1221 @subsection Checking New Groups
1223 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1224 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1225 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1226 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1227 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1228 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1229 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1230 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1231 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1232 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1234 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1235 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1236 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1237 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1238 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1239 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1240 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1241 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1242 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1243 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1244 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1246 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1247 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1248 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1249 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1250 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1251 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1254 @node Subscription Methods
1255 @subsection Subscription Methods
1257 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1258 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1259 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1261 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1262 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1264 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1268 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1270 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1271 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1272 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1274 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1275 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1276 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1277 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1279 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1280 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1281 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1283 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1284 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1285 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1286 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1287 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1288 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1289 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1290 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1291 up. Or something like that.
1293 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1294 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1295 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1296 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1297 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1299 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1300 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1301 Kill all new groups.
1303 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1304 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1305 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1306 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1307 topic parameter that looks like
1313 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1316 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1321 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1322 A closely related variable is
1323 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1324 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1325 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1326 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1329 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1330 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1331 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1332 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1335 @node Filtering New Groups
1336 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1338 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1339 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1340 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1343 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1346 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1347 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1348 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1349 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1350 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1351 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1352 subscribing these groups.
1353 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1354 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1356 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1357 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1358 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1359 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1360 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1361 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1362 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1363 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1365 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1366 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1367 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1368 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1369 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1370 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1371 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1372 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1373 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1374 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1377 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1378 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1381 @node Changing Servers
1382 @section Changing Servers
1383 @cindex changing servers
1385 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1386 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1387 very flaky and you want to use another.
1389 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1390 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1394 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1395 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1396 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1397 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1400 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1401 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1402 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1403 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1405 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1406 @findex gnus-change-server
1407 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1408 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1409 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1410 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1411 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1413 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1414 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1415 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1416 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1417 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1419 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1420 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1421 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1422 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1423 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1424 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1426 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1427 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1428 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1429 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1431 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1432 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1433 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1434 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1435 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1436 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1437 cache for all groups).
1441 @section Startup Files
1442 @cindex startup files
1447 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1448 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1450 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1451 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1452 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1453 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1454 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1455 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1456 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1458 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1459 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1460 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1461 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1462 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1463 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1465 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1466 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1467 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1468 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1469 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1470 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1471 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1472 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1473 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1474 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1476 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1477 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1478 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1479 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1480 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1481 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1482 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1483 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1484 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1485 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1486 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1487 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1489 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1490 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1491 @vindex version-control
1492 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1493 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1494 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1495 If you want version control for this file, set
1496 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1497 @code{version-control} variable.
1499 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1500 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1501 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1502 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1503 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1504 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1505 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1506 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1507 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1508 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1511 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1512 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1514 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1515 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1518 @vindex gnus-init-file
1519 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1520 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1521 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1522 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1523 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1524 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1525 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1526 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1527 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1528 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1534 @cindex dribble file
1537 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1538 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1539 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1540 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1541 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1544 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1545 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1548 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1549 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1550 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1552 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1553 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1554 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1555 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1556 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1557 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1559 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1560 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1561 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1564 @node The Active File
1565 @section The Active File
1567 @cindex ignored groups
1569 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1570 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1571 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1573 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1574 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1575 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1576 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1577 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1578 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1579 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1582 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1583 @c if you set it to anything else.
1585 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1587 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1588 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1589 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1591 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1592 you actually subscribe to.
1594 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1595 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1596 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1597 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1599 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1600 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1601 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1602 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1603 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1604 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1606 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1607 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1608 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1611 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1612 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1613 @acronym{NNTP} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1614 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1615 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1616 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1618 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1619 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1621 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1622 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1624 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1625 secondary select methods.
1628 @node Startup Variables
1629 @section Startup Variables
1633 @item gnus-load-hook
1634 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1635 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1636 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1637 times you start gnus.
1639 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1640 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1641 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1643 @item gnus-startup-hook
1644 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1645 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1647 @item gnus-started-hook
1648 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1649 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1652 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1653 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1654 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1655 generating the group buffer.
1657 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1658 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1659 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1660 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1661 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1662 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1663 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1664 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1666 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1667 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1668 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1669 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1670 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1671 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1673 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1674 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1675 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1677 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1678 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1679 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1681 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1682 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1683 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1684 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1690 @chapter Group Buffer
1691 @cindex group buffer
1693 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1695 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1696 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1697 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1698 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1699 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1700 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1701 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1702 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1703 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1704 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1705 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1706 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1707 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1708 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1709 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1710 @c human rights at 9...
1713 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1714 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1715 long as gnus is active.
1719 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1720 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1721 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1722 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1723 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1724 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1725 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1726 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1732 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1733 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1734 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1735 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1736 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1737 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1738 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1739 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1740 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1741 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1742 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1743 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1744 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1745 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1746 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1747 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1748 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1752 @node Group Buffer Format
1753 @section Group Buffer Format
1756 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1757 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1758 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1762 @node Group Line Specification
1763 @subsection Group Line Specification
1764 @cindex group buffer format
1766 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1767 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1769 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1772 25: news.announce.newusers
1773 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1778 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1779 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1780 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1781 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1783 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1784 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1785 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1786 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1787 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1788 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1790 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1792 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1793 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1794 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1795 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1796 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1798 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1799 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1800 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1802 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1807 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1810 Whether the group is subscribed.
1813 Level of subscribedness.
1816 Number of unread articles.
1819 Number of dormant articles.
1822 Number of ticked articles.
1825 Number of read articles.
1828 Number of unseen articles.
1831 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1832 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1834 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1835 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1836 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1837 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1838 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1839 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1840 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1841 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1844 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1847 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1856 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1857 comment element in the group parameters.
1860 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1861 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1862 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1866 @samp{m} if moderated.
1869 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1875 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1881 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1885 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1888 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1889 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1890 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1891 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1892 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1895 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1897 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1901 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1904 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1908 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1909 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1910 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1911 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1914 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1915 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1916 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1917 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1918 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1919 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1924 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1925 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1926 group, or a bogus native group.
1929 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1930 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1931 @cindex group mode line
1933 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1934 The mode line can be changed by setting
1935 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1936 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1940 The native news server.
1942 The native select method.
1946 @node Group Highlighting
1947 @subsection Group Highlighting
1948 @cindex highlighting
1949 @cindex group highlighting
1951 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1952 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1953 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1954 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1955 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1957 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1961 (cond (window-system
1962 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1963 (defface my-group-face-1
1964 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1965 (defface my-group-face-2
1966 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1967 "Second group face")
1968 (defface my-group-face-3
1969 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1970 (defface my-group-face-4
1971 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1972 (defface my-group-face-5
1973 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1975 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1976 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1977 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1978 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1979 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1980 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1983 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1985 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1992 The number of unread articles in the group.
1996 Whether the group is a mail group.
1998 The level of the group.
2000 The score of the group.
2002 The number of ticked articles in the group.
2004 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
2005 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
2007 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
2008 topic being inserted.
2011 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2012 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
2013 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2015 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2016 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2017 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2018 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2019 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2022 @node Group Maneuvering
2023 @section Group Maneuvering
2024 @cindex group movement
2026 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2027 expected, hopefully.
2033 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2034 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2035 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2041 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2042 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2043 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2047 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2048 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2052 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2053 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2057 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2058 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2059 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2063 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2064 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2065 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2068 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2074 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2075 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2076 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2081 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2082 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2083 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2087 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2088 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2089 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2092 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2093 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2094 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2095 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2099 @node Selecting a Group
2100 @section Selecting a Group
2101 @cindex group selection
2106 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2107 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2108 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2109 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2110 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2111 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2112 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2113 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2114 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2115 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2117 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2118 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2119 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2121 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2122 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2127 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2128 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2129 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2130 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2131 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2135 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2136 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2137 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2138 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2139 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2140 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2141 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2142 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2143 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2144 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2147 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2148 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2149 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2150 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2151 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2154 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2155 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2156 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2157 doing any processing of its contents
2158 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2159 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2160 manner will have no permanent effects.
2164 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2165 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2166 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2167 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2168 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2169 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2170 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2171 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2172 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2173 most recently will be fetched.
2175 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2176 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2177 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2180 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2181 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2182 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2183 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2184 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2185 Which article this is is controlled by the
2186 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2192 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2195 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2198 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2200 @item unseen-or-unread
2201 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2202 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2206 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2210 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2211 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2213 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2214 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2215 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2216 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2220 @node Subscription Commands
2221 @section Subscription Commands
2222 @cindex subscription
2230 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2231 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2232 Toggle subscription to the current group
2233 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2239 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2240 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2241 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2242 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2248 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2249 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2250 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2256 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2257 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2260 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2261 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2262 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2263 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2264 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2270 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2271 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2275 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2276 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2279 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2280 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2281 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2282 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2283 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2284 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2285 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2286 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2287 @file{.newsrc} file.
2291 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2301 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2302 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2303 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2304 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2305 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2306 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2311 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2312 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2313 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2317 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2318 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2319 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2321 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2322 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2323 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2324 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2325 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2326 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2333 @section Group Levels
2337 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2338 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2339 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2340 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2341 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2343 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2349 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2350 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2351 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2352 prompted for a level.
2355 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2356 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2357 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2358 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2359 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2360 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2361 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2362 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2363 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2364 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2365 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2366 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2367 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2368 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2369 reasons of efficiency.
2371 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2372 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2374 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2375 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2376 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2377 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2378 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2379 groups are hidden, in a way.
2381 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2382 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2383 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2384 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2385 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2386 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2388 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2389 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2390 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2391 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2392 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2393 list of killed groups.)
2395 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2396 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2397 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2399 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2400 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2401 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2402 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2403 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2404 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2405 relevant valid ranges.
2407 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2408 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2409 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2410 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2411 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2412 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2415 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2416 one with the best level.
2418 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2419 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2420 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2423 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2424 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2425 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2426 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2429 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2430 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2431 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2432 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2434 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2435 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2436 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2437 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2438 to 5. The default is 6.
2442 @section Group Score
2447 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2448 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2449 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2452 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2453 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2454 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2455 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2456 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2457 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2458 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2459 least significant part.))
2461 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2462 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2463 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2464 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2465 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2466 action after each summary exit, you can add
2467 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2468 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2469 slow things down somewhat.
2472 @node Marking Groups
2473 @section Marking Groups
2474 @cindex marking groups
2476 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2477 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2478 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2479 bidding on those groups.
2481 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2482 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2483 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2491 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2492 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2498 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2499 Remove the mark from the current group
2500 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2504 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2505 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2509 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2510 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2514 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2515 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2519 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2520 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2521 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2524 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2526 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2527 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2528 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2529 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2530 the command to be executed.
2533 @node Foreign Groups
2534 @section Foreign Groups
2535 @cindex foreign groups
2537 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2538 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2539 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2540 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2547 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2548 @cindex making groups
2549 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2550 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2551 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2555 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2556 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2557 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2561 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2562 @cindex renaming groups
2563 Rename the current group to something else
2564 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2565 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2571 @findex gnus-group-customize
2572 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2576 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2577 @cindex renaming groups
2578 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2579 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2583 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2584 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2585 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2589 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2590 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2591 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2595 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2597 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2598 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2603 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2604 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2608 @cindex (ding) archive
2609 @cindex archive group
2610 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2611 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2612 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2613 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2614 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2615 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2616 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2620 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2622 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2623 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2624 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2625 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2629 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2631 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2632 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2633 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2637 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2638 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2640 Make a group based on some file or other
2641 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2642 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2643 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2644 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2645 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2646 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2647 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2648 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2649 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2653 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2654 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2655 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2656 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2660 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2664 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2665 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2666 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2667 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2668 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2669 @xref{Web Searches}.
2671 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2672 to a particular group by using a match string like
2673 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2677 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2678 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2679 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2683 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2684 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2685 This function will delete the current group
2686 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2687 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2688 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2689 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2690 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2694 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2695 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2696 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2700 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2701 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2702 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2705 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2708 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2709 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2710 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2711 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2712 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2713 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2717 @node Group Parameters
2718 @section Group Parameters
2719 @cindex group parameters
2721 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2722 Here's an example group parameter list:
2725 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2729 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2730 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2731 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2732 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2734 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2735 is an alist of regexps and values.
2737 The following group parameters can be used:
2742 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2745 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2748 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2749 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2750 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2751 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2752 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2754 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2755 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2756 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2757 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2758 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2759 list address instead.
2761 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2765 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2768 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2771 It is totally ignored
2772 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2773 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2775 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2776 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2777 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2778 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2779 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2781 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2782 @cindex mail list groups
2783 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2784 entering summary buffer.
2786 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2791 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2792 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2793 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2794 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2795 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2796 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2797 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2798 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2801 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2802 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2805 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2806 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2810 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2811 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2812 of whether it has any unread articles.
2814 @item broken-reply-to
2815 @cindex broken-reply-to
2816 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2817 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2818 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2819 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2820 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2821 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2825 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2826 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2830 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2831 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2832 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2837 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2838 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2839 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2840 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2841 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2842 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2843 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2845 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2846 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2847 doesn't accept articles.
2851 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2852 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2853 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2855 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2858 @cindex total-expire
2859 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2860 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2861 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2862 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2865 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2869 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2870 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2871 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2872 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2873 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2874 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2875 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2878 @cindex expiry-target
2879 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2880 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2883 @cindex score file group parameter
2884 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2885 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2886 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2889 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2890 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2891 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2892 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2895 @cindex admin-address
2896 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2897 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2898 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2899 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2903 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2904 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2908 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2911 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2912 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2915 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2919 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2921 Here are some examples:
2925 Display only unread articles.
2928 Display everything except expirable articles.
2930 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2931 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2935 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2936 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2937 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2938 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2939 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2943 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2944 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2945 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2949 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2950 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2951 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2955 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2956 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2957 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2959 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2961 @item ignored-charsets
2962 @cindex ignored-charset
2963 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2964 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2965 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2967 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2970 @cindex posting-style
2971 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2972 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2973 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2974 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2975 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2977 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2978 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2979 like this in the group parameters:
2984 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2985 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2990 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2991 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2995 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2996 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2997 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2998 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2999 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3003 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3004 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3005 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3006 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3008 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3009 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3010 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3011 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3014 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
3015 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
3019 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3020 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3022 @item (agent parameters)
3023 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3024 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3025 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3026 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3027 minimize the configuration effort.
3029 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3030 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3031 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3032 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3033 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3034 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3035 @code{eval}ed there.
3037 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3038 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3039 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3040 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3041 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3042 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3043 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3044 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3047 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3050 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3051 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3052 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3055 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3058 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3059 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3060 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3061 into the group parameters for the group.
3063 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3064 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3065 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3066 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3069 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3070 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3071 following is added to a group parameter
3074 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3075 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3078 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3083 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3084 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3085 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3086 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3087 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3089 @vindex gnus-parameters
3090 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3091 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3095 (setq gnus-parameters
3097 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3098 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3099 (gnus-summary-line-format
3100 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3104 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3108 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3112 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3115 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3116 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3119 @node Listing Groups
3120 @section Listing Groups
3121 @cindex group listing
3123 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3131 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3132 List all groups that have unread articles
3133 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3134 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3135 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3136 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3143 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3144 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3145 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3146 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3147 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3148 unsubscribed groups).
3152 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3153 List all unread groups on a specific level
3154 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3155 with no unread articles.
3159 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3160 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3161 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3162 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3167 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3168 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3172 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3173 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3174 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3178 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3179 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3183 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3184 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3185 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3186 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3187 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3188 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3189 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3190 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3194 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3195 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3196 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3200 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3201 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3202 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3206 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3207 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3211 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3212 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3216 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3217 List groups limited within the current selection
3218 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3222 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3223 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3227 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3228 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3232 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3233 @cindex visible group parameter
3234 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3235 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3236 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3237 get the same effect.
3239 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3240 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3241 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3242 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3243 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3246 @node Sorting Groups
3247 @section Sorting Groups
3248 @cindex sorting groups
3250 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3251 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3252 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3253 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3254 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3255 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3260 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3261 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3262 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3264 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3265 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3266 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3268 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3269 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3270 Sort by group level.
3272 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3273 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3274 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3276 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3277 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3278 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3279 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3281 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3282 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3283 Sort by number of unread articles.
3285 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3286 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3287 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3289 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3290 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3291 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3296 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3297 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3301 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3302 some sorting criteria:
3306 @kindex G S a (Group)
3307 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3308 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3309 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3312 @kindex G S u (Group)
3313 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3314 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3315 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3318 @kindex G S l (Group)
3319 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3320 Sort the group buffer by group level
3321 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3324 @kindex G S v (Group)
3325 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3326 Sort the group buffer by group score
3327 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3330 @kindex G S r (Group)
3331 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3332 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3333 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3336 @kindex G S m (Group)
3337 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3338 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3339 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3342 @kindex G S n (Group)
3343 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3344 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3345 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3349 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3350 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3352 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3353 commands will sort in reverse order.
3355 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3359 @kindex G P a (Group)
3360 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3361 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3362 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3365 @kindex G P u (Group)
3366 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3367 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3368 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3371 @kindex G P l (Group)
3372 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3373 Sort the groups by group level
3374 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3377 @kindex G P v (Group)
3378 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3379 Sort the groups by group score
3380 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3383 @kindex G P r (Group)
3384 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3385 Sort the groups by group rank
3386 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3389 @kindex G P m (Group)
3390 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3391 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3392 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3395 @kindex G P n (Group)
3396 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3397 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3398 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3401 @kindex G P s (Group)
3402 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3403 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3407 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3411 @node Group Maintenance
3412 @section Group Maintenance
3413 @cindex bogus groups
3418 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3419 Find bogus groups and delete them
3420 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3424 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3425 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3426 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3427 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3428 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3432 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3433 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3434 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3435 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3436 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3437 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3440 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3441 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3442 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3443 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3448 @node Browse Foreign Server
3449 @section Browse Foreign Server
3450 @cindex foreign servers
3451 @cindex browsing servers
3456 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3457 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3458 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3459 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3462 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3463 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3464 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3465 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3467 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3472 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3473 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3477 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3478 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3481 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3482 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3483 Enter the current group and display the first article
3484 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3487 @kindex RET (Browse)
3488 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3489 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3493 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3494 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3495 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3501 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3502 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3506 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3507 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3511 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3512 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3513 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3518 @section Exiting gnus
3519 @cindex exiting gnus
3521 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3526 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3527 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3528 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3529 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3533 @findex gnus-group-exit
3534 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3535 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3539 @findex gnus-group-quit
3540 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3541 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3544 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3545 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3546 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3547 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3548 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3549 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3555 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3556 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3557 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3563 @section Group Topics
3566 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3567 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3568 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3569 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3570 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3571 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3575 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3576 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3587 2: alt.religion.emacs
3590 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3592 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3593 13: comp.sources.unix
3596 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3598 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3599 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3600 is a toggling command.)
3602 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3603 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3604 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3605 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3608 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3609 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3610 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3613 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3617 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3618 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3619 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3620 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3621 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3625 @node Topic Commands
3626 @subsection Topic Commands
3627 @cindex topic commands
3629 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3630 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3631 definitions slightly.
3633 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3634 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3635 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3636 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3637 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3638 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3640 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3647 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3648 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3649 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3653 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3655 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3656 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3657 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3658 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3661 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3662 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3663 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3664 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3668 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3669 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3670 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3671 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3677 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3678 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3679 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3683 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3684 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3685 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3688 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3689 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3690 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3691 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3692 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3694 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3695 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3699 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3700 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3707 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3709 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3710 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3711 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3712 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3713 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3714 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3718 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3724 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3725 Move the current group to some other topic
3726 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3727 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3731 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3732 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3736 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3737 Copy the current group to some other topic
3738 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3739 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3743 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3744 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3745 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3749 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3750 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3751 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3755 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3756 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3757 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3758 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3759 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3760 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3761 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3764 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3765 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3769 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3770 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3771 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3775 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3776 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3777 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3781 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3782 Toggle hiding empty topics
3783 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3787 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3788 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3790 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3793 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3794 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3795 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3796 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3797 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3800 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3801 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3802 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3803 expiry process (if any)
3804 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3808 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3809 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3812 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3813 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3814 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3818 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3819 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3820 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3823 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3824 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3825 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3828 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3829 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3830 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3834 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3835 @cindex group parameters
3836 @cindex topic parameters
3838 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3839 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3844 @node Topic Variables
3845 @subsection Topic Variables
3846 @cindex topic variables
3848 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3849 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3851 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3852 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3853 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3866 Number of groups in the topic.
3868 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3870 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3873 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3874 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3875 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3878 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3879 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3881 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3882 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3883 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3887 @subsection Topic Sorting
3888 @cindex topic sorting
3890 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3896 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3897 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3898 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3899 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3902 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3903 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3904 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3905 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3908 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3909 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3910 Sort the current topic by group level
3911 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3914 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3915 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3916 Sort the current topic by group score
3917 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3920 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3921 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3922 Sort the current topic by group rank
3923 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3926 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3927 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3928 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3929 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3932 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3933 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3934 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3935 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3938 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3939 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3940 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3941 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3942 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3946 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3947 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3951 @node Topic Topology
3952 @subsection Topic Topology
3953 @cindex topic topology
3956 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3963 2: alt.religion.emacs
3966 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3968 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3969 13: comp.sources.unix
3973 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3974 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3975 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3980 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3981 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3985 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3986 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3987 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3988 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3989 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3990 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3992 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3993 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3994 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3997 @node Topic Parameters
3998 @subsection Topic Parameters
3999 @cindex topic parameters
4001 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4002 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4003 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4004 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4005 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4007 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4012 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4013 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4014 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4017 @item subscribe-level
4018 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4019 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4020 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4024 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4025 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4026 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4027 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4034 2: alt.religion.emacs
4038 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4040 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4041 13: comp.sources.unix
4046 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4047 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4048 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4049 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4050 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4051 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4053 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4054 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4055 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4056 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4057 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4059 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4060 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4061 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4062 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4063 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4064 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4065 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4066 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4069 @node Misc Group Stuff
4070 @section Misc Group Stuff
4073 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4074 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4075 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4076 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4077 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4084 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4085 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4086 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4090 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4091 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4092 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4093 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4094 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4095 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4096 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4100 @findex gnus-group-mail
4101 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4102 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4103 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4104 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4108 @findex gnus-group-news
4109 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4110 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4111 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4113 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4114 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4115 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4116 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4117 for this to work though.
4121 Variables for the group buffer:
4125 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4126 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4127 is called after the group buffer has been
4130 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4131 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4132 is called after the group buffer is
4133 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4136 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4137 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4138 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4139 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4141 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4142 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4143 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4144 whether they are empty or not.
4146 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4147 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4148 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4149 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4153 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4154 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4157 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4158 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4159 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4160 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4161 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4162 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4163 default is @code{nil}.
4167 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4168 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4173 @node Scanning New Messages
4174 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4175 @cindex new messages
4176 @cindex scanning new news
4182 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4183 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4184 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4185 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4186 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4187 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4192 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4193 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4194 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4195 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4196 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4197 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4198 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4200 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4201 @cindex activating groups
4203 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4204 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4209 @findex gnus-group-restart
4210 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4211 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4212 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4216 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4217 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4219 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4220 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4224 @node Group Information
4225 @subsection Group Information
4226 @cindex group information
4227 @cindex information on groups
4234 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4235 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4238 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4239 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4240 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4241 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4242 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4243 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4244 used for fetching the file.
4246 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4247 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4251 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4252 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4254 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4255 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4258 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4259 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4260 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4264 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4265 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4266 @cindex control message
4267 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4268 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4269 group if given a prefix argument.
4271 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4272 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4273 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4274 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4276 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4277 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4278 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4282 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4284 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4285 @cindex describing groups
4286 @cindex group description
4287 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4288 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4289 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4293 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4294 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4295 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4302 @findex gnus-version
4303 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4307 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4308 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4311 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4314 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4315 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4319 @node Group Timestamp
4320 @subsection Group Timestamp
4322 @cindex group timestamps
4324 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4325 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4326 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4329 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4332 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4334 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4335 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4338 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4339 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4342 This will result in lines looking like:
4345 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4346 0: custom 19961002T012713
4349 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4350 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4354 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4355 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4358 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4359 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4363 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4364 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4365 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4366 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4368 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4374 @subsection File Commands
4375 @cindex file commands
4381 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4382 @vindex gnus-init-file
4383 @cindex reading init file
4384 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4385 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4389 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4390 @cindex saving .newsrc
4391 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4392 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4393 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4396 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4397 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4398 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4403 @node Sieve Commands
4404 @subsection Sieve Commands
4405 @cindex group sieve commands
4407 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4408 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4409 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4410 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4411 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4413 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4414 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4415 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4416 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4417 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4418 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4419 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4420 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4421 regenerate the Sieve script.
4423 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4424 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4425 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4426 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4427 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4428 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4429 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4430 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4431 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4432 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4435 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4436 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4441 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4447 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4448 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4449 @cindex generating sieve script
4450 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4451 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4455 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4456 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4457 @cindex updating sieve script
4458 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4459 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4460 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4465 @node Summary Buffer
4466 @chapter Summary Buffer
4467 @cindex summary buffer
4469 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4470 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4472 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4473 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4475 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4478 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4479 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4480 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4481 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4482 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4483 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4484 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4485 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4486 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4487 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4488 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4489 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4490 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4491 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4492 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4493 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4494 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4495 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4496 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4497 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4498 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4499 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4500 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4501 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4502 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4503 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4504 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4505 or reselecting the current group.
4506 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4507 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4508 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4509 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4513 @node Summary Buffer Format
4514 @section Summary Buffer Format
4515 @cindex summary buffer format
4519 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4520 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4521 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4527 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4528 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4529 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4530 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4533 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4534 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4535 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4536 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4537 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4538 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4539 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4540 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4541 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4542 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4543 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4544 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4545 other function instead:
4548 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4549 'mail-extract-address-components)
4552 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4553 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4554 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4555 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4558 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4559 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4561 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4562 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4563 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4564 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4565 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4567 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4568 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4569 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4570 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4571 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4572 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4574 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4576 The following format specification characters and extended format
4577 specification(s) are understood:
4583 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4584 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4586 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4587 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4588 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4590 Full @code{From} header.
4592 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4594 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4597 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4598 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4599 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4600 may be more thorough.
4602 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4605 Number of lines in the article.
4607 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4608 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4610 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4611 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4613 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4615 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4616 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4629 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4630 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4631 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4632 line-drawing glyphs.
4634 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4635 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4636 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4637 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4639 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4640 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4641 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4642 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4644 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4645 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4646 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4647 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4649 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4650 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4651 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4653 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4654 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4655 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4657 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4658 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4659 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4661 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4662 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4663 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4668 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4669 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4671 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4672 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4674 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4675 for adopted articles.
4677 One space for each thread level.
4679 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4681 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4684 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4685 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4686 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4689 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4691 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4692 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4693 default level. If the difference between
4694 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4695 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4703 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4705 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4711 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4712 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4714 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4715 article has any children.
4721 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4722 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4724 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4725 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4726 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4727 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4728 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4729 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4732 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4733 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4734 There can only be one such area.
4736 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4737 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4738 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4739 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4740 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4741 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4743 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4744 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4746 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4749 @node To From Newsgroups
4750 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4754 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4755 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4756 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4757 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4758 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4762 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4763 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4764 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4768 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4769 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4772 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4773 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4776 @findex gnus-extra-header
4777 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4778 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4779 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4782 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4786 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4787 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4788 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4789 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4790 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4791 headers are used instead.
4795 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4796 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4797 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4798 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4799 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4800 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4803 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4804 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4805 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4806 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4808 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4812 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4814 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4815 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4816 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4817 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4821 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4824 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4825 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4828 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4829 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4830 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4836 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4837 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4840 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4841 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4843 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4844 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4845 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4846 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4848 Here are the elements you can play with:
4854 Unprefixed group name.
4856 Current article number.
4858 Current article score.
4862 Number of unread articles in this group.
4864 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4867 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4868 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4869 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4870 and no unselected ones.
4872 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4873 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4875 Subject of the current article.
4877 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4879 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4881 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4883 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4885 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4887 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4891 @node Summary Highlighting
4892 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4896 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4897 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4898 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4899 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4900 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4902 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4903 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4904 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4905 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4907 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4908 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4909 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4910 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4912 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4913 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4914 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4915 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4916 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4917 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4920 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4921 ((> score default) . bold))
4923 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4924 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4928 @node Summary Maneuvering
4929 @section Summary Maneuvering
4930 @cindex summary movement
4932 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4933 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4935 None of these commands select articles.
4940 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4941 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4942 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4943 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4944 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4948 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4949 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4950 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4951 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4952 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4955 @kindex G g (Summary)
4956 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4957 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4958 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4961 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4962 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4963 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4964 to the group buffer.
4966 Variables related to summary movement:
4970 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4971 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4972 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4973 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4974 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4975 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4976 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4977 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4978 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4979 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4980 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4981 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4982 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4983 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4985 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4986 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4987 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4988 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4989 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4990 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4991 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4993 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4995 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4996 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4997 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4998 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4999 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5001 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5002 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5003 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5004 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5005 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5006 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5007 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5008 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5011 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5012 the given number of lines from the top.
5017 @node Choosing Articles
5018 @section Choosing Articles
5019 @cindex selecting articles
5022 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5023 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5027 @node Choosing Commands
5028 @subsection Choosing Commands
5030 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5031 and they all select and display an article.
5033 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5034 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5038 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5039 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5040 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5041 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5043 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5044 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5045 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5050 @kindex G n (Summary)
5051 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5052 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5053 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5058 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5059 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5060 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5065 @kindex G N (Summary)
5066 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5067 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5072 @kindex G P (Summary)
5073 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5074 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5077 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5079 Go to the next article with the same subject
5080 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5083 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5085 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5086 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5090 @kindex G f (Summary)
5092 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5093 Go to the first unread article
5094 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5098 @kindex G b (Summary)
5100 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5101 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5102 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5103 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5108 @kindex G l (Summary)
5109 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5110 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5113 @kindex G o (Summary)
5114 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5116 @cindex article history
5117 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5118 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5119 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5120 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5121 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5122 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5127 @kindex G j (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5129 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5130 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5135 @node Choosing Variables
5136 @subsection Choosing Variables
5138 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5141 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5142 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5143 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5144 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5145 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5146 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5148 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5149 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5150 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5151 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5152 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5153 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5155 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5156 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5157 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5158 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5159 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5160 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5161 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5162 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5163 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5164 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5165 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5166 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5167 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5168 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5173 @node Paging the Article
5174 @section Scrolling the Article
5175 @cindex article scrolling
5180 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5182 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5183 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5184 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5186 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5187 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5188 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5189 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5190 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5191 what is considered uninteresting with
5192 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5193 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5196 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5197 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5198 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5201 @kindex RET (Summary)
5202 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5203 Scroll the current article one line forward
5204 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5207 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5208 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5209 Scroll the current article one line backward
5210 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5214 @kindex A g (Summary)
5216 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5217 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5218 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5219 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5220 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5221 the way it came from the server.
5223 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5224 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5225 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5228 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5233 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5238 @kindex A < (Summary)
5239 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5240 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5241 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5246 @kindex A > (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5248 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5252 @kindex A s (Summary)
5254 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5255 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5256 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5260 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5261 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5266 @node Reply Followup and Post
5267 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5270 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5271 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5272 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5273 * Canceling and Superseding::
5277 @node Summary Mail Commands
5278 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5280 @cindex composing mail
5282 Commands for composing a mail message:
5288 @kindex S r (Summary)
5290 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5291 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5292 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5293 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5294 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5299 @kindex S R (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5301 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5302 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5303 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5304 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5307 @kindex S w (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5309 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5310 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5311 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5312 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5313 present, that's used instead.
5316 @kindex S W (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5318 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5319 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5320 the process/prefix convention.
5323 @kindex S v (Summary)
5324 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5325 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5326 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5327 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5328 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5329 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5332 @kindex S V (Summary)
5333 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5334 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5335 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5336 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5339 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5341 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5342 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5343 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5344 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5345 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5346 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5349 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5351 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5352 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5353 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5357 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5358 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5359 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5360 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5361 Forward the current article to some other person
5362 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5363 headers of the forwarded article.
5368 @kindex S m (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5370 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5371 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5372 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5373 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5378 @kindex S i (Summary)
5379 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5380 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5381 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5382 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5384 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5385 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5386 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5387 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5388 for this to work though.
5391 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5392 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5393 @cindex bouncing mail
5394 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5395 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5396 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5397 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5398 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5399 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5400 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5401 very well fail, though.
5404 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5405 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5406 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5407 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5408 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5409 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5410 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5411 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5412 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5413 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5415 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5416 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5417 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5418 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5419 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5421 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5422 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5425 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5426 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5428 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5429 if it were a new message before resending.
5432 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5433 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5434 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5435 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5436 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5439 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5440 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5441 @cindex crossposting
5442 @cindex excessive crossposting
5443 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5444 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5446 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5447 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5448 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5449 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5450 command understands the process/prefix convention
5451 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5455 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5456 Manual}, for more information.
5459 @node Summary Post Commands
5460 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5462 @cindex composing news
5464 Commands for posting a news article:
5470 @kindex S p (Summary)
5471 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5472 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5473 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5474 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5475 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5480 @kindex S f (Summary)
5481 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5482 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5483 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5487 @kindex S F (Summary)
5489 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5490 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5491 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5492 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5493 process/prefix convention.
5496 @kindex S n (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5498 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5499 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5502 @kindex S N (Summary)
5503 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5504 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5505 message through mail and include the original message
5506 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5507 the process/prefix convention.
5510 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5511 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5512 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5513 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5514 headers of the forwarded article.
5517 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5518 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5520 @cindex making digests
5521 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5522 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5523 process/prefix convention.
5526 @kindex S u (Summary)
5527 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5528 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5529 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5530 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5533 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5534 Manual}, for more information.
5537 @node Summary Message Commands
5538 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5542 @kindex S y (Summary)
5543 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5544 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5545 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5546 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5547 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5552 @node Canceling and Superseding
5553 @subsection Canceling Articles
5554 @cindex canceling articles
5555 @cindex superseding articles
5557 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5558 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5560 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5562 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5564 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5565 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5566 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5567 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5568 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5569 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5571 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5572 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5575 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5576 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5577 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5579 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5580 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5581 message, Message Manual}).
5583 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5584 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5585 your original article.
5587 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5589 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5590 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5591 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5594 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5595 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5596 have posted almost the same article twice.
5598 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5599 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5600 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5601 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5602 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5603 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5604 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5605 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5606 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5607 canceled/superseded.
5609 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5611 @node Delayed Articles
5612 @section Delayed Articles
5613 @cindex delayed sending
5614 @cindex send delayed
5616 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5617 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5618 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5619 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5622 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5625 @findex gnus-delay-article
5626 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5627 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5628 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5629 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5633 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5634 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5635 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5636 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5639 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5640 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5641 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5644 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5645 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5646 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5647 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5648 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5649 that means a time tomorrow.
5652 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5653 couple of variables:
5656 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5657 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5658 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5659 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5661 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5662 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5663 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5664 formats described above.
5666 @item gnus-delay-group
5667 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5668 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5669 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5670 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5672 @item gnus-delay-header
5673 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5674 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5675 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5676 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5679 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5680 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5681 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5682 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5683 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5685 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5686 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5687 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5688 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5689 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5690 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5691 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5694 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5695 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5697 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5698 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5699 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5700 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5701 argument is ignored.
5703 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5704 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5705 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5709 @node Marking Articles
5710 @section Marking Articles
5711 @cindex article marking
5712 @cindex article ticking
5715 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5717 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5718 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5719 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5721 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5724 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5725 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5726 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5730 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5734 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5735 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5736 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5740 @node Unread Articles
5741 @subsection Unread Articles
5743 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5748 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5749 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5751 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5752 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5753 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5754 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5755 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5756 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5757 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5760 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5761 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5763 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5764 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5765 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5766 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5770 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5771 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5773 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5778 @subsection Read Articles
5779 @cindex expirable mark
5781 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5786 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5787 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5788 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5791 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5792 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5795 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5796 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5797 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5800 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5801 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5804 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5805 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5808 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5809 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5812 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5813 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5816 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5817 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5820 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5821 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5824 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5825 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5829 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5830 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5831 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5835 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5836 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5838 One more special mark, though:
5842 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5843 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5845 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5846 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5847 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5848 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5854 @subsection Other Marks
5855 @cindex process mark
5858 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5864 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5865 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5866 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5867 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5868 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5871 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5872 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5873 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5874 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5877 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5878 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5879 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5882 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5883 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5884 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5887 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5888 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5889 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5890 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5893 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5894 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5895 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5896 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5897 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5898 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5901 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5902 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5903 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5904 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5907 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5908 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5909 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5910 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5911 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5915 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5916 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5917 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5918 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5919 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5920 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5923 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5924 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5925 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5926 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5927 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5928 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5932 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5933 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5934 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5935 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5936 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5939 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5940 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5941 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5942 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5943 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5944 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5948 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5949 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5950 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5952 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5953 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5954 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5958 @subsection Setting Marks
5959 @cindex setting marks
5961 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5966 @kindex M c (Summary)
5967 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5968 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5969 @cindex mark as unread
5970 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5971 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5977 @kindex M t (Summary)
5978 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5979 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5980 @xref{Article Caching}.
5985 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5987 Mark the current article as dormant
5988 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5992 @kindex M d (Summary)
5994 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5995 Mark the current article as read
5996 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6000 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6001 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6002 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6007 @kindex M k (Summary)
6008 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6009 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6010 and then select the next unread article
6011 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6015 @kindex M K (Summary)
6016 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6017 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6018 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6019 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6022 @kindex M C (Summary)
6023 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6024 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6025 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6028 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6029 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6030 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6031 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6034 @kindex M H (Summary)
6035 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6036 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6037 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6040 @kindex M h (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6042 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6043 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6046 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6048 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6049 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6052 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6053 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6054 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6055 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6059 @kindex M e (Summary)
6061 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6062 Mark the current article as expirable
6063 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6066 @kindex M b (Summary)
6067 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6068 Set a bookmark in the current article
6069 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6072 @kindex M B (Summary)
6073 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6074 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6075 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6078 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6080 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6081 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6084 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6086 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6087 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6090 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6092 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6093 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6094 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6097 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6098 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6099 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6100 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6101 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6102 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6103 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6104 The default is @code{t}.
6107 @node Generic Marking Commands
6108 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6110 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6111 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6112 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6113 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6114 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6117 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6118 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6121 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6122 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6123 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6124 to list in this manual.
6126 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6127 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6128 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6129 article, you could say something like:
6133 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6134 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6135 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6143 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6144 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6148 @node Setting Process Marks
6149 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6150 @cindex setting process marks
6152 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6153 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6154 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6155 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6156 commands into the cache. For more information,
6157 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6164 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6166 Mark the current article with the process mark
6167 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6168 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6172 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6173 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6174 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6175 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6178 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6179 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6180 Remove the process mark from all articles
6181 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6184 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6185 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6186 Invert the list of process marked articles
6187 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6190 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6191 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6192 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6193 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6196 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6198 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6199 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6202 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6204 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6207 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6209 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6212 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6213 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6214 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6215 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6218 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6219 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6220 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6221 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6224 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6226 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6227 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6230 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6232 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6235 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6237 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6238 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6241 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6243 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6246 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6247 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6248 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6249 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6252 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6253 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6254 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6255 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6258 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6259 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6260 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6261 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6264 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6266 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6267 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6271 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6272 set process marks based on article body contents.
6279 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6280 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6281 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6284 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6285 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6286 additional articles.
6292 @kindex / / (Summary)
6293 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6294 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6295 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6299 @kindex / a (Summary)
6300 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6301 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6302 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6306 @kindex / x (Summary)
6307 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6308 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6309 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6310 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6315 @kindex / u (Summary)
6317 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6318 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6319 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6320 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6321 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6324 @kindex / m (Summary)
6325 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6326 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6327 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6330 @kindex / t (Summary)
6331 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6332 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6333 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6334 articles younger than that number of days.
6337 @kindex / n (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6339 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6340 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6341 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6344 @kindex / w (Summary)
6345 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6346 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6347 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6351 @kindex / . (Summary)
6352 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6353 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6354 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6357 @kindex / v (Summary)
6358 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6359 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6360 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6363 @kindex / p (Summary)
6364 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6365 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6366 group parameter predicate
6367 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6368 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6371 @kindex / r (Summary)
6372 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6373 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6374 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6379 @kindex M S (Summary)
6380 @kindex / E (Summary)
6381 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6382 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6383 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6386 @kindex / D (Summary)
6387 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6388 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6389 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6392 @kindex / * (Summary)
6393 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6394 Include all cached articles in the limit
6395 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6398 @kindex / d (Summary)
6399 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6400 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6401 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6404 @kindex / M (Summary)
6405 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6406 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6409 @kindex / T (Summary)
6410 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6411 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6414 @kindex / c (Summary)
6415 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6416 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6417 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6420 @kindex / C (Summary)
6421 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6422 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6423 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6424 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6427 @kindex / N (Summary)
6428 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6429 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6430 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6433 @kindex / o (Summary)
6434 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6435 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6436 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6444 @cindex article threading
6446 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6447 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6448 hierarchical fashion.
6450 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6451 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6452 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6453 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6454 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6455 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6456 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6458 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6462 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6465 A tree-like article structure.
6468 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6471 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6472 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6473 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6474 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6475 called loose threads.
6477 @item thread gathering
6478 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6480 @item sparse threads
6481 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6482 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6488 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6489 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6493 @node Customizing Threading
6494 @subsection Customizing Threading
6495 @cindex customizing threading
6498 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6499 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6500 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6501 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6506 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6509 @cindex loose threads
6512 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6513 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6514 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6515 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6516 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6517 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6519 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6520 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6521 There are four possible values:
6525 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6526 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6527 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6528 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6529 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6534 @cindex adopting articles
6539 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6540 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6541 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6542 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6545 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6546 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6547 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6548 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6549 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6550 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6551 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6552 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6553 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6554 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6557 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6558 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6559 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6563 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6564 display them after one another.
6567 Don't gather loose threads.
6570 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6571 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6572 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6573 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6574 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6575 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6576 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6577 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6578 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6579 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6580 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6582 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6583 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6584 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6587 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6588 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6589 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6590 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6591 simplification is used.
6593 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6594 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6595 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6596 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6598 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6600 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6606 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6607 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6608 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6609 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6614 (mapconcat 'identity
6615 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6617 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6620 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6623 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6624 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6625 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6626 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6627 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6628 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6630 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6633 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6634 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6635 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6637 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6638 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6641 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6642 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6643 Remove excessive whitespace.
6645 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6646 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6647 Remove all whitespace.
6650 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6653 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6654 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6655 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6656 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6657 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6658 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6659 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6660 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6662 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6663 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6664 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6665 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6666 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6667 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6668 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6669 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6670 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6674 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6675 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6676 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6677 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6679 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6680 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6681 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6684 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6688 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6689 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6695 @node Filling In Threads
6696 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6699 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6700 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6701 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6702 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6703 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6704 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6705 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6706 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6707 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6708 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6709 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6710 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6713 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6714 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6715 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6717 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6718 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6719 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6722 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6723 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6724 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6725 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6726 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6727 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6728 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6729 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6730 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6731 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6732 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6733 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6734 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6735 @code{nil} by default.
6737 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6738 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6739 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6740 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6741 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6742 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6743 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6745 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6746 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6747 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6752 @node More Threading
6753 @subsubsection More Threading
6756 @item gnus-show-threads
6757 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6758 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6759 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6760 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6761 slower and more awkward.
6763 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6764 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6765 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6768 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6769 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6770 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6775 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6776 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6777 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6780 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6781 unread, but you get my drift.)
6784 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6785 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6786 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6787 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6788 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6789 threads are expunged.
6791 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6792 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6793 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6796 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6797 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6798 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6799 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6800 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6801 result in a new thread.
6803 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6804 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6805 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6808 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6809 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6810 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6811 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6812 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6813 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6814 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6815 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6816 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6817 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6818 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6823 @node Low-Level Threading
6824 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6828 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6829 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6830 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6831 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6832 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6833 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6835 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6836 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6837 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6838 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6839 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6840 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6841 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6842 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6843 meaningful. Here's one example:
6846 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6848 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6849 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6851 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6853 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6860 @node Thread Commands
6861 @subsection Thread Commands
6862 @cindex thread commands
6868 @kindex T k (Summary)
6869 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6870 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6871 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6872 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6873 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6878 @kindex T l (Summary)
6879 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6880 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6881 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6882 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6885 @kindex T i (Summary)
6886 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6887 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6888 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6891 @kindex T # (Summary)
6892 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6893 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6894 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6897 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6898 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6899 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6900 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6903 @kindex T T (Summary)
6904 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6905 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6908 @kindex T s (Summary)
6909 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6910 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6911 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6914 @kindex T h (Summary)
6915 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6916 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6919 @kindex T S (Summary)
6920 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6921 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6924 @kindex T H (Summary)
6925 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6926 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6929 @kindex T t (Summary)
6930 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6931 Re-thread the current article's thread
6932 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6933 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6936 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6937 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6938 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6939 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6943 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6944 understand the numeric prefix.
6949 @kindex T n (Summary)
6951 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6953 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6954 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6955 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6958 @kindex T p (Summary)
6960 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6962 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6963 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6964 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6967 @kindex T d (Summary)
6968 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6969 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6972 @kindex T u (Summary)
6973 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6974 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6977 @kindex T o (Summary)
6978 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6979 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6982 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6983 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6984 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6985 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6986 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6987 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6988 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6989 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6990 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6991 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6992 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6993 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6997 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6998 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7000 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7001 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7002 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7003 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7004 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7005 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7006 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7007 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7008 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7009 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7010 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7011 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7012 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7013 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7015 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7016 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7017 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7018 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7019 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7020 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7021 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7022 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7024 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7025 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7026 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7028 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7029 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7030 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7031 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7032 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7033 ascending article order.
7035 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7036 by number, you could do something like:
7039 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7040 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7041 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7042 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7045 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7046 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7047 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7048 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7049 which the articles arrived.
7051 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7055 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7057 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7058 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7061 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7062 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7063 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7064 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7067 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7068 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7069 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7070 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7071 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7072 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7073 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7074 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7075 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7076 variable. It is very similar to the
7077 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7078 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7079 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7080 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7081 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7082 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7083 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7085 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7089 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7090 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7091 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7096 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7097 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7098 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7099 @cindex article pre-fetch
7102 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7103 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7104 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7105 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7106 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7108 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7109 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
7111 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7112 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7113 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7114 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7115 connection is blocked.
7117 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7118 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7119 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7120 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
7122 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7123 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7124 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7125 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7128 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7131 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7132 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7133 happen automatically.
7135 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7136 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7137 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7138 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7139 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7140 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7141 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7143 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7144 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7145 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7146 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7147 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7148 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7149 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7150 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7151 article data structure as the only parameter.
7153 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7154 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7157 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7158 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7159 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7160 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7163 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7166 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7167 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7168 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7170 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7171 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7172 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7173 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7177 Remove articles when they are read.
7180 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7183 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7185 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7186 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7187 @c from the next group.
7190 @node Article Caching
7191 @section Article Caching
7192 @cindex article caching
7195 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7196 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7197 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7198 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7199 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7201 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7203 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7204 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7205 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7206 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7207 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7208 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7209 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7210 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7212 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7213 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7214 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7215 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7216 as dormant, and don't worry.
7218 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7220 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7221 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7222 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7223 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7224 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7225 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7226 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7227 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7228 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7229 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7231 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7232 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7233 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7234 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7235 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7236 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7237 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7238 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7239 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7240 not then be downloaded by this command.
7242 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7243 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7244 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7245 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7246 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7247 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7249 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7250 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7251 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7252 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7253 variables, the group is not cached.
7255 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7256 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7257 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7258 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7259 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7260 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7261 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7262 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7263 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7266 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7267 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7268 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7269 where, isn't that cool?
7271 @node Persistent Articles
7272 @section Persistent Articles
7273 @cindex persistent articles
7275 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7276 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7277 useful in my opinion.
7279 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7280 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7281 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7282 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7283 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7284 the expiry going on at the news server.
7286 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7287 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7288 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7294 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7295 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7298 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7299 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7300 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7301 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7305 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7307 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7308 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7309 interested in persistent articles:
7312 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7316 @node Article Backlog
7317 @section Article Backlog
7319 @cindex article backlog
7321 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7322 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7323 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7324 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7325 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7326 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7327 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7328 increase memory usage some.
7330 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7331 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7332 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7333 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7334 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7335 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7336 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7338 The default value is 20.
7341 @node Saving Articles
7342 @section Saving Articles
7343 @cindex saving articles
7345 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7346 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7347 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7348 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7349 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7351 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7352 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7353 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7355 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7356 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7357 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7359 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7360 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7361 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7362 deleted before saving.
7368 @kindex O o (Summary)
7370 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7371 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7372 Save the current article using the default article saver
7373 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7376 @kindex O m (Summary)
7377 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7378 Save the current article in mail format
7379 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7382 @kindex O r (Summary)
7383 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7384 Save the current article in Rmail format
7385 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7388 @kindex O f (Summary)
7389 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7390 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7391 Save the current article in plain file format
7392 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7395 @kindex O F (Summary)
7396 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7397 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7398 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7401 @kindex O b (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7403 Save the current article body in plain file format
7404 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7407 @kindex O h (Summary)
7408 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7409 Save the current article in mh folder format
7410 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7413 @kindex O v (Summary)
7414 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7415 Save the current article in a VM folder
7416 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7420 @kindex O p (Summary)
7422 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7423 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7424 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7425 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7426 complete headers in the piped output.
7429 @kindex O P (Summary)
7430 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7431 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7432 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7433 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7434 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7435 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7436 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7440 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7441 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7442 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7443 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7444 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7445 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7446 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7447 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7448 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7449 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7450 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7451 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7455 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7456 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7457 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7458 functions below, or you can create your own.
7462 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7463 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7464 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7465 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7466 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7467 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7468 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7470 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7471 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7472 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7473 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7474 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7475 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7477 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7478 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7479 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7480 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7481 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7482 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7483 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7485 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7486 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7487 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7488 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7489 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7490 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7492 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7493 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7494 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7495 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7496 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7498 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7499 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7500 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7501 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7502 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7505 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7506 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7507 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7508 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7509 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7511 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7512 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7513 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7514 reader to use this setting.
7517 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7518 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7519 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7520 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7523 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7524 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7525 available functions that generate names:
7529 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7530 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7531 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7533 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7534 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7535 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7537 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7538 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7539 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7541 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7542 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7543 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7545 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7546 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7547 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7550 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7551 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7552 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7553 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7554 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7558 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7559 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7560 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7561 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7564 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7565 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7566 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7567 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7568 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7569 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7570 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7571 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7572 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7574 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7575 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7576 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7577 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7579 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7580 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7581 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7584 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7585 lots of mail groups called things like
7586 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7587 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7588 following will do just that:
7591 (defun my-save-name (group)
7592 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7593 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7595 (setq gnus-split-methods
7596 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7601 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7602 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7603 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7604 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7605 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7606 all the files in the top level directory
7607 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7608 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7609 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7610 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7612 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7613 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7614 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7615 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7616 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7619 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7623 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7624 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7625 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7628 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7629 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7630 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7631 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7634 @node Decoding Articles
7635 @section Decoding Articles
7636 @cindex decoding articles
7638 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7639 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7642 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7643 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7644 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7645 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7646 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7647 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7651 @cindex article series
7652 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7653 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7654 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7655 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7656 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7658 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7659 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7660 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7662 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7663 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7664 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7666 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7667 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7668 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7671 @node Uuencoded Articles
7672 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7674 @cindex uuencoded articles
7679 @kindex X u (Summary)
7680 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7681 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7682 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7685 @kindex X U (Summary)
7686 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7687 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7688 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7691 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7692 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7693 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7696 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7697 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7698 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7699 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7703 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7704 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7705 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7706 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7707 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7709 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7710 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7711 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7712 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7715 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7716 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7717 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7718 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7719 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7720 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7724 @node Shell Archives
7725 @subsection Shell Archives
7727 @cindex shell archives
7728 @cindex shared articles
7730 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7731 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7732 some commands to deal with these:
7737 @kindex X s (Summary)
7738 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7739 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7742 @kindex X S (Summary)
7743 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7744 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7747 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7748 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7749 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7752 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7753 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7754 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7755 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7759 @node PostScript Files
7760 @subsection PostScript Files
7766 @kindex X p (Summary)
7767 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7768 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7771 @kindex X P (Summary)
7772 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7773 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7774 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7777 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7778 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7779 View the current PostScript series
7780 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7783 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7785 View and save the current PostScript series
7786 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7791 @subsection Other Files
7795 @kindex X o (Summary)
7796 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7797 Save the current series
7798 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7801 @kindex X b (Summary)
7802 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7803 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7804 doesn't really work yet.
7808 @node Decoding Variables
7809 @subsection Decoding Variables
7811 Adjective, not verb.
7814 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7815 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7816 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7820 @node Rule Variables
7821 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7822 @cindex rule variables
7824 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7825 variables are of the form
7828 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7835 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7836 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7838 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7839 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7842 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7843 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7846 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7847 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7848 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7849 user and default view rules.
7851 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7852 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7853 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7858 @node Other Decode Variables
7859 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7862 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7864 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7865 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7866 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7867 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7868 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7872 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7873 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7876 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7877 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7878 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7881 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7882 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7883 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7884 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7885 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7888 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7889 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7890 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7892 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7893 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7894 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7895 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7896 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7899 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7900 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7901 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7903 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7904 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7905 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7906 looking for files to display.
7908 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7909 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7910 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7913 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7914 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7915 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7918 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7919 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7920 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7923 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7924 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7925 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7928 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7929 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7930 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7931 decoded articles as unread.
7933 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7934 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7935 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7936 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7938 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7939 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7940 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7942 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7943 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7945 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7946 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7947 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7948 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7950 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7951 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7952 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7953 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7954 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7955 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7956 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7957 simply dropped them.
7962 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7963 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7967 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7968 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7969 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7970 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7971 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7972 for you when you post the article.
7974 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7975 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7976 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7977 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7979 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7980 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7981 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7982 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7983 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7984 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7985 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7987 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7988 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7989 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7990 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7991 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7992 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7993 Default is @code{t}.
7999 @subsection Viewing Files
8000 @cindex viewing files
8001 @cindex pseudo-articles
8003 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
8004 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8005 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8006 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
8007 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8008 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8009 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8011 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8012 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8013 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8014 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8016 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8017 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8018 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8020 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8021 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8022 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8023 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8024 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8026 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8027 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8028 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8029 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8030 a list of parameters to that command.
8032 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8033 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8034 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8036 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8037 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8038 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8041 @node Article Treatment
8042 @section Article Treatment
8044 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8045 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8046 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8047 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8048 these articles easier.
8051 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8052 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8053 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8054 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8055 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8056 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8057 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8058 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8059 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8060 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8061 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8065 @node Article Highlighting
8066 @subsection Article Highlighting
8067 @cindex highlighting
8069 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8070 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8075 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8076 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8077 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8078 Do much highlighting of the current article
8079 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8080 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8083 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8084 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8085 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8086 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8087 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8088 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8089 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8090 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8091 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8092 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8093 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8094 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8097 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8098 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8099 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8101 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8104 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8106 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8107 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8108 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8110 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8111 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8112 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8114 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8115 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8116 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8117 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8118 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8119 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8121 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8122 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8123 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8125 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8126 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8127 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8129 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8130 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8131 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8132 that it's a citation.
8134 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8135 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8136 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8138 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8139 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8140 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8142 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8143 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8144 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8145 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8147 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8148 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8149 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8150 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8151 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8158 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8159 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8160 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8161 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8162 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8163 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8164 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8165 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8170 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8173 @node Article Fontisizing
8174 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8176 @cindex article emphasis
8178 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8179 @kindex W e (Summary)
8180 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8181 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8182 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8183 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8185 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8186 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8187 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8188 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8189 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8190 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8191 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8192 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8196 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8197 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8198 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8207 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8208 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8209 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8210 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8211 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8212 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8213 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8214 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8215 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8216 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8217 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8218 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8219 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8221 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8222 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8223 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8227 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8230 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8232 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8233 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8234 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8235 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8237 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8240 @node Article Hiding
8241 @subsection Article Hiding
8242 @cindex article hiding
8244 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8245 too much cruft in most articles.
8250 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8251 @findex gnus-article-hide
8252 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8253 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8254 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8257 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8258 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8259 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8263 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8264 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8265 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8266 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8269 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8270 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8271 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8275 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8276 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8277 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8278 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8279 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8280 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8281 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8282 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8286 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8287 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8288 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8289 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8294 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8295 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8296 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8297 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8300 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8301 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8302 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8303 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8306 @cindex stripping advertisements
8307 @cindex advertisements
8308 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8309 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8310 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8311 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8312 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8313 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8314 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8315 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8316 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8317 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8320 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8321 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8322 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8326 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8327 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8328 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8329 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8330 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8331 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8332 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8333 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8334 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8335 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8336 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8339 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8340 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8346 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8347 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8348 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8349 customizing the hiding:
8353 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8354 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8355 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8356 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8357 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8358 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8359 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8364 Starting point of the hidden text.
8366 Ending point of the hidden text.
8368 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8370 Number of lines of hidden text.
8373 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8374 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8375 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8376 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8377 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8382 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8383 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8385 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8386 following two variables:
8389 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8390 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8391 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8392 50), hide the cited text.
8394 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8395 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8396 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8401 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8402 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8403 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8404 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8405 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8406 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8410 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8411 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8412 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8414 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8415 citation customization.
8417 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8421 @node Article Washing
8422 @subsection Article Washing
8424 @cindex article washing
8426 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8427 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8429 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8430 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8433 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8434 articles by default.
8439 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8440 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8444 Force redisplaying of the current article
8445 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8446 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8447 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8448 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8451 @kindex W l (Summary)
8452 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8453 Remove page breaks from the current article
8454 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8458 @kindex W r (Summary)
8459 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8460 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8461 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8462 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8463 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8464 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8466 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8467 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8468 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8469 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8472 @kindex W m (Summary)
8473 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8474 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8478 @kindex W t (Summary)
8480 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8481 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8482 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8485 @kindex W v (Summary)
8486 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8487 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8488 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8491 @kindex W m (Summary)
8492 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8493 Toggle whether to run the article through @acronym{MIME} before
8494 displaying (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8497 @kindex W o (Summary)
8498 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8499 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8502 @kindex W d (Summary)
8503 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8504 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8506 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8508 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8509 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8510 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8511 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8514 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8515 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8516 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8517 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8520 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8521 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8522 @cindex Outlook Express
8523 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8524 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8525 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8528 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8529 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8530 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8531 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8532 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8533 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8534 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8535 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8536 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8537 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8540 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8541 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8542 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8543 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8546 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8547 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8548 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8549 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8552 @kindex W w (Summary)
8553 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8554 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8556 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8560 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8561 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8562 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8565 @kindex W C (Summary)
8566 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8567 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8568 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8571 @kindex W c (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8573 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8574 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8575 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8576 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8578 @kindex W q (Summary)
8579 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8580 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8581 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8582 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8583 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8584 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8585 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8586 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8587 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8590 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8591 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8592 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8593 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8594 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8595 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8596 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8597 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8600 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8601 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8602 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8603 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8604 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8607 @kindex W A (Summary)
8608 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8609 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8610 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8611 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8612 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8615 @kindex W u (Summary)
8616 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8617 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8618 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8619 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8620 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8623 @kindex W h (Summary)
8624 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8625 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8626 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8627 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8629 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8631 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8632 The default is to use the function specified by
8633 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8634 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8635 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8636 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8644 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8647 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8650 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8653 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8658 @kindex W b (Summary)
8659 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8660 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8661 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8664 @kindex W B (Summary)
8665 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8666 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8667 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8670 @kindex W p (Summary)
8671 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8672 Verify a signed control message
8673 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8674 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8675 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8676 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8677 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8678 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8681 @kindex W s (Summary)
8682 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8683 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8684 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8685 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8688 @kindex W a (Summary)
8689 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8690 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8691 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8694 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8695 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8696 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8697 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8700 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8701 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8702 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8703 lines with a single empty line.
8704 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8707 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8708 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8709 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8710 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8713 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8714 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8715 Do all the three commands above
8716 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8719 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8720 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8721 Remove all blank lines
8722 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8725 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8726 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8727 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8728 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8731 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8732 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8733 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8734 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8738 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8741 @node Article Header
8742 @subsection Article Header
8744 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8749 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8750 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8751 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8754 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8755 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8756 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8757 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8760 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8761 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8762 Fold all the message headers
8763 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8766 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8767 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8768 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8769 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8774 @node Article Buttons
8775 @subsection Article Buttons
8778 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8779 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8780 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8781 button on these references.
8783 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8784 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8785 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8786 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8787 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8791 @item gnus-button-alist
8792 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8793 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8796 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8802 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8803 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8804 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8805 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8806 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8809 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8810 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8811 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8814 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8815 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8816 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8817 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8818 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8820 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8823 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8826 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8827 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8831 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8834 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8837 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8838 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8839 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8840 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8841 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8844 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8847 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8850 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8853 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8854 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8856 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8858 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8859 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8860 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8861 default values of the variables above.
8863 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8865 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8866 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8867 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8868 argument with a string naming the man page.
8870 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8872 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8873 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8874 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8876 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8877 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8878 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8879 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8880 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8881 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8882 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8883 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8884 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8885 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8886 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8887 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8889 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8890 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8891 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8892 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8893 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8896 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8897 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8898 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8899 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8901 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8903 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8904 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8905 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8906 argument, the string naming the URL.
8909 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8910 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8911 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8915 @item gnus-article-button-face
8916 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8917 Face used on buttons.
8919 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8920 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8921 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8925 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8928 @node Article Button Levels
8929 @subsection Article button levels
8930 @cindex button levels
8931 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8932 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8933 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8934 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8935 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8936 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8937 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8938 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8941 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8942 (setq gnus-parameters
8943 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8944 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8945 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8950 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8951 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8952 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8953 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8954 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8955 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8957 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8958 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8959 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8960 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8961 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8962 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8963 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8964 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8965 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8966 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8967 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8968 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8969 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8971 @item gnus-button-man-level
8972 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8973 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8974 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8976 @item gnus-button-message-level
8977 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8978 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8979 Related variables and functions include
8980 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8981 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8982 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8983 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8985 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8986 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8987 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8988 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8989 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8990 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8991 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8997 @subsection Article Date
8999 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9000 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9001 when the article was sent.
9006 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9007 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9008 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9009 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9012 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9013 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9015 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9016 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9019 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9020 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9021 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9024 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9025 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9026 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9027 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9030 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9031 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9032 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9033 @findex format-time-string
9034 Display the date using a user-defined format
9035 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9036 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9037 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9038 for a list of possible format specs.
9041 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9042 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9043 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9044 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9045 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9046 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9049 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9052 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9053 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9054 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9057 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9058 into wonderful absurdities.
9060 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9063 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9066 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9067 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9071 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9072 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9073 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9074 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9075 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9076 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9077 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9081 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9082 preferred format automatically.
9085 @node Article Display
9086 @subsection Article Display
9091 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9092 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9094 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9095 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9097 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9098 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9100 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9101 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9103 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9104 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9106 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9111 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9112 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9113 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9114 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9117 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9118 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9119 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9120 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9123 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9124 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9125 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9128 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9129 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9130 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9133 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9134 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9135 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9136 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9139 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9140 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9141 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9142 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9145 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9146 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9147 Remove all images from the article buffer
9148 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9154 @node Article Signature
9155 @subsection Article Signature
9157 @cindex article signature
9159 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9160 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9161 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9162 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9163 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9164 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9165 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9166 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9167 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9170 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9171 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9172 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9173 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9174 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9175 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9176 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9177 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9180 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9183 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9184 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9185 signature when displaying articles.
9189 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9192 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9195 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9196 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9198 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9199 in question is not a signature.
9202 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9203 listed above. Here's an example:
9206 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9207 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9210 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9211 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9212 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9213 signature after all.
9216 @node Article Miscellanea
9217 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9221 @kindex A t (Summary)
9222 @findex gnus-article-babel
9223 Translate the article from one language to another
9224 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9230 @section MIME Commands
9231 @cindex MIME decoding
9233 @cindex viewing attachments
9235 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9236 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9242 @kindex K v (Summary)
9243 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9246 @kindex K o (Summary)
9247 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9250 @kindex K c (Summary)
9251 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9254 @kindex K e (Summary)
9255 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9258 @kindex K i (Summary)
9259 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9262 @kindex K | (Summary)
9263 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9266 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9271 @kindex K b (Summary)
9272 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9273 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9277 @kindex K m (Summary)
9278 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9279 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9280 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9281 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9282 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9285 @kindex X m (Summary)
9286 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9287 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9288 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9289 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9292 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9293 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9294 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9295 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9298 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9299 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9300 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9301 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9304 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9305 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9306 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9307 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9309 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9310 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9311 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9312 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9313 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9314 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9317 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9318 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9319 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9320 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9327 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9328 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9329 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9330 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9333 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9336 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9340 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9341 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9342 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9343 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9344 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9345 default is @code{nil}.
9347 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9348 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9349 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9350 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9351 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9352 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9353 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9355 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9356 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9357 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9358 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9359 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9360 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9361 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9362 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9364 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9365 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9366 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9367 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9368 displayed. This variable overrides
9369 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9370 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9373 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9374 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9375 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9377 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9378 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9379 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9380 default value is @code{nil}.
9382 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9383 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9384 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9385 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9386 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9387 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9388 save all jpegs into some directory).
9390 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9393 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9394 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9396 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9397 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9398 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9399 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9400 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9403 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9404 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9405 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9407 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9408 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9409 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9411 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9412 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9413 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9415 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9416 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} in @ref{Display Customization,
9417 Display Customization, , emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}. Images or
9418 other material inside a "multipart/related" part might be overlooked
9419 when this variable is nil.
9421 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9422 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9423 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If t, it overrides nil
9424 values of @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9425 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9427 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9428 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9429 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9430 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9432 Ready-made functions include@*
9433 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9434 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9435 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9436 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9437 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9438 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9439 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9440 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9441 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9442 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9443 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9444 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9446 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9447 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9449 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9450 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9451 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9454 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9455 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9456 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9457 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9461 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9470 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9471 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9472 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9473 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9474 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9475 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9476 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9478 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9479 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9480 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9481 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9483 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9484 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9485 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9486 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9487 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9488 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9489 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9490 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9491 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9493 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9494 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9495 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9496 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9497 quoted-printable header encoding.
9499 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9500 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9501 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9505 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9508 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9509 means encode all charsets),
9511 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9512 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9513 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9520 @cindex coding system aliases
9521 @cindex preferred charset
9523 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9524 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9525 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9527 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9529 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9530 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9533 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9534 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9537 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9538 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9540 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9543 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9546 This will almost do the right thing.
9548 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9552 (codepage-setup 1251)
9553 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9557 @node Article Commands
9558 @section Article Commands
9565 @kindex A P (Summary)
9566 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9567 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9568 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9569 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9570 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9571 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9576 @node Summary Sorting
9577 @section Summary Sorting
9578 @cindex summary sorting
9580 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9581 can't really see why you'd want that.
9586 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9587 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9588 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9591 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9592 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9593 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9596 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9597 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9598 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9601 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9602 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9603 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9606 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9607 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9608 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9611 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9612 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9613 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9616 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9617 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9618 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9621 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9622 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9623 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9626 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9627 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9628 Sort using the default sorting method
9629 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9632 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9633 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9634 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9635 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9636 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9640 @node Finding the Parent
9641 @section Finding the Parent
9642 @cindex parent articles
9643 @cindex referring articles
9648 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9649 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9650 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9651 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9652 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9653 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9654 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9655 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9656 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9658 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9659 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9660 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9661 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9662 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9666 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9667 @kindex A R (Summary)
9668 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9669 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9672 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9673 @kindex A T (Summary)
9674 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9675 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9676 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9677 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9678 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9679 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9680 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9682 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9683 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9684 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9685 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9686 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9687 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9690 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9691 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9693 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9694 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9695 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9696 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9697 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9698 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9699 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9702 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9703 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9704 by giving this command a prefix.
9706 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9707 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9708 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9709 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9710 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9711 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9714 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9715 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9716 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9719 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9720 then ask Google if that fails:
9723 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9725 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9728 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9729 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9730 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9731 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9732 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9733 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9734 not support this at all.
9737 @node Alternative Approaches
9738 @section Alternative Approaches
9740 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9741 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9744 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9745 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9750 @subsection Pick and Read
9751 @cindex pick and read
9753 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9754 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9755 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9756 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9758 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9759 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9760 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9761 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9762 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9763 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9765 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9770 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9771 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9772 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9773 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9774 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9775 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9776 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9777 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9780 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9781 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9782 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9783 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9787 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9788 Unpick the thread or article
9789 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9790 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9791 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9792 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9793 the thread or article at that line.
9797 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9798 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9799 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9800 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9801 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9802 will still be visible when you are reading.
9806 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9807 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9808 which is mapped to the same function
9809 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9811 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9814 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9817 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9818 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9820 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9821 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9822 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9824 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9825 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9826 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9827 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9828 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9829 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9830 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9834 @subsection Binary Groups
9835 @cindex binary groups
9837 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9838 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9839 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9840 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9841 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9842 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9843 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9846 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9847 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9848 command, when you have turned on this mode
9849 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9851 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9852 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9856 @section Tree Display
9859 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9860 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9861 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9862 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9865 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9868 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9869 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9870 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9872 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9873 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9874 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9875 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9876 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9878 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9879 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9880 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9881 default is @code{modeline}.
9883 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9884 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9885 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9886 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9887 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9888 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9889 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9895 The name of the poster.
9897 The @code{From} header.
9899 The number of the article.
9901 The opening bracket.
9903 The closing bracket.
9908 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9910 Variables related to the display are:
9913 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9914 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9915 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9916 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9918 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9919 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9920 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9922 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9924 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9925 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9926 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9927 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9931 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9932 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9933 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9934 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9935 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9936 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9937 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9938 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9939 other windows displayed next to it.
9941 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9945 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9946 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9949 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9950 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9951 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9952 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9953 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9954 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9955 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9959 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9962 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9972 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9977 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9978 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9980 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9982 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9988 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9989 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9990 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9993 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9994 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9995 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9996 (gnus-add-configuration
10000 (summary 0.75 point)
10005 @xref{Window Layout}.
10008 @node Mail Group Commands
10009 @section Mail Group Commands
10010 @cindex mail group commands
10012 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10013 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10015 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10016 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10021 @kindex B e (Summary)
10022 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10023 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10024 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10025 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10026 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10029 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10030 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10031 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10032 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10033 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10034 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10037 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10038 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10039 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10040 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10041 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10042 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10045 @kindex B m (Summary)
10047 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10048 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10049 Move the article from one mail group to another
10050 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10051 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10054 @kindex B c (Summary)
10056 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10057 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10058 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10059 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10060 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10063 @kindex B B (Summary)
10064 @cindex crosspost mail
10065 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10066 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10067 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10068 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10069 be properly updated.
10072 @kindex B i (Summary)
10073 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10074 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10075 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10076 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10079 @kindex B I (Summary)
10080 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10081 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10082 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10083 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10086 @kindex B r (Summary)
10087 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10088 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10089 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10090 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10091 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10092 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10093 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10094 (which is the default).
10098 @kindex B w (Summary)
10099 @kindex e (Summary)
10100 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10101 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10102 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10103 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10104 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10105 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10106 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10109 @kindex B q (Summary)
10110 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10111 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10112 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10113 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10116 @kindex B t (Summary)
10117 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10118 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10119 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10122 @kindex B p (Summary)
10123 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10124 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10125 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10126 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10127 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10128 article from your news server (or rather, from
10129 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10130 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10131 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10132 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10133 just not have arrived yet.
10136 @kindex K E (Summary)
10137 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10138 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10139 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10140 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10141 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10145 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10146 @cindex moving articles
10147 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
10148 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10149 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10150 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10151 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10152 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10153 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10156 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10157 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10158 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10159 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10163 @node Various Summary Stuff
10164 @section Various Summary Stuff
10167 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10168 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10169 * Summary Generation Commands::
10170 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10174 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10175 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10176 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10177 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10178 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10179 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10181 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10182 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10183 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10186 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10187 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10188 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10190 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10191 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10192 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10193 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10194 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10195 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10198 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10199 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10200 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10201 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10202 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10204 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10205 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10206 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10209 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10210 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10211 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10212 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10213 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10214 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10215 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
10216 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10217 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10218 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10220 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10221 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10222 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10223 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10224 list of articles to be selected.
10226 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10227 the list in one particular group:
10230 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10231 (if (string= group "some.group")
10232 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10236 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10237 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10238 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10239 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10240 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10243 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10244 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10245 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10246 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10247 variable will be used instead.
10249 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10250 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10251 buffers. For example:
10254 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10255 '(message-use-followup-to
10256 (gnus-visible-headers .
10257 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10260 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10264 @node Summary Group Information
10265 @subsection Summary Group Information
10270 @kindex H f (Summary)
10271 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10272 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10273 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10274 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10275 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10276 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10277 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10278 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10279 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10282 @kindex H d (Summary)
10283 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10284 Give a brief description of the current group
10285 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10286 rereading the description from the server.
10289 @kindex H h (Summary)
10290 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10291 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10292 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10295 @kindex H i (Summary)
10296 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10297 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10301 @node Searching for Articles
10302 @subsection Searching for Articles
10307 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10308 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10309 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10310 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10313 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10314 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10315 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10316 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10319 @kindex & (Summary)
10320 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10321 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10322 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10323 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10324 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10325 search backward instead.
10327 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10328 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10331 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10332 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10333 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10334 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10337 @node Summary Generation Commands
10338 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10343 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10344 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10345 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10348 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10349 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10350 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10351 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10354 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10355 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10356 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10357 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10362 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10363 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10369 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10370 @kindex A D (Summary)
10371 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10372 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10373 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10374 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10375 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10376 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10377 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10378 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10382 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10383 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10384 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10385 several documents into one biiig group
10386 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10387 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10388 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10389 command understands the process/prefix convention
10390 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10393 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10394 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10395 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10396 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10397 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10398 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10401 @kindex = (Summary)
10402 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10403 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10404 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10407 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10408 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10409 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10410 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10413 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10414 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10415 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10416 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10421 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10422 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10423 @cindex summary exit
10424 @cindex exiting groups
10426 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10427 group and return you to the group buffer.
10434 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10435 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10436 @kindex q (Summary)
10437 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10438 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10439 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10440 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10441 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10442 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10443 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10444 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10445 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10446 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10447 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10448 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10452 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10453 @kindex Q (Summary)
10454 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10455 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10456 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10460 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10461 @kindex c (Summary)
10462 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10463 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10464 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10465 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10468 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10469 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10470 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10471 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10474 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10475 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10476 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10477 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10481 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10482 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10483 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10484 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10485 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10486 all articles, both read and unread.
10490 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10491 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10492 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10493 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10494 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10495 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10496 articles, both read and unread.
10499 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10500 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10501 Exit the group and go to the next group
10502 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10505 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10506 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10507 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10508 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10511 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10512 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10513 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10514 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10515 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10516 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10519 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10520 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10521 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10522 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10524 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10525 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10526 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10527 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10528 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10529 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10530 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10531 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10532 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10533 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10534 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10535 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10537 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10539 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10540 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10541 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10542 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10543 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10544 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10545 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10546 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10547 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10550 @node Crosspost Handling
10551 @section Crosspost Handling
10555 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10556 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10557 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10558 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10559 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10560 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10563 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10564 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10565 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10566 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10567 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10569 @cindex cross-posting
10571 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10572 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10573 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10574 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10575 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10576 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10577 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10578 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10579 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10580 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10581 the cross reference mechanism.
10583 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10584 @cindex overview.fmt
10585 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10586 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10587 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10588 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10589 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10590 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10593 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10594 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10595 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10600 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10603 @node Duplicate Suppression
10604 @section Duplicate Suppression
10606 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10607 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10608 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10609 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10614 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10615 is evil and not very common.
10618 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10619 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10622 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10623 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10626 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10629 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10630 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10632 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10633 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10634 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10635 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10636 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10637 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10638 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10641 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10642 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10643 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10644 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10645 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10646 saw the article in.
10649 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10650 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10651 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10653 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10654 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10655 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10656 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10657 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10658 session are suppressed.
10660 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10661 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10662 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10663 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10665 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10666 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10667 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10668 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10671 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10672 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10673 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10674 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10675 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10676 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10677 to you to figure out, I think.
10682 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10683 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10684 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10689 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10690 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10691 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10692 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10695 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10696 or newer is recommended.
10700 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10701 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10704 @item mm-verify-option
10705 @vindex mm-verify-option
10706 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10707 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10708 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10710 @item mm-decrypt-option
10711 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10712 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10713 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10714 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10717 @vindex mml1991-use
10718 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10719 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10720 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10724 @vindex mml2015-use
10725 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10726 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10727 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10732 @cindex snarfing keys
10733 @cindex importing PGP keys
10734 @cindex PGP key ring import
10735 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10736 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10737 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10738 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10739 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10740 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10741 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10742 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10743 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10746 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10749 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10750 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10753 @section Mailing List
10754 @cindex mailing list
10757 @kindex A M (summary)
10758 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10759 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10760 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10761 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10764 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10769 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10770 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10771 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10774 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10775 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10776 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10779 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10780 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10781 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10785 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10786 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10787 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10790 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10791 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10792 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10795 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10796 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
10797 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10802 @node Article Buffer
10803 @chapter Article Buffer
10804 @cindex article buffer
10806 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10807 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10808 tell gnus otherwise.
10811 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10812 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10813 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10814 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10815 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10819 @node Hiding Headers
10820 @section Hiding Headers
10821 @cindex hiding headers
10822 @cindex deleting headers
10824 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10825 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10827 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10828 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10829 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10830 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10831 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10832 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10833 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10834 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10835 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10837 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10841 @item gnus-visible-headers
10842 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10843 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10844 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10845 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10847 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10848 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10851 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10854 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10857 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10858 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10859 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10860 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10861 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10862 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10864 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10865 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10868 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10871 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10874 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10875 variable will have no effect.
10879 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10880 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10881 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10882 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10883 the headers are to be displayed.
10885 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10886 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10889 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10892 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10893 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10895 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10896 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10897 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10898 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10899 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10900 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
10901 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10904 These conditions are:
10907 Remove all empty headers.
10909 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10910 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10912 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
10913 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
10916 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10919 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10920 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
10922 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10923 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10925 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10926 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10928 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10931 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10933 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10936 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10939 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10940 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10943 This is also the default value for this variable.
10947 @section Using MIME
10948 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10950 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10951 while people stand around yawning.
10953 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10954 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10956 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10957 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10958 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10960 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10961 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10962 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10963 gnus handles @acronym{MIME} by pushing the articles through
10964 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10965 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10966 calls the @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For
10967 more information on @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View, see its manual page
10968 (however it is not existed yet, sorry).
10970 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10971 @acronym{MIME} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set,
10972 then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10973 These can't be avoided.
10975 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10976 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10977 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10978 @acronym{MIME} has decoded the sound file in the article and some
10979 horrible sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you
10980 can't find the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are
10981 starting to look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't,
10982 and you can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else
10983 in the room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll
10984 feel rather stupid.)
10986 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10988 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10989 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10990 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10991 buffer when there are nobody else.
10993 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10996 @node Customizing Articles
10997 @section Customizing Articles
10998 @cindex article customization
11000 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11001 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11002 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11003 called automatically when you select the articles.
11005 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11006 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11007 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11008 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11010 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11011 for sensible values.
11015 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11018 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11021 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11024 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
11027 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11031 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11032 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11033 regexps in the list.
11036 A list where the first element is not a string:
11038 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11039 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11040 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11044 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11048 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
11053 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11054 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11055 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11056 considered to contain just a single part.
11058 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11059 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11060 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11061 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11062 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11063 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11064 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11066 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11067 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11068 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11069 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11072 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11073 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11075 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11077 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11078 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11079 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11080 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11081 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
11082 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11083 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11084 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11085 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11086 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11087 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
11089 @xref{Article Washing}.
11091 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11092 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11093 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11094 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11095 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11096 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11097 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11099 @xref{Article Date}.
11101 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11102 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11103 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11107 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11109 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11111 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11112 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11113 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11117 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11121 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11125 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11126 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11127 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11128 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11129 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11130 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11131 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11132 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11133 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11134 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11136 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11138 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11139 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11140 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11142 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11144 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11145 @item gnus-treat-translate
11146 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11147 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11149 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11150 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11151 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11152 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11154 @xref{Article Header}.
11159 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11160 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11161 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11162 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11163 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11167 @node Article Keymap
11168 @section Article Keymap
11170 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11171 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11172 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11173 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11176 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11181 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11182 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11183 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11184 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11187 @kindex DEL (Article)
11188 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11189 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11190 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11193 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11194 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11195 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11196 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11197 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11200 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11201 @findex gnus-article-mail
11202 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11203 given a prefix, include the mail.
11206 @kindex s (Article)
11207 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11208 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11209 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11212 @kindex ? (Article)
11213 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11214 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11215 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11218 @kindex TAB (Article)
11219 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11220 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11221 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11224 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11225 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11226 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11229 @kindex R (Article)
11230 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11231 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11232 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11233 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11237 @kindex F (Article)
11238 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11239 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11240 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11241 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11249 @section Misc Article
11253 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11254 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11255 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11256 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11259 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11260 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11261 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11262 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11263 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11265 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11266 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11267 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11268 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11269 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11270 the contents of the article buffer.
11272 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11273 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11274 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11276 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11277 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11278 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11279 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11281 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11282 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11283 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11284 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11286 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11287 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11288 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11289 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11290 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11291 with two extensions:
11296 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11297 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11298 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11303 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11306 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11309 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11310 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11311 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11314 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11317 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11320 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11325 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11329 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11331 @item gnus-break-pages
11332 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11333 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11334 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11335 paging will not be done.
11337 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11338 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11339 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11343 @cindex internationalized domain names
11344 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11345 @item gnus-use-idna
11346 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11347 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11348 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11349 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11350 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11355 @node Composing Messages
11356 @chapter Composing Messages
11357 @cindex composing messages
11360 @cindex sending mail
11365 @cindex using s/mime
11366 @cindex using smime
11368 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11369 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11370 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11371 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11372 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11373 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11376 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11377 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11378 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11379 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11380 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11381 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11382 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11383 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11384 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11387 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11388 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11394 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11397 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11398 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11399 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11400 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11401 @code{nil} include all headers.
11403 @item gnus-add-to-list
11404 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11405 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11406 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11408 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11409 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11410 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11411 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11412 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11413 confirmation is should be asked for.
11415 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11416 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11418 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11419 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11420 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11421 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11422 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11427 @node Posting Server
11428 @section Posting Server
11430 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11431 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11433 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11435 It can be quite complicated.
11437 @vindex gnus-post-method
11438 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11439 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11440 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11441 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11442 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11443 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11444 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11445 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11446 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11449 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11452 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11453 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11454 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11455 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11457 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11458 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11460 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11461 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11464 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11465 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11467 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11468 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11469 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11470 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11471 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11472 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11473 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11474 package correctly. An example:
11477 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11478 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11479 ;; @r{The following variable needs to be set if you are using smtpmail.el}
11480 ;; @r{distributed with FLIM, lesser than the version 1.14.6.}
11481 (setq smtp-default-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11484 To the thing similar to this, there is
11485 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
11486 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
11487 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
11489 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11490 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11491 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11493 @node POP before SMTP
11494 @section POP before SMTP
11495 @cindex pop before smtp
11496 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
11497 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
11499 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
11500 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
11501 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
11502 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
11503 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11506 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
11507 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
11511 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
11512 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
11513 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
11514 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
11515 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
11516 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
11517 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
11518 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
11520 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
11521 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
11522 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
11523 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
11524 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
11525 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
11528 (setq mail-source-primary-source
11529 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11530 :password "secret"))
11534 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
11535 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
11538 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
11540 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
11541 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11542 :password "secret")))
11543 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
11546 @node Mail and Post
11547 @section Mail and Post
11549 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11553 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11554 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11555 @cindex mailing lists
11557 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11558 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11559 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11560 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11561 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11562 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11563 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11564 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11565 still a pain, though.
11567 @item gnus-user-agent
11568 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11571 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11572 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11573 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11574 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11575 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11576 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11577 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11581 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11582 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11583 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11586 @findex ispell-message
11588 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11591 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11592 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11595 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11599 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11600 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11602 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11605 Modify to suit your needs.
11608 @node Archived Messages
11609 @section Archived Messages
11610 @cindex archived messages
11611 @cindex sent messages
11613 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11614 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11615 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11616 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11619 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11620 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11623 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11624 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11625 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11628 (nnfolder "archive"
11629 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11630 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11631 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11632 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11635 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11636 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11637 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11638 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11641 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11642 '(nnfolder "archive"
11643 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11644 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11645 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11648 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11650 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11651 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11652 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11654 This variable can be used to do the following:
11658 Messages will be saved in that group.
11660 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11661 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11662 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11663 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11664 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11665 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11666 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11667 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11670 @item a list of strings
11671 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11673 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11674 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11677 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11682 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11684 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11687 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11689 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11692 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11694 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11695 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11696 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11697 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11700 More complex stuff:
11702 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11703 '((if (message-news-p)
11708 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11709 messages in one file per month:
11712 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11713 '((if (message-news-p)
11715 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11718 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11719 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11721 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11722 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11723 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11724 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11725 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11726 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11727 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11728 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11729 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11730 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11732 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11733 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11734 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11735 this will disable archiving.
11738 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11739 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11740 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11741 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11742 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11745 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11746 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11747 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11750 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11751 but the latter is the preferred method.
11753 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11754 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11755 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11757 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11758 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11759 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11760 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11761 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11762 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11763 changed in the future.
11768 @node Posting Styles
11769 @section Posting Styles
11770 @cindex posting styles
11773 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11775 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11776 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11777 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11780 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11781 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11782 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11783 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11784 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11789 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11790 (organization "What me?"))
11792 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11793 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11794 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11797 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11798 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11799 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11800 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11801 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11802 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11803 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11804 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11806 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11807 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11808 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11809 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11810 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11811 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
11812 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11813 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11814 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11815 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11816 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11817 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11818 said to @dfn{match}.
11820 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11821 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
11822 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
11823 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
11824 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
11825 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
11826 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
11827 name can be one of:
11830 @item @code{signature}
11831 @item @code{signature-file}
11832 @item @code{x-face-file}
11833 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
11834 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
11838 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
11839 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
11840 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
11841 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
11842 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
11844 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11845 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11846 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11847 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11848 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11849 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11850 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11851 references chars lines xref extra.
11853 @vindex message-reply-headers
11855 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11856 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11857 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11859 @findex message-mail-p
11860 @findex message-news-p
11862 So here's a new example:
11865 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11867 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11869 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11870 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11872 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11873 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11874 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11875 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11876 (signature my-news-signature))
11877 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11878 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11879 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11880 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11881 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11882 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11883 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11884 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11885 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11886 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11888 (From (save-excursion
11889 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11890 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11892 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11895 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11896 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11897 if you fill many roles.
11899 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11900 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11901 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11902 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11903 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11904 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11905 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11906 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11911 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11913 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11915 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11916 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11919 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11922 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11923 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11930 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11931 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11932 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11933 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11934 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11936 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11937 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11938 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11939 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11940 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11944 @vindex nndraft-directory
11945 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11946 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11947 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11948 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11949 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11950 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11952 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11953 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11954 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11955 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11956 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11957 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11958 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11959 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11960 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11962 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11963 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11964 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11965 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11966 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11967 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11968 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11969 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11970 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11971 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11972 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11973 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11974 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11975 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11977 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11978 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11979 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11981 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11982 @kindex D e (Draft)
11983 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11984 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11985 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11987 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11990 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11991 @kindex D s (Draft)
11992 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11993 @kindex D S (Draft)
11994 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11995 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11996 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11997 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11998 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12001 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12002 @kindex D t (Draft)
12003 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12004 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12005 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12008 @node Rejected Articles
12009 @section Rejected Articles
12010 @cindex rejected articles
12012 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12013 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12014 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12015 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12017 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
12018 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12019 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12020 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
12021 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12023 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12024 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12025 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12027 @node Signing and encrypting
12028 @section Signing and encrypting
12030 @cindex using s/mime
12031 @cindex using smime
12033 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12034 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12035 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12036 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12038 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12039 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12040 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12041 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12042 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12043 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12044 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12045 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12046 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12047 automatically encrypted messages.
12049 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12050 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12051 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12056 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12057 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12059 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12062 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12063 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12065 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12068 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12069 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12071 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12074 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12075 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12077 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12080 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12081 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12083 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12086 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12087 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12089 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12092 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12093 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12094 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12098 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12100 @node Select Methods
12101 @chapter Select Methods
12102 @cindex foreign groups
12103 @cindex select methods
12105 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12106 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12107 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12108 personal mail group.
12110 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12111 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12112 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12113 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12114 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12115 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12117 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12118 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12120 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12123 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12124 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12125 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12126 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12127 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12129 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12132 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12133 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12134 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12135 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12136 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12137 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12138 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12139 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12143 @node Server Buffer
12144 @section Server Buffer
12146 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12147 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12148 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12149 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12150 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12151 back end represents a virtual server.
12153 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12154 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12155 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12156 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12158 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12159 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12160 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12161 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12162 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12163 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12164 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12166 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12167 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12170 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12171 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12172 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12173 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12174 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12175 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12176 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12179 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12180 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12183 @node Server Buffer Format
12184 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12185 @cindex server buffer format
12187 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12188 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12189 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12190 variable, with some simple extensions:
12195 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12198 The name of this server.
12201 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12204 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12207 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12208 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12209 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12210 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12220 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12223 @node Server Commands
12224 @subsection Server Commands
12225 @cindex server commands
12231 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12232 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12236 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12237 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12240 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12241 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12242 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12246 @findex gnus-server-exit
12247 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12251 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12252 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12256 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12257 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12261 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12262 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12266 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12267 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12271 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12272 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12273 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12278 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12279 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12280 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12281 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12286 @node Example Methods
12287 @subsection Example Methods
12289 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12292 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12295 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12301 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12302 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12305 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12306 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12308 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12309 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12313 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12316 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12317 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12319 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12320 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12321 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12325 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12328 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12331 Here's the method for a public spool:
12335 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12336 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12342 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12343 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12344 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12345 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12346 should probably look something like this:
12350 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12351 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12352 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12353 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12356 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12357 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12358 configuration to the example above:
12361 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12364 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12366 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12367 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12368 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12372 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12373 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12374 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12375 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12378 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12379 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12380 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12381 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12384 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12385 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12387 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12388 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12390 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12391 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12392 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12394 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12396 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12397 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12398 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12399 will contain the following:
12409 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12410 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12413 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12414 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12415 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12418 @node Server Variables
12419 @subsection Server Variables
12420 @cindex server variables
12421 @cindex server parameters
12423 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12424 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12425 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12426 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12427 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12429 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12430 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12431 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12432 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12433 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12434 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12435 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12436 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12437 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12441 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12442 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12443 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12446 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12448 @node Servers and Methods
12449 @subsection Servers and Methods
12451 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12452 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12453 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12454 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12458 @node Unavailable Servers
12459 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12461 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12462 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12463 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12464 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12465 actually the case or not.
12467 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12468 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12469 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12470 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12471 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12472 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12473 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12474 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12476 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12477 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12479 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12480 with the following commands:
12486 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12487 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12488 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12492 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12493 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12494 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12498 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12499 Mark the current server as unreachable
12500 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12503 @kindex M-o (Server)
12504 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12505 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12506 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12509 @kindex M-c (Server)
12510 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12511 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12512 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12516 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12517 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12518 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12522 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12523 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12529 @section Getting News
12530 @cindex reading news
12531 @cindex news back ends
12533 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12534 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12535 or it can read from a local spool.
12538 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12539 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12547 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12548 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12549 server as the, uhm, address.
12551 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12552 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12553 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12554 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12556 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12557 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12558 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12560 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12565 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12566 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12567 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12569 @cindex authentification
12570 @cindex nntp authentification
12571 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12572 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12573 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12574 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12575 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12576 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12577 present in this hook.
12579 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12580 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12581 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12582 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12583 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12584 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12585 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12586 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12587 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12588 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12589 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12590 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12594 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12597 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12599 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12600 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12601 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12602 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12603 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12604 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12605 @samp{force} is explained below.
12609 Here's an example file:
12612 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12613 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12616 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12617 have to be first, for instance.
12619 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12620 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12621 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12622 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12623 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12624 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12625 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12627 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12628 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12634 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12635 previously mentioned.
12637 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12639 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12640 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12641 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12642 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12643 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12646 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12647 '(("innd" (ding))))
12650 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12652 The default value is
12655 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12656 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12657 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12660 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12661 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12663 @item nntp-maximum-request
12664 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12665 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12666 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12667 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12668 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12669 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12670 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12672 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12673 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12674 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12675 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12676 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12677 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12678 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12679 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12680 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12681 no timeouts are done.
12683 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12684 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12685 @c @cindex PPP connections
12686 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12687 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12688 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12689 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12690 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12691 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12692 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12693 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12694 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12695 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12697 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12698 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12699 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12700 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12701 @c described above.
12703 @item nntp-server-hook
12704 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12705 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12708 @item nntp-buggy-select
12709 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12710 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12712 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12713 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12714 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12715 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12718 @item nntp-xover-commands
12719 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12720 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12722 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12723 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12727 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12728 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12729 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12730 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12731 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12732 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12733 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12734 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12735 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12736 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12737 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12739 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12740 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12741 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12743 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12744 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12745 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12746 server closes connection.
12748 @item nntp-record-commands
12749 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12750 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12751 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12752 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12753 that doesn't seem to work.
12755 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12756 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12757 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12758 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12759 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12760 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12761 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12762 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12764 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12765 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12766 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12767 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12768 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12769 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12770 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12773 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12776 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12777 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12779 @item nntp-read-timeout
12780 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12781 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12782 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12783 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12784 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12787 @item nntp-list-options
12788 @vindex nntp-list-options
12789 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12790 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12791 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12792 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12793 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12797 (setq gnus-select-method
12798 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12799 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12802 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12803 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12804 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12805 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12806 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12807 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12808 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12811 (setq gnus-select-method
12812 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12813 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12816 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12817 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12818 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12819 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12820 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12821 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12822 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12825 (setq gnus-select-method
12826 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12827 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12832 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12833 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12834 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12838 @node Direct Functions
12839 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12840 @cindex direct connection functions
12842 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12843 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12844 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12845 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12848 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12849 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12850 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12853 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12854 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12855 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12856 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12857 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12860 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12861 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12863 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12864 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12865 (nntp-port-number )
12866 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12869 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12870 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12871 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12872 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12873 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12874 then define a server as follows:
12877 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12878 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12880 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12881 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12882 (nntp-port-number 563)
12883 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12886 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12887 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12888 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12889 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12890 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12891 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12892 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12893 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12897 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12898 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12899 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12902 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12903 session, which is not a good idea.
12907 @node Indirect Functions
12908 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12909 @cindex indirect connection functions
12911 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12912 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12913 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12914 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12915 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12916 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12919 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12920 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12921 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12922 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12923 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12925 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12928 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12929 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12930 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12931 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12933 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12934 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12935 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12936 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12937 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12938 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12939 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12940 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12944 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
12945 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12947 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
12948 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
12949 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{netcat}
12950 (@uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/}) instead of @samp{telnet} to
12951 connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
12953 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
12956 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
12957 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
12958 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
12959 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
12960 programs like @samp{connect}
12961 (@uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html}) instead.
12963 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
12964 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
12965 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12966 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
12968 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12969 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12970 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12972 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12973 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12974 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
12977 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12978 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12979 Does essentially also the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12980 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12982 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12985 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12986 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12987 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12990 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12991 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12992 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12993 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12995 @item nntp-via-user-password
12996 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12997 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12999 @item nntp-via-envuser
13000 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13001 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13002 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13003 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13005 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13006 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13007 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13008 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13012 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13013 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13017 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13022 @item nntp-via-user-name
13023 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13024 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13026 @item nntp-via-address
13027 @vindex nntp-via-address
13028 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13033 @node Common Variables
13034 @subsubsection Common Variables
13036 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13037 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13042 @item nntp-pre-command
13043 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13044 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13045 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13046 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
13047 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13050 @vindex nntp-address
13051 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13053 @item nntp-port-number
13054 @vindex nntp-port-number
13055 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13056 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13057 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13058 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13059 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13060 not work with named ports.
13062 @item nntp-end-of-line
13063 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13064 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13065 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13066 using a non native telnet connection function.
13068 @item nntp-telnet-command
13069 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13070 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13071 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13072 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13075 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13076 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13077 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13084 @subsection News Spool
13088 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13089 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13090 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13093 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13094 anything else) as the address.
13096 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13097 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13098 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13099 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13103 @item nnspool-inews-program
13104 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13105 Program used to post an article.
13107 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13108 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13109 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13111 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13112 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13113 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13114 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13116 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13117 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13118 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13119 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13121 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13122 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13123 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13125 @item nnspool-active-file
13126 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13127 The name of the active file.
13129 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13130 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13131 The name of the group descriptions file.
13133 @item nnspool-history-file
13134 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13135 The name of the news history file.
13137 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13138 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13139 The name of the active date file.
13141 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13142 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13143 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13146 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13147 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13149 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13150 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13151 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13158 @section Getting Mail
13159 @cindex reading mail
13162 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13166 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13167 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13168 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13169 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13170 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13171 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13172 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13173 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13174 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13175 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13176 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13177 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13178 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13182 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13183 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13185 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13186 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13187 of a culture shock.
13189 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13190 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13192 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13193 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13194 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13195 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13197 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13199 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13200 deleted? How awful!
13202 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13203 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13204 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13205 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13208 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13209 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13210 they want to treat a message.
13212 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13213 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13214 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13215 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13216 archived somewhere else.
13218 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13219 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13220 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13221 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13222 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13224 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13225 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13226 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13228 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13229 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13232 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13233 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13234 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13235 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13236 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13238 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13239 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13240 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13241 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13242 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13243 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13247 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13248 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13250 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13251 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13252 and things will happen automatically.
13254 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13255 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13258 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13261 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13262 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13263 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13264 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13265 like any other group.
13267 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13270 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13271 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13272 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13276 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13277 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13278 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13281 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13282 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13283 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13286 @node Splitting Mail
13287 @subsection Splitting Mail
13288 @cindex splitting mail
13289 @cindex mail splitting
13290 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13292 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13293 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13294 to be split into groups.
13297 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13298 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13299 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13300 ("mail.other" "")))
13303 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13304 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13305 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13306 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13307 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13308 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13309 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13312 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13316 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
13317 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13319 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13320 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13321 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13322 mail belongs in that group.
13324 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13325 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13326 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13327 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13328 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13329 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) When new groups are
13330 created by splitting mail, you may want to run
13331 @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to see the new groups.
13333 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13334 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13335 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13336 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13337 thinks should carry this mail message.
13339 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13340 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13341 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13342 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13344 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13345 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13346 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13347 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13348 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13350 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13353 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13354 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13355 links. If that's the case for you, set
13356 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13357 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13359 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13360 @findex nnmail-split-history
13361 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13362 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13363 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13364 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13367 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13368 Header lines longer than the value of
13369 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13372 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13373 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13374 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13375 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13376 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13377 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13378 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13379 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13381 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13382 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13383 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13384 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13385 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13386 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13387 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13388 other kinds of entries.)
13390 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13391 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13392 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13393 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13394 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13395 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13396 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13397 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13398 month's rent money.
13402 @subsection Mail Sources
13404 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13405 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13406 maildir, for instance.
13409 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13410 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13411 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13415 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13416 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13418 @cindex mail server
13421 @cindex mail source
13423 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13424 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13429 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13432 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13433 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13434 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13437 The following mail source types are available:
13441 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13447 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13448 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13449 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13453 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13456 An example file mail source:
13459 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13462 Or using the default file name:
13468 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13469 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13470 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13471 mail spool while moving the mail.
13473 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13477 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13480 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13484 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13487 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13489 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13492 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13496 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13497 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13498 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13499 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13500 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13501 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13502 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13503 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13504 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13505 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13507 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13508 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13509 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13510 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13516 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13520 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13524 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13525 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13526 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13527 predicate are considered.
13531 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13535 An example directory mail source:
13538 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13543 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13549 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13550 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13553 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13554 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13555 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13556 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13557 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13560 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13564 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13565 the user is prompted.
13568 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13569 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13572 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13575 The valid format specifier characters are:
13579 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13580 included in this string.
13583 The name of the server.
13586 The port number of the server.
13589 The user name to use.
13592 The password to use.
13595 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13596 corresponding keywords.
13599 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13600 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13603 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13604 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13607 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13608 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13609 mail should be moved to.
13611 @item :authentication
13612 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13613 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13617 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13618 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13619 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13620 programs and libraries:
13624 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13625 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13626 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13628 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13629 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13634 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13635 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13639 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13640 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13642 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13643 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13649 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13652 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13653 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13656 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13659 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13663 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13664 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13665 contains exactly one mail.
13671 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13672 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13675 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13676 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13678 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13679 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13680 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13683 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13684 from locking problems).
13688 Two example maildir mail sources:
13691 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13692 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13696 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13701 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13702 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13703 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13704 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13705 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13707 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13708 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13714 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13715 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13718 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13719 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13722 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13726 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13730 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13731 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13732 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13733 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13735 @item :authentication
13736 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13737 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13738 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13739 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13742 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13743 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13744 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13750 The valid format specifier characters are:
13754 The name of the server.
13757 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13760 The port number of the server.
13763 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13764 corresponding keywords.
13767 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13768 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13771 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13772 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13773 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13774 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13775 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13776 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13779 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13780 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13781 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13782 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13785 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13786 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13790 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13793 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13795 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13799 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13800 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13801 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13803 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13804 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13806 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13812 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13813 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13816 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13820 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13824 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13825 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13829 An example webmail source:
13832 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13834 :password "secret")
13839 @item Common Keywords
13840 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13846 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13847 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13852 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13857 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13858 useful when you use local mail and news.
13863 @subsubsection Function Interface
13865 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13866 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13867 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13868 consider the following mail-source setting:
13871 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13872 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13875 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13876 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13877 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13878 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13879 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13881 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13884 @node Mail Source Customization
13885 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13887 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13888 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13892 @item mail-source-crash-box
13893 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13894 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13895 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13897 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13898 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13899 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13900 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13901 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13902 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
13903 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13904 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13906 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13907 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13908 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13909 files. This variable only applies when
13910 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13912 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13913 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13914 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13916 @item mail-source-directory
13917 @vindex mail-source-directory
13918 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
13919 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
13920 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
13921 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
13923 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13924 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13925 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13926 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13927 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13928 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13930 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13931 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13932 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13934 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13935 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13936 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13937 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13942 @node Fetching Mail
13943 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13945 @vindex mail-sources
13946 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13947 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13948 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13949 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13951 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13952 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13955 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13956 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13961 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13962 :password "secret")))
13965 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13969 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13970 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13973 :password "secret")))
13977 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13978 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13979 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13980 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13981 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13982 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13986 @node Mail Back End Variables
13987 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13989 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13993 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13994 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13995 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13996 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13998 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13999 @item nnmail-split-hook
14000 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
14001 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
14002 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
14003 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
14004 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
14005 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
14006 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
14007 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14008 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14011 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14012 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14013 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14014 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14015 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14016 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14017 starting to handle the new mail) and
14018 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14019 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14020 default file modes the new mail files get:
14023 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14024 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14026 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14027 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14030 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14031 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14032 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14033 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14034 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14035 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14036 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14038 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14039 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14040 @findex delete-file
14041 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14043 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14044 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14045 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14046 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14047 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14049 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14050 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14051 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14052 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14053 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14055 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14056 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14057 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14062 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14063 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14064 @cindex mail splitting
14065 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14067 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14068 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14069 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14070 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14071 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14072 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14074 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14077 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14078 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14079 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14080 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14082 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14083 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14084 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14085 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14086 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14087 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14088 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14089 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14090 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14091 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14092 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14093 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14094 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14095 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14096 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14097 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14098 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14102 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14103 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14104 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14109 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14110 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14112 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split})
14113 If the split is a list, the first element of which is a string, then
14114 store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field}
14115 (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict}
14116 (yet another regexp) matches some string after @var{field} and before
14117 the end of the matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If
14118 none of the @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
14120 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14121 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14122 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14123 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14124 stored in one or more groups.
14126 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14127 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14128 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14131 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14132 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14134 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14135 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14136 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14137 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14140 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14141 body of the messages:
14144 (defun split-on-body ()
14148 (goto-char (point-min))
14149 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14153 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14154 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14155 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14156 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
14157 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14158 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14159 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14161 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14162 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14163 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14164 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14165 should return a split.
14168 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14172 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14173 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
14174 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
14175 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
14176 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
14178 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14179 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14180 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14181 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14182 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14183 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14184 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14188 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14190 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14191 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14193 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14196 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14197 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14198 when all this splitting is performed.
14200 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14201 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14202 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14205 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14208 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14209 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14211 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14212 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14213 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14214 groupings 1 through 9.
14216 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
14217 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
14218 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
14219 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
14220 groups when users send to an address using different case
14221 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
14224 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14225 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} controls whether partial
14226 words are matched during fancy splitting.
14228 Normally, regular expressions given in @code{nnmail-split-fancy} are
14229 implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers, which are word
14230 delimiters. If this variable is true, they are not implicitly
14231 surrounded by anything.
14234 (any "joe" "joemail")
14237 In this example, messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will
14238 normally not be filed in @samp{joemail}. With
14239 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} set to t, however, the
14240 match will happen. In effect, the requirement of a word boundary is
14241 removed and instead the match becomes more like a grep.
14243 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14244 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14245 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14246 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14247 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14248 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14249 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14250 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14251 it once per thread.
14253 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14254 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14255 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14256 using the colon feature, like so:
14258 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14259 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14261 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14262 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14266 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14267 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14268 in the file specified by the variable
14269 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14270 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14271 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14272 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14273 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14274 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14275 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14276 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14277 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14278 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14279 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14280 300 kBytes in size.)
14281 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14282 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14283 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14284 messages goes into the new group.
14286 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14287 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14288 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14289 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14290 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14291 ``outgoing'' group.
14294 @node Group Mail Splitting
14295 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14296 @cindex mail splitting
14297 @cindex group mail splitting
14299 @findex gnus-group-split
14300 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14301 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14302 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14303 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14304 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14305 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14306 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14307 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14309 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14310 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14311 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14312 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14314 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14315 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14316 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14317 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14318 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14319 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14320 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14322 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14323 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14324 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14325 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14326 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14327 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14328 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14330 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14331 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14332 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14333 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14334 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14335 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14336 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14337 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14338 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14339 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14340 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14341 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14342 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14344 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14349 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14350 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14352 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14353 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14354 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14355 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14357 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14360 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14361 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14362 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14365 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14366 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14367 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14371 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14372 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14373 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14377 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14380 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14381 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14382 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14383 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14384 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14385 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14386 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14387 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14388 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14390 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14391 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14392 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14393 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14394 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14395 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14396 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14397 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14398 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14400 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14401 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14402 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14403 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14404 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14405 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14408 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14411 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14412 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14413 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14414 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14415 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14418 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14419 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14420 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14421 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14423 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14424 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14425 @cindex incorporating old mail
14426 @cindex import old mail
14428 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14429 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14430 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14433 Doing so can be quite easy.
14435 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14436 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14437 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14438 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14439 your @code{nnml} groups.
14445 Go to the group buffer.
14448 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14449 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14452 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14455 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14456 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14459 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14460 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14463 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14464 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14465 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14466 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14467 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14469 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14470 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14471 using the new mail back end.
14474 @node Expiring Mail
14475 @subsection Expiring Mail
14476 @cindex article expiry
14478 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14479 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14480 different approach to mail reading.
14482 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14483 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14484 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14485 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14486 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14487 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14490 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14491 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14492 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14493 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14494 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14495 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14496 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14497 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14498 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14500 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14501 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14502 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14503 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14504 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14505 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14506 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14509 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14510 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14511 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14512 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14513 into its own group.)
14515 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14516 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14517 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14518 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14519 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14520 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14521 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14522 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14525 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14526 Groups that match the regular expression
14527 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14528 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14529 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14531 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14532 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14533 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14534 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14535 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14537 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14539 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14540 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14541 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14544 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14545 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14546 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14547 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14548 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14550 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14551 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14554 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14555 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14558 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14559 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14561 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14562 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14563 don't really mix very well.
14565 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14566 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14567 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14568 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14571 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14572 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14573 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14574 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14577 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14579 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14581 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14583 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14585 ((string= group "important")
14591 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14592 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14594 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14595 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14596 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14599 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14600 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14602 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14603 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14604 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14605 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14606 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14607 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14608 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14609 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14610 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14611 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14612 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14613 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14614 name or @code{delete}.
14616 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14618 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14621 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14622 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14623 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14624 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14625 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14628 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14629 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14630 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14631 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14632 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14635 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14636 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14637 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14638 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14639 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14640 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14642 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14643 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14644 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14645 easier for procmail users.
14647 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14648 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14649 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14650 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14651 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14652 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14653 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14654 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14655 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14656 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14657 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14658 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14659 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14662 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14664 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14665 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14666 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14667 auto-expire turned on.
14671 @subsection Washing Mail
14672 @cindex mail washing
14673 @cindex list server brain damage
14674 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14676 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14677 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14678 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14679 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14680 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14681 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14683 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14684 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14685 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14688 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14689 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14690 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14691 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14694 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14695 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14696 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14697 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14698 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14701 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14702 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14703 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14704 Emacs running on MS machines.
14708 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14709 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14710 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14711 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14714 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14715 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14716 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14717 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14719 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14720 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14721 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14722 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14723 into a feature by documenting it.)
14725 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14726 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14727 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14728 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14729 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14730 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14731 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14734 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14735 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14738 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14739 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14742 This can also be done non-destructively with
14743 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14745 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14746 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14747 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14749 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14750 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14752 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14753 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14754 @code{References} headers.
14758 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14759 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14760 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14764 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14765 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14766 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14773 @subsection Duplicates
14775 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14776 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14777 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14778 @cindex duplicate mails
14779 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14780 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14781 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14782 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14783 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14784 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14785 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14786 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14787 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14788 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14789 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14790 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14791 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14793 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14794 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14795 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14796 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14798 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14801 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14802 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14806 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14807 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14808 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14809 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14810 (any mail "mail.misc")
14811 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14817 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14818 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14819 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14823 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14824 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14825 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14826 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14827 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14830 @node Not Reading Mail
14831 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14833 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14834 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14835 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14837 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14838 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14839 mail, which should help.
14841 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14842 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14843 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14844 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14845 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14846 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14847 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14848 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14849 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14850 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14851 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14853 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14854 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14858 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14859 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14861 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14862 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14863 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14865 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14866 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14867 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14871 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14872 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14873 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14874 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14875 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14876 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14877 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14881 @node Unix Mail Box
14882 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14884 @cindex unix mail box
14886 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14887 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14888 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14889 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14890 which group it belongs in.
14892 Virtual server settings:
14895 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14896 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14897 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14900 @item nnmbox-active-file
14901 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14902 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14903 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14905 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14906 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14907 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14908 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14913 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14917 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14918 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14919 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14920 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14921 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14923 Virtual server settings:
14926 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14927 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14928 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14930 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14931 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14932 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14933 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14935 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14936 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14937 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14943 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14945 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14947 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14948 format. It should be used with some caution.
14950 @vindex nnml-directory
14951 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14952 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14953 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14954 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14956 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14959 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14960 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14961 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14962 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14963 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14964 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14965 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14966 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14968 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14969 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14970 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14971 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14973 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14975 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14976 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14977 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14978 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14979 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14980 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14981 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14982 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14985 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14986 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14987 them next time it starts.
14989 Virtual server settings:
14992 @item nnml-directory
14993 @vindex nnml-directory
14994 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14995 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14998 @item nnml-active-file
14999 @vindex nnml-active-file
15000 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
15001 @file{~/Mail/active}.
15003 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
15004 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
15005 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15006 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
15008 @item nnml-get-new-mail
15009 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15010 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
15013 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
15014 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
15015 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15016 default is @code{nil}.
15018 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15019 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15020 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15022 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15023 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15024 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15026 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15027 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15028 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15029 default is @code{nil}.
15031 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15032 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15033 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15035 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15036 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15037 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15042 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15043 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15044 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15045 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15046 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15047 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15048 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15053 @subsubsection MH Spool
15055 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15057 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15058 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15059 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15060 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15063 Virtual server settings:
15066 @item nnmh-directory
15067 @vindex nnmh-directory
15068 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15069 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15072 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15073 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15074 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15078 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15079 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15080 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15081 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15082 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15083 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15084 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15089 @subsubsection Maildir
15093 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15094 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15095 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15096 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15097 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15100 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15101 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15102 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15103 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15104 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15105 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15106 that appear as group in Gnus.
15108 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15109 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15110 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15112 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15113 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15114 another, and you will keep your marks.
15116 Virtual server settings:
15120 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15121 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15122 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15123 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15124 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15125 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15126 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15127 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15128 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15129 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15131 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15132 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15133 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15134 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15135 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15136 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15137 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15138 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15139 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15140 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15143 @item target-prefix
15144 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15145 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15146 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15149 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15150 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15151 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15152 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15153 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15154 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15155 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15156 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15157 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15159 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15160 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15161 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15162 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15163 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15165 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15166 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15167 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15168 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15169 @code{force} argument.
15171 @item directory-files
15172 This should be a function with the same interface as
15173 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15174 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15175 parameter is optional; the default is
15176 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15177 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15178 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15179 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15180 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15181 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15184 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15185 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15186 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15187 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15188 value is @code{nil}.
15190 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15191 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15192 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15193 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15194 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15197 @subsubsection Group parameters
15199 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15200 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15201 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15202 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15203 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15204 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15207 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15208 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15209 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15210 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15211 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15212 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15213 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15214 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15215 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15219 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15220 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15221 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15222 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15223 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overrideable by
15224 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
15225 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15226 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15227 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15228 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15229 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15230 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15233 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15235 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15237 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15238 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15239 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15240 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15241 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15242 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15243 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15244 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15245 article. So that form can refer to
15246 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15247 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir} does
15248 not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15249 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15252 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15253 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15254 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15255 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15256 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15257 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15258 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15259 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15260 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15261 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15262 contain extra copies of the articles.
15264 @item directory-files
15265 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15266 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15267 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15268 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15270 @item distrust-Lines:
15271 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15272 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15273 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15276 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15277 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15278 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15279 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15280 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15281 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15284 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15285 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15286 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15287 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15288 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15289 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15290 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15292 @item nov-cache-size
15293 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15294 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15295 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15296 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15297 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15298 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15299 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15300 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15301 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15302 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15303 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15306 @subsubsection Article identification
15307 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15308 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15309 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15310 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15311 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15312 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15313 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15314 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15315 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15316 request the article in the summary buffer.
15318 @subsubsection NOV data
15319 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15320 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15321 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15322 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15323 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15324 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15325 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15326 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15327 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15328 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15329 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15331 @subsubsection Article marks
15332 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15333 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15334 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15335 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15336 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15337 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15338 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15339 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15341 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15342 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15343 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15344 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15345 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15346 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15347 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15348 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15349 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15353 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15355 @cindex mbox folders
15356 @cindex mail folders
15358 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15359 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15360 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15361 numbers and arrival dates.
15363 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15365 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15366 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15367 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15368 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15369 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15370 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15371 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15372 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15373 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15374 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15376 Virtual server settings:
15379 @item nnfolder-directory
15380 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15381 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15382 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15383 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15385 @item nnfolder-active-file
15386 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15387 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15389 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15390 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15391 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15392 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15394 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15395 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15396 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15397 default is @code{t}
15399 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15400 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15401 @cindex backup files
15402 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15403 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15404 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15405 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15408 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15409 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15411 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15414 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15415 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15416 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15417 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15418 extract some information from it before removing it.
15420 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15421 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15422 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15423 default is @code{nil}.
15425 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15426 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15427 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15429 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15430 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15431 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15432 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15434 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15435 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15436 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15437 default is @code{nil}.
15439 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15440 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15441 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15443 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15444 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15445 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15446 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15451 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15452 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15453 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15454 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15455 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15456 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15459 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15460 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15462 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15463 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15464 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15465 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15466 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15468 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15469 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15470 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15471 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15472 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15473 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15474 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15475 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15478 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15479 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15480 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15481 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15486 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15487 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15488 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15489 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15490 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15491 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15492 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15493 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15494 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15495 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15496 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15497 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15498 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15503 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15504 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15505 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15506 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15507 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15508 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15509 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15510 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15511 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15512 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15513 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15514 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15515 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15516 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15518 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15519 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15524 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15525 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15526 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15527 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15528 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15529 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15530 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15531 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15532 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15533 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15534 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15535 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15536 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15537 provided by the active file and overviews.
15539 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15540 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15541 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15542 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15543 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15546 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15547 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15552 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15553 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15554 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15555 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15556 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15557 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15558 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15562 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15563 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15564 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15565 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15566 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15567 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15568 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15569 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15570 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15572 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15573 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15574 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15575 friendly mail back end all over.
15579 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15580 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15583 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15584 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15585 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15586 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15587 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15588 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15589 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15590 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15593 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15594 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15595 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15596 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15597 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15598 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15599 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15600 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15601 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15602 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15603 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15605 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15606 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15607 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15608 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15609 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15612 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15613 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15614 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15615 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15616 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15617 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15618 removed in the future.
15620 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15621 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15622 on your file system.
15624 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15625 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15630 @node Browsing the Web
15631 @section Browsing the Web
15633 @cindex browsing the web
15637 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15638 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15639 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15640 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15641 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15642 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15643 even know what a news group is.
15645 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15646 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15647 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15648 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15649 you mad in the end.
15651 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15654 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15655 interfaces to these sources.
15659 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15660 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15661 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15662 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15663 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15664 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15667 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15669 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15670 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15671 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15672 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15673 though, you should be ok.
15675 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15676 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15677 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15678 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15679 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15681 @node Archiving Mail
15682 @subsection Archiving Mail
15683 @cindex archiving mail
15684 @cindex backup of mail
15686 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15687 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15688 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15689 marks is fairly simple.
15691 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15692 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15695 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15696 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15697 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15698 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15699 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15700 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15701 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15702 before you restore the data.
15704 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15705 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15706 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15707 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15708 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15709 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15710 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15711 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15712 is unnecessary in that case.
15715 @subsection Web Searches
15720 @cindex Usenet searches
15721 @cindex searching the Usenet
15723 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15724 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15725 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15726 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15727 searches without having to use a browser.
15729 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15730 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15731 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15732 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15733 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15735 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15736 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15737 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15738 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15739 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15740 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15741 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15742 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15743 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15744 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15747 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15748 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15749 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
15750 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15751 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15752 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15754 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15755 to use @code{nnweb}.
15757 Virtual server variables:
15762 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15763 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15764 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15767 @vindex nnweb-search
15768 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15770 @item nnweb-max-hits
15771 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15772 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15775 @item nnweb-type-definition
15776 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15777 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15778 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15783 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15787 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15790 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15793 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15797 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15804 @subsection Slashdot
15808 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15809 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15810 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15812 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15813 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15816 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15817 '((nnslashdot "")))
15820 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15821 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15822 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15823 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15824 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15827 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15828 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15830 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15831 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15832 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15833 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
15834 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15835 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15836 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15838 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15841 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15842 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15843 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15844 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15845 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15846 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15847 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15849 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15850 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15851 The login name to use when posting.
15853 @item nnslashdot-password
15854 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15855 The password to use when posting.
15857 @item nnslashdot-directory
15858 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15859 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15860 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15862 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15863 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15864 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
15865 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
15866 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15868 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15869 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15870 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
15872 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15873 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15874 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
15875 article. The default is
15876 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15878 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15879 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15880 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15882 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15883 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15884 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15885 updated. The default is 0.
15892 @subsection Ultimate
15894 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15896 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15897 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15898 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15899 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15901 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15902 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15903 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
15904 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15905 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15906 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15907 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15909 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15912 @item nnultimate-directory
15913 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15914 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15915 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15920 @subsection Web Archive
15922 @cindex Web Archive
15924 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15925 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15926 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15927 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15930 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15931 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15932 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15933 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15934 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15935 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15936 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15937 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15939 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15942 @item nnwarchive-directory
15943 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15944 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15945 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15947 @item nnwarchive-login
15948 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15949 The account name on the web server.
15951 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15952 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15953 The password for your account on the web server.
15961 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
15962 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
15963 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
15964 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
15965 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
15967 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
15968 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15970 @kindex G R (Summary)
15971 Use @kbd{G R} from the summary buffer to subscribe to a feed---you
15972 will be prompted for the location of the feed.
15974 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
15975 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET y}, then
15976 subscribe to groups.
15979 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
15980 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
15983 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
15984 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
15988 @defun nnrss-opml-export
15989 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
15990 @acronym{OPML} format.
15993 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15996 @item nnrss-directory
15997 @vindex nnrss-directory
15998 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15999 @file{~/News/rss/}.
16001 @item nnrss-use-local
16002 @vindex nnrss-use-local
16003 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
16004 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
16005 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
16006 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
16007 download script using @command{wget}.
16010 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
16011 the summary buffer.
16014 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
16015 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16017 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16019 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16020 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16023 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16026 (require 'browse-url)
16028 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
16030 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16033 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16034 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16037 (browse-url (cdr url))
16038 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16039 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16041 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16042 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16043 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16044 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16047 @node Customizing w3
16048 @subsection Customizing w3
16054 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
16055 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
16056 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
16058 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
16059 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16060 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16063 (eval-after-load "w3"
16065 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16066 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16067 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16068 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16070 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16073 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
16074 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16081 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16083 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16084 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16085 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16086 specify the network address of the server.
16088 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16089 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16090 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16091 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16092 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16093 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16095 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16096 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16097 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16098 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16100 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16101 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16102 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16103 usage explained in this section.
16105 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16106 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16107 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16111 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16112 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16113 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16115 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16116 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16117 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16119 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16120 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16121 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16122 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16123 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16124 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16125 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16126 (nnimap-stream network))
16127 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16129 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16130 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16131 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16134 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16135 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16136 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16137 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16139 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16144 @item nnimap-address
16145 @vindex nnimap-address
16147 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16148 server name if not specified.
16150 @item nnimap-server-port
16151 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16152 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16154 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16157 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16158 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16161 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16162 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16163 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16164 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16165 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16166 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16167 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16169 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16170 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16171 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16174 Example server specification:
16177 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16178 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16179 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16182 @item nnimap-stream
16183 @vindex nnimap-stream
16184 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16185 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16186 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16187 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16188 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16190 Example server specification:
16193 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16194 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16197 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16201 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16202 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16204 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16206 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16207 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16210 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16211 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16213 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16214 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16216 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16218 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16221 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16222 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16223 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16224 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16225 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16226 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16227 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16228 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16229 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16232 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16233 needed. It is available from
16234 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16236 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16237 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16238 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16239 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16240 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16241 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16242 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16245 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16246 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16247 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16248 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16249 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16250 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16251 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16254 @vindex imap-shell-program
16255 @vindex imap-shell-host
16256 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16257 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16259 @item nnimap-authenticator
16260 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16262 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16263 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16265 Example server specification:
16268 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16269 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16272 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16276 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16277 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16279 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16282 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16283 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16285 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16287 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16289 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16292 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16294 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16295 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16296 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16297 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16298 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16299 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16302 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16303 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16304 running in circles yet?
16306 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16307 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16310 The possible options are:
16315 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16318 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16319 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16320 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16321 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16323 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16328 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16329 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16331 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16332 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16333 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16334 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16335 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16338 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16339 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16342 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16343 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16344 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16345 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16348 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16349 as ticked for other users.
16351 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16353 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16355 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16356 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16357 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16358 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16360 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16361 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16362 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16363 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16365 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16366 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16368 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16369 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16370 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16371 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
16374 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
16377 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
16378 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
16379 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
16380 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
16383 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16384 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16386 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16387 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16393 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16394 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16395 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16396 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16397 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16398 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16403 @node Splitting in IMAP
16404 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16405 @cindex splitting imap mail
16407 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16408 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16409 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16410 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16411 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16415 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16416 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16417 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16419 Here are the variables of interest:
16423 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16424 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16426 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16428 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16429 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16430 found will be used.
16432 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16434 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16435 @cindex splitting, inbox
16437 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16439 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16440 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16441 splitting is disabled!
16444 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16445 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16448 No nnmail equivalent.
16450 @item nnimap-split-rule
16451 @cindex splitting, rules
16452 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16454 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16457 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16458 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16459 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16460 Neither did I, we need examples.
16463 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16465 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16466 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16467 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16470 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16471 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16472 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16474 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16475 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16479 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16482 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16483 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16485 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16486 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16487 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16488 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16490 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16491 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16492 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16493 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16494 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16495 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16497 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16498 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16499 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16501 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16502 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16503 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16505 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16507 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16508 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16509 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16512 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16513 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16514 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16515 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16516 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16517 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16520 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16521 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16522 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16523 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16524 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16525 group/function elements.
16527 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16529 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16531 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16533 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16534 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16536 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16537 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16538 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16541 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16542 @cindex splitting, fancy
16543 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16544 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16546 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16547 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16548 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16550 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16551 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16552 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16553 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16558 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16559 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16562 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16564 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16565 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16566 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16568 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16569 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16570 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16571 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16575 @node Expiring in IMAP
16576 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16577 @cindex expiring imap mail
16579 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16580 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16581 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16582 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16583 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16584 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16587 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16588 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16589 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16590 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16591 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16592 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16593 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16594 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16598 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16599 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16601 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16602 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16604 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16606 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16607 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16608 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16609 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16613 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16614 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16615 @cindex editing imap acls
16616 @cindex Access Control Lists
16617 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16618 @kindex G l (Group)
16619 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16621 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16622 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16623 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16626 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16627 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16628 editing window with detailed instructions.
16630 Some possible uses:
16634 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16635 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16636 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16638 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16639 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16640 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16644 @node Expunging mailboxes
16645 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16649 @cindex manual expunging
16650 @kindex G x (Group)
16651 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16653 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16654 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16655 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16657 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16660 @node A note on namespaces
16661 @subsection A note on namespaces
16662 @cindex IMAP namespace
16665 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16666 by the following text in the RFC:
16669 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16671 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16672 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16673 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16674 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16676 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16677 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16678 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16679 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16680 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16681 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16684 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16685 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16686 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16688 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16689 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16690 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16691 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16692 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16693 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16694 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16695 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16698 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16699 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16700 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16702 @node Debugging IMAP
16703 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16704 @cindex IMAP debugging
16705 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16707 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16708 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16709 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behaviour, chances
16710 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16712 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16713 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16714 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16715 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16716 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16717 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16718 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16722 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16723 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16730 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16731 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16732 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16733 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16736 @node Other Sources
16737 @section Other Sources
16739 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16740 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16744 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16745 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16746 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16747 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16748 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16752 @node Directory Groups
16753 @subsection Directory Groups
16755 @cindex directory groups
16757 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16758 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16761 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16762 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16763 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16764 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16766 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16767 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16768 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16769 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16770 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16772 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16774 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16775 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16776 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16777 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16780 @node Anything Groups
16781 @subsection Anything Groups
16784 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16785 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16786 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16789 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16790 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16791 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16792 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16793 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16794 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16795 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16796 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16797 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16798 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16801 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16802 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16803 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16804 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16806 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16807 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16808 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16809 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16811 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16812 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16813 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16814 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16815 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16816 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16817 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16818 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16823 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16824 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16825 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16826 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16828 @item nneething-exclude-files
16829 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16830 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16831 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16833 @item nneething-include-files
16834 @vindex nneething-include-files
16835 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16836 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16838 @item nneething-map-file
16839 @vindex nneething-map-file
16840 Name of the map files.
16844 @node Document Groups
16845 @subsection Document Groups
16847 @cindex documentation group
16850 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16851 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16858 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16863 The standard Unix mbox file.
16865 @cindex MMDF mail box
16867 The MMDF mail box format.
16870 Several news articles appended into a file.
16873 @cindex rnews batch files
16874 The rnews batch transport format.
16875 @cindex forwarded messages
16878 Forwarded articles.
16881 Netscape mail boxes.
16884 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16886 @item standard-digest
16887 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16890 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16892 @item lanl-gov-announce
16893 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16895 @item rfc822-forward
16896 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16899 The Outlook mail box.
16902 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16905 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16908 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16911 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16917 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16920 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16926 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16927 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16928 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16931 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16932 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16933 group. And that's it.
16935 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16936 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16937 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16938 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16939 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16940 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16941 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16942 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16943 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16944 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16946 Virtual server variables:
16949 @item nndoc-article-type
16950 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16951 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16952 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16953 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16954 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16955 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16957 @item nndoc-post-type
16958 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16959 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16960 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16965 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16969 @node Document Server Internals
16970 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16972 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16973 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16974 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16975 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16977 First, here's an example document type definition:
16981 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16982 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16985 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16986 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16987 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16988 types can be defined with very few settings:
16991 @item first-article
16992 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16993 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16996 @item article-begin
16997 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16998 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
17000 @item head-begin-function
17001 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17004 @item nndoc-head-begin
17005 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17008 @item nndoc-head-end
17009 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17010 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17012 @item body-begin-function
17013 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17017 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17020 @item body-end-function
17021 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17025 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
17028 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17029 regexp will be totally ignored.
17033 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17034 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17035 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17036 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17037 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17040 @item prepare-body-function
17041 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17042 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17043 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17045 @item article-transform-function
17046 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17047 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17048 body of the article.
17050 @item generate-head-function
17051 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17052 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17053 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17054 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17058 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17063 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17064 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17065 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17066 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17067 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17068 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17069 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17070 (subtype digest guess))
17073 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17074 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17075 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17076 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17077 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17079 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17080 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17081 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17082 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17083 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17084 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17085 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17086 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17087 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17088 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17089 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17090 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17098 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17099 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17100 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17102 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17103 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17104 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17107 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17108 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17109 that interested in doing things properly.
17111 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17112 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17115 First some terminology:
17120 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17121 get news and/or mail from.
17124 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17125 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17128 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17132 @item message packets
17133 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17134 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17135 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17137 @item response packets
17138 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17139 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17140 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17150 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17151 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17152 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17153 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17156 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17159 You put the packet in your home directory.
17162 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17163 the native or secondary server.
17166 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17167 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17170 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17174 You transfer this packet to the server.
17177 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17180 You then repeat until you die.
17184 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
17185 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
17188 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
17189 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
17190 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
17194 @node SOUP Commands
17195 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17197 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17201 @kindex G s b (Group)
17202 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17203 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17204 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17205 process/prefix convention.
17208 @kindex G s w (Group)
17209 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17210 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17213 @kindex G s s (Group)
17214 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17215 Send all replies from the replies packet
17216 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17219 @kindex G s p (Group)
17220 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17221 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17224 @kindex G s r (Group)
17225 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17226 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17229 @kindex O s (Summary)
17230 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17231 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17232 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17233 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17238 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17243 @item gnus-soup-directory
17244 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17245 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17246 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17248 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17249 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17250 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17251 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17253 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17254 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17255 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17256 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17258 @item gnus-soup-packer
17259 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17260 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17261 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17263 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17264 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17265 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17266 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17268 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17269 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17270 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17272 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17273 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17274 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17275 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17281 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17284 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17285 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17286 you can read them at leisure.
17288 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17292 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17293 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17294 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17295 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17297 @item nnsoup-directory
17298 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17299 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17300 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17302 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17303 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17304 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17305 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17307 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17308 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17309 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17310 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17311 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17313 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17314 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17315 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17316 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17318 @item nnsoup-active-file
17319 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17320 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17321 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17322 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17323 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17325 @item nnsoup-packer
17326 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17327 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17328 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17330 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17331 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17332 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17333 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17335 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17336 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17337 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17340 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17341 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17342 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17345 @item nnsoup-always-save
17346 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17347 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17353 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17355 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17356 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17357 more for that to happen.
17359 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17360 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17361 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17364 In specific, this is what it does:
17367 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17368 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17371 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17372 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17373 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17376 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17377 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17378 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17381 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17382 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17383 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17385 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17391 @item nngateway-address
17392 @vindex nngateway-address
17393 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17395 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17396 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17397 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17398 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17399 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17400 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17401 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17404 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17405 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17406 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17409 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17412 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17415 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17418 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17420 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17423 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17424 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17425 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17427 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17429 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17430 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17431 @code{nngateway-address}.
17439 (setq gnus-post-method
17441 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17442 (nngateway-header-transformation
17443 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17446 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17449 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17454 @node Combined Groups
17455 @section Combined Groups
17457 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17461 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17462 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17466 @node Virtual Groups
17467 @subsection Virtual Groups
17469 @cindex virtual groups
17470 @cindex merging groups
17472 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17475 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17476 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17477 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17479 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17480 regexp to match component groups.
17482 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17483 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17484 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17485 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17486 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17487 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17488 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17489 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17491 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17492 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17495 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17498 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17499 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17501 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17502 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17503 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17504 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17507 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17510 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17511 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17512 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17514 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17515 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17516 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17517 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17518 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17520 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17521 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17522 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17524 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17525 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17526 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17527 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17528 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17529 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17530 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17531 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17532 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17533 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17534 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17536 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17537 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17538 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17539 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17540 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17541 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17542 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17544 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17545 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17547 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17548 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17552 @node Kibozed Groups
17553 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17557 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17558 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17559 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17560 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17562 @kindex G k (Group)
17563 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17566 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17567 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17568 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17569 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17571 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17572 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17573 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17575 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17576 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17577 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17578 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17579 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17580 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17581 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17582 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17584 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17585 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17586 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17587 Stranger things have happened.
17589 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17590 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17592 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17593 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17594 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17595 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17596 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17597 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17598 component articles.
17600 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17601 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17604 @node Gnus Unplugged
17605 @section Gnus Unplugged
17610 @cindex Gnus unplugged
17612 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17613 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17614 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17615 read news. Believe it or not.
17617 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17618 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17619 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17620 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17621 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17623 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17624 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17625 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17626 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17627 reading news on a machine.
17629 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17630 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
17631 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
17633 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17636 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17637 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17638 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17639 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
17640 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17641 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17642 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17643 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17644 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17645 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17646 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17647 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17648 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17653 @subsection Agent Basics
17655 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17657 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17658 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17659 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17660 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17662 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17663 connected to the net continuously.
17665 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17666 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17668 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
17669 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
17670 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
17671 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
17672 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
17674 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
17675 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
17676 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
17677 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
17678 they're kinda like plugged always).
17680 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
17681 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
17682 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
17685 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
17686 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
17687 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
17688 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
17689 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
17691 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17696 @findex gnus-unplugged
17697 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17698 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17699 already fetched while in this mode.
17702 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17703 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17704 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17705 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
17706 Source Specifiers}).
17709 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
17710 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
17711 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
17712 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
17713 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
17716 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17717 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17718 then you read the news offline.
17721 And then you go to step 2.
17724 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17730 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17731 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17732 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17733 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17734 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17735 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17736 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17737 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17740 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17741 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17742 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17743 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
17745 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17746 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17747 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17748 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17749 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17750 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17754 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17758 @node Agent Categories
17759 @subsection Agent Categories
17761 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17762 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17763 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17764 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17765 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17766 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17767 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17769 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17770 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17771 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17772 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17773 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17775 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17776 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17777 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17778 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17779 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17782 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17783 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17784 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17785 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17786 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17787 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17791 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17792 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17793 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17797 @node Category Syntax
17798 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17800 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17801 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17802 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17805 @cindex Agent Parameters
17807 @item agent-cat-name
17808 The name of the category.
17811 The list of groups that are in this category.
17813 @item agent-predicate
17814 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17815 are eligible for downloading; and
17817 @item agent-score-file
17818 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17819 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17820 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17822 @item agent-enable-expiration
17823 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17824 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17825 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17826 only groups that should not be expired.
17828 @item agent-days-until-old
17829 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17830 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17832 @item agent-low-score
17833 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17835 @item agent-high-score
17836 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17838 @item agent-length-when-short
17839 an integer that overrides the value of
17840 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17842 @item agent-length-when-long
17843 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17845 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
17846 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
17847 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
17848 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
17849 undownloaded faces.
17852 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17855 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17856 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17857 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17860 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17861 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17862 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17863 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17865 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17866 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17867 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17869 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17870 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17871 operators sprinkled in between.
17873 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17875 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17876 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17882 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17883 short (for some value of ``short'').
17885 Here's a more complex predicate:
17894 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17895 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17898 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17899 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17900 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17902 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17903 you want to do, you can write your own.
17905 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17906 bound to the value determined by calling
17907 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17908 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17909 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17910 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17911 predicate to individual groups.
17915 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17916 lines; default 100.
17919 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17920 lines; default 200.
17923 True iff the article has a download score less than
17924 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17927 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17928 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17931 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17932 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17933 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17942 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17943 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17944 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17947 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17948 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17949 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17950 something along the lines of the following:
17953 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17954 "Say whether an article is old."
17955 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17956 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17959 with the predicate then defined as:
17962 (not my-article-old-p)
17965 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17966 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17970 (require 'gnus-agent)
17971 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17972 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17973 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17976 and simply specify your predicate as:
17982 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17983 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17984 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17985 just don't give a damn.
17987 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17988 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17989 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17990 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
17991 parameters like so:
17994 (agent-predicate . short)
17997 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17998 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17999 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18001 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18004 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18007 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18008 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18009 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18012 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
18013 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
18014 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
18015 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
18016 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
18017 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
18019 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
18020 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
18021 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
18022 if it's to be specific to that group.
18024 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18031 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18032 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18038 Category specification
18042 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18048 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18051 (agent-score ("from"
18052 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18057 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18063 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18064 keywords stated above.
18070 Category specification
18073 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18079 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18083 Group Parameter specification
18086 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18089 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18094 Use @code{normal} score files
18096 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18097 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18098 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18099 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18101 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18102 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18103 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18104 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18108 Category Specification
18115 Group Parameter specification
18118 (agent-score . file)
18123 @node Category Buffer
18124 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18126 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18127 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18128 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18130 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18134 @kindex q (Category)
18135 @findex gnus-category-exit
18136 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18139 @kindex e (Category)
18140 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18141 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18142 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18145 @kindex k (Category)
18146 @findex gnus-category-kill
18147 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18150 @kindex c (Category)
18151 @findex gnus-category-copy
18152 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18155 @kindex a (Category)
18156 @findex gnus-category-add
18157 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18160 @kindex p (Category)
18161 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18162 Edit the predicate of the current category
18163 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18166 @kindex g (Category)
18167 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18168 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18169 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18172 @kindex s (Category)
18173 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18174 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18175 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18178 @kindex l (Category)
18179 @findex gnus-category-list
18180 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18184 @node Category Variables
18185 @subsubsection Category Variables
18188 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18189 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18190 Hook run in category buffers.
18192 @item gnus-category-line-format
18193 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18194 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18195 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18199 The name of the category.
18202 The number of groups in the category.
18205 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18206 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18207 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18209 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18210 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18211 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18213 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18214 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18215 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18217 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18218 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18219 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18222 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18223 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18224 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18227 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18228 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18229 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18230 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18231 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18232 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18233 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18234 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18238 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18239 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18240 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18241 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18242 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18243 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18244 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18249 @node Agent Commands
18250 @subsection Agent Commands
18251 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18252 @kindex J j (Agent)
18254 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18255 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18256 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18260 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18261 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18262 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18268 @node Group Agent Commands
18269 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18273 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18274 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18275 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18276 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18279 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18280 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18281 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18284 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18285 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18286 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18287 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18290 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18291 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18292 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18293 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18296 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18297 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18298 Add the current group to an Agent category
18299 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18300 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18303 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18304 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18305 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18306 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18307 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18310 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18311 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18312 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18318 @node Summary Agent Commands
18319 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18323 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18324 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18325 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18328 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18329 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18330 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18331 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18335 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18336 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18337 Toggle whether to download the article
18338 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18342 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18343 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18344 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18347 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18348 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18349 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18350 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18353 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18354 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
18355 Download all processable articles in this group.
18356 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
18359 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18360 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18361 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18362 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18367 @node Server Agent Commands
18368 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18372 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18373 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18374 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18375 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18378 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18379 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18380 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18381 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18386 @node Agent Visuals
18387 @subsection Agent Visuals
18389 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18390 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18391 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18392 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18393 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18394 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18395 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18396 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18397 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18398 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18400 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18401 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18402 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18403 way, "If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18404 less than satisfying unplugged session". For this reason, the Agent
18405 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18406 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18407 articles will be available when unplugged.
18409 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18410 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18411 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18412 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18413 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18414 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18415 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18416 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18418 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18419 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18420 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18421 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18422 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18423 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18424 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18425 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18426 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18428 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18429 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18430 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18431 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18432 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
18433 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
18434 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
18435 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
18436 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
18437 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
18439 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
18440 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
18441 group parameter to t. This parameter, like all other agent
18442 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent
18443 Categories}), a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an
18444 individual group (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18446 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
18447 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
18448 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
18449 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
18450 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
18451 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
18452 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
18453 expiring'' articles.
18455 @node Agent as Cache
18456 @subsection Agent as Cache
18458 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18459 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18460 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18461 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18462 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18463 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18464 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18465 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18466 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18468 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18469 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18470 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18471 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18472 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18475 @subsection Agent Expiry
18477 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18478 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18479 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18480 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18481 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18482 @cindex agent expiry
18483 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18486 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18487 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18488 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18489 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18490 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18491 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18492 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18493 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18495 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
18496 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
18497 synchronized with the group.
18499 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18500 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18502 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18503 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18504 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18505 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18506 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18507 be kept indefinitely.
18509 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18510 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18511 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18512 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18514 @node Agent Regeneration
18515 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18517 @cindex agent regeneration
18518 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
18519 @cindex regeneration
18521 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18522 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18523 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18524 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18525 internal inconsistencies.
18527 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18528 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18529 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18530 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18531 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18532 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18534 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18535 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18536 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18537 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18538 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18539 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18541 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18542 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18543 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18544 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18545 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18546 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18549 @node Agent and IMAP
18550 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18552 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18553 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18554 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18555 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18557 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18558 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18559 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18560 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18562 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18563 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18564 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18565 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18567 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18568 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18569 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18570 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18571 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18572 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18574 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18575 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18576 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18577 in the group buffer.
18579 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18580 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18585 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18588 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18592 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18593 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18594 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18595 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group and
18596 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18597 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18598 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18599 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18602 @node Outgoing Messages
18603 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18605 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
18606 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
18607 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18609 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
18610 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
18611 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
18613 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
18614 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
18615 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
18616 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
18619 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
18620 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
18621 ask you to confirm your action (see
18622 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
18624 @node Agent Variables
18625 @subsection Agent Variables
18630 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
18631 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
18632 automatically mark some backends as agentized. You may change which
18633 backends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
18635 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
18636 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
18639 @item gnus-agent-directory
18640 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18641 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18642 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18644 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18645 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18646 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18647 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18648 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18651 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18652 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18653 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18655 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18656 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18657 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18659 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18660 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18661 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18663 @item gnus-agent-cache
18664 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18665 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18666 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18667 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18669 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18670 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18671 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18672 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18673 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18674 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18675 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18678 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18679 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18680 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18681 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18682 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18683 read. The default is t.
18685 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18686 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18687 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18688 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
18689 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
18690 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
18691 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
18692 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
18693 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
18694 over and over again.
18696 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18697 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18698 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18699 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18700 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18701 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18702 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18703 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18704 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18705 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18706 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18707 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18710 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18711 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18712 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18713 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18714 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18715 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18716 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18717 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18718 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18720 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18721 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18722 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
18723 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18724 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18725 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18727 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18728 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18729 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18730 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18731 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18733 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
18734 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
18735 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
18736 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
18737 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
18738 mail. The default is @code{t}.
18740 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
18741 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
18742 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
18743 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
18744 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
18746 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18747 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18748 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
18749 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
18750 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
18751 which backends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
18752 to agentize remote backends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
18753 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
18754 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
18755 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
18756 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
18761 @node Example Setup
18762 @subsection Example Setup
18764 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18765 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18766 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18769 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18770 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18771 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18773 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18774 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18775 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18777 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18778 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18780 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18781 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18782 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18785 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18786 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18789 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18790 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18791 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18792 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18793 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18796 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18797 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18798 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18799 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18800 back all the killed groups.)
18802 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18803 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18804 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18807 @node Batching Agents
18808 @subsection Batching Agents
18809 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18811 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18812 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18813 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18815 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18816 following incantation:
18820 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18824 @node Agent Caveats
18825 @subsection Agent Caveats
18827 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18828 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18832 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18834 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18835 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18836 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18838 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18839 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18841 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18845 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18846 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18847 locally stored articles.
18854 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18855 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18856 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18859 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18860 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18861 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18862 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18863 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18865 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18866 before generating the summary buffer.
18868 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18869 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18870 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18872 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18873 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18874 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18875 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18878 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18879 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18880 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18881 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18882 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18883 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18884 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18885 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18886 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18887 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18888 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18889 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18890 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18891 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18892 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18893 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18897 @node Summary Score Commands
18898 @section Summary Score Commands
18899 @cindex score commands
18901 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18902 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18903 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18904 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18905 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18907 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18908 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18909 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18910 score file the current one.
18912 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18917 @kindex V s (Summary)
18918 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18919 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18922 @kindex V S (Summary)
18923 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18924 Display the score of the current article
18925 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18928 @kindex V t (Summary)
18929 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18930 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18931 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18932 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
18933 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
18934 score file and edit it.
18937 @kindex V w (Summary)
18938 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18939 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18942 @kindex V R (Summary)
18943 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18944 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18945 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18946 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18947 effect you're having.
18950 @kindex V c (Summary)
18951 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18952 Make a different score file the current
18953 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18956 @kindex V e (Summary)
18957 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18958 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18959 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18963 @kindex V f (Summary)
18964 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18965 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18966 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18969 @kindex V F (Summary)
18970 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18971 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18972 after editing score files.
18975 @kindex V C (Summary)
18976 @findex gnus-score-customize
18977 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18978 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18982 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18987 @kindex V m (Summary)
18988 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18989 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18990 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18993 @kindex V x (Summary)
18994 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18995 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18996 expunge all articles below this score
18997 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19000 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19001 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
19004 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
19005 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
19009 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
19010 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
19012 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
19013 keys are available:
19017 Score on the author name.
19020 Score on the subject line.
19023 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19026 Score on the @code{References} line.
19032 Score on the number of lines.
19035 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19038 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19039 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19042 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19043 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19044 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19053 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19059 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19060 what headers you are scoring on.
19072 Substring matching.
19075 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19104 Greater than number.
19109 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19110 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19111 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19116 Temporary score entry.
19119 Permanent score entry.
19122 Immediately scoring.
19126 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19127 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19128 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19132 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19133 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19134 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19135 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19137 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19138 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19139 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19140 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19141 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19143 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19144 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19145 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19146 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19147 current score file.
19149 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19150 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19151 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19154 @node Group Score Commands
19155 @section Group Score Commands
19156 @cindex group score commands
19158 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19163 @kindex W e (Group)
19164 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19165 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19166 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19169 @kindex W f (Group)
19170 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19171 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19172 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19173 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19177 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19179 @findex gnus-batch-score
19180 @cindex batch scoring
19182 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19186 @node Score Variables
19187 @section Score Variables
19188 @cindex score variables
19192 @item gnus-use-scoring
19193 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19194 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19195 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19197 @item gnus-kill-killed
19198 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19199 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19200 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19201 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19202 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19203 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19204 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19206 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19207 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19208 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19209 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19210 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19212 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19213 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19214 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19215 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19217 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19218 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19219 @cindex score cache
19220 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19221 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
19222 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19223 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19224 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19225 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19226 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19229 @item gnus-save-score
19230 @vindex gnus-save-score
19231 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19232 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19233 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19235 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19236 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19237 across group visits.
19239 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19240 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19241 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19242 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19243 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19244 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19245 manually entered data.
19247 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19248 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19249 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19251 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19252 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19253 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19254 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19255 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19256 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19258 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19259 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19260 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19261 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19263 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19264 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19265 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19266 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19268 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19269 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19270 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19271 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19273 Predefined functions available are:
19276 @item gnus-score-find-single
19277 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19278 Only apply the group's own score file.
19280 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19281 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19282 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19283 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19284 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19285 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19286 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19287 then a regexp match is done.
19289 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19290 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19292 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19293 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19294 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19295 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19297 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19298 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19299 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19300 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19301 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19305 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19306 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19307 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19308 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19309 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19310 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19311 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19314 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19315 overall score file, you could use the value
19317 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19318 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19321 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19322 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19323 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19324 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19325 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19327 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19328 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19329 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19330 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19331 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19332 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19333 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19334 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19336 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19337 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19338 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19340 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19341 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19342 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19343 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19344 threading---according to the current value of
19345 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19346 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19347 simplified in this manner.
19352 @node Score File Format
19353 @section Score File Format
19354 @cindex score file format
19356 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19357 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19358 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19360 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19364 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19366 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19368 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19370 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19375 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19379 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19380 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19381 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19382 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19386 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19387 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19389 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19390 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19391 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19393 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19398 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19399 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19400 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19401 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19402 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19403 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19404 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19405 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19406 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19407 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19408 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19409 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19410 to articles that matches these score entries.
19412 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19413 score entry has one to four elements.
19417 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19418 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19422 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19423 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19424 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19425 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19426 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19427 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19430 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19431 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19432 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19433 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19434 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19437 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19438 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19439 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19440 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19443 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19444 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19445 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19446 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19447 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19448 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19449 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19450 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19451 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19452 instead, if you feel like.
19455 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19456 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19457 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19458 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19459 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19460 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19464 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19465 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19469 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19470 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19472 These predicates are true if
19475 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19478 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19479 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19486 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19487 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19488 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19489 it's not. I think.)
19491 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19492 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19493 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19494 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19497 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19498 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19499 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
19500 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
19501 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
19502 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
19503 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
19507 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
19508 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
19509 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
19510 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
19511 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
19512 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
19513 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
19514 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
19517 @item Head, Body, All
19518 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
19522 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
19523 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
19524 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
19525 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
19526 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
19527 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
19528 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
19532 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
19533 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
19534 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
19535 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
19536 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
19537 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
19538 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
19539 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
19540 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
19541 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
19542 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
19546 @cindex score file atoms
19548 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19549 lower than this number will be marked as read.
19552 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19553 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
19555 @item mark-and-expunge
19556 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19557 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
19560 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
19561 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
19562 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
19563 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
19564 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
19567 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
19568 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19571 @item exclude-files
19572 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19573 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19577 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19578 ignored when handling global score files.
19581 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19582 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19583 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19584 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19587 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19588 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19589 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19590 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19592 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19596 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19599 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19600 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19601 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19602 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19603 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19605 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19606 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19607 scoring rules exist.
19610 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19611 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19612 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19613 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19614 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19615 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19616 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19617 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19618 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19619 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19620 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19624 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19625 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19626 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19627 file for a number of groups.
19630 @cindex local variables
19631 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19632 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19633 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19634 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19635 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19640 @node Score File Editing
19641 @section Score File Editing
19643 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19644 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19645 with a mode for that.
19647 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19648 additional commands:
19653 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19654 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19655 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19656 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19659 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19660 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19661 Insert the current date in numerical format
19662 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19663 you were wondering.
19666 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19667 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19668 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19669 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19670 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19675 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19677 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19678 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19680 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
19681 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
19684 @node Adaptive Scoring
19685 @section Adaptive Scoring
19686 @cindex adaptive scoring
19688 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19689 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19690 stupidity, to be precise.
19692 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19693 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19694 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19695 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19696 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19697 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19698 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19699 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19700 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19702 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19703 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19704 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19705 might look something like this:
19708 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19709 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19710 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19711 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19712 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19713 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19714 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19715 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19716 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19717 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19718 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19719 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19722 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19723 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19724 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19725 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19726 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19727 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19730 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19731 will be applied to each article.
19733 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19734 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19735 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19736 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19738 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19739 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19740 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19741 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19743 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19744 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19745 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19746 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19748 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19749 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19750 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19751 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19752 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19753 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19755 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19756 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19757 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19759 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19760 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19761 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19763 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19764 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19765 let you use different rules in different groups.
19767 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19768 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19769 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19772 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19773 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19774 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19775 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19776 the length of the match is less than
19777 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19778 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19781 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19782 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19783 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19784 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19785 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19788 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19789 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19790 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19791 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19792 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19795 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19796 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19797 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19798 score with 30 points.
19800 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19801 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19802 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19803 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19804 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19806 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19807 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19808 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19809 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19810 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19812 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19813 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19814 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19815 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19817 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19818 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19819 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19820 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19822 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19823 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19824 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19825 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19826 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19828 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19829 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19830 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19832 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19833 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19834 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19835 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19838 @node Home Score File
19839 @section Home Score File
19841 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19842 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19843 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19844 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19846 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19847 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19848 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19850 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19851 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19856 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19860 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19861 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19865 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19869 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19870 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19873 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19874 be used as the home score file.
19877 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19880 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19885 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19888 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19889 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19892 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19893 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19895 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19897 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19898 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19901 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19902 Other functions include
19905 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19906 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19907 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19908 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19912 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19913 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19914 their own home score files:
19917 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19918 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19919 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19920 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19921 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19924 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19925 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19926 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19927 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19928 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19930 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19931 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19932 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19933 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19934 precedence over this variable.
19937 @node Followups To Yourself
19938 @section Followups To Yourself
19940 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19941 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19942 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19943 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19944 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19945 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19949 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19950 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19951 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19954 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19955 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19956 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19960 @vindex message-sent-hook
19961 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19962 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19964 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19968 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19969 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19973 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19974 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19977 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19978 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19983 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19987 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19988 is system-dependent.
19991 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19992 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19993 @cindex scoring on other headers
19995 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19996 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19997 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19998 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19999 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
20001 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
20002 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
20003 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
20004 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
20005 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
20007 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
20010 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
20011 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
20014 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
20015 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
20016 time if you have much mail.
20018 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
20019 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
20025 @section Scoring Tips
20026 @cindex scoring tips
20032 @cindex scoring crossposts
20033 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20034 the @code{Xref} header.
20036 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20039 @item Multiple crossposts
20040 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20041 more than, say, 3 groups:
20044 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20048 @item Matching on the body
20049 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20050 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20051 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20052 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20053 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20054 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20055 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20058 @item Marking as read
20059 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20060 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20061 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20065 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20067 @item Negated character classes
20068 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20069 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20070 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20074 @node Reverse Scoring
20075 @section Reverse Scoring
20076 @cindex reverse scoring
20078 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20079 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20080 like this in your score file:
20084 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20089 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20090 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20093 @node Global Score Files
20094 @section Global Score Files
20095 @cindex global score files
20097 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20098 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20099 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20101 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20102 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20103 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20105 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20106 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20107 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20108 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20109 files are applicable to which group.
20111 To use the score file
20112 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20113 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20117 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20118 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20119 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20122 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20124 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20125 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20126 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20127 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20129 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20130 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20132 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20133 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20134 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20135 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20136 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20137 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20139 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20145 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20147 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20149 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20151 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20152 lowered out of existence.
20154 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20155 articles completely.
20158 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20159 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20160 old articles for a long time.
20163 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20164 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20165 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20166 holding our breath yet?
20170 @section Kill Files
20173 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20174 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20175 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20177 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20178 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20179 files into score files.
20181 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20182 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20183 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20184 that isn't a very good idea.
20186 Normal kill files look like this:
20189 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20190 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20194 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20195 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20197 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20198 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20201 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20206 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20207 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20208 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20211 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20212 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20213 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20216 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20221 @kindex M-k (Group)
20222 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20223 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20226 @kindex M-K (Group)
20227 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20228 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20231 Kill file variables:
20234 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20235 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20236 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20237 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20238 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20239 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20240 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20242 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20243 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20244 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20245 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20248 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20249 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20250 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20251 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20252 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20253 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20254 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20255 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20256 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20258 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20259 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20260 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20265 @node Converting Kill Files
20266 @section Converting Kill Files
20268 @cindex converting kill files
20270 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20271 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20272 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20275 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
20276 You can fetch it from
20277 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20279 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20280 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20281 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20285 @node Advanced Scoring
20286 @section Advanced Scoring
20288 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20289 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20290 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20291 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20292 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20294 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20298 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20299 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20300 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20304 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20305 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20307 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20308 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20309 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20310 non-@code{nil} value.
20312 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20313 operator, and various match operators.
20320 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20321 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20322 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20327 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20328 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20329 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20334 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20335 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20339 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20340 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20341 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20342 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20343 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20344 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20345 the ancestry you want to go.
20347 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20348 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20349 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20350 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20351 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20354 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20355 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20357 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20358 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20361 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20362 when he's talking about Gnus:
20367 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20368 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20375 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20379 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20386 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20387 really don't want to read what he's written:
20391 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20392 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20396 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20397 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20398 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20405 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20406 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20407 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20408 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20412 The possibilities are endless.
20415 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20416 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20418 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20419 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20420 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20421 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20422 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20423 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20424 @samp{subject}) first.
20426 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20427 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20438 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20439 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20445 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20452 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20453 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20458 @section Score Decays
20459 @cindex score decays
20462 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20463 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20464 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20465 use them in any sensible way.
20467 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20468 @findex gnus-decay-score
20469 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20470 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20471 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20472 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20473 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20474 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20475 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20476 definition of that function:
20479 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20480 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20481 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20483 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
20485 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20487 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20488 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
20489 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
20490 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
20491 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
20493 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
20497 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20498 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20499 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20500 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20504 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20507 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20510 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20514 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20515 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20516 the new score, which should be an integer.
20518 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20519 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20524 @include message.texi
20525 @chapter Emacs MIME
20526 @include emacs-mime.texi
20528 @include sieve.texi
20530 @c @include pgg.texi
20532 @c @include sasl.texi
20540 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20541 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20542 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20543 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20544 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20545 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20546 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20547 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20548 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20549 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20550 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20551 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20552 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20553 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20554 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20555 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20556 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20557 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20558 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
20559 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20563 @node Process/Prefix
20564 @section Process/Prefix
20565 @cindex process/prefix convention
20567 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20568 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20570 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20571 command to be performed on.
20575 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20576 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20577 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20578 with the current one.
20580 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20581 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20582 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20584 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20585 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20588 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20589 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20591 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20594 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20595 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20596 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20597 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20599 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20600 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20601 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20602 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20603 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20604 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20605 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20606 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20608 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20609 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20610 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20611 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20612 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20616 @section Interactive
20617 @cindex interaction
20621 @item gnus-novice-user
20622 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20623 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20624 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20625 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20626 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20629 @item gnus-expert-user
20630 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20631 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20632 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20633 matter how strange.
20635 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20636 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20637 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20638 is @code{t} by default.
20640 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20641 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20642 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20647 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20648 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20649 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20651 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20652 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20653 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20654 rule of 900 to the current article.
20656 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20657 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20658 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20659 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20660 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20661 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20662 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20664 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20665 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20666 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20667 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20668 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20669 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20670 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20671 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20672 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20674 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20675 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20676 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20678 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20682 @node Formatting Variables
20683 @section Formatting Variables
20684 @cindex formatting variables
20686 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20687 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20688 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20689 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20690 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20693 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20694 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20695 lots of percentages everywhere.
20698 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20699 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20700 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20701 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20702 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20703 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20704 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20705 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20708 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20709 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20710 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20711 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20712 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20713 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20714 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20715 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20717 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20718 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20720 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20721 @findex gnus-update-format
20722 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20723 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20724 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20725 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20729 @node Formatting Basics
20730 @subsection Formatting Basics
20732 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20733 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20734 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20736 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20737 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20738 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20739 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20740 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20743 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20744 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20745 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20746 less than 4 characters wide.
20748 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20749 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20752 @node Mode Line Formatting
20753 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20755 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20756 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20757 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20758 with the following two differences:
20763 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20766 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20767 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20768 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20769 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20770 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20771 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20772 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20777 @node Advanced Formatting
20778 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20780 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20781 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20782 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20783 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20785 These are the valid modifiers:
20790 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20794 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20799 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20802 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20807 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20810 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20813 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20816 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20822 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20827 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20828 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20829 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20830 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20831 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20832 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20833 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20835 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20836 last operation, padding.
20838 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20839 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
20840 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
20841 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
20842 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
20843 the look of your lines.
20844 @xref{Compilation}.
20847 @node User-Defined Specs
20848 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20850 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20851 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20852 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20853 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20854 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20855 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20856 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20857 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20858 should protect against that.
20860 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20861 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20863 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20864 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20865 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20866 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20870 @node Formatting Fonts
20871 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20873 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20874 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20875 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20876 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20879 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20880 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20881 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20882 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20883 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20884 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20886 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20887 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20888 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20889 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20890 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20891 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20892 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20893 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20894 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20895 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20896 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20899 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20902 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20903 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20904 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20906 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20907 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20908 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20909 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20910 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20911 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20912 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20914 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20915 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20916 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20919 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20920 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20922 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20923 mode-line variables.
20925 @node Positioning Point
20926 @subsection Positioning Point
20928 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20929 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20930 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20932 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20934 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20935 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20936 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20938 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20939 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20940 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20945 @subsection Tabulation
20947 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20948 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20949 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20950 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20952 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20953 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20955 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20956 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20957 This is the soft tabulator.
20959 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20960 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20961 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20964 @node Wide Characters
20965 @subsection Wide Characters
20967 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20968 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20969 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20971 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20972 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20973 these countries, that's not true.
20975 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20976 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20977 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20978 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20982 @node Window Layout
20983 @section Window Layout
20984 @cindex window layout
20986 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20988 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20989 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20990 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20991 @code{t} by default.
20993 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20994 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20996 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20997 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20998 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
21001 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
21002 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
21003 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
21007 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
21008 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
21009 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
21010 possible names is listed below.
21012 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
21013 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
21016 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
21020 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
21021 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
21022 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
21023 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
21024 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
21025 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
21026 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
21027 size spec per split.
21029 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
21030 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
21031 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
21032 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
21033 present) gets focus.
21035 Here's a more complicated example:
21038 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
21039 (summary 0.25 point)
21040 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
21044 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
21045 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
21046 occupy, not a percentage.
21048 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
21049 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
21050 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
21051 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
21052 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
21055 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
21058 (article (horizontal 1.0
21063 (summary 0.25 point)
21068 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
21069 @code{horizontal} thingie?
21071 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
21072 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
21073 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
21074 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
21075 the screen is to be given to this strip.
21077 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
21078 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
21079 lines from the splits.
21081 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
21086 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
21087 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
21088 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
21089 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
21090 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
21091 size = number | frame-params
21092 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
21096 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
21097 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
21098 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
21099 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
21101 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
21102 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
21103 @cindex window height
21104 @cindex window width
21105 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
21106 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
21107 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
21108 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
21109 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
21110 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
21112 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
21113 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
21114 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
21115 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
21117 @findex gnus-configure-frame
21118 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
21119 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
21120 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
21121 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
21122 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
21123 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
21124 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
21125 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
21126 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
21127 configuration list.
21130 (gnus-configure-frame
21134 (article 0.3 point))
21142 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
21143 @code{frame} split:
21146 (gnus-configure-frame
21149 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
21151 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
21152 (user-position . t)
21153 (left . -1) (top . 1))
21158 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
21159 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
21160 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
21161 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
21162 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
21163 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
21164 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
21165 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
21167 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
21168 be found in its default value.
21170 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
21171 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
21172 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
21176 (message (horizontal 1.0
21177 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
21179 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
21184 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
21185 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
21186 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
21191 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
21192 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
21193 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
21194 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
21195 (name . "Message"))
21196 (message 1.0 point))))
21199 @findex gnus-add-configuration
21200 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
21201 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
21202 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
21203 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21206 (gnus-add-configuration
21207 '(article (vertical 1.0
21209 (summary .25 point)
21213 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21214 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21215 Gnus has been loaded.
21217 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21218 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21219 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21220 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21221 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21223 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21224 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21225 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21228 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21232 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21233 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21248 (gnus-add-configuration
21251 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21253 (summary 0.16 point)
21256 (gnus-add-configuration
21259 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21260 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21266 @node Faces and Fonts
21267 @section Faces and Fonts
21272 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21273 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21274 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21279 @section Compilation
21280 @cindex compilation
21281 @cindex byte-compilation
21283 @findex gnus-compile
21285 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21286 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21287 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
21288 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
21289 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
21290 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21291 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21292 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21295 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21296 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21297 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21298 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
21299 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
21302 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
21303 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
21304 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
21305 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
21306 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
21311 @section Mode Lines
21314 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21315 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21316 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21317 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21318 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21319 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21320 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21323 @cindex display-time
21325 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
21326 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
21327 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
21328 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
21329 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
21330 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
21331 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
21332 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
21335 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
21337 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
21338 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
21340 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
21341 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
21342 (length display-time-string)))))
21345 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
21346 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
21347 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
21348 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
21349 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
21352 @node Highlighting and Menus
21353 @section Highlighting and Menus
21355 @cindex highlighting
21358 @vindex gnus-visual
21359 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
21360 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
21361 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
21364 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
21365 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
21368 @item group-highlight
21369 Do highlights in the group buffer.
21370 @item summary-highlight
21371 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
21372 @item article-highlight
21373 Do highlights in the article buffer.
21375 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
21377 Create menus in the group buffer.
21379 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21381 Create menus in the article buffer.
21383 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21385 Create menus in the server buffer.
21387 Create menus in the score buffers.
21389 Create menus in all buffers.
21392 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21393 buffers, you could say something like:
21396 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21399 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21402 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21405 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21406 in all Gnus buffers.
21408 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21411 @item gnus-mouse-face
21412 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21413 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21414 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21418 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21422 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21423 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21424 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21426 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21427 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21428 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21430 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21431 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21432 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21434 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21435 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21436 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21438 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21439 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21440 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21442 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21443 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21444 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21455 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21456 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21457 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21458 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21459 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21463 @vindex gnus-carpal
21464 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21465 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21466 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21471 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21472 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21473 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21475 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21476 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21477 Face used on buttons.
21479 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21480 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21481 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21483 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21484 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21485 Buttons in the group buffer.
21487 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21488 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21489 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21491 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21492 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21493 Buttons in the server buffer.
21495 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21496 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21497 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21500 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21501 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21502 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21510 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21511 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21512 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21513 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21514 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21516 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21517 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21518 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21520 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21521 been idle for thirty minutes:
21524 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21527 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21531 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21534 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
21535 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21536 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21538 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21539 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21540 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21541 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21543 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21544 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21545 @var{idle} minutes.
21547 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21548 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21551 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21552 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21553 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21555 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21556 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21557 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21558 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21560 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21561 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21563 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21565 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21568 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21569 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21570 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21571 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21572 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21573 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21574 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21575 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21576 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21577 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21578 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21580 @findex gnus-demon-init
21581 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21582 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21583 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21584 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21585 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21587 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21588 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21589 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21598 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21599 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21601 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21602 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21603 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21604 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21607 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21608 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21609 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21610 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21612 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21613 this will make spam disappear.
21615 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21618 @item gnus-use-nocem
21619 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21620 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21623 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21624 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21625 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21628 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21629 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21632 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21633 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21634 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21635 people you want to listen to. The default is
21637 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21638 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21640 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21642 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21643 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21645 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21646 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21647 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21648 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21649 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21650 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21651 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21652 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21653 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21654 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21656 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21657 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21660 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21663 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21664 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21667 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21670 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21673 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21674 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21676 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21677 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21678 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21679 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21681 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21682 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21685 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21687 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21695 This might be dangerous, though.
21697 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21698 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21699 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21700 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21702 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21703 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21704 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21705 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21706 might then see old spam.
21708 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21709 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21710 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21711 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21712 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21715 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21716 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21717 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21718 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21722 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21723 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21724 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21725 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21732 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21733 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21734 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21736 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21737 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21738 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21739 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21740 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21741 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21742 @code{undo} function.
21744 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21745 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21746 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21747 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21748 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21749 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21750 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21751 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21752 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21753 never be totally undoable.
21755 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21756 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21758 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21759 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21760 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21761 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21765 @node Predicate Specifiers
21766 @section Predicate Specifiers
21767 @cindex predicate specifiers
21769 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21770 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21771 to type all that much.
21773 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21778 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21779 gnus-article-unread-p)
21782 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21783 functions all take one parameter.
21785 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21786 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21787 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21788 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21793 @section Moderation
21796 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21797 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21798 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21801 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21805 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21808 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21810 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21815 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21816 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21817 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21820 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21821 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21824 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21825 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21829 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21832 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21833 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21837 @node Image Enhancements
21838 @section Image Enhancements
21840 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
21841 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
21842 taken advantage of that.
21845 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21846 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
21847 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21848 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21849 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21857 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21858 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21859 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21863 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21864 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21865 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21873 Gnus now uses the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program for
21874 decoding an @code{X-Face} header normally in Emacs. While it doesn't
21875 require any other external program, you may feel it is slow if you are
21876 using a slow machine. In such a case, you can modify the following
21880 @item uncompface-use-external
21881 @vindex uncompface-use-external
21882 Specify which of the internal or the external decoder should be used.
21883 @code{nil} means to use the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface}
21884 program. @code{t} means to use the external decoder. The default value
21885 is normally @code{undecided} which means to determine it by checking
21886 whether the host machine is slow, being controlled by
21887 @code{uncompface-use-external-threshold} (which see).
21889 @item uncompface-use-external-threshold
21890 @vindex uncompface-use-external-threshold
21891 A number of seconds to check whether the host machine is slow. If the
21892 host takes time larger than this value for decoding an @code{X-Face}
21893 using the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program, it will be
21894 changed to using the external decoder. The default is 0.1 seconds.
21897 If the internal decoder is invalidated or if you are using XEmacs,
21898 decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21899 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21900 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21901 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21903 The variable that controls this is the
21904 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21905 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21906 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21907 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21908 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21910 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21911 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21912 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21913 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21916 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21917 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21918 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21919 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21920 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21921 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21922 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21923 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21925 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21933 @vindex gnus-x-face
21934 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
21935 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
21936 default colors are black and white.
21938 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
21939 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
21940 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
21941 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
21942 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
21943 XEmacs. Here are examples:
21946 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
21947 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
21948 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
21949 (png . (:ascent 80))))
21951 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
21952 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
21953 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
21954 (png . (:relief -2))))
21957 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
21958 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
21959 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
21960 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
21961 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
21962 @samp{libcompface} library.
21965 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21966 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21968 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21969 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21970 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21971 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21972 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21973 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21974 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21975 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21976 header data as a string.
21978 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21979 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21980 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21981 randomly generated data.
21983 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21984 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21985 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21986 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21987 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21989 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21990 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21993 (setq message-required-news-headers
21994 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21995 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21998 Using the last function would be something like this:
22001 (setq message-required-news-headers
22002 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22003 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
22004 (gnus-x-face-from-file
22005 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
22013 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
22015 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
22016 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
22017 represent the author of the message.
22020 @findex gnus-article-display-face
22021 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
22022 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
22025 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
22026 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
22028 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
22029 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
22031 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
22032 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
22033 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
22035 @findex gnus-face-from-file
22036 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
22037 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
22038 converts the file to Face format by using the
22039 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
22041 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
22042 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22045 (setq message-required-news-headers
22046 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22047 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
22048 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
22053 @subsection Smileys
22058 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
22063 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
22064 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
22066 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
22067 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22070 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
22073 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
22074 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
22075 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
22076 text and maps that to file names.
22078 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
22079 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
22080 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
22081 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
22082 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
22085 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
22090 @item smiley-data-directory
22091 @vindex smiley-data-directory
22092 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
22094 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
22095 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
22096 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
22110 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
22111 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
22112 over your shoulder as you read news.
22114 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
22123 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
22124 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
22125 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
22126 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
22127 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
22128 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
22129 @code{GIF} formats.
22132 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22133 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
22134 point your Web browser at
22135 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
22137 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
22138 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
22140 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
22141 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
22144 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
22148 @item gnus-picon-databases
22149 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22150 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
22151 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
22152 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
22153 "/usr/local/faces")}.
22155 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
22156 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
22157 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22158 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
22160 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
22161 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
22162 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
22163 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
22165 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
22166 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
22167 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22168 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
22169 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
22171 @item gnus-picon-file-types
22172 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
22173 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
22174 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
22180 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
22183 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22184 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22185 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
22186 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
22187 unusual directory structure.
22189 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22190 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22191 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
22192 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
22194 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22195 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22196 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
22197 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
22198 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
22199 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
22201 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22202 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22203 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
22208 @subsubsection Toolbar
22212 @item gnus-use-toolbar
22213 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
22214 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
22215 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
22216 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
22218 @item gnus-group-toolbar
22219 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
22220 The toolbar in the group buffer.
22222 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
22223 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
22224 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
22226 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22227 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22228 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
22239 @node Fuzzy Matching
22240 @section Fuzzy Matching
22241 @cindex fuzzy matching
22243 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22244 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22246 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22247 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22248 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22250 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22251 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22252 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22253 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22254 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22257 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22258 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22262 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22264 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22265 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22266 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22267 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22268 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22269 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22270 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22271 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22274 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22275 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22276 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22277 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22278 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22279 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22281 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22284 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22285 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22286 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22287 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22288 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22289 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22292 @node The problem of spam
22293 @subsection The problem of spam
22295 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22296 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22298 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22300 First, some background on spam.
22302 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22303 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
22304 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
22305 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
22306 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
22307 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
22308 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
22309 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
22310 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22312 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22313 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22314 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22315 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22316 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22317 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22318 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22319 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22320 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22323 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
22324 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
22325 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
22326 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
22327 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
22328 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
22329 from Bulgarian IPs.
22331 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
22332 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
22333 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
22334 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
22336 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
22337 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
22338 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
22339 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
22341 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
22342 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
22343 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
22344 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
22345 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
22346 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
22347 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
22348 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
22349 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
22351 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
22352 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
22353 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
22354 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
22355 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
22356 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
22357 down for some time because of the incident.
22359 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
22360 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
22361 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
22362 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
22363 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
22364 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
22365 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
22366 to store the database of spam analyses. Statistical analysis on the
22367 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
22368 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
22369 the server that it has misclassified mail.
22371 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
22372 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
22373 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
22374 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
22375 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
22376 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
22377 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
22380 @node Anti-Spam Basics
22381 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
22385 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22387 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
22388 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
22390 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
22391 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
22392 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
22393 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
22394 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
22395 part of the mail address.)
22398 (setq message-default-news-headers
22399 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
22402 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22403 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22407 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
22408 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
22409 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
22414 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
22415 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
22416 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
22417 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
22419 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
22420 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
22421 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
22422 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
22423 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
22424 your fancy split rule in this way:
22429 (to "larsi" "misc")
22433 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
22434 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
22435 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
22436 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
22437 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
22439 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
22440 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
22441 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
22442 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
22444 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
22448 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
22449 @cindex SpamAssassin
22450 @cindex Vipul's Razor
22453 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
22454 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
22455 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
22456 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
22457 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
22458 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
22459 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
22461 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
22462 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
22463 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
22466 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
22467 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
22468 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
22469 Specifiers}) follow.
22473 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
22477 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
22480 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
22481 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
22482 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
22485 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
22489 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22492 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
22493 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
22497 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
22498 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
22499 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
22500 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
22503 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
22505 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
22509 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22510 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22514 Note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will not be
22515 downloaded by default. You need to set
22516 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
22517 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
22519 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22520 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22521 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22524 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22525 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22527 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22528 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22529 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22533 @subsection Hashcash
22536 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22537 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22538 you cannot rely on everyone in the world using this technique,
22539 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22540 in smaller communities.
22542 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22543 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22544 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22545 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22546 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22547 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
22548 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22549 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22550 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22551 one of them separately.
22554 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22555 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22556 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22557 header. For more details, and for the external application
22558 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22559 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22560 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22562 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22566 (require 'hashcash)
22567 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22570 The @file{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22571 contrib directory or at
22572 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22574 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22578 @item hashcash-default-payment
22579 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22580 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22581 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22582 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22584 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22585 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22586 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22587 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22588 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22589 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22590 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22591 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22592 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22596 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22600 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22601 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22602 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22603 a useful contribution, however.
22605 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22606 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22607 @cindex spam filtering
22610 The idea behind @file{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22611 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @file{spam.el} does two things: it
22612 filters new mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22613 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @file{spam.el} to indicate
22616 First of all, you @strong{must} run the function
22617 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @code{spam.el} and to install the
22618 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
22619 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
22620 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
22623 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
22627 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
22629 First, some hooks will get installed by @code{spam-initialize}. There
22630 are some hooks for @code{spam-stat} so it can save its databases, and
22631 there are hooks so interesting things will happen when you enter and
22632 leave a group. More on the sequence of events later (@pxref{Spam
22633 ELisp Package Sequence of Events}).
22635 You get the following keyboard commands:
22645 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22646 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22648 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22649 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22650 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22651 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22657 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22658 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22660 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22666 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22667 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22671 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
22672 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
22673 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
22674 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
22675 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22676 * BBDB Whitelists::
22677 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
22678 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
22680 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22682 * SpamAssassin backend::
22683 * ifile spam filtering::
22684 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22686 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
22689 @node Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22690 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22691 @cindex spam filtering
22692 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
22695 You must read this section to understand how @code{spam.el} works.
22696 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
22698 There are two @emph{contact points}, if you will, between
22699 @code{spam.el} and the rest of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and
22702 Getting new mail is done in one of two ways. You can either split
22703 your incoming mail or you can classify new articles as ham or spam
22704 when you enter the group.
22706 Splitting incoming mail is better suited to mail backends such as
22707 @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap} where new mail appears in a single file
22708 called a @dfn{Spool File}. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Filtering of
22711 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect
22712 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect-methods
22713 For backends such as @code{nntp} there is no incoming mail spool, so
22714 an alternate mechanism must be used. This may also happen for
22715 backends where the server is in charge of splitting incoming mail, and
22716 Gnus does not do further splitting. The @code{spam-autodetect} and
22717 @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameters (accessible with
22718 @kbd{G c} and @kbd{G p} as usual), and the corresponding variables
22719 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect} and @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods}
22720 (accessible with @kbd{M-x customize-variable} as usual) can help.
22722 When @code{spam-autodetect} is used (you can turn it on for a
22723 group/topic or wholesale by regex, as needed), it hooks into the
22724 process of entering a group. Thus, entering a group with unseen or
22725 unread articles becomes the substitute for checking incoming mail.
22726 Whether only unseen articles or all unread articles will be processed
22727 is determined by the @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages}. When
22728 set to @code{t}, unread messages will be rechecked.
22730 @code{spam-autodetect} grants the user at once more and less control
22731 of spam filtering. The user will have more control over each group's
22732 spam methods, so for instance the @samp{ding} group may have
22733 @code{spam-use-BBDB} as the autodetection method, while the
22734 @samp{suspect} group may have the @code{spam-use-blacklist} and
22735 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods enabled. Every article detected to
22736 be spam will be marked with the spam mark @samp{$} and processed on
22737 exit from the group as normal spam. The user has less control over
22738 the @emph{sequence} of checks, as he might with @code{spam-split}.
22740 When the newly split mail goes into groups, or messages are
22741 autodetected to be ham or spam, those groups must be exited (after
22742 entering, if needed) for further spam processing to happen. It
22743 matters whether the group is considered a ham group, a spam group, or
22744 is unclassified, based on its @code{spam-content} parameter
22745 (@pxref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). Spam groups have the
22746 additional characteristic that, when entered, any unseen or unread
22747 articles (depending on the @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam}
22748 variable) will be marked as spam. Thus, mail split into a spam group
22749 gets automatically marked as spam when you enter the group.
22751 So, when you exit a group, the @code{spam-processors} are applied, if
22752 any are set, and the processed mail is moved to the
22753 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination}
22754 depending on the article's classification. If the
22755 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination},
22756 whichever is appropriate, are @code{nil}, the article is left in the
22759 If a spam is found in any group (this can be changed to only non-spam
22760 groups with @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only}), it is
22761 processed by the active @code{spam-processors} (@pxref{Spam ELisp
22762 Package Global Variables}) when the group is exited. Furthermore, the
22763 spam is moved to the @code{spam-process-destination} (@pxref{Spam
22764 ELisp Package Global Variables}) for further training or deletion.
22765 You have to load the @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22766 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want spam to be processed
22767 no more than once. Thus, spam is detected and processed everywhere,
22768 which is what most people want. If the
22769 @code{spam-process-destination} is @code{nil}, the spam is marked as
22770 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
22772 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22773 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22775 If a ham mail is found in a ham group, as determined by the
22776 @code{ham-marks} parameter, it is processed as ham by the active ham
22777 @code{spam-processor} when the group is exited. With the variables
22778 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
22779 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} the behavior can be further
22780 altered so ham found anywhere can be processed. You have to load the
22781 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22782 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want ham to be processed
22783 no more than once. Thus, ham is detected and processed only when
22784 necessary, which is what most people want. More on this in
22785 @xref{Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples}.
22787 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22788 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22790 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
22791 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
22792 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
22794 @node Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22795 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22796 @cindex spam filtering
22797 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
22800 To use the @file{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22801 must add the following to your fancy split list
22802 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22808 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22809 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22810 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22812 Also, @code{spam-split} will not modify incoming mail in any way.
22814 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22815 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22816 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22817 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
22818 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
22819 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
22820 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
22821 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
22822 actually give you the group
22823 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
22824 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
22826 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
22827 e.g. @code{spam-use-regex-headers} or @code{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
22830 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
22831 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
22834 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22835 (any "ding" "ding")
22837 ;; @r{default mailbox}
22841 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
22842 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
22843 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
22844 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
22845 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
22846 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
22848 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
22849 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
22850 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
22855 ;; @r{all spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
22856 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22857 (any "ding" "ding")
22858 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
22860 ;; @r{default mailbox}
22864 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
22865 your particular needs, and to target the results of those checks to a
22866 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
22867 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
22868 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
22869 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
22870 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
22872 You should still have specific checks such as
22873 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you
22874 specifically invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is
22875 that when loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done
22876 depending on what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. This
22877 is usually not critical, though.
22879 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22881 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22882 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22883 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
22884 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22885 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22886 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22887 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and
22888 that is not an appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user.
22890 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22892 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22893 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22896 @node Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22897 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22898 @cindex spam filtering
22899 @cindex spam filtering variables
22900 @cindex spam variables
22903 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
22904 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22905 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22906 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22907 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22908 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22909 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22910 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22911 will be detected later.
22913 The format of the spam or ham processor entry used to be a symbol,
22914 but now it is a @sc{cons} cell. See the individual spam processor entries
22915 for more information.
22917 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22918 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22919 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22920 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22921 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22922 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22923 by customizing the corresponding variable
22924 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22925 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22926 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22927 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22928 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22929 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22930 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22933 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
22935 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22936 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
22937 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
22938 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
22939 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
22940 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
22941 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
22942 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
22943 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
22944 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
22945 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
22946 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
22947 processor which will study them as spam samples.
22949 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22950 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
22951 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22952 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22953 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22954 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22955 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22956 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
22959 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22960 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
22961 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
22962 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
22963 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
22964 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
22965 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
22970 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22971 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
22972 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
22973 you really want to.
22976 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22977 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22978 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22979 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22980 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22981 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22984 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
22985 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22986 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22987 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22988 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22989 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22990 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22991 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22992 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
22993 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
22994 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
22995 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
22996 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
22997 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
22998 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
23000 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
23001 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23003 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
23004 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
23005 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
23007 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
23008 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
23010 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
23011 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
23012 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
23013 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
23014 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
23016 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
23017 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
23018 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
23019 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
23020 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
23023 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23024 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
23025 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
23026 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
23027 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
23028 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
23029 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
23030 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
23031 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
23032 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
23033 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
23034 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
23035 group buffer then you need it here as well.
23037 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
23038 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23040 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
23041 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
23044 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
23045 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
23046 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
23047 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
23048 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
23049 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
23050 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
23052 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
23053 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
23054 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
23055 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
23057 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
23058 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
23059 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
23060 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
23061 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
23062 from the mail server.
23064 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
23065 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
23066 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
23067 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
23069 @node Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23070 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23071 @cindex spam filtering
23072 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
23073 @cindex spam configuration examples
23076 @subsubheading Ted's setup
23078 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
23080 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
23081 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
23082 (gnus-registry-initialize)
23085 ;; @r{I like @kbd{C-s} for marking spam}
23086 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map "\C-s" 'gnus-summary-mark-as-spam)
23089 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
23091 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
23092 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
23093 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23094 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23095 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
23096 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
23097 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
23098 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
23099 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23100 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
23101 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23102 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
23103 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
23104 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
23105 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23106 (any "ding" "ding")
23107 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
23109 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23112 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
23114 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
23115 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
23116 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
23117 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
23119 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23121 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
23122 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
23123 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
23124 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
23125 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23127 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
23128 ((spam-autodetect . t))
23130 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
23132 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
23133 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
23135 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
23136 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
23137 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
23139 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
23141 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
23142 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
23144 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
23145 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
23146 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
23148 (gnus-ticked-mark))
23149 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
23150 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
23151 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
23153 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
23154 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
23155 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
23159 @subsubheading Using @file{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
23160 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23162 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
23163 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
23164 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
23165 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
23166 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
23167 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
23168 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
23169 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
23170 @samp{training.spam} folders.
23172 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
23173 does most of the job for me:
23176 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
23177 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
23178 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
23179 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23180 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
23181 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
23182 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
23187 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
23189 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
23190 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
23191 bogofilter or DCC).
23193 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
23194 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
23195 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark (@code{ham-marks},
23196 @ref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). On group exit, those
23197 messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want to have
23198 the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter) and
23199 deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
23201 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
23202 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
23203 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
23204 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
23205 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
23206 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
23208 @item @b{Ham folders:}
23210 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
23211 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
23212 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
23213 @samp{training.ham}.
23216 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
23218 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23220 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
23221 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
23222 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
23226 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
23229 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
23230 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
23231 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
23232 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
23233 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
23235 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
23236 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
23237 @cindex spam filtering
23238 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
23239 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
23242 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
23244 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
23245 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
23246 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
23247 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
23252 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
23254 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
23255 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
23256 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23257 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
23258 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23262 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
23264 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
23265 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23266 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
23270 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
23272 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23273 customizing the group parameters or the
23274 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23275 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23276 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
23280 Instead of the obsolete
23281 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
23282 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
23283 the same way, we promise.
23287 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
23289 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23290 customizing the group parameters or the
23291 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23292 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23293 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23298 Instead of the obsolete
23299 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
23300 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
23301 the same way, we promise.
23305 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
23306 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
23307 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
23308 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
23309 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
23311 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
23312 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
23313 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
23314 Emacs regular expression syntax.
23316 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
23317 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
23318 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
23319 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
23320 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
23321 @file{blacklist} respectively.
23323 @node BBDB Whitelists
23324 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
23325 @cindex spam filtering
23326 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
23327 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
23330 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
23332 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23333 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
23334 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
23335 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
23336 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23337 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
23338 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23342 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
23344 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
23345 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23346 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
23347 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
23348 classified as spammers.
23352 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
23354 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23355 customizing the group parameters or the
23356 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23357 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23358 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23363 Instead of the obsolete
23364 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
23365 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
23366 the same way, we promise.
23370 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
23371 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
23372 @cindex spam reporting
23373 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23374 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23377 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
23379 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23380 customizing the group parameters or the
23381 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23382 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23383 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
23386 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
23390 Instead of the obsolete
23391 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
23392 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
23393 same way, we promise.
23397 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
23399 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
23400 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
23401 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
23402 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
23403 @code{spam-report.el} will use the @code{X-Report-Spam} header that
23408 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23409 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23410 @cindex spam filtering
23411 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
23414 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
23416 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23417 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
23418 instead of the sender address. You must have the @code{hashcash.el}
23419 package loaded for @code{spam-use-hashcash} to work properly.
23420 Messages without a hashcash payment token will be sent to the next
23421 spam-split rule. This is an explicit filter, meaning that unless a
23422 hashcash token is found, the messages are not assumed to be spam or
23428 @subsubsection Blackholes
23429 @cindex spam filtering
23430 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
23433 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
23435 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
23436 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
23437 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
23438 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
23439 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
23440 contains outdated servers.
23442 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
23443 @file{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
23444 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
23445 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
23446 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
23447 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
23451 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
23453 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
23457 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
23459 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
23460 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
23464 @defvar spam-use-dig
23466 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
23467 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
23471 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
23472 ham processor for blackholes.
23474 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
23475 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
23476 @cindex spam filtering
23477 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
23480 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
23482 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
23483 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
23484 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
23485 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
23486 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
23487 message is spam or ham, respectively.
23491 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
23493 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23494 the message, positively identify it as spam.
23498 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
23500 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23501 the message, positively identify it as ham.
23505 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
23506 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
23509 @subsubsection Bogofilter
23510 @cindex spam filtering
23511 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
23514 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
23516 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23519 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
23520 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
23521 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
23522 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
23523 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
23524 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
23526 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
23527 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
23530 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
23531 processing will be turned off.
23533 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
23537 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
23539 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23540 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
23541 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
23542 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
23543 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
23544 installation documents for details.
23546 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
23550 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
23551 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23552 customizing the group parameters or the
23553 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23554 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
23555 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
23559 Instead of the obsolete
23560 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23561 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23562 the same way, we promise.
23565 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
23566 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23567 customizing the group parameters or the
23568 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23569 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23570 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
23571 of non-spam messages.
23575 Instead of the obsolete
23576 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23577 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23578 the same way, we promise.
23581 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
23583 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
23584 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
23585 database directory.
23589 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
23590 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23591 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
23592 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
23593 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
23594 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
23596 @node SpamAssassin backend
23597 @subsubsection SpamAssassin backend
23598 @cindex spam filtering
23599 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
23602 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
23604 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
23606 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
23607 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
23608 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
23609 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
23612 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
23613 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
23614 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
23615 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
23618 You should not enable this is you use
23619 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
23623 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
23625 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
23626 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
23628 You should not enable this is you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
23632 @defvar spam-spamassassin-path
23634 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
23635 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
23636 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
23637 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
23641 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
23642 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
23643 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
23644 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
23645 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
23646 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
23647 to test this functionality.
23649 @node ifile spam filtering
23650 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
23651 @cindex spam filtering
23652 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
23655 @defvar spam-use-ifile
23657 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
23658 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
23662 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
23664 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
23665 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
23666 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
23670 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
23672 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
23673 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
23674 the default value of @samp{spam}.
23677 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
23679 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
23680 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
23684 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
23685 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23686 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
23687 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
23690 @node spam-stat spam filtering
23691 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
23692 @cindex spam filtering
23693 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
23697 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
23699 @defvar spam-use-stat
23701 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
23702 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
23706 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
23707 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23708 customizing the group parameters or the
23709 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23710 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23711 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
23715 Instead of the obsolete
23716 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23717 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23718 the same way, we promise.
23721 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
23722 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23723 customizing the group parameters or the
23724 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23725 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23726 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
23727 of non-spam messages.
23731 Instead of the obsolete
23732 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23733 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23734 the same way, we promise.
23737 This enables @file{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
23738 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
23739 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
23740 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
23741 @code{spam-split} are provided.
23744 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
23745 @cindex spam filtering
23749 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
23750 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
23751 installed separately.
23753 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
23754 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
23755 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
23756 mail as a spam mail or not.
23758 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
23759 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
23760 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
23762 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
23763 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
23765 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
23766 To enable SpamOracle usage by @file{spam.el}, set the variable
23767 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
23768 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
23769 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
23770 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
23771 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
23772 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
23776 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
23777 spam-split-group "Junk"
23778 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
23779 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23780 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
23783 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
23784 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
23788 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
23789 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
23790 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
23794 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
23795 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
23796 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
23797 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
23798 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
23799 database to live somewhere special, set
23800 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
23803 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
23804 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
23805 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
23806 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
23807 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
23808 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
23809 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @file{spam.el}'s
23810 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
23811 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
23812 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
23814 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
23815 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23816 customizing the group parameter or the
23817 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23818 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
23819 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
23823 Instead of the obsolete
23824 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23825 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23826 the same way, we promise.
23829 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
23830 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23831 customizing the group parameter or the
23832 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23833 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
23834 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
23839 Instead of the obsolete
23840 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23841 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23842 the same way, we promise.
23845 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
23846 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
23849 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
23850 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
23851 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
23853 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
23854 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
23855 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
23856 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
23857 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
23858 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
23860 @node Extending the Spam ELisp package
23861 @subsubsection Extending the Spam ELisp package
23862 @cindex spam filtering
23863 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
23864 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
23866 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
23867 incoming mail, provide the following:
23875 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
23876 "True if blackbox should be used.")
23881 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
23883 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
23887 (gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox ham spam-use-blackbox)
23888 (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox spam spam-use-blackbox)
23891 to @code{spam-list-of-processors}.
23895 (spam-use-blackbox spam-blackbox-register-routine
23897 spam-blackbox-unregister-routine
23901 to @code{spam-registration-functions}. Write the register/unregister
23902 routines using the bogofilter register/unregister routines as a
23903 start, or other restister/unregister routines more appropriate to
23909 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
23910 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other
23911 conventions. See the existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for
23912 examples of what you can do, and stick to the template unless you
23913 fully understand the reasons why you aren't.
23915 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
23916 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
23917 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
23921 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
23928 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
23929 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
23931 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
23932 variables. Instead the form @code{'(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
23933 @code{'(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
23934 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
23937 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
23938 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
23939 Only applicable to spam groups.")
23941 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
23942 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
23943 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
23952 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
23953 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
23955 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
23956 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
23957 variable customization.
23961 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
23963 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
23969 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23970 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23971 @cindex Paul Graham
23972 @cindex Graham, Paul
23973 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
23974 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
23975 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
23977 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
23978 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
23979 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
23980 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
23981 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
23982 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
23983 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
23984 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
23985 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
23988 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
23989 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
23990 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
23991 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
23992 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
23993 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
23994 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
23995 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
23997 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
23998 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
23999 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
24000 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
24001 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
24004 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
24005 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
24006 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
24009 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
24010 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
24012 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
24013 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
24014 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
24015 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
24016 need several hundred emails in both collections.
24018 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
24019 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
24020 per mail. Use the following:
24022 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
24023 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
24024 is treated as one spam mail.
24027 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
24028 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
24029 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
24032 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
24033 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
24034 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
24035 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
24036 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
24037 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
24039 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
24040 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
24041 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
24042 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
24043 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
24046 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
24047 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
24048 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
24049 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
24052 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
24053 reset the dictionary.
24055 @defun spam-stat-reset
24056 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
24059 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
24060 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
24061 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
24062 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
24063 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
24064 only non-spam mails.
24066 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
24067 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
24068 to update the dictionary incrementally.
24071 @defun spam-stat-save
24072 Save the dictionary.
24075 @defvar spam-stat-file
24076 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
24077 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
24080 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
24081 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
24083 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
24084 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24087 (require 'spam-stat)
24091 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
24094 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
24095 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
24096 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
24097 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
24099 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
24100 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
24101 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
24102 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
24105 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24106 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24110 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
24111 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
24114 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
24115 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
24116 expression are considered potential spam.
24119 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24120 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24121 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24125 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
24126 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
24127 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
24128 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
24129 mails, when creating the dictionary!
24132 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24133 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24134 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24138 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
24139 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
24140 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
24141 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
24142 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
24146 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24147 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
24148 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24149 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24154 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24155 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24157 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
24159 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
24160 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
24161 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24164 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
24165 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
24166 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24169 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
24170 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
24171 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
24172 already been processed as non-spam.
24175 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
24176 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
24177 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
24178 been processed as spam.
24181 @defun spam-stat-save
24182 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
24183 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24186 @defun spam-stat-load
24187 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
24188 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24191 @defun spam-stat-score-word
24192 Return the spam score for a word.
24195 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
24196 Return the spam score for a buffer.
24199 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
24200 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
24201 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
24204 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
24205 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24208 (require 'spam-stat)
24212 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
24215 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24216 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24217 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24218 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24219 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24220 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24221 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24222 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24223 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24224 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24225 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24226 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24227 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24228 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24231 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
24234 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24235 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24236 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24237 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
24238 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24239 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24243 @section Interaction with other modes
24248 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provided some useful functions for dired
24249 buffers. It is enabled with
24251 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
24256 @findex gnus-dired-attach
24257 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
24258 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
24261 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
24262 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
24263 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
24267 @findex gnus-dired-print
24268 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
24269 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
24272 @node Various Various
24273 @section Various Various
24279 @item gnus-home-directory
24280 @vindex gnus-home-directory
24281 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
24282 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
24284 @item gnus-directory
24285 @vindex gnus-directory
24286 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
24287 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
24288 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
24290 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
24291 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
24292 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
24293 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
24295 @item gnus-default-directory
24296 @vindex gnus-default-directory
24297 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
24298 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
24299 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
24300 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
24301 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
24302 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
24305 @vindex gnus-verbose
24306 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
24307 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
24308 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
24309 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
24310 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
24312 @item gnus-verbose-backends
24313 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
24314 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
24315 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
24317 @item nnheader-max-head-length
24318 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
24319 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
24320 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
24321 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
24322 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
24323 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
24324 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
24325 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
24326 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
24328 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
24329 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
24330 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
24331 read when doing the operation described above.
24333 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24334 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24336 @cindex invalid characters in file names
24337 @cindex characters in file names
24338 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
24339 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
24340 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
24344 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24349 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
24350 Windows (phooey) systems.
24352 @item gnus-hidden-properties
24353 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
24354 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
24355 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
24356 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
24358 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
24359 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
24360 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
24361 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
24362 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
24364 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
24365 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
24366 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
24368 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24369 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24371 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
24372 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
24373 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
24374 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
24377 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
24385 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
24386 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
24388 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
24390 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
24396 Not because of victories @*
24399 but for the common sunshine,@*
24401 the largess of the spring.
24405 but for the day's work done@*
24406 as well as I was able;@*
24407 not for a seat upon the dais@*
24408 but at the common table.@*
24413 @chapter Appendices
24416 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
24417 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
24418 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
24419 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
24420 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
24421 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
24422 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
24423 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
24424 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
24431 @cindex installing under XEmacs
24433 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
24434 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
24435 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
24436 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
24437 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{w3},
24438 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
24445 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
24446 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
24448 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
24449 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
24450 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
24451 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
24452 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
24454 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
24455 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
24456 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
24457 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
24458 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
24459 appropriate name, don't you think?)
24461 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
24462 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
24463 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
24464 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
24467 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
24468 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
24469 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
24470 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
24471 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
24472 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
24473 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
24474 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
24475 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
24479 @node Gnus Versions
24480 @subsection Gnus Versions
24482 @cindex September Gnus
24484 @cindex Quassia Gnus
24485 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
24488 @cindex Gnus versions
24490 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
24491 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
24492 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
24494 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
24495 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
24497 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
24498 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
24500 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
24501 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
24503 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
24504 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
24507 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
24509 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
24510 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
24511 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
24512 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
24513 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
24514 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
24517 @node Other Gnus Versions
24518 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
24521 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
24522 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
24523 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
24524 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
24526 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
24527 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
24528 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
24529 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
24536 What's the point of Gnus?
24538 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
24539 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
24540 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
24541 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
24542 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
24543 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
24544 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
24545 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
24546 keep track of millions of people who post?
24548 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
24549 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
24550 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
24551 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
24552 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
24553 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
24554 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
24555 every one of you to explore and invent.
24557 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
24558 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
24561 @node Compatibility
24562 @subsection Compatibility
24564 @cindex compatibility
24565 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
24566 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
24567 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
24572 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
24576 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
24579 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
24582 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
24583 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
24584 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
24585 important variables have their values copied into their global
24586 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
24587 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
24589 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
24590 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
24591 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
24592 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
24593 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
24597 @cindex highlighting
24598 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
24599 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
24600 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
24601 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
24602 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
24603 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
24606 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
24607 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
24608 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
24609 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
24611 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
24612 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
24613 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
24614 to stop doing it the old way.
24616 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
24618 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24620 @cindex reporting bugs
24622 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
24623 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
24624 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
24626 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
24627 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
24628 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
24629 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
24634 @subsection Conformity
24636 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
24637 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
24645 There are no known breaches of this standard.
24649 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
24651 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
24652 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
24653 We do have some breaches to this one.
24659 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
24660 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
24661 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
24662 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
24663 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
24668 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
24669 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
24670 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
24671 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
24673 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
24674 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
24675 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
24677 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
24678 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
24680 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
24683 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
24684 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
24685 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
24686 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
24687 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
24690 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
24691 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
24692 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
24693 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
24695 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
24696 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
24698 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
24699 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
24700 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
24701 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
24702 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
24703 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
24704 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
24705 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
24709 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
24710 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
24715 @subsection Emacsen
24721 Gnus should work on:
24729 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
24733 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
24734 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
24735 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
24736 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
24737 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
24739 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
24740 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
24741 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
24745 @node Gnus Development
24746 @subsection Gnus Development
24748 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
24749 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
24750 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
24751 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
24752 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
24753 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
24754 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
24755 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
24757 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
24758 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
24759 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
24760 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
24761 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
24764 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
24765 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
24766 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
24767 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
24768 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
24770 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
24771 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
24772 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
24773 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
24774 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
24775 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
24776 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
24777 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
24778 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
24779 can't be assumed to do so.
24784 @subsection Contributors
24785 @cindex contributors
24787 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
24788 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
24789 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
24790 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
24791 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
24792 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
24793 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
24794 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
24795 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
24796 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
24798 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
24804 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
24807 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
24808 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
24809 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
24810 functionality and stuff.
24813 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
24814 well as numerous other things).
24817 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
24820 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
24823 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
24826 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
24829 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
24830 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
24833 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
24836 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
24839 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
24842 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
24845 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
24848 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
24851 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
24852 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
24855 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
24858 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
24861 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
24864 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
24868 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
24871 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
24874 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
24877 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
24878 well as autoconf support.
24882 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
24883 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
24885 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
24900 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
24902 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
24906 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
24916 Alexei V. Barantsev,
24931 Massimo Campostrini,
24936 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
24937 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
24941 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
24944 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
24950 Michael Welsh Duggan,
24955 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
24959 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
24967 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
24969 Michelangelo Grigni,
24973 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
24975 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
24977 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
24984 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
24985 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
24986 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
24988 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
24998 Peter Skov Knudsen,
24999 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
25001 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
25002 Thor Kristoffersen,
25005 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
25023 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
25024 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
25031 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
25036 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
25040 John McClary Prevost,
25046 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
25051 Christian von Roques,
25054 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
25061 Philippe Schnoebelen,
25063 Randal L. Schwartz,
25077 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
25082 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
25102 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
25103 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
25104 (550kB and counting).
25106 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
25109 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
25110 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
25114 @subsection New Features
25115 @cindex new features
25118 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
25119 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
25120 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
25121 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
25122 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
25123 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
25124 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
25127 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
25128 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
25129 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
25132 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
25134 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
25139 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
25140 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
25143 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
25144 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
25147 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
25150 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
25151 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
25152 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
25155 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
25156 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
25157 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
25158 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25161 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
25162 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25165 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
25166 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
25167 (@pxref{The Active File}).
25170 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
25171 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
25174 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
25175 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
25176 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25179 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
25180 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
25181 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
25184 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
25185 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
25188 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
25189 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
25192 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
25193 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
25196 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
25197 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25200 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
25201 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
25204 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
25205 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25208 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
25211 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
25212 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
25215 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
25216 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
25219 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
25220 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
25223 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
25226 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
25227 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25230 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
25234 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
25238 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
25239 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
25242 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
25248 @node September Gnus
25249 @subsubsection September Gnus
25253 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
25257 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
25262 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
25263 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
25267 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
25268 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
25272 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
25276 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
25277 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
25280 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
25284 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
25287 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
25290 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
25293 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
25297 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
25298 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
25301 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
25305 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
25309 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
25313 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
25317 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
25320 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
25321 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
25324 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
25328 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
25329 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
25332 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
25335 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
25336 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
25337 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25340 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
25344 The Gnus cache is much faster.
25347 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
25351 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
25352 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
25355 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
25356 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
25359 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
25360 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
25363 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
25364 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
25365 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
25368 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
25369 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
25372 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
25375 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25378 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
25381 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
25384 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
25385 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
25388 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
25392 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
25395 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
25400 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
25403 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
25407 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25410 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
25414 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
25417 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
25420 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
25421 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25424 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
25425 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
25429 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
25430 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
25433 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
25437 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
25438 buffer to allow easier treatment.
25441 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
25444 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
25448 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
25452 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
25453 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
25456 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
25460 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
25461 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25464 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
25465 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25468 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
25472 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25475 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
25478 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
25484 @subsubsection Red Gnus
25486 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
25490 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
25497 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
25500 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
25501 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25504 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
25505 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
25509 Article washing status can be displayed in the
25510 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
25513 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
25516 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
25517 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
25520 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
25524 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
25525 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
25529 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
25530 Server Internals}).
25533 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
25537 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
25540 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
25541 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
25544 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
25545 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
25546 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
25549 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
25550 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25553 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
25554 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
25557 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
25561 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
25562 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25565 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
25566 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25569 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
25573 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
25576 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
25580 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
25581 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25584 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
25585 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25588 A new command for reading collections of documents
25589 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
25590 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
25593 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
25597 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
25598 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
25601 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
25602 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
25603 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
25606 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
25607 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
25611 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
25615 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
25619 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
25624 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
25628 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
25632 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
25633 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
25636 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
25642 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
25644 New features in Gnus 5.6:
25649 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
25650 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
25651 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
25654 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
25655 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
25656 group, which is created automatically.
25659 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
25663 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
25666 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
25667 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
25670 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
25674 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
25677 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
25678 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
25681 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
25684 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
25688 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
25689 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
25692 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
25693 control over simplification.
25696 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
25699 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
25703 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
25706 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
25709 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
25710 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
25711 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
25714 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
25715 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
25718 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
25722 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
25723 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
25726 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
25727 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
25730 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
25734 A history of where mails have been split is available.
25737 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
25740 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
25741 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
25744 A new function for citing in Message has been
25745 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
25748 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
25751 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
25755 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
25756 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
25759 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
25760 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
25763 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
25766 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
25770 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
25771 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
25773 New features in Gnus 5.8:
25778 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
25779 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
25781 If you used procmail like in
25784 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
25785 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
25786 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
25787 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
25790 this now has changed to
25794 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
25798 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
25801 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
25802 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
25805 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
25806 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
25809 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
25810 called to position point.
25813 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
25814 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
25817 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
25818 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
25821 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
25822 subtly different manner.
25825 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
25826 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
25827 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
25830 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
25835 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
25838 New features in Gnus 5.10:
25843 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
25844 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
25845 region if the region is active.
25848 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
25852 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
25853 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
25856 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
25857 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
25860 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
25862 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
25863 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
25864 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
25865 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
25866 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
25867 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
25868 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
25869 isn't save in general.
25874 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
25875 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
25876 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
25877 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
25882 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
25883 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
25884 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
25888 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
25891 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
25896 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
25897 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
25899 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
25900 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
25904 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
25905 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
25908 Retrieval of charters and control messages
25910 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
25911 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
25916 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
25917 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
25918 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
25921 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
25922 decompressed when activated.
25925 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
25926 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
25929 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
25932 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
25933 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
25936 Warn about email replies to news
25938 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
25939 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
25943 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
25944 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
25948 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
25949 opposed to old but unread messages).
25952 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
25953 Gcc articles as read.
25956 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
25959 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
25960 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
25963 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
25964 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
25967 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
25968 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
25971 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
25972 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
25975 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
25977 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
25978 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
25979 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
25980 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
25983 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
25985 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
25986 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
25987 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
25988 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
25989 the second parameter.
25991 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
25992 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
25993 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
25994 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
25995 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
25996 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
25997 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
25998 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
25999 cycle used under Unix systems.
26001 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
26005 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
26007 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
26008 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
26009 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
26010 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
26011 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
26015 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
26017 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
26018 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
26019 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
26020 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
26024 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
26026 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
26027 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
26028 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
26029 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
26031 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
26032 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
26033 message cited below.
26036 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
26039 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
26041 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
26042 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
26043 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
26044 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
26045 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
26048 (setq gnus-parameters
26050 (gnus-show-threads nil)
26051 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
26052 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
26053 (to-group . "\\1"))))
26057 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
26059 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to
26063 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
26065 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
26066 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
26067 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
26068 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
26069 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
26070 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
26071 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
26072 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
26073 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
26076 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
26078 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
26079 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
26080 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
26081 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
26082 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
26083 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
26086 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
26087 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
26091 Improved anti-spam features.
26093 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
26094 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
26095 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
26096 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
26097 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
26100 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
26103 Face headers handling.
26106 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
26107 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
26110 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
26113 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
26115 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
26116 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
26117 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
26118 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
26119 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
26120 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
26121 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
26122 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
26123 when getting new mail, remove the function.
26126 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
26128 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
26129 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
26130 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
26131 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
26132 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
26133 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
26134 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
26135 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
26136 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
26137 was inserted directly.
26140 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
26142 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
26143 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
26149 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
26150 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
26151 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
26152 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
26153 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
26154 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
26155 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
26156 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
26157 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
26158 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
26159 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
26160 behaviour of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
26161 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
26162 is not needed any more.
26165 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
26167 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
26168 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
26169 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
26170 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
26171 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
26175 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
26177 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
26178 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
26181 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
26183 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
26184 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
26185 lisp directory into load-path.
26187 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
26188 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
26191 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
26193 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
26196 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
26198 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
26199 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
26200 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
26201 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
26204 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
26206 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
26208 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
26209 'bbdb-complete-name)
26213 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
26215 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
26216 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
26217 local files as external parts.
26219 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
26220 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
26221 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
26222 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
26223 that support editing.
26226 @code{gnus-default-charset}
26228 The default value is determined from the
26229 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
26230 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
26231 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
26234 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
26236 Add a new format of match like
26238 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
26239 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26241 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
26243 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
26244 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26248 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
26250 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
26251 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
26252 need add those two headers too.
26255 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
26257 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
26258 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
26259 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
26262 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
26263 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
26264 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
26268 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
26270 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
26273 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
26275 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
26278 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
26280 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
26281 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
26282 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
26285 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
26287 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
26291 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
26293 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
26294 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
26295 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
26296 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
26297 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
26298 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
26299 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
26300 The behaviour can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
26303 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
26305 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
26306 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
26307 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
26308 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
26309 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
26312 Extended format specs.
26314 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
26315 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
26316 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
26317 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
26318 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
26319 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
26322 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
26324 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
26325 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
26326 out other articles.
26328 @item Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
26330 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
26331 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
26332 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
26333 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
26336 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
26338 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
26339 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
26340 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
26343 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
26345 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
26346 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
26347 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
26348 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
26349 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
26350 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
26351 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
26352 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
26353 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
26354 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
26355 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
26358 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
26359 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
26362 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
26363 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
26364 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
26365 message, Message Manual}).
26368 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
26369 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
26371 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
26372 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
26373 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
26375 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
26379 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
26380 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
26382 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
26383 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
26384 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
26385 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
26388 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
26391 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
26394 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
26395 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
26398 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
26400 The behaviour for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
26401 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
26402 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
26403 invalidate the digital signature.
26407 @subsubsection No Gnus
26410 New features in No Gnus:
26411 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
26413 @include gnus-news.texi
26419 @section The Manual
26423 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
26424 either @code{texi2dvi}
26426 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
26427 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
26429 to get what you hold in your hands now.
26431 The following conventions have been used:
26436 This is a @samp{string}
26439 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
26442 This is a @file{file}
26445 This is a @code{symbol}
26449 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
26453 (setq flargnoze "yes")
26456 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
26459 (setq flumphel 'yes)
26462 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
26463 ever get them confused.
26467 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
26468 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
26469 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
26470 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
26471 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
26472 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
26473 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
26479 @node On Writing Manuals
26480 @section On Writing Manuals
26482 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
26483 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
26484 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
26485 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
26486 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
26487 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
26490 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
26491 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
26492 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
26495 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
26496 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
26501 @section Terminology
26503 @cindex terminology
26508 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
26509 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
26510 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
26511 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
26512 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
26516 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
26517 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
26518 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
26519 not posting, and replying is not following up.
26523 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
26527 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
26532 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
26533 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
26534 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
26535 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
26536 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
26537 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
26538 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
26539 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
26540 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
26543 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
26544 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
26545 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
26546 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
26547 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
26548 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
26550 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
26551 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
26552 access the articles.
26554 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
26555 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
26556 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
26561 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
26562 default, way of getting news.
26566 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
26567 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
26572 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
26573 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
26577 A message that has been posted as news.
26580 @cindex mail message
26581 A message that has been mailed.
26585 A mail message or news article
26589 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
26594 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
26599 A line from the head of an article.
26603 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
26604 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
26606 @item @acronym{NOV}
26607 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
26608 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
26609 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
26610 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
26611 normal @sc{head} format.
26615 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
26616 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
26617 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
26618 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
26619 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
26620 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
26622 @item killed groups
26623 @cindex killed groups
26624 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
26625 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
26627 @item zombie groups
26628 @cindex zombie groups
26629 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
26632 @cindex active file
26633 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
26634 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
26635 is rather large, as you might surmise.
26638 @cindex bogus groups
26639 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
26640 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
26641 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
26644 @cindex activating groups
26645 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
26646 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
26647 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
26651 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
26653 @item select method
26654 @cindex select method
26655 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
26658 @item virtual server
26659 @cindex virtual server
26660 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
26661 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
26662 whole is a virtual server.
26666 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
26667 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
26670 @item ephemeral groups
26671 @cindex ephemeral groups
26672 @cindex temporary groups
26673 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
26674 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
26675 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
26678 @cindex solid groups
26679 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
26680 group buffer are solid groups.
26682 @item sparse articles
26683 @cindex sparse articles
26684 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
26685 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
26689 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
26690 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
26694 @cindex thread root
26695 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
26696 articles in the thread.
26700 An article that has responses.
26704 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
26708 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
26709 specified by RFC 1153.
26712 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
26713 @cindex mail sorting
26714 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
26715 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
26716 incorrectly called mail filtering.
26722 @node Customization
26723 @section Customization
26724 @cindex general customization
26726 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
26727 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
26728 for some quite common situations.
26731 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
26732 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
26733 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
26734 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
26738 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
26739 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
26741 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
26742 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
26743 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
26747 @item gnus-read-active-file
26748 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
26749 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
26750 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26751 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
26752 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
26754 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
26755 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
26756 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
26757 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
26761 @node Slow Terminal Connection
26762 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
26764 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
26765 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
26766 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
26770 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
26771 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
26772 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
26773 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
26774 horizontal and vertical recentering.
26776 @item gnus-visible-headers
26777 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
26778 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
26779 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
26780 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
26782 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
26784 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
26785 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
26786 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
26789 @item gnus-use-full-window
26790 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
26791 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
26792 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
26793 want to read them anyway.
26795 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
26796 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
26800 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
26801 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
26802 lines, which might save some time.
26806 @node Little Disk Space
26807 @subsection Little Disk Space
26810 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
26811 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
26815 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
26816 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
26817 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26818 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26821 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
26822 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
26823 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26824 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26827 @item gnus-save-killed-list
26828 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
26829 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
26830 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
26831 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
26837 @subsection Slow Machine
26838 @cindex slow machine
26840 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
26841 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
26843 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26844 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
26846 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
26847 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
26848 summary buffer faster.
26850 Gnus uses the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program for
26851 decoding an @code{X-Face} header normally in Emacs. If you feel it is
26852 slow, set @code{uncompface-use-external} to @code{t}. @xref{X-Face}.
26856 @node Troubleshooting
26857 @section Troubleshooting
26858 @cindex troubleshooting
26860 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
26868 Make sure your computer is switched on.
26871 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
26872 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
26876 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
26877 like @samp{T-gnus 6.17.* (based on Gnus v5.10.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
26878 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old
26879 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
26882 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
26883 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
26886 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
26887 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
26888 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
26889 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
26890 something like that.
26893 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
26896 @cindex reporting bugs
26898 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26900 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
26901 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
26902 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
26903 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
26905 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
26906 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
26907 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
26908 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
26911 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
26912 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
26913 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
26914 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
26915 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
26916 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
26918 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
26919 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
26920 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
26924 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
26925 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
26928 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
26929 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
26930 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
26931 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
26932 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
26933 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
26934 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
26935 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
26936 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
26937 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
26938 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
26939 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
26940 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
26941 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
26946 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
26947 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
26948 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
26949 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
26950 helps isolating the real problem areas).
26952 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
26953 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
26954 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
26955 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
26956 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
26957 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
26958 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
26959 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
26960 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
26961 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
26962 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
26963 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
26964 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
26967 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
26968 @cindex ding mailing list
26969 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
26970 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
26971 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
26972 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
26976 @node Gnus Reference Guide
26977 @section Gnus Reference Guide
26979 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
26980 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
26981 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
26982 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
26985 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
26986 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
26987 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
26988 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
26989 and general methods of operation.
26992 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
26993 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
26994 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
26995 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
26996 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
26997 * Group Info:: The group info format.
26998 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
26999 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
27000 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
27004 @node Gnus Utility Functions
27005 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
27006 @cindex Gnus utility functions
27007 @cindex utility functions
27009 @cindex internal variables
27011 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
27012 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
27013 Below is a list of the most common ones.
27017 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
27018 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
27019 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
27021 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
27022 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
27023 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
27025 @item gnus-group-real-name
27026 @findex gnus-group-real-name
27027 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
27030 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
27031 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
27032 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
27033 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
27035 @item gnus-get-info
27036 @findex gnus-get-info
27037 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
27039 @item gnus-group-unread
27040 @findex gnus-group-unread
27041 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
27045 @findex gnus-active
27046 The active entry for @var{group}.
27048 @item gnus-set-active
27049 @findex gnus-set-active
27050 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
27052 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27053 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27054 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
27057 @item gnus-continuum-version
27058 @findex gnus-continuum-version
27059 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
27060 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
27063 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
27064 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
27065 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
27067 @item gnus-news-group-p
27068 @findex gnus-news-group-p
27069 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
27071 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27072 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27073 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
27075 @item gnus-server-to-method
27076 @findex gnus-server-to-method
27077 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
27079 @item gnus-server-equal
27080 @findex gnus-server-equal
27081 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
27083 @item gnus-group-native-p
27084 @findex gnus-group-native-p
27085 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
27087 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
27088 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
27089 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
27091 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
27092 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
27093 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
27095 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
27096 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
27097 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
27098 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
27100 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
27101 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
27102 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
27104 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
27105 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
27106 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
27108 @item gnus-check-backend-function
27109 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
27110 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
27111 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
27114 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
27118 @item gnus-read-method
27119 @findex gnus-read-method
27120 Prompts the user for a select method.
27125 @node Back End Interface
27126 @subsection Back End Interface
27128 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
27129 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
27130 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
27131 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
27132 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
27133 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
27135 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
27136 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
27137 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
27138 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
27139 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
27140 been opened, the function should fail.
27142 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
27143 name. Take this example:
27147 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
27148 (nntp-port-number 4324))
27151 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
27152 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
27154 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
27155 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
27156 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
27158 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
27159 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
27160 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
27162 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
27163 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
27164 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
27165 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
27166 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
27167 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
27170 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
27171 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
27172 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
27173 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
27176 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
27177 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
27178 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
27179 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
27180 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
27181 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
27182 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
27183 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
27184 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
27185 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
27187 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
27188 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
27189 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
27190 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
27191 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
27192 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
27193 of numbers as long as possible.
27195 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
27196 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
27197 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
27199 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
27202 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
27205 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
27206 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
27207 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
27208 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
27209 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
27210 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
27214 @node Required Back End Functions
27215 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
27219 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
27221 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
27222 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
27223 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
27224 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
27226 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
27227 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
27228 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
27229 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
27231 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
27232 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
27233 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
27234 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
27235 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
27236 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
27237 number, do maximum fetches.
27239 Here's an example HEAD:
27242 221 1056 Article retrieved.
27243 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
27244 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
27245 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
27246 Subject: Re: Something very droll
27247 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
27248 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
27250 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
27251 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
27252 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
27256 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
27257 these in the data buffer.
27259 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
27263 head = error / valid-head
27264 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
27265 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
27266 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
27267 header = <text> eol
27271 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
27273 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
27274 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
27278 nov-buffer = *nov-line
27279 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
27280 field = <text except TAB>
27283 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
27287 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
27289 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
27290 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
27292 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
27293 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
27294 server. In fact, it should do so.
27296 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
27297 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
27300 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
27302 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
27303 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
27306 There should be no data returned.
27309 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
27311 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
27312 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
27313 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
27314 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
27316 There should be no data returned.
27319 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
27321 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
27322 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
27323 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
27324 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
27326 There should be no data returned.
27329 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
27331 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
27333 There should be no data returned.
27336 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
27338 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
27339 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
27340 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
27341 it would be nice if that were possible.
27343 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
27344 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
27345 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
27346 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
27347 into its article buffer.
27349 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
27350 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
27351 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
27352 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
27353 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
27354 on successful article retrieval.
27357 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
27359 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
27360 making @var{group} the current group.
27362 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
27365 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
27368 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
27371 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
27372 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
27373 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
27374 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
27375 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
27376 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
27377 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
27378 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
27379 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
27383 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
27384 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
27385 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
27389 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27391 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
27392 a no-op on most back ends.
27394 There should be no data returned.
27397 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
27399 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
27402 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
27405 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
27406 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
27409 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
27410 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
27411 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
27412 and the highest as 0.
27415 active-file = *active-line
27416 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
27418 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
27421 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
27422 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
27423 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
27426 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
27428 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
27429 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
27430 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
27431 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
27432 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
27433 clear if the posting could not be completed.
27435 There should be no result data from this function.
27440 @node Optional Back End Functions
27441 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
27445 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
27447 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
27448 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
27449 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
27451 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
27452 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
27453 former is in the same format as the data from
27454 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
27455 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
27458 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
27462 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
27464 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
27465 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
27466 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
27467 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
27468 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
27470 There should be no result data from this function.
27473 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
27475 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
27476 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
27477 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
27478 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
27479 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
27480 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
27481 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
27482 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
27484 There should be no result data from this function.
27487 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
27489 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
27490 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
27491 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
27492 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
27493 propagate the mark information to the server.
27495 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
27498 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
27501 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
27502 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
27503 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
27504 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
27505 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
27506 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
27507 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
27508 possible, not limit itself to these.
27510 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
27511 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
27512 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
27513 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
27515 An example action list:
27518 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
27519 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
27520 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
27523 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
27524 mark on (currently not used for anything).
27526 There should be no result data from this function.
27528 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
27530 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
27531 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
27532 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
27533 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
27534 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
27536 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
27537 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
27538 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
27541 There should be no result data from this function.
27544 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
27546 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
27547 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
27548 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
27549 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
27550 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
27551 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
27552 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
27553 local if that's practical.
27555 There should be no result data from this function.
27558 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
27560 The result data from this function should be a description of
27564 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
27566 description = <text>
27569 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
27571 The result data from this function should be the description of all
27572 groups available on the server.
27575 description-buffer = *description-line
27579 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
27581 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
27582 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
27583 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
27584 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
27585 in the active buffer format.
27587 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
27588 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
27589 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
27590 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
27591 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
27592 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
27593 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
27596 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27598 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
27600 There should be no return data.
27603 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
27605 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
27606 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
27607 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
27608 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
27609 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
27612 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
27615 There should be no result data returned.
27618 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
27620 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
27621 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
27623 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
27624 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
27625 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
27626 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
27627 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
27628 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
27630 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
27631 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
27634 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27635 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27637 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
27638 article for that group.
27640 There should be no data returned.
27643 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
27645 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
27646 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
27647 this function in short order.
27649 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27650 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27652 There should be no data returned.
27655 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
27657 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
27658 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
27660 There should be no data returned.
27663 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
27665 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
27666 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
27667 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
27669 There should be no data returned.
27672 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
27674 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
27675 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
27677 There should be no data returned.
27682 @node Error Messaging
27683 @subsubsection Error Messaging
27685 @findex nnheader-report
27686 @findex nnheader-get-report
27687 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
27688 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
27689 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
27690 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
27691 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
27692 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
27695 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
27697 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
27700 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
27701 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
27702 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
27703 takes one argument---the server symbol.
27705 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
27706 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
27707 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
27710 @node Writing New Back Ends
27711 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
27713 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
27714 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
27715 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
27716 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
27717 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
27720 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
27721 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
27722 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
27724 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
27725 package called @code{nnoo}.
27727 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
27728 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
27734 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
27735 parameters. For instance:
27738 (nnoo-declare nndir
27742 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
27743 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
27746 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
27747 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
27748 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
27750 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
27751 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
27752 a function in those back ends.
27755 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27756 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27757 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27760 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
27761 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
27762 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
27764 @item nnoo-define-basics
27765 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
27769 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27773 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
27774 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
27775 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
27777 @item nnoo-map-functions
27778 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
27779 functions from the parent back ends.
27782 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27783 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27784 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
27787 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
27788 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
27789 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
27790 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
27793 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
27794 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
27795 haven't already been defined.
27801 nnmh-request-newgroups)
27805 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
27806 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
27807 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
27812 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
27815 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
27816 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
27820 (require 'nnheader)
27824 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
27826 (nnoo-declare nndir
27829 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27830 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27831 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27833 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
27834 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
27837 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
27839 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
27840 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
27841 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
27843 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
27844 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
27846 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
27848 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27850 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
27851 (setq nndir-directory
27852 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
27854 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
27855 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
27856 (push `(nndir-current-group
27857 ,(file-name-nondirectory
27858 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27860 (push `(nndir-top-directory
27861 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27863 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
27865 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27866 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27867 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27868 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
27869 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
27873 nnmh-status-message
27875 nnmh-request-newgroups))
27881 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27882 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27884 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
27885 @findex gnus-declare-backend
27886 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
27887 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
27888 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
27890 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
27891 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
27896 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
27899 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
27901 The abilities can be:
27905 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
27907 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
27909 This back end supports both mail and news.
27911 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
27914 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
27915 articles and groups.
27917 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
27918 true for almost all back ends.
27919 @item prompt-address
27920 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
27921 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
27922 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
27926 @node Mail-like Back Ends
27927 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
27929 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
27930 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
27931 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
27932 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
27935 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
27936 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
27937 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
27940 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
27941 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
27944 This function takes four parameters.
27948 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
27951 @item exit-function
27952 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
27954 @item temp-directory
27955 Where the temporary files should be stored.
27958 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
27959 performed for one group only.
27962 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
27963 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
27964 find the article number assigned to this article.
27966 The function also uses the following variables:
27967 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
27968 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
27969 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
27970 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
27974 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
27975 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
27979 @node Score File Syntax
27980 @subsection Score File Syntax
27982 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
27983 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
27984 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
27986 Here's a typical score file:
27990 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
27997 BNF definition of a score file:
28000 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
28001 element = rule / atom
28002 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
28003 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
28004 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
28005 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
28007 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
28008 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
28009 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
28010 date-header = "date"
28011 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28012 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28013 score = "nil" / <integer>
28014 date = "nil" / <natural number>
28015 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
28016 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
28017 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
28018 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
28019 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28020 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28021 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
28022 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
28023 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
28024 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
28025 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
28026 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
28027 exclude-files / read-only / touched
28028 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
28029 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
28030 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
28031 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
28032 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
28033 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
28034 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
28035 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
28036 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
28037 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
28038 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
28039 eval = "eval" space <form>
28040 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
28043 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
28046 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
28047 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
28048 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
28049 one looong line, then that's ok.
28051 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
28052 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
28056 @subsection Headers
28058 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
28059 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
28060 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
28061 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
28063 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
28064 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
28065 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
28066 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
28067 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
28068 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
28069 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
28071 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
28072 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
28073 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
28074 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
28075 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
28077 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
28078 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
28084 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
28085 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
28087 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
28088 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
28089 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
28090 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
28092 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
28096 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
28099 is transformed into
28102 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
28105 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
28106 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
28109 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
28112 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
28113 is slightly tricky:
28116 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
28122 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
28125 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
28131 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
28138 and is equal to the previous range.
28140 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
28141 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
28142 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
28146 range = simple-range / normal-range
28147 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
28148 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
28149 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
28150 number *[ " " contents ]
28153 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
28154 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
28155 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
28156 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
28157 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
28162 @subsection Group Info
28164 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
28165 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
28166 describes the group.
28168 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
28169 second is a more complex one:
28172 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
28174 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
28175 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
28177 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
28180 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
28181 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
28182 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
28183 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
28184 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
28185 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
28186 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
28187 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
28188 this section is about.
28190 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
28191 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
28192 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
28194 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
28197 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
28198 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
28199 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28200 group = quote <string> quote
28201 ralevel = rank / level
28202 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28203 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
28204 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28206 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
28207 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
28208 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
28209 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
28212 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
28213 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
28216 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
28217 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
28220 @item gnus-info-group
28221 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
28222 @findex gnus-info-group
28223 @findex gnus-info-set-group
28224 Get/set the group name.
28226 @item gnus-info-rank
28227 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
28228 @findex gnus-info-rank
28229 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
28230 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
28232 @item gnus-info-level
28233 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
28234 @findex gnus-info-level
28235 @findex gnus-info-set-level
28236 Get/set the group level.
28238 @item gnus-info-score
28239 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
28240 @findex gnus-info-score
28241 @findex gnus-info-set-score
28242 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
28244 @item gnus-info-read
28245 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
28246 @findex gnus-info-read
28247 @findex gnus-info-set-read
28248 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
28250 @item gnus-info-marks
28251 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
28252 @findex gnus-info-marks
28253 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
28254 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
28256 @item gnus-info-method
28257 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
28258 @findex gnus-info-method
28259 @findex gnus-info-set-method
28260 Get/set the group select method.
28262 @item gnus-info-params
28263 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
28264 @findex gnus-info-params
28265 @findex gnus-info-set-params
28266 Get/set the group parameters.
28269 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
28270 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
28272 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
28273 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
28274 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
28275 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
28278 @node Extended Interactive
28279 @subsection Extended Interactive
28280 @cindex interactive
28281 @findex gnus-interactive
28283 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
28284 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
28285 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
28288 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
28289 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
28294 The best thing to do would have been to implement
28295 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
28296 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
28297 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
28298 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
28299 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
28300 @code{interactive}.
28302 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
28307 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
28308 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
28312 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
28313 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
28314 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
28317 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
28321 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
28325 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
28331 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
28332 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
28336 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
28337 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
28338 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
28340 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
28341 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
28342 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
28343 Gnus, that's very useful.
28345 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
28346 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
28347 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
28348 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
28349 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
28350 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
28351 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
28352 following function:
28355 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
28359 (,function ,@@args))
28363 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
28364 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
28365 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
28368 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
28369 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
28370 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
28372 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
28373 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
28374 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
28377 @node Various File Formats
28378 @subsection Various File Formats
28381 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
28382 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
28386 @node Active File Format
28387 @subsubsection Active File Format
28389 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
28390 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
28393 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
28396 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
28397 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
28398 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
28399 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
28400 no.general 1000 900 y
28403 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
28406 active = *group-line
28407 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
28408 group = <non-white-space string>
28410 high-number = <non-negative integer>
28411 low-number = <positive integer>
28412 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
28415 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
28416 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
28419 @node Newsgroups File Format
28420 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
28422 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
28423 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
28424 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
28427 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
28428 Here's the definition:
28432 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
28433 group = <non-white-space string>
28435 description = <string>
28440 @node Emacs for Heathens
28441 @section Emacs for Heathens
28443 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
28444 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
28445 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
28446 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
28447 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
28448 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
28449 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
28453 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
28454 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
28459 @subsection Keystrokes
28463 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
28466 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
28469 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
28470 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
28471 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
28472 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
28473 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
28474 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
28476 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
28477 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
28478 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
28479 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
28480 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
28481 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
28482 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
28484 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
28485 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
28486 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
28487 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
28488 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
28489 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
28490 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
28492 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
28493 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
28494 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
28495 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
28496 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
28502 @subsection Emacs Lisp
28504 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
28505 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
28506 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
28507 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
28509 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
28510 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
28511 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
28512 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
28513 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
28514 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
28515 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
28518 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
28519 write the following:
28522 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
28525 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
28526 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
28527 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
28530 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
28531 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
28532 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
28533 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
28534 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
28536 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
28537 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
28538 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
28542 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
28546 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
28549 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
28550 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
28553 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
28556 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
28557 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
28560 @include gnus-faq.texi
28580 @c Local Variables:
28582 @c coding: iso-8859-1