4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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284 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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293 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
295 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
299 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
300 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
301 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
302 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
303 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
304 License'' in the Emacs manual.
306 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
307 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
308 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
310 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
311 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
312 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
313 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
321 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
323 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
324 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
326 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
327 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
328 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
329 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
330 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
331 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
332 License'' in the Emacs manual.
334 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
335 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
336 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
338 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
339 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
340 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
341 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
347 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
349 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
352 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
353 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
355 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
357 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
358 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
359 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
360 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
361 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
362 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
363 License'' in the Emacs manual.
365 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
366 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
367 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
369 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
370 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
371 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
372 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
381 @top The gnus Newsreader
385 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
386 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
387 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
390 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
391 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
392 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
393 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
394 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
395 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
397 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
408 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
409 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
411 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
412 being accused of plagiarism:
414 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
415 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
416 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
417 can even read news with it!
419 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
420 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
421 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
422 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
423 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
429 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
430 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
431 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
432 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
433 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
434 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
435 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
436 * Various:: General purpose settings.
437 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
438 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
439 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
440 * Key Index:: Key Index.
442 Other related manuals
444 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
445 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
446 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
447 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
450 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
454 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
455 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
456 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
457 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
458 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
459 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
460 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
461 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
462 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
463 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
464 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
468 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
469 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
470 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
474 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
475 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
476 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
477 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
478 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
479 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
480 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
481 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
482 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
483 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
484 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
485 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
486 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
487 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
488 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
489 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
490 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
494 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
495 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
496 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
500 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
501 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
502 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
503 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
504 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
508 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
509 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
510 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
511 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
512 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
516 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
517 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
518 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
519 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
520 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
521 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
522 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
523 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
524 * Threading:: How threads are made.
525 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
526 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
527 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
528 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
529 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
530 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
531 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
532 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
533 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
534 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
535 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
536 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
537 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
538 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
539 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
540 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
541 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
542 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
543 or reselecting the current group.
544 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
545 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
546 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
547 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
549 Summary Buffer Format
551 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
552 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
553 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
554 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
558 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
559 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
561 Reply, Followup and Post
563 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
564 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
565 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
566 * Canceling and Superseding::
570 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
571 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
572 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
574 * Generic Marking Commands::
575 * Setting Process Marks::
579 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
580 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
581 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
585 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
586 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
588 Customizing Threading
590 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
591 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
592 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
593 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
597 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
598 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
599 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
600 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
601 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
602 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
606 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
607 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
608 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
612 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
613 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
614 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
615 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
616 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
617 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
618 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
619 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
620 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
621 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
622 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
624 Alternative Approaches
626 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
627 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
629 Various Summary Stuff
631 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
632 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
633 * Summary Generation Commands::
634 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
638 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
639 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
640 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
641 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
642 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
646 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
647 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
648 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
649 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
650 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
651 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
652 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
653 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
657 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
658 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
659 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
660 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
661 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
662 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
663 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
664 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
668 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
669 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
670 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
671 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
672 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
673 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
674 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
678 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
679 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
683 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
684 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
685 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
689 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
690 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
691 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
692 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
693 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
694 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
695 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
696 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
697 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
698 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
699 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
700 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
701 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
705 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
706 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
707 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
709 Choosing a Mail Back End
711 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
712 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
713 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
714 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
715 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
716 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
717 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
722 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
723 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
724 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
725 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
726 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
727 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
731 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
732 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
733 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
734 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
735 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
739 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
740 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
741 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
742 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
743 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
747 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
751 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
752 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
753 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
757 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
758 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
762 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
763 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
764 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
765 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
766 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
767 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
768 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
769 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
770 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
771 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
772 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
773 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
777 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
778 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
779 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
783 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
784 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
785 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
789 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
790 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
791 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
792 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
793 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
794 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
795 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
796 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
797 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
798 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
799 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
800 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
801 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
802 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
803 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
804 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
805 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
809 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
810 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
811 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
812 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
816 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
817 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
818 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
822 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
823 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
824 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
825 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
826 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
827 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
828 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
829 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
830 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
831 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
832 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
833 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
834 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
835 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
836 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
837 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
838 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
839 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
840 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
844 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
845 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
846 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
847 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
848 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
849 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
850 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
851 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
855 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
856 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
857 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
858 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
862 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
863 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
864 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
865 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
866 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
867 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
871 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
872 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
873 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
874 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
875 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
876 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
877 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
878 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
879 * Frequently Asked Questions::
883 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
884 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
885 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
886 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
887 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
888 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
889 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
890 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
891 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
895 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
896 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
897 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
898 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
899 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
903 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
904 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
905 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
906 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
910 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
911 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
912 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
913 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
914 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
915 * Group Info:: The group info format.
916 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
917 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
918 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
922 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
923 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
924 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
925 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
926 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
927 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
931 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
932 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
936 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
937 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
943 @chapter Starting gnus
948 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
949 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
952 @findex gnus-other-frame
953 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
954 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
955 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
957 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
958 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
959 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
961 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
962 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
965 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
966 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
967 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
968 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
969 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
970 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
971 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
972 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
973 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
974 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
975 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
979 @node Finding the News
980 @section Finding the News
983 @vindex gnus-select-method
985 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
986 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
987 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
988 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
991 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
992 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
995 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
998 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1001 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1004 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1005 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1006 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1008 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1010 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1011 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1012 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1013 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1014 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1015 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1017 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1018 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1019 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1020 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1022 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1023 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1024 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1025 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1026 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1027 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1028 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1029 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1030 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1033 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1035 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1036 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1037 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1038 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1039 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1040 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1042 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1044 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1045 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1046 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1047 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1048 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1049 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1052 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1053 you would typically set this variable to
1056 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1060 @node The First Time
1061 @section The First Time
1062 @cindex first time usage
1064 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1065 be subscribed by default.
1067 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1068 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1069 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1070 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1073 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1074 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1075 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1077 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1078 help you with most common problems.
1080 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1081 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1085 @node The Server is Down
1086 @section The Server is Down
1087 @cindex server errors
1089 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1090 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1091 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1093 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1094 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1095 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1096 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1097 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1098 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1099 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1101 @findex gnus-no-server
1102 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1104 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1105 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1106 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1107 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1108 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1109 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1110 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1114 @section Slave Gnusae
1117 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1118 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1119 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1120 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1122 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1123 @file{.newsrc} file.
1125 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1126 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1127 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1128 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1129 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1130 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1131 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1134 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1135 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1136 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1137 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1138 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1139 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1140 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1141 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1143 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1144 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1146 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1147 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1148 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1149 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1150 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1152 @node Fetching a Group
1153 @section Fetching a Group
1154 @cindex fetching a group
1156 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1157 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1158 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1159 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1160 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1161 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1167 @cindex subscription
1169 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1170 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1171 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1172 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1173 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1174 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1175 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1176 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1177 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1180 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1181 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1182 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1186 @node Checking New Groups
1187 @subsection Checking New Groups
1189 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1190 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1191 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1192 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1193 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1194 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1195 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1196 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1197 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1198 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1200 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1201 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1202 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1203 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1204 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1205 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1206 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1207 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1208 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1209 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1210 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1212 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1213 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1214 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1215 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1216 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1217 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1220 @node Subscription Methods
1221 @subsection Subscription Methods
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1224 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1225 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1227 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1228 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1230 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1234 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1235 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1236 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1237 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1238 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1240 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1242 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1243 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1245 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1246 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1247 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1249 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1250 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1251 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1252 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1253 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1254 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1255 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1256 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1257 up. Or something like that.
1259 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1260 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1261 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1262 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1263 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1265 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1266 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1267 Kill all new groups.
1269 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1271 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1272 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1273 topic parameter that looks like
1279 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1282 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1287 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1288 A closely related variable is
1289 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1290 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1291 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1292 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1295 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1296 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1297 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1298 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1301 @node Filtering New Groups
1302 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1304 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1305 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1306 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1309 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1312 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1313 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1314 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1315 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1316 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1317 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1318 subscribing these groups.
1319 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1320 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1322 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1323 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1324 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1325 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1326 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1327 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1328 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1329 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1331 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1332 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1333 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1334 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1335 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1336 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1337 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1338 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1339 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1340 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1343 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1344 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1347 @node Changing Servers
1348 @section Changing Servers
1349 @cindex changing servers
1351 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1352 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1353 very flaky and you want to use another.
1355 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1356 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1360 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1361 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1362 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1363 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1366 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1367 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1368 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1369 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1371 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1372 @findex gnus-change-server
1373 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1374 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1375 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1376 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1377 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1379 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1380 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1381 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1382 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1383 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1385 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1386 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1387 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1388 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1389 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1390 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1392 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1393 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1394 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1395 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1397 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1398 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1399 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1400 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1401 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1402 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1403 cache for all groups).
1407 @section Startup Files
1408 @cindex startup files
1413 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1414 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1416 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1417 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1418 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1419 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1420 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1421 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1422 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1424 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1425 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1426 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1427 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1428 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1429 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1431 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1432 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1433 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1434 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1435 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1436 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1437 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1438 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1439 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1440 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1442 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1443 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1444 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1445 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1446 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1447 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1448 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1449 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1450 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1451 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1452 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1453 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1455 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1456 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1457 @vindex version-control
1458 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1459 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1460 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1461 If you want version control for this file, set
1462 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1463 @code{version-control} variable.
1465 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1466 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1467 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1468 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1469 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1470 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1471 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1472 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1473 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1474 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1477 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1478 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1480 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1481 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1484 @vindex gnus-init-file
1485 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1486 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1487 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1488 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1489 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1490 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1491 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1492 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1493 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1494 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1500 @cindex dribble file
1503 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1504 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1505 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1506 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1507 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1510 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1511 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1514 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1515 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1516 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1518 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1519 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1520 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1521 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1522 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1523 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1525 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1526 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1527 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1530 @node The Active File
1531 @section The Active File
1533 @cindex ignored groups
1535 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1536 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1537 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1539 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1540 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1541 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1542 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1543 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1544 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1545 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1548 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1549 @c if you set it to anything else.
1551 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1553 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1554 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1555 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1557 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1558 you actually subscribe to.
1560 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1561 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1562 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1563 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1565 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1566 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1567 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1568 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1569 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1570 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1572 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1573 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1574 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1577 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1578 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1579 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1580 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1581 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1582 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1584 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1585 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1587 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1588 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1590 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1591 secondary select methods.
1594 @node Startup Variables
1595 @section Startup Variables
1599 @item gnus-load-hook
1600 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1601 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1602 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1603 times you start gnus.
1605 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1606 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1607 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1609 @item gnus-startup-hook
1610 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1611 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1613 @item gnus-started-hook
1614 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1615 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1618 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1619 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1620 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1621 generating the group buffer.
1623 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1624 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1625 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1626 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1627 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1628 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1629 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1630 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1632 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1633 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1634 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1635 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1636 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1637 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1639 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1640 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1641 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1643 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1644 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1645 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1647 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1648 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1649 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1650 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1656 @chapter Group Buffer
1657 @cindex group buffer
1659 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1661 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1662 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1663 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1664 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1665 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1666 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1667 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1668 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1669 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1670 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1671 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1672 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1673 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1674 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1675 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1676 @c human rights at 9...
1679 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1680 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1681 long as gnus is active.
1685 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1686 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1687 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1688 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1689 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1690 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1691 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1692 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1698 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1699 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1700 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1701 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1702 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1703 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1704 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1705 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1706 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1707 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1708 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1709 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1710 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1711 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1712 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1713 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1714 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1718 @node Group Buffer Format
1719 @section Group Buffer Format
1722 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1723 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1724 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1728 @node Group Line Specification
1729 @subsection Group Line Specification
1730 @cindex group buffer format
1732 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1733 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1735 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1738 25: news.announce.newusers
1739 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1744 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1745 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1746 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1747 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1749 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1750 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1751 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1752 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1753 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1754 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1756 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1758 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1759 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1760 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1761 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1762 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1764 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1765 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1766 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1768 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1773 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1776 Whether the group is subscribed.
1779 Level of subscribedness.
1782 Number of unread articles.
1785 Number of dormant articles.
1788 Number of ticked articles.
1791 Number of read articles.
1794 Number of unseen articles.
1797 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1798 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1800 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1801 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1802 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1803 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1804 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1805 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1806 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1807 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1810 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1813 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1822 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1823 comment element in the group parameters.
1826 Newsgroup description.
1829 @samp{m} if moderated.
1832 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1838 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1844 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1848 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1851 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1852 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1853 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1854 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1855 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1858 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1860 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1864 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1867 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1871 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1872 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1873 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1874 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1875 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1876 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1881 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1882 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1883 group, or a bogus native group.
1886 @node Group Modeline Specification
1887 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1888 @cindex group modeline
1890 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1891 The mode line can be changed by setting
1892 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1893 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1897 The native news server.
1899 The native select method.
1903 @node Group Highlighting
1904 @subsection Group Highlighting
1905 @cindex highlighting
1906 @cindex group highlighting
1908 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1909 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1910 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1911 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1912 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1914 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1918 (cond (window-system
1919 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1920 (defface my-group-face-1
1921 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1922 (defface my-group-face-2
1923 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1924 (defface my-group-face-3
1925 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1926 (defface my-group-face-4
1927 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1928 (defface my-group-face-5
1929 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1931 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1932 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1933 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1934 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1935 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1936 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1939 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1941 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1948 The number of unread articles in the group.
1952 Whether the group is a mail group.
1954 The level of the group.
1956 The score of the group.
1958 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1960 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1961 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1963 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1964 topic being inserted.
1967 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1968 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1969 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1971 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1972 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1973 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1974 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1975 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1978 @node Group Maneuvering
1979 @section Group Maneuvering
1980 @cindex group movement
1982 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1983 expected, hopefully.
1989 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1990 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1991 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1997 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1998 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1999 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2003 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2004 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2008 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2009 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2013 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2014 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2015 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2019 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2020 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2021 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2024 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2030 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2031 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2032 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2037 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2038 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2039 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2043 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2044 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2045 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2048 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2049 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2050 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2051 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2055 @node Selecting a Group
2056 @section Selecting a Group
2057 @cindex group selection
2062 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2063 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2064 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2065 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2066 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2067 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2068 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2069 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2070 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2071 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2073 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2074 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2075 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2077 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2078 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2083 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2084 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2085 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2086 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2087 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2091 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2092 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2093 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2094 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2095 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2096 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2097 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2098 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2099 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2100 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2103 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2104 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2105 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2106 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2107 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2110 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2111 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2112 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2113 doing any processing of its contents
2114 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2115 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2116 manner will have no permanent effects.
2120 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2121 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2122 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2123 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2124 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2125 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2126 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2127 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2130 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2131 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2132 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2133 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2134 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2135 Which article this is is controlled by the
2136 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2142 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2145 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2148 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2150 @item unseen-or-unread
2151 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2152 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2156 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2160 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2161 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2163 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2164 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2165 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2166 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2170 @node Subscription Commands
2171 @section Subscription Commands
2172 @cindex subscription
2180 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2181 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2182 Toggle subscription to the current group
2183 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2189 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2190 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2191 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2192 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2198 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2199 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2200 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2206 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2207 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2210 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2211 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2212 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2213 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2214 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2220 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2221 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2225 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2226 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2229 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2230 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2231 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2232 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2233 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2234 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2235 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2236 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2237 @file{.newsrc} file.
2241 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2251 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2252 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2253 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2254 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2255 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2256 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2261 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2262 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2263 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2267 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2268 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2269 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2271 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2272 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2273 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2274 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2275 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2276 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2283 @section Group Levels
2287 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2288 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2289 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2290 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2291 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2293 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2299 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2300 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2301 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2302 prompted for a level.
2305 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2306 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2307 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2308 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2309 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2310 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2311 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2312 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2313 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2314 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2315 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2316 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2317 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2318 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2319 reasons of efficiency.
2321 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2322 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2324 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2325 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2326 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2327 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2328 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2329 groups are hidden, in a way.
2331 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2332 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2333 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2334 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2335 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2336 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2338 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2339 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2340 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2341 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2342 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2343 list of killed groups.)
2345 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2346 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2347 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2349 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2350 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2351 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2352 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2353 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2354 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2355 relevant valid ranges.
2357 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2358 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2359 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2360 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2361 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2362 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2365 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2366 one with the best level.
2368 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2369 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2370 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2373 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2374 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2375 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2376 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2379 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2380 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2381 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2382 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2384 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2385 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2386 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2387 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2388 to 5. The default is 6.
2392 @section Group Score
2397 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2398 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2399 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2402 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2403 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2404 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2405 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2406 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2407 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2408 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2409 least significant part.))
2411 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2412 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2413 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2414 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2415 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2416 action after each summary exit, you can add
2417 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2418 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2419 slow things down somewhat.
2422 @node Marking Groups
2423 @section Marking Groups
2424 @cindex marking groups
2426 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2427 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2428 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2429 bidding on those groups.
2431 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2432 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2433 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2441 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2442 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2448 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2449 Remove the mark from the current group
2450 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2454 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2455 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2460 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2464 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2465 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2469 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2470 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2471 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2474 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2476 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2477 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2478 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2479 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2480 the command to be executed.
2483 @node Foreign Groups
2484 @section Foreign Groups
2485 @cindex foreign groups
2487 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2488 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2489 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2490 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2497 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2498 @cindex making groups
2499 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2500 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2501 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2505 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2506 @cindex renaming groups
2507 Rename the current group to something else
2508 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2509 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2515 @findex gnus-group-customize
2516 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2520 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2521 @cindex renaming groups
2522 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2523 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2527 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2528 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2529 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2533 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2534 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2535 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2539 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2541 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2542 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2547 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2548 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2552 @cindex (ding) archive
2553 @cindex archive group
2554 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2555 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2556 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2557 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2558 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2559 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2560 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2564 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2566 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2567 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2568 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2569 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2573 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2575 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2576 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2577 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2581 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2582 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2584 Make a group based on some file or other
2585 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2586 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2587 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2588 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2589 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2590 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2591 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2592 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2593 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2597 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2598 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2599 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2600 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2604 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2608 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2609 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2610 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2611 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2612 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2613 @xref{Web Searches}.
2615 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2616 to a particular group by using a match string like
2617 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2620 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2621 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2622 This function will delete the current group
2623 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2624 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2625 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2626 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2627 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2631 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2632 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2633 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2637 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2638 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2639 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2642 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2645 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2646 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2647 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2648 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2649 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2650 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2654 @node Group Parameters
2655 @section Group Parameters
2656 @cindex group parameters
2658 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2659 Here's an example group parameter list:
2662 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2666 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2667 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2668 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2669 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2671 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2672 is an alist of regexps and values.
2674 The following group parameters can be used:
2679 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2682 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2685 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2686 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2687 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2688 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2689 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2691 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2692 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2693 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2694 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2695 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2696 list address instead.
2698 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2702 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2705 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2708 It is totally ignored
2709 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2710 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2712 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2713 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2714 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2715 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2716 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2718 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2719 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2720 sending the message.
2722 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2723 @cindex Mail List Groups
2724 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2725 entering summary buffer.
2727 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2732 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2733 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2734 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2735 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2736 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{Mailing
2737 Lists, , Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual} for a complete
2738 treatment of available MFT support.
2740 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2741 directly uses this group parameter.
2745 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2746 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2747 of whether it has any unread articles.
2749 @item broken-reply-to
2750 @cindex broken-reply-to
2751 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2752 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2753 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2754 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2755 broken behavior. So there!
2759 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2760 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2764 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2765 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2766 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2771 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2772 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2773 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2774 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2775 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2776 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2777 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2778 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2779 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2783 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2784 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2785 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2787 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2790 @cindex total-expire
2791 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2792 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2793 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2794 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2797 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2801 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2802 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2803 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2804 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2805 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2806 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2807 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2810 @cindex score file group parameter
2811 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2812 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2813 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2816 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2817 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2818 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2819 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2822 @cindex admin-address
2823 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2824 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2825 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2826 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2830 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2831 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2835 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2838 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2839 entering the group with C-u @var{integer}.
2842 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2846 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2848 Here are some examples:
2852 Display only unread articles.
2855 Display everything except expirable articles.
2857 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2858 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2862 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2863 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2864 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2865 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2866 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2870 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2871 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2872 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2876 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2877 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2878 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2882 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2883 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2884 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2886 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2888 @item ignored-charsets
2889 @cindex ignored-charset
2890 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2891 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2892 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2894 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2897 @cindex posting-style
2898 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2899 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2900 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2901 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2902 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2904 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2905 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2906 like this in the group parameters:
2911 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2912 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2917 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2918 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2922 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2923 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2924 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2925 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2926 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2930 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2931 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2932 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2933 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2935 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2936 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2937 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2938 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2941 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2942 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2946 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2949 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2950 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2951 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2952 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2953 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2954 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2955 @code{eval}ed there.
2957 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2958 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2959 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2960 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2961 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2962 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2963 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2964 parameters for the group.
2967 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2968 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2969 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2970 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2971 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2975 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2976 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2977 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2978 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2979 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2981 @vindex gnus-parameters
2982 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2983 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2987 (setq gnus-parameters
2989 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2990 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2991 (gnus-summary-line-format
2992 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2996 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3000 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3004 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3007 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3008 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3011 @node Listing Groups
3012 @section Listing Groups
3013 @cindex group listing
3015 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3023 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3024 List all groups that have unread articles
3025 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3026 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3027 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3028 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3035 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3036 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3037 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3038 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3039 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3040 unsubscribed groups).
3044 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3045 List all unread groups on a specific level
3046 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3047 with no unread articles.
3051 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3052 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3053 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3054 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3059 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3060 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3064 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3065 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3066 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3070 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3071 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3075 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3076 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3077 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3078 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3079 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3080 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3081 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3082 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3086 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3087 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3088 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3092 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3093 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3094 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3098 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3099 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3103 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3104 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3108 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3109 List groups limited within the current selection
3110 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3114 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3115 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3119 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3120 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3124 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3125 @cindex visible group parameter
3126 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3127 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3128 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3129 get the same effect.
3131 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3132 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3133 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3134 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3135 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3138 @node Sorting Groups
3139 @section Sorting Groups
3140 @cindex sorting groups
3142 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3143 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3144 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3145 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3146 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3147 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3152 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3153 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3154 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3156 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3157 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3158 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3160 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3161 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3162 Sort by group level.
3164 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3166 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3168 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3169 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3170 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3171 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3173 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3174 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3175 Sort by number of unread articles.
3177 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3178 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3179 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3181 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3182 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3183 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3188 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3189 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3193 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3194 some sorting criteria:
3198 @kindex G S a (Group)
3199 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3200 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3201 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3204 @kindex G S u (Group)
3205 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3206 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3207 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3210 @kindex G S l (Group)
3211 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3212 Sort the group buffer by group level
3213 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3216 @kindex G S v (Group)
3217 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3218 Sort the group buffer by group score
3219 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3222 @kindex G S r (Group)
3223 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3224 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3225 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3228 @kindex G S m (Group)
3229 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3230 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3231 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3234 @kindex G S n (Group)
3235 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3236 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3237 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3241 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3242 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3244 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3245 commands will sort in reverse order.
3247 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3251 @kindex G P a (Group)
3252 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3253 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3254 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3257 @kindex G P u (Group)
3258 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3259 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3260 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3263 @kindex G P l (Group)
3264 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3265 Sort the groups by group level
3266 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3269 @kindex G P v (Group)
3270 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3271 Sort the groups by group score
3272 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3275 @kindex G P r (Group)
3276 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3277 Sort the groups by group rank
3278 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3281 @kindex G P m (Group)
3282 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3283 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3284 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3287 @kindex G P n (Group)
3288 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3289 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3290 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3293 @kindex G P s (Group)
3294 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3295 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3299 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3303 @node Group Maintenance
3304 @section Group Maintenance
3305 @cindex bogus groups
3310 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3311 Find bogus groups and delete them
3312 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3316 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3317 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3318 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3319 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3320 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3324 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3325 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3326 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3327 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3328 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3329 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3332 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3333 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3334 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3335 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3340 @node Browse Foreign Server
3341 @section Browse Foreign Server
3342 @cindex foreign servers
3343 @cindex browsing servers
3348 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3349 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3350 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3351 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3354 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3355 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3356 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3357 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3359 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3364 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3365 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3369 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3370 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3373 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3374 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3375 Enter the current group and display the first article
3376 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3379 @kindex RET (Browse)
3380 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3381 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3385 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3386 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3387 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3393 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3394 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3398 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3399 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3403 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3404 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3405 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3410 @section Exiting gnus
3411 @cindex exiting gnus
3413 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3418 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3419 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3420 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3421 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3425 @findex gnus-group-exit
3426 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3427 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3431 @findex gnus-group-quit
3432 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3433 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3436 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3437 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3438 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3439 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3440 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3441 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3447 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3448 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3449 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3455 @section Group Topics
3458 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3459 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3460 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3461 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3462 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3463 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3467 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3468 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3479 2: alt.religion.emacs
3482 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3484 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3485 13: comp.sources.unix
3488 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3490 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3491 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3492 is a toggling command.)
3494 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3495 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3496 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3497 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3500 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3501 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3502 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3505 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3509 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3510 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3511 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3512 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3513 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3517 @node Topic Commands
3518 @subsection Topic Commands
3519 @cindex topic commands
3521 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3522 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3523 definitions slightly.
3525 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3526 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3527 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3528 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3529 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3530 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3532 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3539 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3540 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3541 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3545 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3547 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3548 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3549 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3550 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3553 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3554 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3555 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3556 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3560 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3561 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3562 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3563 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3569 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3570 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3571 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3575 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3576 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3577 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3580 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3581 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3582 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3583 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3584 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3586 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3587 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3591 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3592 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3599 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3601 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3602 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3603 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3604 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3605 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3606 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3610 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3616 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3617 Move the current group to some other topic
3618 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3619 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3623 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3624 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3628 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3629 Copy the current group to some other topic
3630 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3631 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3635 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3636 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3637 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3641 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3642 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3643 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3647 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3648 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3649 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3650 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3651 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3652 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3653 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3656 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3657 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3661 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3662 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3663 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3667 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3668 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3669 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3673 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3674 Toggle hiding empty topics
3675 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3679 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3680 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3681 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3682 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3685 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3686 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3687 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3688 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3689 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3692 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3693 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3694 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3695 expiry process (if any)
3696 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3700 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3701 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3704 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3705 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3706 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3710 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3711 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3712 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3715 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3716 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3717 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3720 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3721 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3722 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3726 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3727 @cindex group parameters
3728 @cindex topic parameters
3730 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3731 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3736 @node Topic Variables
3737 @subsection Topic Variables
3738 @cindex topic variables
3740 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3741 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3743 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3744 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3745 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3758 Number of groups in the topic.
3760 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3762 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3765 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3766 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3767 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3770 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3771 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3773 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3774 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3775 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3779 @subsection Topic Sorting
3780 @cindex topic sorting
3782 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3788 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3789 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3790 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3791 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3794 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3795 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3796 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3797 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3800 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3801 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3802 Sort the current topic by group level
3803 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3806 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3807 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3808 Sort the current topic by group score
3809 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3812 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3813 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3814 Sort the current topic by group rank
3815 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3818 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3819 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3820 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3821 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3824 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3825 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3826 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3827 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3831 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3832 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3833 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3834 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3838 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3839 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3843 @node Topic Topology
3844 @subsection Topic Topology
3845 @cindex topic topology
3848 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3854 2: alt.religion.emacs
3857 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3859 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3860 13: comp.sources.unix
3863 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3864 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3865 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3870 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3871 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3875 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3876 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3877 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3878 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3879 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3880 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3882 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3883 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3884 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3887 @node Topic Parameters
3888 @subsection Topic Parameters
3889 @cindex topic parameters
3891 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3892 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3893 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3895 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3900 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3901 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3902 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3905 @item subscribe-level
3906 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3907 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3908 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3912 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3913 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3914 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3915 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3921 2: alt.religion.emacs
3925 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3927 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3928 13: comp.sources.unix
3932 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3933 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3934 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3935 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3936 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3937 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3939 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3940 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3941 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3942 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3943 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3945 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3946 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3947 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3948 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3949 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3950 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3951 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3952 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3955 @node Misc Group Stuff
3956 @section Misc Group Stuff
3959 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3960 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3961 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3962 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3963 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3970 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3971 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3972 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3976 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3977 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3978 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3979 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3980 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3981 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3982 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3986 @findex gnus-group-mail
3987 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3988 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3989 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3990 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3994 @findex gnus-group-news
3995 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3996 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3997 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3999 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4000 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4001 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4002 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4003 for this to work though.
4007 Variables for the group buffer:
4011 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4012 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4013 is called after the group buffer has been
4016 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4017 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4018 is called after the group buffer is
4019 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4022 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4023 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4024 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4025 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4027 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4028 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4029 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4030 whether they are empty or not.
4032 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4033 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4034 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4035 non-ASCII group names.
4039 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4040 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4043 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4044 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4045 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4046 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4047 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4048 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4053 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4054 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4059 @node Scanning New Messages
4060 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4061 @cindex new messages
4062 @cindex scanning new news
4068 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4069 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4070 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4071 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4072 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4073 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4078 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4079 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4080 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4081 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4082 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4083 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4084 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4086 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4087 @cindex activating groups
4089 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4090 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4095 @findex gnus-group-restart
4096 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4097 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4098 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4102 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4103 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4105 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4106 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4110 @node Group Information
4111 @subsection Group Information
4112 @cindex group information
4113 @cindex information on groups
4120 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4121 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4124 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4125 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4126 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4127 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4128 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4129 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4130 for fetching the file.
4132 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4133 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4137 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4138 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4140 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4141 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4144 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4145 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4146 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4150 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4151 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4152 @cindex control message
4153 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4154 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4155 group if given a prefix argument.
4157 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4158 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4159 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4160 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4162 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4163 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4164 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4168 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4170 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4171 @cindex describing groups
4172 @cindex group description
4173 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4174 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4175 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4179 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4180 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4181 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4188 @findex gnus-version
4189 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4193 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4194 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4197 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4200 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4201 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4205 @node Group Timestamp
4206 @subsection Group Timestamp
4208 @cindex group timestamps
4210 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4211 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4212 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4215 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4218 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4220 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4221 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4224 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4225 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4228 This will result in lines looking like:
4231 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4232 0: custom 19961002T012713
4235 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4236 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4240 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4241 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4244 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4245 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4249 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4250 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4251 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4252 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4254 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4260 @subsection File Commands
4261 @cindex file commands
4267 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4268 @vindex gnus-init-file
4269 @cindex reading init file
4270 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4271 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4275 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4276 @cindex saving .newsrc
4277 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4278 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4279 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4282 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4283 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4284 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4289 @node Sieve Commands
4290 @subsection Sieve Commands
4291 @cindex group sieve commands
4293 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4294 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4295 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4296 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4297 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4299 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4300 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4301 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4302 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4303 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4304 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4305 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4306 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4307 regenerate the Sieve script.
4309 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4310 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4311 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4312 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4313 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4314 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4315 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4316 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4317 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4318 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4321 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4322 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4327 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4333 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4334 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4335 @cindex generating sieve script
4336 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4337 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4341 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4342 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4343 @cindex updating sieve script
4344 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4345 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4346 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4351 @node Summary Buffer
4352 @chapter Summary Buffer
4353 @cindex summary buffer
4355 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4356 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4358 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4359 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4361 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4364 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4365 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4366 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4367 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4368 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4369 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4370 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4371 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4372 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4373 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4374 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4375 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4376 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4377 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4378 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4379 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4380 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4381 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4382 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4383 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4384 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4385 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4386 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4387 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4388 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4389 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4390 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4391 or reselecting the current group.
4392 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4393 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4394 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4395 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4399 @node Summary Buffer Format
4400 @section Summary Buffer Format
4401 @cindex summary buffer format
4405 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4406 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4407 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4413 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4414 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4415 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4416 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4419 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4420 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4421 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4422 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4423 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4424 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4425 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4426 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4427 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4428 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4429 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4430 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4431 other function instead:
4434 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4435 'mail-extract-address-components)
4438 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4439 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4440 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4441 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4444 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4445 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4447 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4448 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4449 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4450 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4451 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4453 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4454 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4455 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4456 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4457 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4458 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4460 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4462 The following format specification characters and extended format
4463 specification(s) are understood:
4469 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4470 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4472 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4473 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4474 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4476 Full @code{From} header.
4478 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4480 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4483 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4484 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4485 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4486 may be more thorough.
4488 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4491 Number of lines in the article.
4493 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4494 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4496 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4497 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4499 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4501 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4502 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4515 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4516 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4517 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4520 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4521 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4522 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4523 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4525 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4526 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4527 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4528 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4530 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4531 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4532 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4534 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4535 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4536 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4538 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4539 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4540 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4542 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4543 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4544 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4549 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4550 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4552 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4553 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4555 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4556 for adopted articles.
4558 One space for each thread level.
4560 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4562 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4565 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4566 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4567 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4570 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4572 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4573 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4574 default level. If the difference between
4575 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4576 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4584 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4586 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4592 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4593 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4595 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4596 article has any children.
4602 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4603 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4605 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4606 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4607 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4608 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4609 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4610 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4613 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4614 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4615 There can only be one such area.
4617 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4618 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4619 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4620 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4621 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4622 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4624 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4625 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4627 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4630 @node To From Newsgroups
4631 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4635 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4636 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4637 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4638 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4639 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4643 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4644 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4645 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4649 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4650 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4653 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4654 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4657 @findex gnus-extra-header
4658 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4659 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4660 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4663 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4667 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4668 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4669 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4670 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4671 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4672 headers are used instead.
4676 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4677 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4678 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files.
4679 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4680 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4681 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4684 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4685 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4686 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4687 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4689 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4693 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4695 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4696 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4697 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4698 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4702 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4705 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4706 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4709 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4710 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4711 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4717 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4718 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4721 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4722 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4724 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4725 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4726 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4727 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4729 Here are the elements you can play with:
4735 Unprefixed group name.
4737 Current article number.
4739 Current article score.
4743 Number of unread articles in this group.
4745 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4748 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4749 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4750 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4751 and no unselected ones.
4753 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4754 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4756 Subject of the current article.
4758 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4760 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4762 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4764 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4766 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4768 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4772 @node Summary Highlighting
4773 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4777 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4778 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4779 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4780 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4781 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4783 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4784 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4785 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4786 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4788 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4789 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4790 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4791 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4793 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4794 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4795 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4796 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4797 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4798 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4801 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4802 ((> score default) . bold))
4804 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4805 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4809 @node Summary Maneuvering
4810 @section Summary Maneuvering
4811 @cindex summary movement
4813 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4814 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4816 None of these commands select articles.
4821 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4822 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4823 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4824 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4825 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4829 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4830 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4831 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4832 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4833 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4836 @kindex G g (Summary)
4837 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4838 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4839 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4842 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4843 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4844 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4845 to the group buffer.
4847 Variables related to summary movement:
4851 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4852 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4853 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4854 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4855 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4856 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4857 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4858 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4859 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4860 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4861 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4862 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4863 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4864 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4866 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4867 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4868 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4869 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4870 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4871 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4872 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4874 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4876 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4877 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4878 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4879 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4880 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4882 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4883 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4884 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4885 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4886 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4887 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4888 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4889 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4892 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4893 the given number of lines from the top.
4898 @node Choosing Articles
4899 @section Choosing Articles
4900 @cindex selecting articles
4903 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4904 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4908 @node Choosing Commands
4909 @subsection Choosing Commands
4911 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4912 and they all select and display an article.
4914 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4915 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4919 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4920 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4921 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4922 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4924 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4925 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4926 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @pxref{Paging the Article}.
4931 @kindex G n (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4933 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4934 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4939 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4940 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4941 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4946 @kindex G N (Summary)
4947 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4948 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4953 @kindex G P (Summary)
4954 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4955 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4958 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4959 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4960 Go to the next article with the same subject
4961 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4964 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4965 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4966 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4967 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4971 @kindex G f (Summary)
4973 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4974 Go to the first unread article
4975 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4979 @kindex G b (Summary)
4981 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4982 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4983 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4984 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4989 @kindex G l (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4991 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4994 @kindex G o (Summary)
4995 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4997 @cindex article history
4998 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4999 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5000 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5001 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5002 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5003 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5008 @kindex G j (Summary)
5009 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5010 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5011 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5016 @node Choosing Variables
5017 @subsection Choosing Variables
5019 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5022 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5023 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5024 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5025 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5026 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5027 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5029 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5030 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5031 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5032 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5033 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5034 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5036 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5037 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5038 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5039 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5040 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5041 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5042 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5043 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5044 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5045 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5046 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5047 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5048 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5049 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5054 @node Paging the Article
5055 @section Scrolling the Article
5056 @cindex article scrolling
5061 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5062 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5063 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5064 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5065 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5067 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5068 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5069 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5070 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5071 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5072 what is considered uninteresting with
5073 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5074 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5077 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5079 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5082 @kindex RET (Summary)
5083 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5084 Scroll the current article one line forward
5085 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5088 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5089 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5090 Scroll the current article one line backward
5091 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5095 @kindex A g (Summary)
5097 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5098 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5099 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5100 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5101 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5102 the way it came from the server.
5104 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5105 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5106 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5109 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5114 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5119 @kindex A < (Summary)
5120 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5121 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5122 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5127 @kindex A > (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5129 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5133 @kindex A s (Summary)
5135 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5136 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5137 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5141 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5142 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5147 @node Reply Followup and Post
5148 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5151 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5152 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5153 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5154 * Canceling and Superseding::
5158 @node Summary Mail Commands
5159 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5161 @cindex composing mail
5163 Commands for composing a mail message:
5169 @kindex S r (Summary)
5171 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5172 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5173 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5174 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5175 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5180 @kindex S R (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5182 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5183 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5184 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5185 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5188 @kindex S w (Summary)
5189 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5190 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5191 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5192 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5193 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5196 @kindex S W (Summary)
5197 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5198 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5199 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5200 the process/prefix convention.
5203 @kindex S v (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5205 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5206 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5207 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5208 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5209 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5212 @kindex S V (Summary)
5213 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5214 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5215 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5216 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5219 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5220 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5221 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5222 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5225 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5226 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5227 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5228 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5229 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5233 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5234 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5235 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5236 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5237 Forward the current article to some other person
5238 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5239 headers of the forwarded article.
5244 @kindex S m (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5246 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5247 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5248 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5249 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5254 @kindex S i (Summary)
5255 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5256 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5257 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5258 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5260 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5261 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5262 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5263 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5264 for this to work though.
5267 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5268 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5269 @cindex bouncing mail
5270 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5271 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5272 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5273 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5274 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5275 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5276 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5277 very well fail, though.
5280 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5282 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5283 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5284 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5285 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5286 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5287 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5288 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5289 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5291 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5292 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5293 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5294 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5295 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5297 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5298 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5301 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5303 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5304 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5305 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5308 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5309 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5310 @cindex crossposting
5311 @cindex excessive crossposting
5312 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5313 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5315 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5316 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5317 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5318 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5319 command understands the process/prefix convention
5320 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5324 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5325 Manual}, for more information.
5328 @node Summary Post Commands
5329 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5331 @cindex composing news
5333 Commands for posting a news article:
5339 @kindex S p (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5341 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5342 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5343 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5344 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5349 @kindex S f (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5351 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5352 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5356 @kindex S F (Summary)
5358 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5359 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5360 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5361 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5362 process/prefix convention.
5365 @kindex S n (Summary)
5366 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5367 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5368 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5371 @kindex S N (Summary)
5372 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5373 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5374 message through mail and include the original message
5375 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5376 the process/prefix convention.
5379 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5381 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5382 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5383 headers of the forwarded article.
5386 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5387 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5389 @cindex making digests
5390 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5391 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5392 process/prefix convention.
5395 @kindex S u (Summary)
5396 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5397 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5398 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5399 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5402 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5403 Manual}, for more information.
5406 @node Summary Message Commands
5407 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5411 @kindex S y (Summary)
5412 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5413 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5414 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5415 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5416 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5421 @node Canceling and Superseding
5422 @subsection Canceling Articles
5423 @cindex canceling articles
5424 @cindex superseding articles
5426 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5427 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5429 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5431 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5433 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5434 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5435 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5436 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5437 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5438 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5440 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5441 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5444 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5445 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5446 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5448 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5449 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5450 your original article.
5452 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5454 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5455 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5456 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5459 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5460 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5461 have posted almost the same article twice.
5463 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5464 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5465 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5466 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5467 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5468 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5469 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5470 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5471 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5472 canceled/superseded.
5474 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5476 @node Delayed Articles
5477 @section Delayed Articles
5478 @cindex delayed sending
5479 @cindex send delayed
5481 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5482 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5483 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5484 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5487 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5490 @findex gnus-delay-article
5491 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5492 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5493 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5494 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5498 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5499 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5500 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5501 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5504 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5505 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5506 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5509 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5510 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5511 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5512 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5513 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5514 that means a time tomorrow.
5517 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5518 couple of variables:
5521 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5522 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5523 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5524 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5526 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5527 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5528 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5529 formats described above.
5531 @item gnus-delay-group
5532 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5533 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5534 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5535 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5537 @item gnus-delay-header
5538 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5539 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5540 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5541 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5544 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5545 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5546 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5547 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5548 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5550 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5551 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5552 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5553 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5554 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5555 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5556 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5559 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5560 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5562 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5563 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5564 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5565 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5566 argument is ignored.
5568 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5569 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5570 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5574 @node Marking Articles
5575 @section Marking Articles
5576 @cindex article marking
5577 @cindex article ticking
5580 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5582 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5583 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5584 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5586 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5589 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5590 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5591 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5595 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5599 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5600 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5601 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5605 @node Unread Articles
5606 @subsection Unread Articles
5608 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5613 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5614 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5616 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5617 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5618 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5619 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5620 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5621 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5622 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5625 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5626 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5628 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5629 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5630 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5631 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5635 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5636 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5638 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5643 @subsection Read Articles
5644 @cindex expirable mark
5646 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5651 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5652 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5653 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5656 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5657 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5660 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5661 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5662 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5665 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5666 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5669 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5670 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5673 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5674 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5677 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5678 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5681 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5682 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5685 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5686 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5689 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5690 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5694 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5695 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5696 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5700 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5701 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5703 One more special mark, though:
5707 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5708 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5710 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5711 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5712 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5713 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5719 @subsection Other Marks
5720 @cindex process mark
5723 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5729 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5730 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5731 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5732 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5733 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5736 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5737 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5738 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5739 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5742 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5743 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5744 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5747 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5748 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5749 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5752 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5753 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5754 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5755 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5758 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5759 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5760 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5761 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5762 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5763 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5766 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5767 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5768 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5769 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5772 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5773 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5774 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5775 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5776 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5780 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5781 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5782 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5783 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5784 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5785 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5788 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5789 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5790 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5791 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5792 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5793 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5797 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5798 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5799 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5800 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5801 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5804 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5805 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5806 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5807 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5808 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5809 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5813 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5814 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5815 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5817 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5818 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5819 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5823 @subsection Setting Marks
5824 @cindex setting marks
5826 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5831 @kindex M c (Summary)
5832 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5834 @cindex mark as unread
5835 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5836 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5842 @kindex M t (Summary)
5843 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5844 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5845 @xref{Article Caching}.
5850 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5851 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5852 Mark the current article as dormant
5853 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5857 @kindex M d (Summary)
5859 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5860 Mark the current article as read
5861 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5865 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5866 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5867 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5872 @kindex M k (Summary)
5873 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5874 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5875 and then select the next unread article
5876 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5880 @kindex M K (Summary)
5881 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5882 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5883 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5884 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5887 @kindex M C (Summary)
5888 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5889 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5890 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5893 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5894 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5895 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5896 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5899 @kindex M H (Summary)
5900 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5901 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5902 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5905 @kindex M h (Summary)
5906 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5907 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5908 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5911 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5912 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5913 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5914 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5917 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5918 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5919 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5920 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5924 @kindex M e (Summary)
5926 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5927 Mark the current article as expirable
5928 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5931 @kindex M b (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5933 Set a bookmark in the current article
5934 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5937 @kindex M B (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5939 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5940 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5943 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5944 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5945 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5946 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5949 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5951 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5952 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5955 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5956 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5957 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5958 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5959 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5962 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5963 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5964 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5965 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5966 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5967 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5968 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5969 The default is @code{t}.
5972 @node Generic Marking Commands
5973 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5975 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5976 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5977 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5978 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5979 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5982 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5983 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5986 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5987 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5988 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5989 to list in this manual.
5991 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5992 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5993 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5994 article, you could say something like:
5997 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5998 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5999 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6005 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6006 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6010 @node Setting Process Marks
6011 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6012 @cindex setting process marks
6014 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6015 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6016 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6017 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6018 commands into the cache. For more information,
6019 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6026 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6028 Mark the current article with the process mark
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6030 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6034 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6035 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6036 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6037 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6040 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6042 Remove the process mark from all articles
6043 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6046 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6048 Invert the list of process marked articles
6049 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6052 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6053 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6054 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6055 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6058 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6060 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6061 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6064 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6066 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6070 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6071 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6074 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6075 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6076 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6077 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6080 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6081 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6082 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6083 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6086 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6087 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6088 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6089 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6092 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6093 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6094 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6097 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6098 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6099 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6100 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6103 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6104 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6105 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6108 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6109 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6110 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6111 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6114 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6115 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6116 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6117 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6120 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6121 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6122 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6123 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6126 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6127 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6128 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6129 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6133 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6134 set process marks based on article body contents.
6141 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6142 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6143 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6146 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6147 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6148 additional articles.
6154 @kindex / / (Summary)
6155 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6156 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6157 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6161 @kindex / a (Summary)
6162 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6163 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6164 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6168 @kindex / x (Summary)
6169 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6170 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6171 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6177 @kindex / u (Summary)
6179 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6180 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6181 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6182 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6183 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6186 @kindex / m (Summary)
6187 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6188 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6189 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6192 @kindex / t (Summary)
6193 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6194 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6195 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6196 articles younger than that number of days.
6199 @kindex / n (Summary)
6200 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6201 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6202 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6203 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6206 @kindex / w (Summary)
6207 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6208 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6209 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6213 @kindex / . (Summary)
6214 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6215 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6216 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6219 @kindex / v (Summary)
6220 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6221 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6222 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6225 @kindex / p (Summary)
6226 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6227 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6228 group parameter predicate
6229 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6230 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6234 @kindex M S (Summary)
6235 @kindex / E (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6237 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6238 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6241 @kindex / D (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6243 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6244 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6247 @kindex / * (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6249 Include all cached articles in the limit
6250 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6253 @kindex / d (Summary)
6254 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6255 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6256 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6259 @kindex / M (Summary)
6260 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6261 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6264 @kindex / T (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6266 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6269 @kindex / c (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6271 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6272 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6275 @kindex / C (Summary)
6276 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6277 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6278 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6279 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6282 @kindex / N (Summary)
6283 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6284 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6285 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6288 @kindex / o (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6290 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6291 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6299 @cindex article threading
6301 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6302 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6303 hierarchical fashion.
6305 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6306 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6307 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6308 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6309 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6310 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6311 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6313 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6317 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6320 A tree-like article structure.
6323 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6326 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6327 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6328 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6329 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6330 called loose threads.
6332 @item thread gathering
6333 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6335 @item sparse threads
6336 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6337 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6343 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6344 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6348 @node Customizing Threading
6349 @subsection Customizing Threading
6350 @cindex customizing threading
6353 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6354 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6355 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6356 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6361 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6364 @cindex loose threads
6367 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6368 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6369 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6370 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6371 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6372 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6374 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6375 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6376 There are four possible values:
6380 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6381 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6382 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6383 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6384 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6389 @cindex adopting articles
6394 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6395 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6396 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6397 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6400 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6401 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6402 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6403 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6404 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6405 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6406 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6407 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6408 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6409 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6412 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6413 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6414 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6418 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6419 display them after one another.
6422 Don't gather loose threads.
6425 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6426 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6427 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6428 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6429 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6430 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6431 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6432 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6433 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6434 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6435 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6437 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6438 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6439 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6442 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6443 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6444 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6445 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6446 simplification is used.
6448 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6449 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6450 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6451 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6453 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6455 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6461 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6462 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6463 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6464 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6469 (mapconcat 'identity
6470 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6472 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6475 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6478 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6479 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6480 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6481 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6482 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6483 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6485 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6488 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6489 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6490 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6492 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6493 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6496 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6497 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6498 Remove excessive whitespace.
6500 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6501 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6502 Remove all whitespace.
6505 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6508 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6509 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6510 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6511 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6512 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6513 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6514 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6515 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6517 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6518 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6519 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6520 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6521 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6522 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6523 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6524 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6525 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6529 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6530 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6531 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6532 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6534 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6535 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6536 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6539 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6543 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6544 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6550 @node Filling In Threads
6551 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6554 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6555 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6556 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6557 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6558 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6559 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6560 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6561 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6562 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6563 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6564 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6565 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6568 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6569 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6570 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6572 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6573 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6574 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6575 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6576 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6577 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6578 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6579 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6580 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6581 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6582 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6583 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6584 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6585 @code{nil} by default.
6587 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6588 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6589 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6590 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6591 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6592 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6593 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6595 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6596 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6597 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6602 @node More Threading
6603 @subsubsection More Threading
6606 @item gnus-show-threads
6607 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6608 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6609 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6610 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6611 slower and more awkward.
6613 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6614 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6615 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6618 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6619 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6620 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6625 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6626 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6627 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6630 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6631 unread, but you get my drift.)
6634 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6635 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6636 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6637 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6638 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6639 threads are expunged.
6641 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6642 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6643 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6646 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6647 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6648 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6649 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6650 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6651 result in a new thread.
6653 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6654 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6655 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6658 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6659 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6660 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6661 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6662 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6663 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6664 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6665 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6666 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6667 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6668 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6673 @node Low-Level Threading
6674 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6678 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6679 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6680 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6681 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6682 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6683 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6685 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6686 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6687 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6688 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6689 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6690 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6691 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6692 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6693 meaningful. Here's one example:
6696 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6698 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6699 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6701 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6703 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6710 @node Thread Commands
6711 @subsection Thread Commands
6712 @cindex thread commands
6718 @kindex T k (Summary)
6719 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6720 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6721 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6722 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6723 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6728 @kindex T l (Summary)
6729 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6730 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6731 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6732 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6735 @kindex T i (Summary)
6736 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6737 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6738 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6741 @kindex T # (Summary)
6742 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6743 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6744 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6747 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6748 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6749 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6750 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6753 @kindex T T (Summary)
6754 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6755 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6758 @kindex T s (Summary)
6759 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6760 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6761 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6764 @kindex T h (Summary)
6765 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6766 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6769 @kindex T S (Summary)
6770 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6771 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6774 @kindex T H (Summary)
6775 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6776 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6779 @kindex T t (Summary)
6780 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6781 Re-thread the current article's thread
6782 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6783 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6786 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6787 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6788 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6789 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6793 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6794 understand the numeric prefix.
6799 @kindex T n (Summary)
6801 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6803 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6804 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6805 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6808 @kindex T p (Summary)
6810 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6812 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6813 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6814 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6817 @kindex T d (Summary)
6818 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6819 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6822 @kindex T u (Summary)
6823 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6824 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6827 @kindex T o (Summary)
6828 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6829 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6832 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6833 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6834 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6835 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6836 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6837 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6838 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6839 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6840 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6841 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6842 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6843 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6847 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6848 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6850 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6851 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6852 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6853 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6854 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6855 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6856 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6857 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6858 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6859 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6860 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6861 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6862 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6864 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6865 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6866 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6867 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6868 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6869 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6870 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6871 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6873 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6874 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6875 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6877 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6878 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6879 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6880 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6881 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6882 ascending article order.
6884 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6885 by number, you could do something like:
6888 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6889 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6890 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6891 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6894 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6895 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6896 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6897 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6898 which the articles arrived.
6900 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6904 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6906 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6907 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6910 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6911 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6912 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6913 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6916 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6917 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6918 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6919 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6920 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6921 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6922 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6923 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6924 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6925 variable. It is very similar to the
6926 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6927 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6928 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6929 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6930 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6931 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6932 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6934 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6938 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6939 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6940 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6945 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6946 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6947 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6948 @cindex article pre-fetch
6951 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6952 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6953 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6954 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6955 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6957 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6958 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6960 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6961 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6962 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6963 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6964 connection is blocked.
6966 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6967 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6968 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6969 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6971 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6972 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6973 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6974 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6977 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
6980 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6981 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6982 happen automatically.
6984 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6985 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6986 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6987 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6988 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6989 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6990 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6992 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6993 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6994 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6995 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
6996 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
6997 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
6998 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
6999 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7000 article data structure as the only parameter.
7002 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7003 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7006 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7007 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7008 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7009 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7012 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7015 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7016 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7017 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7019 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7020 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7021 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7022 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7026 Remove articles when they are read.
7029 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7032 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7034 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7035 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7036 @c from the next group.
7039 @node Article Caching
7040 @section Article Caching
7041 @cindex article caching
7044 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7045 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7046 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7047 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7048 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7050 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7052 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7053 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7054 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7055 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7056 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7057 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7058 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7059 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7061 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7062 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7063 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7064 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7065 as dormant, and don't worry.
7067 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7069 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7070 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7071 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7072 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7073 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7074 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7075 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7076 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7077 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7078 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7080 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7081 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7082 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7083 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7084 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7085 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7086 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7087 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7088 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7089 not then be downloaded by this command.
7091 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7092 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7093 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7094 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7095 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7096 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7098 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7099 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7100 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7101 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7102 variables, the group is not cached.
7104 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7105 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7106 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7107 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7108 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7109 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7110 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7111 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7112 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7115 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7116 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7117 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7118 where, isn't that cool?
7120 @node Persistent Articles
7121 @section Persistent Articles
7122 @cindex persistent articles
7124 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7125 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7126 useful in my opinion.
7128 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7129 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7130 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7131 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7132 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7133 the expiry going on at the news server.
7135 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7136 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7137 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7143 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7144 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7147 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7148 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7149 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7150 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7154 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7156 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7157 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7158 interested in persistent articles:
7161 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7165 @node Article Backlog
7166 @section Article Backlog
7168 @cindex article backlog
7170 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7171 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7172 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7173 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7174 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7175 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7176 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7177 increase memory usage some.
7179 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7180 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7181 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7182 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7183 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7184 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7185 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7187 The default value is 20.
7190 @node Saving Articles
7191 @section Saving Articles
7192 @cindex saving articles
7194 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7195 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7196 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7197 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7198 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7200 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7201 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7202 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7204 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7205 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7206 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7208 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7209 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7210 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7211 deleted before saving.
7217 @kindex O o (Summary)
7219 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7220 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7221 Save the current article using the default article saver
7222 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7225 @kindex O m (Summary)
7226 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7227 Save the current article in mail format
7228 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7231 @kindex O r (Summary)
7232 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7233 Save the current article in rmail format
7234 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7237 @kindex O f (Summary)
7238 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7239 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7240 Save the current article in plain file format
7241 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7244 @kindex O F (Summary)
7245 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7246 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7247 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7250 @kindex O b (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7252 Save the current article body in plain file format
7253 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7256 @kindex O h (Summary)
7257 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7258 Save the current article in mh folder format
7259 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7262 @kindex O v (Summary)
7263 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7264 Save the current article in a VM folder
7265 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7269 @kindex O p (Summary)
7271 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7272 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7273 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7274 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7275 complete headers in the piped output.
7278 @kindex O P (Summary)
7279 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7280 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7281 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7282 external program Muttprint (see
7283 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7284 options to use is controlled by the variable
7285 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7289 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7290 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7291 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7292 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7293 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7294 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7295 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7296 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7297 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7298 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7299 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7300 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7304 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7305 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7306 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7307 functions below, or you can create your own.
7311 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7312 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7313 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7314 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7315 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7316 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7317 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7319 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7320 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7321 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7322 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7323 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7324 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7326 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7327 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7328 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7329 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7330 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7331 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7332 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7334 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7335 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7336 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7337 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7338 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7339 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7341 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7342 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7343 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7344 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7345 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7347 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7348 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7349 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7350 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7351 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7354 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7355 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7356 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7357 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7358 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7360 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7361 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7362 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7363 reader to use this setting.
7366 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7367 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7368 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7369 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7372 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7373 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7374 available functions that generate names:
7378 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7379 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7380 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7382 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7383 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7384 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7386 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7387 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7388 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7390 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7391 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7392 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7394 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7395 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7396 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7399 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7400 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7401 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7402 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7403 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7407 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7408 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7409 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7410 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7413 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7414 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7415 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7416 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7417 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7418 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7419 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7420 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7421 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7423 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7424 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7425 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7426 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7428 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7429 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7430 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7433 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7434 lots of mail groups called things like
7435 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7436 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7437 following will do just that:
7440 (defun my-save-name (group)
7441 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7442 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7444 (setq gnus-split-methods
7445 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7450 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7451 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7452 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7453 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7454 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7455 all the files in the top level directory
7456 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7457 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7458 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7459 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7461 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7462 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7463 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7464 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7465 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7468 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7472 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7473 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7474 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7477 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7478 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7479 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7480 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7483 @node Decoding Articles
7484 @section Decoding Articles
7485 @cindex decoding articles
7487 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7488 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7491 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7492 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7493 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7494 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7495 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7496 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7500 @cindex article series
7501 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7502 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7503 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7504 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7505 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7507 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7508 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7509 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7511 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7512 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7513 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7515 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7516 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7517 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7520 @node Uuencoded Articles
7521 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7523 @cindex uuencoded articles
7528 @kindex X u (Summary)
7529 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7530 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7531 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7534 @kindex X U (Summary)
7535 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7536 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7537 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7540 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7541 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7542 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7545 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7546 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7547 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7548 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7552 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7553 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7554 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7555 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7556 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7558 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7559 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7560 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7561 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7564 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7565 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7566 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7567 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7568 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7569 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7573 @node Shell Archives
7574 @subsection Shell Archives
7576 @cindex shell archives
7577 @cindex shared articles
7579 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7580 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7581 some commands to deal with these:
7586 @kindex X s (Summary)
7587 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7588 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7591 @kindex X S (Summary)
7592 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7593 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7596 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7597 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7598 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7601 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7602 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7603 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7604 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7608 @node PostScript Files
7609 @subsection PostScript Files
7615 @kindex X p (Summary)
7616 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7617 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7620 @kindex X P (Summary)
7621 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7622 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7623 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7626 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7627 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7628 View the current PostScript series
7629 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7632 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7633 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7634 View and save the current PostScript series
7635 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7640 @subsection Other Files
7644 @kindex X o (Summary)
7645 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7646 Save the current series
7647 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7650 @kindex X b (Summary)
7651 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7652 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7653 doesn't really work yet.
7657 @node Decoding Variables
7658 @subsection Decoding Variables
7660 Adjective, not verb.
7663 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7664 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7665 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7669 @node Rule Variables
7670 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7671 @cindex rule variables
7673 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7674 variables are of the form
7677 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7684 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7685 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7687 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7688 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7691 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7692 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7695 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7696 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7697 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7698 user and default view rules.
7700 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7701 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7702 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7707 @node Other Decode Variables
7708 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7711 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7713 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7714 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7715 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7716 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7717 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7721 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7722 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7725 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7726 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7727 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7730 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7731 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7732 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7733 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7734 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7737 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7738 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7739 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7741 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7742 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7743 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7744 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7745 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7748 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7749 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7750 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7752 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7753 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7754 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7755 looking for files to display.
7757 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7758 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7759 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7762 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7763 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7764 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7767 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7768 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7769 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7772 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7773 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7774 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7777 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7778 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7779 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7780 decoded articles as unread.
7782 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7783 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7784 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7785 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7787 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7788 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7789 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7791 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7792 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7794 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7795 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7796 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7797 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7799 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7800 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7801 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7802 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7803 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7804 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7805 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7806 simply dropped them.
7811 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7812 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7816 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7817 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7818 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7819 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7820 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7821 for you when you post the article.
7823 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7824 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7825 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7826 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7828 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7829 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7830 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7831 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7832 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7833 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7834 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7836 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7837 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7838 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7839 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7840 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7841 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7842 Default is @code{t}.
7848 @subsection Viewing Files
7849 @cindex viewing files
7850 @cindex pseudo-articles
7852 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7853 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7854 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7855 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7856 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7857 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7858 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7860 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7861 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7862 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7863 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7865 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7866 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7867 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7869 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7870 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7871 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7872 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7873 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7875 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7876 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7877 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7878 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7879 a list of parameters to that command.
7881 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7882 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7883 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7885 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7886 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7887 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7890 @node Article Treatment
7891 @section Article Treatment
7893 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7894 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7895 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7896 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7897 these articles easier.
7900 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7901 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7902 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7903 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7904 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7905 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7906 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
7907 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7908 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7909 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7910 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7914 @node Article Highlighting
7915 @subsection Article Highlighting
7916 @cindex highlighting
7918 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7919 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7924 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7925 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7926 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7927 Do much highlighting of the current article
7928 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7929 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7932 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7933 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7934 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7935 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7936 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7937 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7938 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7939 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7940 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7941 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7942 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7943 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7946 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7947 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7948 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7950 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7953 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7955 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7956 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7957 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7959 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7960 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7961 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7963 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7964 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7965 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7966 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7967 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7968 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7970 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7971 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7972 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7974 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7975 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7976 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7978 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7979 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7980 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7981 that it's a citation.
7983 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7984 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7985 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7987 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7988 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7989 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7991 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7992 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7993 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7994 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8000 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8001 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8002 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8003 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8004 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8005 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8006 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8007 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8012 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8015 @node Article Fontisizing
8016 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8018 @cindex article emphasis
8020 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8021 @kindex W e (Summary)
8022 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8023 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8024 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8025 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8027 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8028 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8029 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8030 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8031 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8032 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8033 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8034 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8038 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8039 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8040 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8049 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8050 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8051 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8052 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8053 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8054 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8055 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8056 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8057 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8058 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8059 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8060 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8061 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8063 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8064 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8065 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8069 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8072 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8074 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8075 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8076 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8077 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8079 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8082 @node Article Hiding
8083 @subsection Article Hiding
8084 @cindex article hiding
8086 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8087 too much cruft in most articles.
8092 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8093 @findex gnus-article-hide
8094 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8095 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8096 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8099 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8100 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8101 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8105 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8106 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8107 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8108 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8111 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8112 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8113 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8117 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8118 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8119 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8120 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8121 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8122 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8123 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8124 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8128 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8129 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8130 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8131 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8136 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8137 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8138 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8139 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8142 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8143 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8144 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8145 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8148 @cindex stripping advertisements
8149 @cindex advertisements
8150 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8151 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8152 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8153 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8154 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8155 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8156 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8157 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8158 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8159 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8162 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8163 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8164 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8168 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8169 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8170 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8171 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8172 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8173 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8174 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8175 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8176 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8177 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8178 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8181 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8187 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8188 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8189 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8190 customizing the hiding:
8194 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8195 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8196 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8197 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8198 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8199 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8200 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8205 Starting point of the hidden text.
8207 Ending point of the hidden text.
8209 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8211 Number of lines of hidden text.
8214 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8215 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8216 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8217 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8218 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8223 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8224 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8226 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8227 following two variables:
8230 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8231 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8232 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8233 50), hide the cited text.
8235 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8236 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8237 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8242 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8243 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8244 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8245 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8246 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8247 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8251 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8252 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8253 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8255 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8256 citation customization.
8258 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8262 @node Article Washing
8263 @subsection Article Washing
8265 @cindex article washing
8267 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8268 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8270 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8271 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8274 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8275 articles by default.
8280 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8281 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8285 Force redisplaying of the current article
8286 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8287 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8288 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8289 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8292 @kindex W l (Summary)
8293 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8294 Remove page breaks from the current article
8295 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8299 @kindex W r (Summary)
8300 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8301 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8302 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8303 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8304 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8305 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8307 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8308 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8309 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8310 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8313 @kindex W m (Summary)
8314 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8315 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8319 @kindex W t (Summary)
8321 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8322 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8323 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8326 @kindex W v (Summary)
8327 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8328 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8329 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8332 @kindex W m (Summary)
8333 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8334 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8335 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8338 @kindex W o (Summary)
8339 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8340 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8343 @kindex W d (Summary)
8344 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8345 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8347 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8349 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8350 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8351 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8352 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8355 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8356 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8357 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8358 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8361 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8363 @cindex Outlook Express
8364 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8365 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8366 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8369 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8370 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8371 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8372 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8373 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8374 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8375 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8376 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8377 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8378 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8381 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8382 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8383 Repair a broken attribution line.
8384 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8387 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8388 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8389 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8390 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8393 @kindex W w (Summary)
8394 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8395 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8397 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8401 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8402 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8403 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8406 @kindex W C (Summary)
8407 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8408 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8409 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8412 @kindex W c (Summary)
8413 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8414 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8415 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8416 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8417 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8420 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8421 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8422 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8423 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8424 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8425 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8426 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8428 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8431 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8433 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8434 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8435 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8438 @kindex W u (Summary)
8439 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8440 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8441 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8442 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8443 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8446 @kindex W h (Summary)
8447 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8448 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8449 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8450 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8452 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8454 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8455 The default is to use the function specified by
8456 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8457 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8458 @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8459 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8467 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8471 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8474 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8477 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8482 @kindex W b (Summary)
8483 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8484 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8485 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8488 @kindex W B (Summary)
8489 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8490 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8491 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8494 @kindex W p (Summary)
8495 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8496 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8497 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8498 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8499 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8500 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8501 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8504 @kindex W s (Summary)
8505 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8506 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8507 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8510 @kindex W a (Summary)
8511 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8512 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8513 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8516 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8517 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8518 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8519 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8522 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8523 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8524 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8525 lines with a single empty line.
8526 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8529 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8530 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8531 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8532 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8535 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8536 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8537 Do all the three commands above
8538 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8541 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8542 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8543 Remove all blank lines
8544 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8547 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8548 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8549 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8550 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8553 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8554 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8555 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8556 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8560 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8563 @node Article Header
8564 @subsection Article Header
8566 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8571 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8573 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8576 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8578 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8579 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8582 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8583 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8584 Fold all the message headers
8585 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8589 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8590 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8591 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8596 @node Article Buttons
8597 @subsection Article Buttons
8600 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8601 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8602 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8603 button on these references.
8605 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8606 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8607 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8608 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8609 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8613 @item gnus-button-alist
8614 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8615 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8618 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8624 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8625 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8626 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8627 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8628 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8631 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8632 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8633 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8636 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8637 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8638 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8639 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8640 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8642 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8645 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8648 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8649 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8653 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8656 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8659 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8660 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8661 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8662 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8663 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8666 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8669 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8671 @subsubheading Related variables and functions
8673 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8674 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8676 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8678 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8679 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8680 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8681 default values of the variables above.
8683 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8685 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8686 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8687 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8688 argument with a string naming the man page.
8690 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8692 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8693 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8694 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8696 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8697 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8698 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8699 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8700 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8701 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8702 a mail address, respectivly. If this variable is set to the symbol
8703 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8704 function will be called with the string as it's only argument. The
8705 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8706 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8707 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8709 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8710 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8711 Function that guesses whether it's argument is a message ID or a mail
8712 address. Returns @code{mid} it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if it's a
8713 mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the string is
8716 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8717 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8718 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8719 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8721 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8723 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8724 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8725 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8726 argument, the string naming the URL.
8729 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8730 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8731 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8735 @item gnus-article-button-face
8736 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8737 Face used on buttons.
8739 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8740 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8741 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8745 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8748 @node Article Button Levels
8749 @subsection Article button levels
8750 @cindex button levels
8751 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8752 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8753 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8754 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8755 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8756 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8757 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8758 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8761 ;; increase `gnus-button-*-level' in some groups:
8762 (setq gnus-parameters
8763 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8764 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8765 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8770 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8771 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8772 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8773 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8774 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8775 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8777 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8778 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8779 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8780 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8781 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8782 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8783 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8784 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8785 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8786 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8787 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8788 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8789 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8791 @item gnus-button-man-level
8792 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8793 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8794 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8796 @item gnus-button-message-level
8797 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8798 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8799 Related variables and functions include
8800 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8801 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8802 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8803 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8805 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8806 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8807 Controls the display of references to TeX or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8808 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8809 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8810 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8811 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8817 @subsection Article Date
8819 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8820 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8821 when the article was sent.
8826 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8827 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8828 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8829 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8832 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8833 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8835 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8836 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8839 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8840 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8841 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8844 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8845 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8846 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8847 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8850 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8851 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8852 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8853 @findex format-time-string
8854 Display the date using a user-defined format
8855 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8856 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8857 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8858 for a list of possible format specs.
8861 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8862 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8863 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8864 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8865 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8866 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8869 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8872 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8873 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8874 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8877 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8878 into wonderful absurdities.
8880 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8883 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8886 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8887 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8891 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8892 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8893 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8894 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8895 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8896 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8897 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8901 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8902 preferred format automatically.
8905 @node Article Display
8906 @subsection Article Display
8911 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8912 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8914 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8915 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8917 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8918 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8920 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8921 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8923 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8928 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8929 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8930 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8931 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8934 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8935 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8936 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8937 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8940 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8941 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8942 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8945 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8946 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8947 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8950 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8951 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8952 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8953 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8956 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8957 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8958 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8959 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8962 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8963 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8964 Remove all images from the article buffer
8965 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8971 @node Article Signature
8972 @subsection Article Signature
8974 @cindex article signature
8976 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8977 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8978 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8979 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8980 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8981 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8982 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8983 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8984 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8987 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8988 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8989 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8990 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8991 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8992 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8993 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8994 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8997 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9000 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9001 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9002 signature when displaying articles.
9006 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9009 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9012 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9013 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9015 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9016 in question is not a signature.
9019 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9020 listed above. Here's an example:
9023 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9024 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9027 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9028 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9029 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9030 signature after all.
9033 @node Article Miscellania
9034 @subsection Article Miscellania
9038 @kindex A t (Summary)
9039 @findex gnus-article-babel
9040 Translate the article from one language to another
9041 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9047 @section MIME Commands
9048 @cindex MIME decoding
9050 @cindex viewing attachments
9052 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9053 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
9059 @kindex K v (Summary)
9060 View the @sc{mime} part.
9063 @kindex K o (Summary)
9064 Save the @sc{mime} part.
9067 @kindex K c (Summary)
9068 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
9071 @kindex K e (Summary)
9072 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
9075 @kindex K i (Summary)
9076 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
9079 @kindex K | (Summary)
9080 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
9083 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9088 @kindex K b (Summary)
9089 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9090 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9094 @kindex K m (Summary)
9095 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9096 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9097 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9098 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9099 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9102 @kindex X m (Summary)
9103 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9104 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
9105 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9106 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9109 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9110 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9111 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9112 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9115 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9116 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9117 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9118 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9121 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9122 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9123 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9124 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9126 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9127 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9128 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9129 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9130 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9131 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9134 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9135 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9136 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
9137 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9144 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9145 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9146 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9147 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9150 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9153 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9157 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9158 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9159 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9160 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9161 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9162 default is @code{nil}.
9164 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9165 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9166 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9167 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9168 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9169 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9170 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9172 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9173 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9174 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9175 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9176 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9177 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9178 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9179 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9181 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9182 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9183 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9184 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9185 displayed. This variable overrides
9186 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9187 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9190 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9191 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9192 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9194 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9195 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9196 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9197 value is @code{nil}.
9199 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9200 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9201 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9202 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9203 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9204 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9205 save all jpegs into some directory).
9207 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9210 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9211 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9213 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9214 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9215 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9216 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9217 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9220 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9221 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9222 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9224 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9225 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9226 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9227 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9229 Ready-made functions include@*
9230 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9231 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9232 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9233 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9234 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9235 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9236 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9237 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9238 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9239 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9240 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9241 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9243 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9244 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9246 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9247 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9248 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9251 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9252 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9253 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9254 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9258 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9267 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9268 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9269 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9270 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9271 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9272 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9273 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9275 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9276 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9277 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9278 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9280 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9281 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9282 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9283 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9284 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9285 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9286 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9287 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9288 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9290 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9291 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9292 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9293 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9294 quoted-printable header encoding.
9296 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9297 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9298 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9302 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9305 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9306 means encode all charsets),
9308 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9309 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9310 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9317 @cindex coding system aliases
9318 @cindex preferred charset
9320 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9322 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9323 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9326 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9327 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9330 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9331 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9333 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9336 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9339 This will almost do the right thing.
9341 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9345 (codepage-setup 1251)
9346 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9350 @node Article Commands
9351 @section Article Commands
9358 @kindex A P (Summary)
9359 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9360 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9361 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9362 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9363 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9364 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9369 @node Summary Sorting
9370 @section Summary Sorting
9371 @cindex summary sorting
9373 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9374 can't really see why you'd want that.
9379 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9380 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9381 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9384 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9385 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9386 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9389 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9390 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9391 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9394 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9395 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9396 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9399 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9400 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9401 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9404 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9405 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9406 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9409 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9410 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9411 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9414 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9415 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9416 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9419 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9420 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9421 Sort using the default sorting method
9422 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9425 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9426 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9427 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9428 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9429 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9433 @node Finding the Parent
9434 @section Finding the Parent
9435 @cindex parent articles
9436 @cindex referring articles
9441 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9442 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9443 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9444 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9445 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9446 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9447 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9448 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9449 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9451 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9452 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9453 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9454 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9455 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9459 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9460 @kindex A R (Summary)
9461 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9462 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9465 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9466 @kindex A T (Summary)
9467 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9468 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9469 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9470 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9471 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9472 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9473 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9475 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9476 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9477 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9478 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9479 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9480 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9483 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9484 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9486 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9487 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9488 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9489 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9490 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9491 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9492 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9495 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9496 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9497 by giving this command a prefix.
9499 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9500 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9501 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9502 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9503 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9504 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9507 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9508 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9509 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9512 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9513 then ask Google if that fails:
9516 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9518 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9521 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9522 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9523 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9524 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9525 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9526 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9527 support this at all.
9530 @node Alternative Approaches
9531 @section Alternative Approaches
9533 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9534 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9537 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9538 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9543 @subsection Pick and Read
9544 @cindex pick and read
9546 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9547 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9548 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9549 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9551 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9552 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9553 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9554 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9555 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9556 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9558 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9563 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9564 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9565 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9566 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9567 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9568 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9569 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9570 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9573 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9574 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9575 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9576 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9580 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9581 Unpick the thread or article
9582 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9583 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9584 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9585 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9586 the thread or article at that line.
9590 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9591 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9592 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9593 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9594 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9595 will still be visible when you are reading.
9599 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9600 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9601 which is mapped to the same function
9602 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9604 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9607 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9610 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9611 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9613 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9614 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9615 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9617 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9618 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9619 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9620 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9621 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9622 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9623 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9627 @subsection Binary Groups
9628 @cindex binary groups
9630 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9631 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9632 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9633 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9634 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9635 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9636 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9639 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9640 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9641 command, when you have turned on this mode
9642 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9644 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9645 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9649 @section Tree Display
9652 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9653 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9654 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9655 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9658 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9661 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9662 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9663 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9665 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9666 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9667 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9668 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9669 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9671 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9672 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9673 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9674 default is @code{modeline}.
9676 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9677 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9678 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9679 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9680 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9681 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9682 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9688 The name of the poster.
9690 The @code{From} header.
9692 The number of the article.
9694 The opening bracket.
9696 The closing bracket.
9701 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9703 Variables related to the display are:
9706 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9707 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9708 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9709 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9710 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9711 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9713 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9714 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9715 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9716 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9720 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9721 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9722 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9723 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9724 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9725 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9726 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9727 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9728 other windows displayed next to it.
9730 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9734 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9735 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9738 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9739 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9740 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9741 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9742 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9743 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9744 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9748 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9751 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9761 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9765 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9766 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9768 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9770 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9775 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9776 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9777 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9780 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9781 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9782 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9783 (gnus-add-configuration
9787 (summary 0.75 point)
9792 @xref{Window Layout}.
9795 @node Mail Group Commands
9796 @section Mail Group Commands
9797 @cindex mail group commands
9799 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9800 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9802 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9803 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9808 @kindex B e (Summary)
9809 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9810 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9811 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9812 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9813 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9816 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9817 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9818 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9819 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9820 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9821 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9824 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9825 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9826 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9827 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9828 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9829 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9832 @kindex B m (Summary)
9834 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9835 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9836 Move the article from one mail group to another
9837 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9838 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9841 @kindex B c (Summary)
9843 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9844 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9845 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9846 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9847 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9850 @kindex B B (Summary)
9851 @cindex crosspost mail
9852 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9853 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9854 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9855 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9856 be properly updated.
9859 @kindex B i (Summary)
9860 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9861 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9862 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9863 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9866 @kindex B I (Summary)
9867 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9868 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9869 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9870 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9873 @kindex B r (Summary)
9874 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9875 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9876 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9877 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9878 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9879 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9880 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9881 (which is the default).
9885 @kindex B w (Summary)
9887 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9888 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9889 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9890 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9891 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9892 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9893 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9896 @kindex B q (Summary)
9897 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9898 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9899 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9900 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9903 @kindex B t (Summary)
9904 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9905 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9906 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9909 @kindex B p (Summary)
9910 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9911 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
9912 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9913 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9914 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9915 article from your news server (or rather, from
9916 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9917 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9918 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9919 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9920 just not have arrived yet.
9923 @kindex K E (Summary)
9924 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9925 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9926 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9927 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9928 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9932 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9933 @cindex moving articles
9934 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9935 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9936 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9937 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9938 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9939 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9940 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9943 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9944 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9945 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9946 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9950 @node Various Summary Stuff
9951 @section Various Summary Stuff
9954 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9955 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9956 * Summary Generation Commands::
9957 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9961 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9962 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9963 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9964 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9965 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9966 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9968 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9969 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9970 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9972 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9973 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9974 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9975 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9976 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9977 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9980 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9981 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9982 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9983 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9984 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9986 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9987 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9988 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9991 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9992 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9993 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9994 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9995 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9996 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9997 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9998 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9999 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10000 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10002 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10003 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10004 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10005 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10006 list of articles to be selected.
10008 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10009 the list in one particular group:
10012 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10013 (if (string= group "some.group")
10014 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10018 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10019 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10020 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10021 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10022 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
10023 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10024 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10025 buffers. For example:
10028 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10029 '(message-use-followup-to
10030 (gnus-visible-headers .
10031 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10037 @node Summary Group Information
10038 @subsection Summary Group Information
10043 @kindex H f (Summary)
10044 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10045 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10046 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
10047 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
10048 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
10049 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
10050 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
10051 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
10052 be used for fetching the file.
10055 @kindex H d (Summary)
10056 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10057 Give a brief description of the current group
10058 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10059 rereading the description from the server.
10062 @kindex H h (Summary)
10063 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10064 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10065 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10068 @kindex H i (Summary)
10069 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10070 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10074 @node Searching for Articles
10075 @subsection Searching for Articles
10080 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10081 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10082 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10083 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10086 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10087 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10088 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10089 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10092 @kindex & (Summary)
10093 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10094 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10095 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10096 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10097 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10098 search backward instead.
10100 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
10101 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10104 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10105 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10106 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10107 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10110 @node Summary Generation Commands
10111 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10116 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10117 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10118 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10121 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10122 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10123 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10124 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10127 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10128 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10129 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10130 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10135 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10136 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10142 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10143 @kindex A D (Summary)
10144 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10145 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10146 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10147 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10148 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10149 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10150 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10151 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10155 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10156 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10157 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10158 several documents into one biiig group
10159 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10160 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10161 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10162 command understands the process/prefix convention
10163 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10166 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10167 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10168 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10169 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10170 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10171 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10174 @kindex = (Summary)
10175 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10176 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10177 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10180 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10181 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10182 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10183 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10186 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10187 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10188 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10189 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10194 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10195 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10196 @cindex summary exit
10197 @cindex exiting groups
10199 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10200 group and return you to the group buffer.
10206 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10207 @kindex q (Summary)
10208 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10209 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10210 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10211 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10212 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10213 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10214 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10215 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10216 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10217 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10218 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10219 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10223 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10224 @kindex Q (Summary)
10225 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10226 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10227 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10231 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10232 @kindex c (Summary)
10233 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10234 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10235 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10236 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10239 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10240 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10241 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10242 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10245 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10246 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10247 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10248 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10251 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10252 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10253 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10254 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10255 all articles, both read and unread.
10259 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10260 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10261 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10262 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10263 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10264 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10265 articles, both read and unread.
10268 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10269 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10270 Exit the group and go to the next group
10271 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10274 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10275 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10276 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10277 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10280 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10281 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10282 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10283 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10284 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10285 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10288 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10289 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10290 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10291 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10293 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10294 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10295 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10296 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10297 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10298 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10299 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10300 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10301 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10302 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10303 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10304 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10306 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10308 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10309 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10310 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10311 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10312 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10313 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10314 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10315 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10316 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10319 @node Crosspost Handling
10320 @section Crosspost Handling
10324 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10325 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10326 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10327 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10328 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10329 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10332 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10333 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10334 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10335 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10336 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10338 @cindex cross-posting
10341 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10342 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10343 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10344 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10345 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10346 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10347 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10348 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10349 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10350 the cross reference mechanism.
10352 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10353 @cindex overview.fmt
10354 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10355 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10356 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10357 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10358 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10359 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10362 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10363 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10364 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10369 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10372 @node Duplicate Suppression
10373 @section Duplicate Suppression
10375 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10376 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10377 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10378 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10383 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10384 is evil and not very common.
10387 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10388 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10391 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10392 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10395 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10398 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10399 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10401 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10402 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10403 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10404 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10405 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10406 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10407 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10410 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10411 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10412 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10413 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10414 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10415 saw the article in.
10418 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10419 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10420 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10422 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10423 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10424 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10425 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10426 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10427 session are suppressed.
10429 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10430 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10431 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10432 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10434 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10435 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10436 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10437 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10440 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10441 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10442 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10443 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10444 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10445 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10446 to you to figure out, I think.
10451 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10452 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10453 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10457 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10458 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10459 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10460 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10463 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10464 or newer is recommended.
10468 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10469 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10472 @item mm-verify-option
10473 @vindex mm-verify-option
10474 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10475 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10476 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10478 @item mm-decrypt-option
10479 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10480 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10481 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10482 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10485 @vindex mml1991-use
10486 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10487 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10488 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10491 @vindex mml2015-use
10492 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10493 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10494 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10499 @section Mailing List
10501 @kindex A M (summary)
10502 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10503 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10504 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10505 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10508 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10513 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10514 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10515 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10518 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10519 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10520 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10523 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10524 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10525 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10529 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10530 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10531 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10534 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10535 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10536 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10539 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10540 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10541 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10545 @node Article Buffer
10546 @chapter Article Buffer
10547 @cindex article buffer
10549 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10550 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10551 tell gnus otherwise.
10554 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10555 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10556 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10557 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10558 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10562 @node Hiding Headers
10563 @section Hiding Headers
10564 @cindex hiding headers
10565 @cindex deleting headers
10567 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10568 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10570 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10571 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10572 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10573 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10574 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10575 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10576 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10577 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10578 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10580 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10584 @item gnus-visible-headers
10585 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10586 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10587 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10588 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10590 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10591 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10594 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10597 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10600 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10601 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10602 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10603 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10604 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10605 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10607 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10608 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10611 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10614 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10617 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10618 variable will have no effect.
10622 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10623 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10624 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10625 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10626 the headers are to be displayed.
10628 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10629 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10632 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10635 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10636 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10638 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10639 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10640 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10641 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10642 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10643 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10644 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10647 These conditions are:
10650 Remove all empty headers.
10652 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10653 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10655 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10656 @code{From} header.
10658 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10661 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10662 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10664 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10665 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10667 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10668 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10670 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10673 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10675 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10678 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10681 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10682 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10685 This is also the default value for this variable.
10689 @section Using MIME
10692 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10693 while people stand around yawning.
10695 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10696 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10698 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10699 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10700 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10702 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10703 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10704 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10705 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10706 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10707 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10708 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10709 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10710 not existed yet, sorry).
10712 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10713 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10714 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10715 These can't be avoided.
10717 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10718 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10719 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10720 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10721 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10722 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10723 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10724 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10725 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10728 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10730 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10731 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10732 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10733 buffer when there are nobody else.
10735 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10738 @node Customizing Articles
10739 @section Customizing Articles
10740 @cindex article customization
10742 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10743 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10744 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10745 called automatically when you select the articles.
10747 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10748 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10749 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10750 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10752 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10753 for sensible values.
10757 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10760 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10763 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10766 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10769 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10773 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10774 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10775 regexps in the list.
10778 A list where the first element is not a string:
10780 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10781 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10782 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10786 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10790 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10795 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10796 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10797 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10798 considered to contain just a single part.
10800 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10801 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10802 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10803 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10804 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10805 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10806 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10808 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10809 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10810 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10811 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10814 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10815 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10817 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10819 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10820 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10821 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10822 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10823 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10824 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10825 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10826 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10827 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10828 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10829 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10831 @xref{Article Washing}.
10833 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10834 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10835 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10836 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10837 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10838 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10839 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10841 @xref{Article Date}.
10843 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10844 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10845 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10849 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10851 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10853 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10854 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10855 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10859 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10863 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10864 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10865 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10866 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10867 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10868 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10869 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10870 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10871 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
10872 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
10874 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10876 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10877 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10878 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10880 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10882 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10883 @item gnus-treat-translate
10884 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10886 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10887 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10888 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10889 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10891 @xref{Article Header}.
10896 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10897 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10898 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10899 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10900 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10904 @node Article Keymap
10905 @section Article Keymap
10907 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10908 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10909 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10910 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10913 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10918 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10919 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10920 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10921 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
10924 @kindex DEL (Article)
10925 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10926 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10927 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
10930 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10931 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10932 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10933 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10934 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10937 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10938 @findex gnus-article-mail
10939 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10940 given a prefix, include the mail.
10943 @kindex s (Article)
10944 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10945 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10946 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10949 @kindex ? (Article)
10950 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10951 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10952 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10955 @kindex TAB (Article)
10956 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10957 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10958 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10961 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10962 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10963 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10966 @kindex R (Article)
10967 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10968 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10969 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10970 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10974 @kindex F (Article)
10975 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10976 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10977 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10978 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10986 @section Misc Article
10990 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10991 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10992 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10993 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10996 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10997 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10999 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
11000 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11002 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11003 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11004 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11005 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11006 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11007 the contents of the article buffer.
11009 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11010 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11011 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11013 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11014 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11015 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11016 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11018 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11019 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11020 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11021 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11022 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11028 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11029 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11030 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11035 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11038 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11041 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11042 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11043 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11046 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11049 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11052 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11057 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
11061 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11063 @item gnus-break-pages
11064 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11065 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11066 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11067 paging will not be done.
11069 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11070 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11071 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11075 @cindex internationalized domain names
11076 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11077 @item gnus-use-idna
11078 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11079 internationalized domain names inside @sc{From:}, @sc{To:} and
11080 @sc{Cc:} headers. This requires GNU Libidn
11081 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}, and this variable is only
11082 enabled if you have installed it.
11087 @node Composing Messages
11088 @chapter Composing Messages
11089 @cindex composing messages
11092 @cindex sending mail
11097 @cindex using s/mime
11098 @cindex using smime
11100 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11101 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11102 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11103 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11104 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11105 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11108 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11109 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11110 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11111 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11112 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11113 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11114 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11115 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11118 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11119 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11125 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11128 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11129 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11130 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11131 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11132 @code{nil} include all headers.
11134 @item gnus-add-to-list
11135 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11136 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11137 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11139 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11140 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11141 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11142 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11143 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11144 confirmation is should be asked for.
11146 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11147 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11149 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11150 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11151 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11152 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11153 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11158 @node Posting Server
11159 @section Posting Server
11161 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11162 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11164 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11166 It can be quite complicated.
11168 @vindex gnus-post-method
11169 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11170 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11171 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11172 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11173 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11174 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11175 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11176 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11177 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11180 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11183 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11184 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11185 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11186 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11188 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11189 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11191 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11192 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11195 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11196 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11198 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11199 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11200 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11201 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11202 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11203 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11204 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11205 package correctly. An example:
11208 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11209 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11210 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11211 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11212 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11215 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11216 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11217 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11219 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11220 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11221 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11223 @node Mail and Post
11224 @section Mail and Post
11226 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11230 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11231 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11232 @cindex mailing lists
11234 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11235 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11236 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11237 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11238 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11239 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11240 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11241 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11242 still a pain, though.
11244 @item gnus-user-agent
11245 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11248 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11249 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11250 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11251 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11252 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11253 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11254 use a valid format, see RFC 2616."
11258 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11259 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11260 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11263 @findex ispell-message
11265 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11268 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11269 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11272 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11276 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11277 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11279 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11282 Modify to suit your needs.
11285 @node Archived Messages
11286 @section Archived Messages
11287 @cindex archived messages
11288 @cindex sent messages
11290 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11291 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11292 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11293 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11296 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11297 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11300 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11301 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11302 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11305 (nnfolder "archive"
11306 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11307 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11308 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11309 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11312 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11313 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11314 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11315 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11318 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11319 '(nnfolder "archive"
11320 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11321 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11322 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11325 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11327 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11328 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11329 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11331 This variable can be used to do the following:
11336 Messages will be saved in that group.
11338 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11339 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11340 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11341 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11342 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11343 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11344 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11345 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11349 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11351 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11352 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11355 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11360 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11362 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11365 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11367 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11370 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11372 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11373 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11374 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11375 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11378 More complex stuff:
11380 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11381 '((if (message-news-p)
11386 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11387 messages in one file per month:
11390 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11391 '((if (message-news-p)
11393 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11396 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11397 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11399 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11400 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11401 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11402 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11403 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11404 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11405 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11406 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11407 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11408 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11410 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11411 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11412 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11413 this will disable archiving.
11416 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11417 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11418 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11419 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11420 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11423 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11424 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11425 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11428 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11429 but the latter is the preferred method.
11431 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11432 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11433 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11435 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11436 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11437 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11438 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11439 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11440 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11441 changed in the future.
11446 @node Posting Styles
11447 @section Posting Styles
11448 @cindex posting styles
11451 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11453 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11454 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11455 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11458 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11459 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11460 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11461 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11462 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11467 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11468 (organization "What me?"))
11470 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11471 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11472 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11475 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11476 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11477 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11478 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11479 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11480 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11481 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11482 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11484 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11485 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11486 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11487 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11488 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11489 @var{regexp} are strings. (There original article is the one you are
11490 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11491 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11492 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11493 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11494 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11495 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11496 said to @dfn{match}.
11498 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11499 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11500 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11501 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11502 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11503 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11504 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11505 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11506 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11507 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11510 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11511 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11512 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11513 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11514 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11515 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11516 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11517 references chars lines xref extra.
11519 @vindex message-reply-headers
11521 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11522 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11523 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11525 @findex message-mail-p
11526 @findex message-news-p
11528 So here's a new example:
11531 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11533 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11535 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11536 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11538 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11539 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11540 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11541 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11542 (signature my-news-signature))
11543 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11544 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11545 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11546 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11547 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11548 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11549 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11550 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11551 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11552 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11554 (From (save-excursion
11555 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11556 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11558 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11561 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11562 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11563 if you fill many roles.
11565 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11566 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11567 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11568 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11569 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11570 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11571 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11572 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11577 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11579 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11581 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11582 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11585 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11588 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11589 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11596 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11597 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11598 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11599 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11600 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11602 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11603 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11604 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11605 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11606 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11610 @vindex nndraft-directory
11611 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11612 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11613 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11614 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11615 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11616 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11618 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11619 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11620 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11621 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11622 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11623 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11624 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11625 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11626 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11628 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11629 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11630 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11631 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11632 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11633 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11634 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11635 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11636 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11637 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11638 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11639 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11640 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11641 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11643 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11644 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11645 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11647 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11648 @kindex D e (Draft)
11649 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11650 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11651 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11653 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11656 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11657 @kindex D s (Draft)
11658 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11659 @kindex D S (Draft)
11660 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11661 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11662 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11663 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11664 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11667 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11668 @kindex D t (Draft)
11669 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11670 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11671 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11674 @node Rejected Articles
11675 @section Rejected Articles
11676 @cindex rejected articles
11678 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11679 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11680 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11681 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11683 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11684 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11685 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11686 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11687 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11689 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11690 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11691 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11693 @node Signing and encrypting
11694 @section Signing and encrypting
11696 @cindex using s/mime
11697 @cindex using smime
11699 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11700 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11701 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11702 (@pxref{Security}).
11704 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11705 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11706 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11707 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11708 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11709 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11710 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11711 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11712 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11713 automatically encrypted messages.
11715 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11716 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11717 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11722 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11723 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11725 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11728 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11729 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11731 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11734 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11735 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11737 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11740 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11741 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11743 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11746 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11747 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11749 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11752 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11753 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11755 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11758 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11759 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11760 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11764 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11766 @node Select Methods
11767 @chapter Select Methods
11768 @cindex foreign groups
11769 @cindex select methods
11771 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11772 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11773 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11774 personal mail group.
11776 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11777 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11778 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11779 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11780 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11781 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11783 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11784 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11786 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11789 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11790 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11791 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11792 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11793 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11795 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11798 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11799 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11800 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11801 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11802 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11803 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11804 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11805 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11809 @node Server Buffer
11810 @section Server Buffer
11812 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11813 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11814 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11815 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11816 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11817 back end represents a virtual server.
11819 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11820 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11821 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11822 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11824 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11825 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11826 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11827 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11828 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11829 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11830 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11832 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11833 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11836 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11837 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11838 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11839 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11840 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11841 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11842 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11845 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11846 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11849 @node Server Buffer Format
11850 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11851 @cindex server buffer format
11853 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11854 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11855 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11856 variable, with some simple extensions:
11861 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11864 The name of this server.
11867 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11870 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11873 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11874 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11875 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11876 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11886 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11889 @node Server Commands
11890 @subsection Server Commands
11891 @cindex server commands
11897 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11898 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11902 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11903 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11906 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11907 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11908 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11912 @findex gnus-server-exit
11913 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11917 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11918 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11922 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11923 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11927 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11928 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11932 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11933 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11937 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11938 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11939 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11944 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11945 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11946 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11947 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11952 @node Example Methods
11953 @subsection Example Methods
11955 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11958 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11961 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11967 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11968 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11971 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11972 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11974 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11975 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11979 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11982 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11983 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11985 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11986 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11987 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11991 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11994 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11997 Here's the method for a public spool:
12001 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12002 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12008 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
12009 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12010 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
12011 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12012 should probably look something like this:
12016 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12017 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12018 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12019 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12022 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12023 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12024 configuration to the example above:
12027 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12030 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12032 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12033 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12034 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12038 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12039 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12040 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12041 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12044 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12045 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12046 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12047 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12050 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12051 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12053 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12054 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12056 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12057 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
12058 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12060 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
12062 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
12063 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12064 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12065 will contain the following:
12075 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
12076 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
12077 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12080 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12081 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12082 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12085 @node Server Variables
12086 @subsection Server Variables
12088 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12089 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12090 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12091 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12092 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12094 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12095 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12096 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12097 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12098 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12099 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12100 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12101 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12102 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12106 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12107 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12108 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12112 @node Servers and Methods
12113 @subsection Servers and Methods
12115 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12116 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12117 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12118 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12122 @node Unavailable Servers
12123 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12125 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12126 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12127 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12128 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12129 actually the case or not.
12131 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12132 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12133 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12134 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12135 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12136 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12137 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12138 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12140 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12141 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12143 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12144 with the following commands:
12150 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12151 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12152 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12156 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12157 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12158 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12162 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12163 Mark the current server as unreachable
12164 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12167 @kindex M-o (Server)
12168 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12169 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12170 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12173 @kindex M-c (Server)
12174 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12175 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12176 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12180 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12181 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12182 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12186 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12187 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12193 @section Getting News
12194 @cindex reading news
12195 @cindex news back ends
12197 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12198 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12199 or it can read from a local spool.
12202 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12203 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12211 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12212 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12213 server as the, uhm, address.
12215 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12216 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12217 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12218 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12220 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12221 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12222 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12224 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12229 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12230 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12231 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12233 @cindex authentification
12234 @cindex nntp authentification
12235 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12236 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12237 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12238 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12239 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12240 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12241 present in this hook.
12243 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12244 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12245 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12246 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12247 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12248 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12249 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12250 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12251 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12252 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12253 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12254 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12258 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12261 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12263 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12264 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12265 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12266 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12267 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12268 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12269 @samp{force} is explained below.
12273 Here's an example file:
12276 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12277 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12280 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12281 have to be first, for instance.
12283 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12284 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12285 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12286 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12287 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12288 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12289 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12291 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12292 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12298 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12299 previously mentioned.
12301 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12303 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12304 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12305 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12306 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12307 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12310 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12311 '(("innd" (ding))))
12314 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12316 The default value is
12319 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12320 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12321 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12324 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12325 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12327 @item nntp-maximum-request
12328 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12329 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12330 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12331 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12332 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12333 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12334 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12336 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12337 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12338 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12339 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12340 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12341 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12342 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12343 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12344 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12345 no timeouts are done.
12347 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12348 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12349 @c @cindex PPP connections
12350 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12351 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12352 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12353 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12354 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12355 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12356 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12357 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12358 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12359 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12361 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12362 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12363 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12364 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12365 @c described above.
12367 @item nntp-server-hook
12368 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12369 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12372 @item nntp-buggy-select
12373 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12374 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12376 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12377 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12378 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12379 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12382 @item nntp-xover-commands
12383 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12386 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12387 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12391 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12392 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12393 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12394 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12395 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12396 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12397 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12398 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12399 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12400 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12401 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12403 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12404 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12405 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12407 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12408 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12409 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12410 server closes connection.
12412 @item nntp-record-commands
12413 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12414 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12415 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12416 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12417 that doesn't seem to work.
12419 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12420 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12421 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12422 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12423 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12424 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12425 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12426 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12428 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12429 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12430 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12431 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12432 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12433 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12434 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12437 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12440 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12441 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12443 @item nntp-read-timeout
12444 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12445 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12446 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12447 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12448 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12451 @item nntp-list-options
12452 @vindex nntp-list-options
12453 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12454 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12455 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12456 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12457 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12461 (setq gnus-select-method
12462 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12463 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12466 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12467 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12468 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12469 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12470 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12471 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12472 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12475 (setq gnus-select-method
12476 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12477 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12480 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12481 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12482 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12483 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12484 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12485 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12486 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12489 (setq gnus-select-method
12490 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12491 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12496 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12497 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12498 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12502 @node Direct Functions
12503 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12504 @cindex direct connection functions
12506 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12507 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12508 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12509 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12512 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12513 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12514 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12517 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12518 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12519 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12520 this you must have GNUTLS installed (see
12521 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}). You then define a server
12525 ;; "nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12526 ;; however, gnutls-cli -p doesn't like named ports.
12528 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12529 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12530 (nntp-port-number )
12531 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12534 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12535 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12536 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
12537 you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12538 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}. You then
12539 define a server as follows:
12542 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12543 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports.
12545 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12546 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12547 (nntp-port-number 563)
12548 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12551 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12552 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12553 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12554 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12555 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12556 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12557 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12558 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12562 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12563 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12564 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12567 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12568 session, which is not a good idea.
12572 @node Indirect Functions
12573 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12574 @cindex indirect connection functions
12576 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12577 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12578 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12579 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12580 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12581 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12584 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12585 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12586 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12587 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12588 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12590 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12593 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12594 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12595 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12596 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12598 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12599 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12600 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12601 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12602 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12603 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12604 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12605 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12609 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12610 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12611 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12612 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12614 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12617 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12618 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12619 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12622 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12623 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12624 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12625 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12627 @item nntp-via-user-password
12628 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12629 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12631 @item nntp-via-envuser
12632 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12633 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12634 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12635 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12637 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12638 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12639 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12640 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12647 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12652 @item nntp-via-user-name
12653 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12654 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12656 @item nntp-via-address
12657 @vindex nntp-via-address
12658 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12663 @node Common Variables
12664 @subsubsection Common Variables
12666 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12667 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12672 @item nntp-pre-command
12673 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12674 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12675 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12676 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12677 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12680 @vindex nntp-address
12681 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12683 @item nntp-port-number
12684 @vindex nntp-port-number
12685 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is
12686 @samp{nntp}. If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{tls}/@sc{ssl}, you may
12687 want to use integer ports rather than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563}
12688 instead of @samp{snews} or @samp{nntps}), because external TLS/SSL
12689 tools may not work with named ports.
12691 @item nntp-end-of-line
12692 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12693 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12694 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12695 using a non native connection function.
12697 @item nntp-telnet-command
12698 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12699 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12700 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12701 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12703 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12704 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12705 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12712 @subsection News Spool
12716 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12717 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12718 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12721 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12722 anything else) as the address.
12724 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12725 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12726 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12727 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12731 @item nnspool-inews-program
12732 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12733 Program used to post an article.
12735 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12736 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12737 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12739 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12740 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12741 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12742 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12744 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12745 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12746 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12747 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12749 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12750 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12751 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12753 @item nnspool-active-file
12754 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12755 The name of the active file.
12757 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12758 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12759 The name of the group descriptions file.
12761 @item nnspool-history-file
12762 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12763 The name of the news history file.
12765 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12766 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12767 The name of the active date file.
12769 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12770 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12771 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12774 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12775 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12777 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12778 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12779 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12785 @section Getting Mail
12786 @cindex reading mail
12789 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12793 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12794 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12795 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12796 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12797 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12798 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12799 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12800 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12801 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12802 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12803 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12804 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12805 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12809 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12810 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12812 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12813 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12814 of a culture shock.
12816 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12817 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12819 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12820 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12821 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12822 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12824 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12826 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12827 deleted? How awful!
12829 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12830 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12831 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12832 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12835 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12836 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12837 they want to treat a message.
12839 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12840 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12841 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12842 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12843 archived somewhere else.
12845 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12846 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12847 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12848 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12849 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12851 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12852 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12853 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12855 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12856 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12859 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12860 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12861 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12862 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12863 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12865 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12866 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12867 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12868 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12869 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12870 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12874 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12875 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12877 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12878 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12879 and things will happen automatically.
12881 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
12882 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12885 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12888 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12889 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12890 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12891 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12892 like any other group.
12894 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12897 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12898 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12899 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12903 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12904 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12905 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12908 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12909 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12910 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12913 @node Splitting Mail
12914 @subsection Splitting Mail
12915 @cindex splitting mail
12916 @cindex mail splitting
12918 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12919 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12920 to be split into groups.
12923 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12924 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12925 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12926 ("mail.other" "")))
12929 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12930 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12931 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12932 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12933 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12934 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12935 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12938 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12941 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12942 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12943 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12944 mail belongs in that group.
12946 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12947 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
12948 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12949 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12950 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
12951 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
12953 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12954 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12955 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12956 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12957 thinks should carry this mail message.
12959 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12960 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12961 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12962 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12964 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12965 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12966 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12967 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12968 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
12970 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12973 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12974 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12975 links. If that's the case for you, set
12976 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12977 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12979 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12980 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12981 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12982 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12983 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12984 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12987 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12988 Header lines longer than the value of
12989 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12992 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12993 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12994 By default the splitting codes @sc{mime} decodes headers so you can match
12995 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12996 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12997 can be turned off completely by binding
12998 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12999 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13001 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13002 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
13003 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
13004 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
13005 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13006 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
13007 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
13010 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13011 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13012 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13013 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13014 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13015 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13016 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13017 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13018 month's rent money.
13022 @subsection Mail Sources
13024 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
13025 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
13029 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13030 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13031 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13035 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13036 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13038 @cindex mail server
13041 @cindex mail source
13043 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13044 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13049 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13052 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13053 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13054 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13057 The following mail source types are available:
13061 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13067 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
13068 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13069 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13073 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13076 An example file mail source:
13079 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13082 Or using the default file name:
13088 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
13089 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
13090 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
13093 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13097 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13100 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13104 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13107 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13109 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13112 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13116 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13117 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
13118 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
13119 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
13120 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
13121 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
13122 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13123 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
13124 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
13125 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13127 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13128 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13129 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
13130 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13136 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13140 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13144 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13145 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13146 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13147 predicate are considered.
13151 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13155 An example directory mail source:
13158 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13163 Get mail from a POP server.
13169 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
13170 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13173 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
13174 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13175 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13176 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13177 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13180 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
13184 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
13188 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
13189 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13192 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13195 The valid format specifier characters are:
13199 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13200 included in this string.
13203 The name of the server.
13206 The port number of the server.
13209 The user name to use.
13212 The password to use.
13215 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13216 corresponding keywords.
13219 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13220 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13223 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13224 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13227 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13228 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13231 @item :authentication
13232 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13233 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13237 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13238 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13239 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13240 programs and libraries:
13244 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13245 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13246 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13248 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13249 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13254 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13255 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13259 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13260 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13262 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13263 default user name, and default fetcher:
13269 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13272 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13273 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13276 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13279 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13283 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13284 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13285 contains exactly one mail.
13291 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13292 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13295 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13296 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13298 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13299 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13300 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13303 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13304 from locking problems).
13308 Two example maildir mail sources:
13311 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13312 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13316 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13321 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13322 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13323 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13324 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13327 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, TLS/SSL and STARTTLS support you
13328 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13334 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13335 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13338 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13339 @samp{993} for TLS/SSL connections.
13342 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13346 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13350 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13351 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13352 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13353 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13355 @item :authentication
13356 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13357 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13358 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13359 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13362 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13363 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13364 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13370 The valid format specifier characters are:
13374 The name of the server.
13377 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13380 The port number of the server.
13383 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13384 corresponding keywords.
13387 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13388 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13391 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13392 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13393 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13394 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13395 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13396 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13399 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13400 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13401 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13402 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13405 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13406 after finishing the fetch.
13410 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13413 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13415 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13419 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13420 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13421 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13423 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13424 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13426 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13432 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13433 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13436 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13440 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13444 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13445 folder after finishing the fetch.
13449 An example webmail source:
13452 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13454 :password "secret")
13459 @item Common Keywords
13460 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13466 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13467 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13471 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13476 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13477 useful when you use local mail and news.
13482 @subsubsection Function Interface
13484 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13485 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13486 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13487 consider the following mail-source setting:
13490 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13491 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13494 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13495 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13496 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13497 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13498 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13500 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13503 @node Mail Source Customization
13504 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13506 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13507 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13511 @item mail-source-crash-box
13512 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13513 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13514 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13516 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13517 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13518 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13519 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13520 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13521 (This will only happen, when reveiving new mail). You may also set
13522 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13523 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13525 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13526 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13527 If @code{non-nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13528 files. This variable only applies when
13529 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13531 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13532 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13533 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13535 @item mail-source-directory
13536 @vindex mail-source-directory
13537 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13538 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13539 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13542 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13543 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13544 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13545 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13546 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13547 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13549 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13550 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13551 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13553 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13554 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13555 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13556 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13561 @node Fetching Mail
13562 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13564 @vindex mail-sources
13565 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13566 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13567 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13568 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13570 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13571 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13574 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13575 mail server, you'd say something like:
13580 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13581 :password "secret")))
13584 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13588 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13589 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13592 :password "secret")))
13596 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13597 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13598 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13599 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13600 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13601 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13605 @node Mail Back End Variables
13606 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13608 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13612 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13613 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13614 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13615 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13617 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13618 @item nnmail-split-hook
13619 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13620 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13621 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13622 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13623 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13624 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13625 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13626 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13627 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13630 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13631 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13632 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13633 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13634 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13635 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13636 starting to handle the new mail) and
13637 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13638 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13639 default file modes the new mail files get:
13642 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13643 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13645 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13646 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13649 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13650 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13651 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13652 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13653 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13654 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13655 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13657 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13658 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13659 @findex delete-file
13660 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13662 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13663 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13664 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13665 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13666 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13668 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13669 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13670 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13671 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13672 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13674 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13675 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13676 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13681 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13682 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13683 @cindex mail splitting
13684 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13686 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13687 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13688 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13689 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13690 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13691 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13693 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13696 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13697 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13698 ;; from real errors.
13699 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13701 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13702 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13703 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13704 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13705 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13706 ;; Other mailing lists...
13707 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13708 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13709 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13710 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13711 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13712 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13713 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13714 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13716 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13717 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13721 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13722 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13723 the five possible split syntaxes:
13728 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13729 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13733 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13734 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13735 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13736 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13737 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13738 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13739 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13740 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13743 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13744 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13745 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13746 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13749 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13750 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13753 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13754 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13757 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13758 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13759 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13760 function should return a @var{split}.
13763 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13764 body of the messages:
13767 (defun split-on-body ()
13769 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13770 (goto-char (point-min))
13771 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13775 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13776 when the @code{:} function is run.
13779 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the
13780 first element is @code{!}, then @var{split} will be processed, and
13781 @var{func} will be called as a function with the result of @var{split}
13782 as argument. @var{func} should return a split.
13785 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13789 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13790 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13791 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13792 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13793 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13795 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13796 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13797 are expanded as specified by the variable
13798 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13799 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13802 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13803 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13804 when all this splitting is performed.
13806 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13807 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13808 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13811 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13814 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13815 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13817 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13818 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13819 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13820 groupings 1 through 9.
13822 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13823 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13824 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13825 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13826 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13827 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13828 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13829 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13830 it once per thread.
13832 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13833 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13834 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13837 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13838 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13840 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13841 ;; other splits go here
13845 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13846 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13847 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13848 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13849 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13850 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13851 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13852 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13853 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13854 unless the group name matches the regexp
13855 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13856 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13857 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13858 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13859 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13860 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13861 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13862 messages goes into the new group.
13864 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13865 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13866 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13867 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13868 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13872 @node Group Mail Splitting
13873 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13874 @cindex mail splitting
13875 @cindex group mail splitting
13877 @findex gnus-group-split
13878 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13879 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13880 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13881 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13882 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13883 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13884 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13885 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13887 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13888 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13889 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13890 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13892 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13893 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13894 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13895 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13896 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13897 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13898 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13900 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13901 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13902 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13903 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13904 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13905 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13906 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13908 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13909 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13910 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13911 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13912 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13913 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13914 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13915 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13916 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13917 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13918 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13919 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13920 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13922 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13927 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13928 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13930 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13931 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13932 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13933 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13935 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13938 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13939 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13940 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13943 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13944 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13945 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13949 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13950 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13951 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13955 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13958 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13959 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13960 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13961 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13962 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13963 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13964 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13965 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13966 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13968 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13969 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13970 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13971 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13972 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13973 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13974 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13975 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13976 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13978 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13979 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13980 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13981 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13982 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13983 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13986 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13989 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13990 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13991 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13992 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13993 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13996 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13997 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13998 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13999 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14001 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14002 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14003 @cindex incorporating old mail
14004 @cindex import old mail
14006 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14007 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14008 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14011 Doing so can be quite easy.
14013 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14014 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14015 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14016 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14017 your @code{nnml} groups.
14023 Go to the group buffer.
14026 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14027 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14030 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14033 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14034 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14037 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14038 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14041 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14042 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14043 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14044 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14045 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14047 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14048 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14049 using the new mail back end.
14052 @node Expiring Mail
14053 @subsection Expiring Mail
14054 @cindex article expiry
14056 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14057 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14058 different approach to mail reading.
14060 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14061 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14062 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14063 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14064 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14065 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14068 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14069 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
14070 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14071 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14072 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14073 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14074 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14075 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14076 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14078 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14079 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
14080 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14081 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
14082 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14083 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14084 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14087 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14088 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14089 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14090 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14091 into its own group.)
14093 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14094 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14095 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14096 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14097 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14098 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14099 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
14100 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14103 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14104 Groups that match the regular expression
14105 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14106 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14107 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14109 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14110 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14111 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14112 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14113 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14115 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14117 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14118 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14119 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14122 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14123 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14124 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14125 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14126 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14128 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14129 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14132 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14133 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14136 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14137 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14139 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14140 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14141 don't really mix very well.
14143 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14144 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14145 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14146 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14149 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14150 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14151 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14152 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14155 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14157 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14159 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14161 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14163 ((string= group "important")
14169 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14170 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14172 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14173 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14174 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14177 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14178 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14180 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14181 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14182 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14183 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14184 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14185 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14186 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14187 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14188 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14189 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14190 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14191 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
14192 name or @code{delete}.
14194 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14196 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14199 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14200 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14201 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14202 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14203 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14206 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14207 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14208 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14209 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14210 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14213 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14214 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14215 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14216 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14217 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14218 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14220 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14221 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14222 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14223 easier for procmail users.
14225 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14226 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14227 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14228 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14229 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14230 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14231 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14232 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14233 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14234 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14235 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14236 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14237 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14240 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14242 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14243 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14244 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14245 auto-expire turned on.
14249 @subsection Washing Mail
14250 @cindex mail washing
14251 @cindex list server brain damage
14252 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14254 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14255 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14256 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14257 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14258 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14259 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14261 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14262 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14263 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14266 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14267 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14268 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14269 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14272 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14273 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14274 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14275 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14276 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14279 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14280 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14281 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14282 Emacs running on MS machines.
14286 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14287 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14288 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14289 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14292 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14293 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14294 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14295 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14297 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14298 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14299 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14300 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14301 into a feature by documenting it.)
14303 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14304 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14305 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14306 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14307 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14308 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14309 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14312 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14313 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14316 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14317 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14320 This can also be done non-destructively with
14321 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14323 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14324 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14325 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14327 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14328 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14330 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14331 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14332 @code{References} headers.
14336 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14337 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14338 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14342 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14343 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14344 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14351 @subsection Duplicates
14353 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14354 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14355 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14356 @cindex duplicate mails
14357 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14358 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14359 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14360 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14361 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14362 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14363 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14364 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14365 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14366 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14367 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14368 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14369 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14371 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14372 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14373 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14374 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14376 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14379 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14380 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14384 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14385 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14386 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14387 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14388 (any mail "mail.misc")
14395 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14396 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14401 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14402 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14403 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14404 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14405 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14408 @node Not Reading Mail
14409 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14411 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14412 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14413 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14415 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14416 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14417 mail, which should help.
14419 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14420 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14421 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14422 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14423 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14424 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14425 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14426 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14427 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14428 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14429 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14431 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14432 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14436 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14437 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14439 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14440 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14441 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14443 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14444 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14445 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14449 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14450 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14451 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14452 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14453 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14454 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14455 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14459 @node Unix Mail Box
14460 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14462 @cindex unix mail box
14464 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14465 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14466 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14467 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14468 which group it belongs in.
14470 Virtual server settings:
14473 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14474 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14475 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14478 @item nnmbox-active-file
14479 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14480 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14481 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14483 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14484 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14485 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14486 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14491 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14495 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14496 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14497 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14498 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14499 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14501 Virtual server settings:
14504 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14505 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14506 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14508 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14509 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14510 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14511 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14513 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14514 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14515 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14521 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14523 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14525 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14526 format. It should be used with some caution.
14528 @vindex nnml-directory
14529 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14530 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14531 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14532 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14534 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14537 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14538 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14539 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14540 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14541 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14542 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14543 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14544 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14546 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14547 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14548 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14549 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14551 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14553 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14554 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14555 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14556 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14557 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14558 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14559 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14560 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14563 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14564 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14565 them next time it starts.
14567 Virtual server settings:
14570 @item nnml-directory
14571 @vindex nnml-directory
14572 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14573 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14576 @item nnml-active-file
14577 @vindex nnml-active-file
14578 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14579 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14581 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14582 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14583 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14584 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14586 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14587 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14588 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14591 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14592 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14593 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14594 default is @code{nil}.
14596 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14597 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14598 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14600 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14601 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14602 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14604 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14605 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14606 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14607 default is @code{nil}.
14609 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14610 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14611 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14613 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14614 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14615 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14620 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14621 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14622 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14623 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14624 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14625 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14626 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14631 @subsubsection MH Spool
14633 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14635 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14636 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14637 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14638 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14640 Virtual server settings:
14643 @item nnmh-directory
14644 @vindex nnmh-directory
14645 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14646 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14649 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14650 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14651 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14655 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14656 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14657 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14658 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14659 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14660 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14661 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14666 @subsubsection Maildir
14670 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14671 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14672 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14673 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. nnmaildir also
14674 stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory within a
14677 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14678 reading, without needing locks. With other backends, you would have
14679 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14680 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14681 can still do that with nnmaildir, but the more common configuration is
14682 to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs that appear as
14685 nnmaildir is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will never
14686 corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never corrupt its
14687 data in the filesystem.
14689 nnmaildir stores article marks and NOV data in each maildir. So you
14690 can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to another, and you will
14693 Virtual server settings:
14697 For each of your nnmaildir servers (it's very unlikely that you'd need
14698 more than one), you need to create a directory and populate it with
14699 maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not choose a
14700 directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir will be
14701 represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the filename of the
14702 symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames in the directory
14703 starting with `.' are ignored. The directory is scanned when you
14704 first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in the group buffer;
14705 if any maildirs have been removed or added, nnmaildir notices at these
14708 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14709 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14710 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14711 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14712 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14713 don't worry - a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14714 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14715 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14716 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14717 if nnmaildir uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical value.
14719 @item target-prefix
14720 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14721 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14722 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14725 When you create a group on an nnmaildir server, the maildir is created
14726 with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14727 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14728 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14729 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14730 the group @code{foo}, nnmaildir will create
14731 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14732 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14733 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14735 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14736 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14737 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14738 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14739 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14741 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14742 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14743 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14744 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14745 @code{force} argument.
14747 @item directory-files
14748 This should be a function with the same interface as
14749 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14750 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14751 parameter is optional; the default is
14752 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14753 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14754 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14755 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14756 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14757 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14760 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14761 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14762 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14763 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
14764 value is @code{nil}.
14766 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
14767 an nnmaildir group. The results might happen to be useful, but that
14768 would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be different
14769 in the future. If your split rules create new groups, remember to
14770 supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
14773 @subsubsection Group parameters
14775 nnmaildir uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore all
14776 this; the default behavior for nnmaildir is the same as the default
14777 behavior for other mail backends: articles are deleted after one week,
14778 etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this functionality is
14779 unique to nnmaildir, so you can ignore it if you're just trying to
14780 duplicate the behavior you already have with another backend.
14782 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
14783 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
14784 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
14785 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
14786 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
14787 backends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
14788 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
14789 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
14790 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
14794 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article before
14795 it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
14796 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
14797 nnmaildir falls back to the usual
14798 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overridable by
14799 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
14800 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
14801 60 60)]}; nnmaildir will evaluate the form and use the result. An
14802 article's age is measured starting from the article file's
14803 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
14804 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
14805 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
14808 If this is set to a string (a full Gnus group name, like
14809 @code{"backend+server.address.string:group.name"}), and if it is not
14810 the name of the same group that the parameter belongs to, then
14811 articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry before
14812 being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an nnmaildir group, the
14813 article will be just as old in the destination group as it was in the
14814 source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
14815 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
14816 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
14817 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
14818 article. So that form can refer to
14819 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
14820 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, nnmaildir does not fall
14821 back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
14822 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
14825 If this is set to @code{t}, nnmaildir will treat the articles in this
14826 maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed from
14827 @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in @file{new/},
14828 not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles cannot be
14829 edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the @file{new/}
14830 directory of another maildir - e.g., a system-wide mailbox containing
14831 a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the maildir outside
14832 @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for a shared
14833 mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or have write
14834 permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't contain
14835 extra copies of the articles.
14837 @item directory-files
14838 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
14839 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
14840 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
14841 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
14843 @item distrust-Lines:
14844 If non-@code{nil}, nnmaildir will always count the lines of an
14845 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
14846 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
14849 A list of mark symbols, such as
14850 @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever Gnus asks nnmaildir for
14851 article marks, nnmaildir will say that all articles have these
14852 marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in the filesystem
14853 say so. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will probably be
14854 removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14855 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14858 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
14859 Gnus asks nnmaildir for article marks, nnmaildir will say that no
14860 articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in
14861 the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
14862 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
14863 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14864 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14866 @item nov-cache-size
14867 An integer specifying the size of the NOV memory cache. To speed
14868 things up, nnmaildir keeps NOV data in memory for a limited number of
14869 articles in each group. (This is probably not worthwhile, and will
14870 probably be removed in the future.) This parameter's value is noticed
14871 only the first time a group is seen after the server is opened - i.e.,
14872 when you first start Gnus, typically. The NOV cache is never resized
14873 until the server is closed and reopened. The default is an estimate
14874 of the number of articles that would be displayed in the summary
14875 buffer: a count of articles that are either marked with @code{tick} or
14876 not marked with @code{read}, plus a little extra.
14879 @subsubsection Article identification
14880 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
14881 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
14882 contains no colons. nnmaildir ignores, but preserves, the
14883 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
14884 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
14885 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
14886 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
14887 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
14888 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
14889 request the article in the summary buffer.
14891 @subsubsection NOV data
14892 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its NOV data (used to
14893 generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
14894 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
14895 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
14896 need for it - an article's NOV data is updated automatically when the
14897 article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can force
14898 nnmaildir to regenerate the NOV data for a single article simply by
14899 deleting the corresponding NOV file, but @emph{beware}: this will also
14900 cause nnmaildir to assign a new article number for this article, which
14901 may cause trouble with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
14903 @subsubsection Article marks
14904 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
14905 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
14906 When Gnus asks nnmaildir for a group's marks, nnmaildir looks for such
14907 files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus asks nnmaildir
14908 to store a new set of marks, nnmaildir creates and deletes the
14909 corresponding files as needed. (Actually, rather than create a new
14910 file for each mark, it just creates hard links to
14911 @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
14913 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
14914 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
14915 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
14916 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
14917 this while Gnus is running and your nnmaildir server is open, it's
14918 best to exit all summary buffers for nnmaildir groups and type @kbd{s}
14919 in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g} in the
14920 group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not pick up the
14921 changes, and might undo them.
14925 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14927 @cindex mbox folders
14928 @cindex mail folders
14930 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14931 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14932 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14935 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14937 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14938 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14939 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14940 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14941 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14942 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14943 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14944 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14945 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14946 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14948 Virtual server settings:
14951 @item nnfolder-directory
14952 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14953 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14954 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14957 @item nnfolder-active-file
14958 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14959 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14961 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14962 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14963 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14964 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
14966 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14967 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14968 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14971 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14972 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14973 @cindex backup files
14974 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14975 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14976 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14977 your @file{.emacs} file:
14980 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14981 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14983 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14986 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14987 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14988 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14989 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14990 extract some information from it before removing it.
14992 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14993 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14994 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14995 default is @code{nil}.
14997 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14998 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14999 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15001 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15002 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15003 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
15004 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15006 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15007 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15008 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15009 default is @code{nil}.
15011 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15012 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15013 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15015 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15016 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15017 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
15018 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15023 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15024 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15025 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15026 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15027 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15028 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15031 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15032 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15034 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15035 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15036 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15037 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15038 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15040 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15041 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15042 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15043 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
15044 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15045 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15046 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15047 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15050 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15051 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15052 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15053 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15058 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15059 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15060 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15061 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15062 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15063 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15064 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15065 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15066 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15067 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15068 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15069 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15070 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15075 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15076 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15077 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15078 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15079 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15080 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15081 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15082 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15083 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
15084 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15085 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15086 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15087 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
15088 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15090 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15091 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15096 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15097 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15098 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15099 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15100 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15101 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15102 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15103 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15104 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15105 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15106 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15107 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15108 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15109 provided by the active file and overviews.
15111 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15112 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15113 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15114 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15115 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15118 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15119 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15124 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15125 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15126 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
15127 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15128 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15129 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15130 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15134 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15135 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15136 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15137 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15138 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15139 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15140 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15141 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15142 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15144 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15145 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15146 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15147 friendly mail back end all over.
15151 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15152 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15155 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15156 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15157 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15158 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15159 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15160 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15161 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
15162 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
15165 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15166 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15167 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
15168 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15169 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15170 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15171 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15172 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15173 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15174 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15175 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15177 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15178 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15179 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15180 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15181 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15184 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15185 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15186 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15187 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15188 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15189 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15190 removed in the future.
15192 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15193 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15194 on your file system.
15196 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15197 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15202 @node Browsing the Web
15203 @section Browsing the Web
15205 @cindex browsing the web
15209 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15210 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15211 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15212 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15213 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15214 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15215 even know what a news group is.
15217 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15218 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15219 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15220 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15221 you mad in the end.
15223 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15226 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15227 interfaces to these sources.
15231 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15232 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15233 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15234 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15235 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15236 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15239 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15241 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15242 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
15243 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15244 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15245 though, you should be ok.
15247 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15248 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15249 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15250 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15251 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15253 @node Archiving Mail
15254 @subsection Archiving Mail
15255 @cindex archiving mail
15256 @cindex backup of mail
15258 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15259 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15260 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15261 marks is fairly simple.
15263 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15264 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15267 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15268 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15269 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15270 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15271 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15272 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15273 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15274 before you restore the data.
15276 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15277 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15278 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15279 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15280 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15281 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15282 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15283 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15284 is unnecessary in that case.
15287 @subsection Web Searches
15292 @cindex Usenet searches
15293 @cindex searching the Usenet
15295 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15296 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15297 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15298 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15299 searches without having to use a browser.
15301 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15302 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15303 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15304 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15305 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15307 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15308 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15309 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15310 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15311 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15312 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15313 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15314 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15315 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15316 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15319 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15320 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15321 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15322 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15323 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15324 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15326 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15327 to use @code{nnweb}.
15329 Virtual server variables:
15334 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15335 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15336 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15339 @vindex nnweb-search
15340 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15342 @item nnweb-max-hits
15343 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15344 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15347 @item nnweb-type-definition
15348 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15349 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15350 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15355 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15359 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15362 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15365 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15369 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15376 @subsection Slashdot
15380 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
15381 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15382 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15384 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15385 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
15388 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15389 '((nnslashdot "")))
15392 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15393 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15394 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15395 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15396 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15399 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15400 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15402 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15403 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
15404 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15405 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
15406 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
15407 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15410 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15413 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15414 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15415 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15416 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15417 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15418 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15419 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15421 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15422 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15423 The login name to use when posting.
15425 @item nnslashdot-password
15426 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15427 The password to use when posting.
15429 @item nnslashdot-directory
15430 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15431 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15432 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15434 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15435 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15436 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
15437 news articles and comments. The default is
15438 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15440 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15441 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15442 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15444 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15446 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15447 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15448 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15450 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15452 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15453 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15454 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15456 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15457 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15458 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15459 updated. The default is 0.
15466 @subsection Ultimate
15468 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15470 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
15471 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15472 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15473 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15475 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15476 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15477 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15478 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15479 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15480 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15481 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15483 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15486 @item nnultimate-directory
15487 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15488 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
15489 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15494 @subsection Web Archive
15496 @cindex Web Archive
15498 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15499 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15500 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15501 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15504 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15505 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15506 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15507 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15508 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15509 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15510 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15511 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15513 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15516 @item nnwarchive-directory
15517 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15518 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15519 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15521 @item nnwarchive-login
15522 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15523 The account name on the web server.
15525 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15526 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15527 The password for your account on the web server.
15535 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15536 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15537 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15540 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15541 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15544 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15547 @item nnrss-directory
15548 @vindex nnrss-directory
15549 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15550 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15554 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15555 the summary buffer.
15558 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15559 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15561 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15563 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15564 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15567 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15570 (require 'browse-url)
15572 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15574 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15577 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15578 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15581 (browse-url (cdr url))
15582 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15583 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15585 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15586 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15587 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15588 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15591 @node Customizing w3
15592 @subsection Customizing w3
15598 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15599 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15600 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15602 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15603 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15604 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15607 (eval-after-load "w3"
15609 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15610 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15611 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15612 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15614 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15617 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15618 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15627 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15628 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15629 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15630 specify the network address of the server.
15632 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15633 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15634 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15635 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15636 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15638 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15639 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15640 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15641 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15643 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15644 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15645 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15646 usage explained in this section.
15648 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15649 might look something like the following. (Note that for TLS/SSL, you
15650 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15653 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15654 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15655 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15657 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15658 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15659 ; a UW server running on localhost
15661 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15662 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15663 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15664 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15665 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15666 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15667 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15668 (nnimap-stream network))
15669 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15671 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15672 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15673 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15676 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15677 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15678 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15679 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15681 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15686 @item nnimap-address
15687 @vindex nnimap-address
15689 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15690 server name if not specified.
15692 @item nnimap-server-port
15693 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15694 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for TLS/SSL.
15696 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15699 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15700 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15703 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15704 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15705 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15706 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15707 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15708 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15709 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15711 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15712 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15713 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15716 Example server specification:
15719 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15720 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15721 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15724 @item nnimap-stream
15725 @vindex nnimap-stream
15726 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15727 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15728 of TLS/SSL. (@sc{imap} over TLS/SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15729 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15731 Example server specification:
15734 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15735 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15738 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15742 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15743 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
15745 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15747 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15748 TLS/SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15751 @dfn{tls:} Connect through TLS. Requires GNUTLS (the program
15752 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
15754 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15755 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
15757 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15759 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15762 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15763 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15764 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15765 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15766 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15767 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15768 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15769 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15770 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15773 For TLS connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
15774 needed. It is available from
15775 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
15777 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
15778 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
15779 authenticated IMAP stream in a subshell. They are tried sequentially
15780 until a connection is made, or the list has been exhausted. By
15781 default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
15782 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
15783 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
15786 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15787 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15788 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15789 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15790 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15791 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15792 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15795 @vindex imap-shell-program
15796 @vindex imap-shell-host
15797 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15798 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15800 @item nnimap-authenticator
15801 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15803 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15804 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15806 Example server specification:
15809 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15810 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15813 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15817 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15818 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
15820 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15823 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15824 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15826 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15828 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15830 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15833 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15835 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15836 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15837 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15838 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15839 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15840 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15843 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15844 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15845 running in circles yet?
15847 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15848 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15851 The possible options are:
15856 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
15859 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15860 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15861 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15862 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15864 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15869 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15870 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15872 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15873 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15874 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15875 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15876 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15879 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15880 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15883 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15884 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15885 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15886 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15889 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15890 as ticked for other users.
15892 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15894 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15896 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15897 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15898 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15899 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15901 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15902 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15903 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15904 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15906 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15907 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15909 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15910 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15911 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15917 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15918 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15919 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15920 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
15921 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15926 @node Splitting in IMAP
15927 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15928 @cindex splitting imap mail
15930 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15931 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15932 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15933 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15934 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15938 Here are the variables of interest:
15942 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15943 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15945 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15947 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15948 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15950 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15952 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15953 @cindex splitting, inbox
15955 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15957 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15958 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15962 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15963 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15966 No nnmail equivalent.
15968 @item nnimap-split-rule
15969 @cindex Splitting, rules
15970 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15972 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15975 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15976 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15977 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15978 Neither did I, we need examples.
15981 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15983 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15984 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15985 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15988 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15989 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15990 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15992 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15993 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15997 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16000 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16001 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16003 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16004 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16005 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
16006 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16008 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16009 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16010 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16011 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16012 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16013 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16015 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16016 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16017 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16019 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16020 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16021 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16023 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16025 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16026 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16027 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16030 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16031 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16032 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
16033 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16034 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16035 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
16038 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16039 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16040 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16041 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16042 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16043 group/function elements.
16045 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16047 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16049 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16051 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16052 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16054 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
16055 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16056 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16059 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16060 @cindex splitting, fancy
16061 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16062 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16064 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16065 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16066 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16068 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16069 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16070 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16071 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16076 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16077 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16080 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16082 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16083 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16084 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16086 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
16087 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
16088 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
16089 analyses the body to split the article.
16093 @node Expiring in IMAP
16094 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16095 @cindex expiring imap mail
16097 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16098 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16099 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
16100 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16101 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16102 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16105 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
16106 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16107 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16108 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16109 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16110 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16111 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16112 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16116 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16117 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16119 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16120 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16122 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16124 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16125 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16126 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
16127 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16131 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16132 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16133 @cindex editing imap acls
16134 @cindex Access Control Lists
16135 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
16137 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16139 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
16140 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16141 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16144 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16145 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
16146 editing window with detailed instructions.
16148 Some possible uses:
16152 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16153 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16154 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16156 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16157 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16158 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
16162 @node Expunging mailboxes
16163 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16167 @cindex Manual expunging
16169 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16171 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16172 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16173 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16175 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16178 @node A note on namespaces
16179 @subsection A note on namespaces
16180 @cindex IMAP namespace
16183 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
16184 following text in the RFC:
16187 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16189 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16190 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16191 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16192 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16194 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16195 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16196 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16197 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16198 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16199 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16202 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
16203 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
16204 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16206 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
16207 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
16208 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
16209 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
16210 the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
16211 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
16212 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
16213 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
16215 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16216 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16217 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16219 @node Other Sources
16220 @section Other Sources
16222 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16223 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16227 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16228 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16229 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16230 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16231 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16235 @node Directory Groups
16236 @subsection Directory Groups
16238 @cindex directory groups
16240 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16241 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16244 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16245 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16246 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16247 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16249 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16250 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16251 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16252 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16253 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16255 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
16257 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16258 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16259 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16260 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16263 @node Anything Groups
16264 @subsection Anything Groups
16267 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16268 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16269 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16272 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16273 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16274 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16275 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16276 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16277 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16278 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16279 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16280 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16281 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16284 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16285 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16286 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16287 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16289 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16290 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16291 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16292 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16294 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16295 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16296 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16297 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16298 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16299 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16300 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16301 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16306 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16307 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16308 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16309 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16311 @item nneething-exclude-files
16312 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16313 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16314 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16316 @item nneething-include-files
16317 @vindex nneething-include-files
16318 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16319 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16321 @item nneething-map-file
16322 @vindex nneething-map-file
16323 Name of the map files.
16327 @node Document Groups
16328 @subsection Document Groups
16330 @cindex documentation group
16333 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16334 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16341 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
16346 The standard Unix mbox file.
16348 @cindex MMDF mail box
16350 The MMDF mail box format.
16353 Several news articles appended into a file.
16356 @cindex rnews batch files
16357 The rnews batch transport format.
16358 @cindex forwarded messages
16361 Forwarded articles.
16364 Netscape mail boxes.
16367 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
16369 @item standard-digest
16370 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16373 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
16375 @item lanl-gov-announce
16376 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16378 @item rfc822-forward
16379 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16382 The Outlook mail box.
16385 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16388 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16391 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16394 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16400 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16403 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16409 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16410 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16411 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16414 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16415 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16416 group. And that's it.
16418 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16419 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16420 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16421 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16422 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16423 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16424 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16425 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16426 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16427 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16429 Virtual server variables:
16432 @item nndoc-article-type
16433 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16434 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16435 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16436 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16437 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16438 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16440 @item nndoc-post-type
16441 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16442 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16443 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16448 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16452 @node Document Server Internals
16453 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16455 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16456 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16457 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16458 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16460 First, here's an example document type definition:
16464 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16465 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16468 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16469 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16470 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16471 types can be defined with very few settings:
16474 @item first-article
16475 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16476 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16479 @item article-begin
16480 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16481 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16483 @item head-begin-function
16484 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16487 @item nndoc-head-begin
16488 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16491 @item nndoc-head-end
16492 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16493 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16495 @item body-begin-function
16496 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16500 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16503 @item body-end-function
16504 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16508 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16511 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16512 regexp will be totally ignored.
16516 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16517 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16518 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16519 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16520 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16523 @item prepare-body-function
16524 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16525 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16526 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16528 @item article-transform-function
16529 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16530 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16531 body of the article.
16533 @item generate-head-function
16534 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16535 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16536 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16537 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16541 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16546 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16547 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16548 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16549 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16550 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16551 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16552 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16553 (subtype digest guess))
16556 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16557 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16558 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16559 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16560 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16562 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16563 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16564 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16565 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16566 The alist is traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is
16567 called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is
16568 called to see whether a document is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on.
16569 These type predicates should return @code{nil} if the document is not
16570 of the correct type; @code{t} if it is of the correct type; and a
16571 number if the document might be of the correct type. A high number
16572 means high probability; a low number means low probability with
16573 @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16581 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16582 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16583 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16585 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16586 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16587 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16590 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16591 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16592 that interested in doing things properly.
16594 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16595 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16598 First some terminology:
16603 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16604 get news and/or mail from.
16607 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16608 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16611 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16615 @item message packets
16616 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16617 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16618 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16620 @item response packets
16621 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16622 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16623 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16633 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16634 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16635 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16636 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16639 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16642 You put the packet in your home directory.
16645 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16646 the native or secondary server.
16649 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16650 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16653 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16657 You transfer this packet to the server.
16660 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16663 You then repeat until you die.
16667 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16668 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16671 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16672 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16673 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16677 @node SOUP Commands
16678 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16680 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16684 @kindex G s b (Group)
16685 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16686 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16687 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16688 process/prefix convention.
16691 @kindex G s w (Group)
16692 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16693 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16696 @kindex G s s (Group)
16697 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16698 Send all replies from the replies packet
16699 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16702 @kindex G s p (Group)
16703 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16704 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16707 @kindex G s r (Group)
16708 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16709 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16712 @kindex O s (Summary)
16713 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16714 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16715 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16716 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16721 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16726 @item gnus-soup-directory
16727 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16728 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16729 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16731 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16732 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16733 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16734 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16736 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16737 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16738 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16739 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16741 @item gnus-soup-packer
16742 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16743 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16744 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16746 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16747 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16748 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16749 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16751 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16752 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16753 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16755 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16756 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16757 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16758 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16764 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16767 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16768 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16769 you can read them at leisure.
16771 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16775 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16776 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16777 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16778 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16780 @item nnsoup-directory
16781 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16782 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16783 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16785 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16786 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16787 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16788 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
16790 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16791 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16792 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16793 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16794 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16796 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16797 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16798 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16799 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16801 @item nnsoup-active-file
16802 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16803 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16804 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16805 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16806 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16808 @item nnsoup-packer
16809 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16810 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16811 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16813 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16814 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16815 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16816 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16818 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16819 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16820 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16823 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16824 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16825 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16828 @item nnsoup-always-save
16829 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16830 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16836 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16838 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16839 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16840 more for that to happen.
16842 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16843 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16844 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16847 In specific, this is what it does:
16850 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16851 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16854 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16855 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16856 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16859 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16860 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16861 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16864 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16865 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16866 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16868 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16874 @item nngateway-address
16875 @vindex nngateway-address
16876 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16878 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16879 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16880 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16881 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16882 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16883 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16884 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16887 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16888 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16889 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16892 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16895 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16898 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16901 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16903 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16906 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16907 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16908 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16910 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16912 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16913 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16914 @code{nngateway-address}.
16919 (setq gnus-post-method
16921 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16922 (nngateway-header-transformation
16923 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16931 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16934 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16939 @node Combined Groups
16940 @section Combined Groups
16942 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16946 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16947 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16951 @node Virtual Groups
16952 @subsection Virtual Groups
16954 @cindex virtual groups
16955 @cindex merging groups
16957 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16960 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16961 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16962 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16964 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16965 regexp to match component groups.
16967 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16968 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16969 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16970 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16971 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16972 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16973 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16974 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16976 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16977 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16980 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16983 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16984 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16986 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16987 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16988 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16989 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16992 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16995 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16996 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16997 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16999 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17000 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17001 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17002 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17003 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17005 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17006 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17007 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17009 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17010 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17011 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17012 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17013 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17014 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17015 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17016 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17017 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17018 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17019 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17021 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17022 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17023 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17024 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17025 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17026 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17027 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17029 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17030 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17032 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17033 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17037 @node Kibozed Groups
17038 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17042 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
17043 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
17044 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
17045 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17047 @kindex G k (Group)
17048 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17051 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17052 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17053 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
17054 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17056 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
17057 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
17058 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17060 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17061 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17062 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17063 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
17064 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
17065 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
17066 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
17067 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17069 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17070 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17071 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17072 Stranger things have happened.
17074 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17075 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17077 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17078 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17079 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
17080 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
17081 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
17082 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
17084 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17085 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
17088 @node Gnus Unplugged
17089 @section Gnus Unplugged
17094 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
17096 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17097 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17098 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17099 read news. Believe it or not.
17101 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17102 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17103 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17104 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17105 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17107 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17108 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17109 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17110 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17111 reading news on a machine.
17113 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17114 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17116 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17119 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17120 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17121 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17122 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17123 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17124 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17125 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
17126 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17127 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17128 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17129 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17130 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17135 @subsection Agent Basics
17137 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17139 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17140 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17141 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17142 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17144 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17145 connected to the net continuously.
17147 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17148 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17150 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17155 @findex gnus-unplugged
17156 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17157 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17158 already fetched while in this mode.
17161 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17162 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17163 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17164 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
17165 Source Specifiers}).
17168 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
17169 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
17170 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
17171 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
17172 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
17175 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17176 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17177 then you read the news offline.
17180 And then you go to step 2.
17183 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17189 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17190 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17191 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17192 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17193 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17194 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17195 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17196 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17200 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17201 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17202 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17203 is probably best to start with a category @xref{Agent Categories}.
17205 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17206 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17207 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17208 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17209 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17210 your policy, you can use grou parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17214 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17218 @node Agent Categories
17219 @subsection Agent Categories
17221 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17222 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17223 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17224 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17225 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17226 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17227 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17229 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17230 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17231 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17232 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17233 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17235 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17236 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17237 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17238 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17239 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17242 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17243 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17244 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17245 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17246 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17247 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17251 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17252 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17253 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17257 @node Category Syntax
17258 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17260 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17261 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17262 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17266 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17267 The name of the category.
17269 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17270 The list of groups that are in this category.
17272 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17273 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17274 are eligible for downloading; and
17276 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17277 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17278 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17279 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17281 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17282 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17283 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17284 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17285 only groups that should not be expired.
17287 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17288 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17289 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17291 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17292 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17294 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17295 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17297 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17298 an integer that overrides the value of
17299 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17301 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17302 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17305 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17308 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17309 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17310 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17313 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17314 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17315 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17316 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17318 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17319 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17320 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17322 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17323 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17324 operators sprinkled in between.
17326 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17328 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17329 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17335 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17336 short (for some value of ``short'').
17338 Here's a more complex predicate:
17347 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17348 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17351 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17352 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17353 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17355 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17356 you want to do, you can write your own.
17358 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17359 bound to the value determined by calling
17360 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17361 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17362 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17363 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17364 predicate to individual groups.
17368 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17369 lines; default 100.
17372 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17373 lines; default 200.
17376 True iff the article has a download score less than
17377 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17380 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17381 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17384 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17385 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17386 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17395 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17396 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17397 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17400 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17401 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17402 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17403 something along the lines of the following:
17406 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17407 "Say whether an article is old."
17408 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17409 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17412 with the predicate then defined as:
17415 (not my-article-old-p)
17418 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17419 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17423 (require 'gnus-agent)
17424 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17425 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17426 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17429 and simply specify your predicate as:
17435 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17436 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17437 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17438 just don't give a damn.
17440 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17441 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17442 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17443 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
17444 parameters like so:
17447 (agent-predicate . short)
17450 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17451 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17452 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17454 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17457 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17460 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17461 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17462 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17465 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17466 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17467 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17468 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17469 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17470 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17472 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17473 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17474 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17475 if it's to be specific to that group.
17477 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17484 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
17485 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17491 Category specification
17495 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17501 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17504 (agent-score ("from"
17505 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17510 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17516 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17517 keywords stated above.
17523 Category specification
17526 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17532 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17536 Group Parameter specification
17539 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17542 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17547 Use @code{normal} score files
17549 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17550 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17551 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17552 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17554 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17555 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17556 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17557 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17561 Category Specification
17568 Group Parameter specification
17571 (agent-score . file)
17576 @node Category Buffer
17577 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17579 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17580 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17581 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17583 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17587 @kindex q (Category)
17588 @findex gnus-category-exit
17589 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17592 @kindex e (Category)
17593 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17594 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17595 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17598 @kindex k (Category)
17599 @findex gnus-category-kill
17600 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17603 @kindex c (Category)
17604 @findex gnus-category-copy
17605 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17608 @kindex a (Category)
17609 @findex gnus-category-add
17610 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17613 @kindex p (Category)
17614 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17615 Edit the predicate of the current category
17616 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17619 @kindex g (Category)
17620 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17621 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17622 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17625 @kindex s (Category)
17626 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17627 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17628 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17631 @kindex l (Category)
17632 @findex gnus-category-list
17633 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17637 @node Category Variables
17638 @subsubsection Category Variables
17641 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17642 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17643 Hook run in category buffers.
17645 @item gnus-category-line-format
17646 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17647 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17648 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17652 The name of the category.
17655 The number of groups in the category.
17658 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17659 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17660 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17662 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17663 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17664 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17666 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17667 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17668 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17670 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17671 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17672 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17675 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17676 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17677 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17680 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
17681 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17682 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
17683 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
17684 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
17685 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
17686 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
17687 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
17691 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17692 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17693 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
17694 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
17695 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
17696 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
17697 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
17702 @node Agent Commands
17703 @subsection Agent Commands
17704 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17705 @kindex J j (Agent)
17707 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17708 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17709 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17713 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17714 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17715 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17721 @node Group Agent Commands
17722 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17726 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17727 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17728 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17729 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17732 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17733 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17734 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17737 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17738 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17739 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17740 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17743 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17744 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17745 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17746 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17749 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17750 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17751 Add the current group to an Agent category
17752 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17753 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17756 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17757 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17758 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17759 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17760 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17763 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17764 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17765 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17771 @node Summary Agent Commands
17772 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17776 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17777 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17778 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17781 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17782 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17783 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17784 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17788 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17789 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17790 Toggle whether to download the article
17791 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17795 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17796 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17797 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17800 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17801 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17802 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17803 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17806 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17807 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17808 Download all processable articles in this group.
17809 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17812 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17813 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17814 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17815 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17820 @node Server Agent Commands
17821 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17825 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17826 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17827 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17828 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17831 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17832 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17833 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17834 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17839 @node Agent as Cache
17840 @subsection Agent as Cache
17842 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17843 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17844 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17845 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17846 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17847 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17848 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17849 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17850 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17852 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17853 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
17854 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
17855 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
17856 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap backend.
17859 @subsection Agent Expiry
17861 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17862 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17863 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17864 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
17865 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
17866 @cindex Agent expiry
17867 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17870 The Agent backend, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
17871 least it doesn't handle it like other backends. Instead, there are
17872 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
17873 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
17874 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
17875 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
17876 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
17877 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
17879 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17880 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17881 synchronized with the group.
17883 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
17884 prevent expiration in selected groups.
17886 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17887 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
17888 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
17889 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
17890 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
17891 be kept indefinitely.
17893 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17894 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
17895 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
17896 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
17898 @node Agent Regeneration
17899 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17901 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17902 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17903 @cindex regeneration
17905 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17906 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17907 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17908 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17909 internal inconsistencies.
17911 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17912 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17913 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
17914 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17915 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17916 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17918 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17919 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17920 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17921 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17922 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17923 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17925 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17926 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17927 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17928 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17929 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17930 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17933 @node Agent and IMAP
17934 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17936 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17937 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17938 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17939 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17941 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17942 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
17943 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17944 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17946 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17947 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17948 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17949 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17951 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17952 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17953 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17954 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17955 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17956 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17958 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17959 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17960 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17961 in the group buffer.
17963 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17964 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17969 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17972 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17976 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
17977 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17978 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17979 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17980 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17981 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
17982 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17983 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17986 @node Outgoing Messages
17987 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17989 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17990 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17991 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17993 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17994 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17995 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17996 messages in the draft group.
18000 @node Agent Variables
18001 @subsection Agent Variables
18004 @item gnus-agent-directory
18005 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18006 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18007 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18009 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18010 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18011 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18012 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18013 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18016 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18017 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18018 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18020 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18021 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18022 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18024 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18025 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18026 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18028 @item gnus-agent-cache
18029 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18030 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
18031 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18032 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18034 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18035 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18036 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18037 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18038 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18039 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18040 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18043 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18044 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18045 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18046 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18047 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18048 read. The default is t.
18050 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18051 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18052 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18053 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
18054 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
18056 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18057 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18058 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18059 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18060 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18061 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18062 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18063 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18064 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18065 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18066 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18067 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18070 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18071 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18072 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18073 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18074 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18075 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18076 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18077 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18078 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18080 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18081 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18082 Another variable that isn't a Agent variable, yet so closely related
18083 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18084 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18085 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18087 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18088 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18089 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18090 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18091 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18096 @node Example Setup
18097 @subsection Example Setup
18099 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18100 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18101 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
18104 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
18105 ;;; from your ISP's server.
18106 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18108 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
18109 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
18110 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18112 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
18113 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18115 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
18116 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
18117 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
18120 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18121 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18124 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18125 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18126 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18127 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18128 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18131 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18132 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18133 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18134 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18135 back all the killed groups.)
18137 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18138 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18139 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18142 @node Batching Agents
18143 @subsection Batching Agents
18144 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18146 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18147 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18148 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18150 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18151 following incantation:
18155 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18159 @node Agent Caveats
18160 @subsection Agent Caveats
18162 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18163 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18167 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18169 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18170 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18171 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18173 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18174 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18176 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18180 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18181 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18182 locally stored articles.
18189 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18190 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18191 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18194 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18195 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18196 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18197 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18198 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18200 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18201 before generating the summary buffer.
18203 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18204 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18205 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18207 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18208 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18209 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18210 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18213 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18214 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18215 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18216 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18217 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18218 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18219 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18220 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18221 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18222 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18223 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18224 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18225 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18226 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18227 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18228 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18229 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18233 @node Summary Score Commands
18234 @section Summary Score Commands
18235 @cindex score commands
18237 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18238 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18239 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18240 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18241 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18243 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18244 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18245 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18246 score file the current one.
18248 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18253 @kindex V s (Summary)
18254 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18255 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18258 @kindex V S (Summary)
18259 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18260 Display the score of the current article
18261 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18264 @kindex V t (Summary)
18265 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18266 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18267 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18268 can use @kbd{q} to quit. @kbd{e} edits the corresponding score file.
18269 When point is on a string within the match element, @kbd{e} will try to
18270 bring you to this string in the score file.
18273 @kindex V w (Summary)
18274 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18275 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18278 @kindex V R (Summary)
18279 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18280 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18281 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18282 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18283 effect you're having.
18286 @kindex V c (Summary)
18287 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18288 Make a different score file the current
18289 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18292 @kindex V e (Summary)
18293 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18294 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18295 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18299 @kindex V f (Summary)
18300 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18301 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18302 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18305 @kindex V F (Summary)
18306 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18307 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18308 after editing score files.
18311 @kindex V C (Summary)
18312 @findex gnus-score-customize
18313 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18314 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18318 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18323 @kindex V m (Summary)
18324 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18325 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18326 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18329 @kindex V x (Summary)
18330 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18331 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18332 expunge all articles below this score
18333 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18336 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18337 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18340 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18341 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18345 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18346 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18348 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18349 keys are available:
18353 Score on the author name.
18356 Score on the subject line.
18359 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18362 Score on the @code{References} line.
18368 Score on the number of lines.
18371 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18374 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18375 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18378 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18379 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18380 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18389 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18395 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18396 what headers you are scoring on.
18408 Substring matching.
18411 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18440 Greater than number.
18445 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18446 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18447 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18452 Temporary score entry.
18455 Permanent score entry.
18458 Immediately scoring.
18462 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18463 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18464 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18468 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18469 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18470 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18471 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18473 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18474 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18475 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18476 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18477 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18479 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18480 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18481 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18482 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18483 current score file.
18485 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18486 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18487 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18490 @node Group Score Commands
18491 @section Group Score Commands
18492 @cindex group score commands
18494 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18499 @kindex W f (Group)
18500 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18501 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18502 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18503 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18507 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18509 @findex gnus-batch-score
18510 @cindex batch scoring
18512 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18516 @node Score Variables
18517 @section Score Variables
18518 @cindex score variables
18522 @item gnus-use-scoring
18523 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18524 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18525 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18527 @item gnus-kill-killed
18528 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18529 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18530 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18531 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18532 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18533 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18534 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18536 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18537 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18538 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18539 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18540 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18542 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18543 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18544 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18545 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18547 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18548 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18549 @cindex score cache
18550 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18551 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18552 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18553 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18554 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18555 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18556 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18559 @item gnus-save-score
18560 @vindex gnus-save-score
18561 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18562 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18563 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18565 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18566 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18567 across group visits.
18569 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18570 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18571 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18572 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18573 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18574 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18575 manually entered data.
18577 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18578 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18579 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18581 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18582 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18583 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18584 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18585 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18586 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18588 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18589 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18590 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18591 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18593 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18594 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18595 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18596 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18598 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18599 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18600 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18601 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18603 Predefined functions available are:
18606 @item gnus-score-find-single
18607 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18608 Only apply the group's own score file.
18610 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18611 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18612 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18613 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18614 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18615 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18616 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18617 then a regexp match is done.
18619 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18620 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18622 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18623 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18624 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18625 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18627 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18628 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18629 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18630 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18631 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18635 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18636 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18637 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18638 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18639 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18640 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18641 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18644 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18645 overall score file, you could use the value
18647 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18648 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18651 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18652 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18653 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18654 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18655 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18657 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18658 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18659 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18660 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18661 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18662 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18663 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18664 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18666 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18667 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18668 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18670 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18671 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18672 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18673 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18674 threading---according to the current value of
18675 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18676 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18677 simplified in this manner.
18682 @node Score File Format
18683 @section Score File Format
18684 @cindex score file format
18686 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18687 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18688 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18690 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18694 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18696 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18698 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18700 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18705 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18709 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18710 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18711 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18712 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18716 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18717 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18719 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18720 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18721 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18723 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18728 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18729 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18730 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18731 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18732 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18733 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18734 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18735 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18736 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18737 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18738 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18739 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18740 to articles that matches these score entries.
18742 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18743 score entry has one to four elements.
18747 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18748 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18752 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18753 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18754 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18755 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18756 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18757 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18760 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18761 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18762 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18763 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18764 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18767 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18768 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18769 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18770 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18773 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18774 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18775 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18776 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18777 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18778 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18779 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18780 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18781 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18782 instead, if you feel like.
18785 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18786 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18787 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18788 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18789 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18790 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18793 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18797 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18798 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18800 These predicates are true if
18803 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18806 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18807 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18814 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18815 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18816 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18817 it's not. I think.)
18819 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18820 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18821 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18822 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18825 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18826 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18827 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18828 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18829 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18830 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18831 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18835 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18836 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18837 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18838 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18839 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18840 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18841 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18842 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18845 @item Head, Body, All
18846 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18850 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18851 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18852 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18853 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18854 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18855 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18856 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18860 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18861 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18862 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18863 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18864 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18865 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18866 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18867 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18868 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18869 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18870 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18874 @cindex Score File Atoms
18876 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18877 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18880 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18881 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18883 @item mark-and-expunge
18884 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18885 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18888 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18889 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18890 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18891 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18892 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18895 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18896 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18899 @item exclude-files
18900 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18901 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18905 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18906 ignored when handling global score files.
18909 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18910 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18911 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18912 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18915 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18916 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18917 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18918 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18920 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18924 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18927 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18928 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18929 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18930 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18931 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18933 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18934 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18935 scoring rules exist.
18938 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18939 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18940 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18941 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18942 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18943 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18944 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18945 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18946 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18947 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18948 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18952 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18953 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18954 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18955 file for a number of groups.
18958 @cindex local variables
18959 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
18960 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
18961 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
18962 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
18963 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
18968 @node Score File Editing
18969 @section Score File Editing
18971 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18972 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18973 with a mode for that.
18975 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18976 additional commands:
18981 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18982 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18983 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18984 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18987 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18988 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18989 Insert the current date in numerical format
18990 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18991 you were wondering.
18994 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18995 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18996 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18997 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18998 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19003 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19005 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19006 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19008 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
19009 e} to begin editing score files.
19012 @node Adaptive Scoring
19013 @section Adaptive Scoring
19014 @cindex adaptive scoring
19016 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19017 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19018 stupidity, to be precise.
19020 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19021 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19022 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19023 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19024 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19025 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19026 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19027 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19028 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19030 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19031 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19032 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19033 might look something like this:
19036 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19037 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19038 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19039 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19040 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19041 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19042 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19043 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19044 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19045 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19046 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19047 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19050 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19051 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19052 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19053 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19054 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19055 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19058 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19059 will be applied to each article.
19061 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19062 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19063 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19064 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19066 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19067 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19068 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19069 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19071 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19072 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19073 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19074 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19076 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19077 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19078 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19079 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19080 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19081 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19083 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19084 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19085 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19087 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19088 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19089 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19091 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19092 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19093 let you use different rules in different groups.
19095 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19096 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19097 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19100 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19101 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19102 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19103 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19104 the length of the match is less than
19105 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19106 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19109 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19110 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19111 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19112 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19113 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19116 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19117 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19118 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19119 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19120 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19123 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19124 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19125 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19126 score with 30 points.
19128 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19129 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19130 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19131 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19132 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19134 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19135 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19136 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19137 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19138 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19140 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19141 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19142 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19143 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19145 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19146 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19147 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19148 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19150 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19151 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19152 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19153 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19154 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19156 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19157 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19158 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19160 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19161 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19162 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19163 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19166 @node Home Score File
19167 @section Home Score File
19169 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19170 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19171 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19172 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19174 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19175 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19176 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19178 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19179 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19184 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19188 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19189 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19193 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19197 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19198 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19201 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
19202 the home score file.
19205 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19208 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19213 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19216 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19217 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19220 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19221 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19223 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19225 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19226 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19229 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19230 Other functions include
19233 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19234 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19235 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19236 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19240 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19241 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19242 their own home score files:
19245 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19246 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
19247 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19248 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
19249 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19252 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19253 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19254 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19255 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19256 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19258 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19259 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19260 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19261 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19262 precedence over this variable.
19265 @node Followups To Yourself
19266 @section Followups To Yourself
19268 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19269 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19270 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19271 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19272 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19273 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19277 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19278 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19279 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19282 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19283 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19284 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19288 @vindex message-sent-hook
19289 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19290 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19292 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19296 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19297 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19301 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19302 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19305 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19306 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19311 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19315 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19316 is system-dependent.
19319 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19320 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19321 @cindex scoring on other headers
19323 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19324 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19325 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19326 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19327 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19329 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19330 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
19331 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
19332 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
19333 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19335 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
19338 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19339 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19342 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19343 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19344 time if you have much mail.
19346 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19347 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19353 @section Scoring Tips
19354 @cindex scoring tips
19360 @cindex scoring crossposts
19361 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19362 the @code{Xref} header.
19364 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19367 @item Multiple crossposts
19368 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19369 more than, say, 3 groups:
19372 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19376 @item Matching on the body
19377 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19378 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19379 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19380 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19381 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19382 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19383 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19386 @item Marking as read
19387 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19388 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19389 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19393 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19395 @item Negated character classes
19396 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19397 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19398 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19402 @node Reverse Scoring
19403 @section Reverse Scoring
19404 @cindex reverse scoring
19406 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19407 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19408 like this in your score file:
19412 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19417 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19418 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19421 @node Global Score Files
19422 @section Global Score Files
19423 @cindex global score files
19425 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19426 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19427 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19429 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19430 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19431 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19433 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19434 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19435 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19436 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19437 files are applicable to which group.
19439 To use the score file
19440 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19441 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19445 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19446 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19447 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19450 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19452 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19453 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19454 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19455 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19457 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19458 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19460 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19461 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19462 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19463 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19464 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19465 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19467 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19473 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19475 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19477 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19479 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19480 lowered out of existence.
19482 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19483 articles completely.
19486 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19487 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19488 old articles for a long time.
19491 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19492 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19493 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19494 holding our breath yet?
19498 @section Kill Files
19501 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19502 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19503 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19505 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19506 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19507 files into score files.
19509 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19510 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19511 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19512 that isn't a very good idea.
19514 Normal kill files look like this:
19517 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19518 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19522 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19523 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19525 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19526 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19529 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
19534 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19535 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19536 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19539 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19540 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19541 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19544 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19549 @kindex M-k (Group)
19550 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19551 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19554 @kindex M-K (Group)
19555 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19556 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19559 Kill file variables:
19562 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19563 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19564 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19565 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19566 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19567 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19568 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19570 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19571 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19572 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19573 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19576 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19577 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19578 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19579 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19580 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19581 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19582 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19583 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19584 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19586 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19587 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19588 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19593 @node Converting Kill Files
19594 @section Converting Kill Files
19596 @cindex converting kill files
19598 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19599 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19600 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19603 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19604 You can fetch it from
19605 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19607 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19608 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19609 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19617 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
19618 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19619 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19620 news articles generated every day.
19622 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19623 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19624 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19625 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19626 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19627 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19628 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19629 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19632 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19633 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19636 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19637 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19638 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19639 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19643 @node Using GroupLens
19644 @subsection Using GroupLens
19646 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19648 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19649 better bit in town at the moment.
19651 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19655 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19656 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19657 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19658 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19660 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19661 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19662 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19663 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19665 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19666 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19667 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19671 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19672 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19673 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19674 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19675 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19676 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19679 @node Rating Articles
19680 @subsection Rating Articles
19682 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19683 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19684 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19685 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19688 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19693 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19694 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19695 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19698 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19699 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19700 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19701 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19702 threads in rec.humor.
19706 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19707 the score of the article you're reading.
19712 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19713 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19714 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19717 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19718 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19719 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19723 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19724 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19727 @node Displaying Predictions
19728 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19730 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19731 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19732 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19733 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19734 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19736 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19737 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19738 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19739 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19740 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19741 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19742 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19743 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19744 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19745 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19746 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19747 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19748 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19750 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19751 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19752 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19753 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19755 The following are valid values for that variable.
19758 @item prediction-spot
19759 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19762 @item confidence-interval
19763 A numeric confidence interval.
19765 @item prediction-bar
19766 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19768 @item confidence-bar
19769 Numerical confidence.
19771 @item confidence-spot
19772 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19774 @item prediction-num
19775 Plain-old numeric value.
19777 @item confidence-plus-minus
19778 Prediction +/- confidence.
19783 @node GroupLens Variables
19784 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19788 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19789 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19790 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19791 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19794 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19795 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19798 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19799 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19801 @item grouplens-score-offset
19802 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19803 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19806 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19807 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19808 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19813 @node Advanced Scoring
19814 @section Advanced Scoring
19816 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19817 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19818 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19819 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19820 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19822 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19826 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19827 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19828 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19832 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19833 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19835 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19836 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19837 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19838 non-@code{nil} value.
19840 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19841 operator, and various match operators.
19848 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19849 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19850 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19855 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19856 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19857 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19862 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19863 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19867 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19868 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19869 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19870 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19871 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19872 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19873 the ancestry you want to go.
19875 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19876 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19877 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19878 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19879 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19882 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19883 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19885 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19886 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19889 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19890 when he's talking about Gnus:
19894 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19895 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19901 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19905 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19912 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19913 really don't want to read what he's written:
19917 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19918 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19922 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19923 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19924 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19931 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19932 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19933 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19934 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19938 The possibilities are endless.
19941 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19942 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19944 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19945 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19946 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19947 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19948 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19949 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19950 @samp{subject}) first.
19952 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19953 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19964 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19965 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19971 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19978 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19979 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19984 @section Score Decays
19985 @cindex score decays
19988 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19989 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19990 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19991 use them in any sensible way.
19993 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19994 @findex gnus-decay-score
19995 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19996 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19997 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19998 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19999 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20000 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20001 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20002 definition of that function:
20005 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20007 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20008 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20011 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
20013 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20015 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20018 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20019 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20020 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20021 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20025 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20028 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20031 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20035 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20036 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20037 the new score, which should be an integer.
20039 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20040 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20045 @include message.texi
20046 @chapter Emacs MIME
20047 @include emacs-mime.texi
20049 @include sieve.texi
20051 @c @include pgg.texi
20059 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20060 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20061 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20062 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20063 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20064 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20065 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20066 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20067 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20068 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20069 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20070 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20071 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20072 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20073 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20074 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20075 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20076 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20077 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20081 @node Process/Prefix
20082 @section Process/Prefix
20083 @cindex process/prefix convention
20085 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20086 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20088 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20089 command to be performed on.
20093 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20094 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20095 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20096 with the current one.
20098 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20099 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20100 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20102 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20103 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20106 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20107 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20109 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20112 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20113 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20114 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20115 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20117 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20118 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20119 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20120 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20121 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20122 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20123 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20124 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20126 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20127 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20128 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20129 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20130 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20134 @section Interactive
20135 @cindex interaction
20139 @item gnus-novice-user
20140 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20141 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20142 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20143 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20144 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20147 @item gnus-expert-user
20148 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20149 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20150 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20151 matter how strange.
20153 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20154 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20155 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20156 is @code{t} by default.
20158 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20159 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20160 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20165 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20166 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20167 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20169 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20170 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20171 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20172 rule of 900 to the current article.
20174 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20175 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20176 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20177 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20178 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20179 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20180 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20182 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20183 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20184 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20185 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20186 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20187 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20188 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20189 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20190 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20192 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20193 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20194 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20196 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20200 @node Formatting Variables
20201 @section Formatting Variables
20202 @cindex formatting variables
20204 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20205 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20206 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20207 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20208 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20211 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20212 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20213 lots of percentages everywhere.
20216 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20217 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20218 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20219 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20220 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20221 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20222 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20223 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20226 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20227 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20228 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20229 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20230 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20231 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20232 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20233 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20235 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20236 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20238 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20239 @findex gnus-update-format
20240 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20241 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20242 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20243 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20247 @node Formatting Basics
20248 @subsection Formatting Basics
20250 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20251 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20252 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20254 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20255 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20256 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20257 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20258 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20261 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20262 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20263 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20264 less than 4 characters wide.
20266 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20267 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20270 @node Mode Line Formatting
20271 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20273 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20274 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20275 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20276 with the following two differences:
20281 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20284 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20285 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20286 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20287 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20288 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20289 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20290 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20295 @node Advanced Formatting
20296 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20298 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20299 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20300 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20301 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20303 These are the valid modifiers:
20308 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20312 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20317 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20320 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20325 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20328 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20331 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20334 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20340 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20345 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20346 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20347 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20348 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20349 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20350 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20351 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20353 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20354 last operation, padding.
20356 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20357 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
20358 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
20359 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
20360 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
20361 the look of your lines.
20362 @xref{Compilation}.
20365 @node User-Defined Specs
20366 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20368 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20369 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20370 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20371 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20372 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20373 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20374 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20375 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20376 should protect against that.
20378 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20379 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20381 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20382 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20383 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20384 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20388 @node Formatting Fonts
20389 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20391 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20392 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20393 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20394 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20397 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20398 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20399 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20400 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20401 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20402 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20404 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20405 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20406 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20407 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20408 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20409 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20410 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20411 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20412 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20413 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20414 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20417 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20420 ;; Create three face types.
20421 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20422 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20424 ;; We want the article count to be in
20425 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
20426 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
20427 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20429 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20430 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20432 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
20433 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20434 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20437 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20438 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20440 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20441 mode-line variables.
20443 @node Positioning Point
20444 @subsection Positioning Point
20446 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20447 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20448 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20450 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20452 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20453 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20454 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20456 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20457 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20458 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20463 @subsection Tabulation
20465 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20466 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20467 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20468 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20470 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
20471 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20473 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20474 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20475 This is the soft tabulator.
20477 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20478 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20479 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20482 @node Wide Characters
20483 @subsection Wide Characters
20485 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20486 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20487 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20489 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20490 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20491 these countries, that's not true.
20493 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20494 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20495 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20496 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20500 @node Window Layout
20501 @section Window Layout
20502 @cindex window layout
20504 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20506 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20507 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20508 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20509 @code{t} by default.
20511 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20512 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20514 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20515 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20516 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20519 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20520 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20521 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20525 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20526 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20527 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20528 possible names is listed below.
20530 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20531 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20534 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20538 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20539 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20540 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20541 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20542 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20543 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20544 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20545 size spec per split.
20547 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20548 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20549 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20550 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20551 present) gets focus.
20553 Here's a more complicated example:
20556 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20557 (summary 0.25 point)
20558 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20562 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20563 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20564 occupy, not a percentage.
20566 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20567 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20568 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20569 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20570 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20573 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20576 (article (horizontal 1.0
20581 (summary 0.25 point)
20586 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20587 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20589 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20590 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20591 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20592 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20593 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20595 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20596 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20597 lines from the splits.
20599 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20603 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20604 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20605 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20606 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20607 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20608 size = number | frame-params
20609 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20612 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20613 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20614 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20615 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20617 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20618 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20619 @cindex window height
20620 @cindex window width
20621 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20622 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20623 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20624 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20625 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20626 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20628 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20629 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20630 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20631 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20633 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20634 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20635 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20636 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20637 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20638 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20639 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20640 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20641 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20642 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20643 configuration list.
20646 (gnus-configure-frame
20650 (article 0.3 point))
20658 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20659 @code{frame} split:
20662 (gnus-configure-frame
20665 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20667 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20668 (user-position . t)
20669 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20674 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20675 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20676 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20677 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20678 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20679 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20680 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20681 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20683 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20684 be found in its default value.
20686 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20687 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20688 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20692 (message (horizontal 1.0
20693 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20695 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20700 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20701 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20702 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20707 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20708 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20709 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20710 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20711 (name . "Message"))
20712 (message 1.0 point))))
20715 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20716 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20717 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20718 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20719 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20722 (gnus-add-configuration
20723 '(article (vertical 1.0
20725 (summary .25 point)
20729 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20730 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20731 Gnus has been loaded.
20733 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20734 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20735 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20736 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20737 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20739 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20740 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20741 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20744 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20748 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20749 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20764 (gnus-add-configuration
20767 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20769 (summary 0.16 point)
20772 (gnus-add-configuration
20775 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20776 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20782 @node Faces and Fonts
20783 @section Faces and Fonts
20788 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20789 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20790 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20795 @section Compilation
20796 @cindex compilation
20797 @cindex byte-compilation
20799 @findex gnus-compile
20801 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20802 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20803 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
20804 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
20805 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
20806 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20807 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20808 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20811 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20812 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20813 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20814 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
20815 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20818 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
20819 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20820 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
20821 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
20822 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
20827 @section Mode Lines
20830 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20831 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20832 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20833 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20834 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20835 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20836 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20839 @cindex display-time
20841 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20842 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20843 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20844 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20845 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20846 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20847 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20848 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20851 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20853 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20854 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20856 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20857 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20858 (length display-time-string)))))
20861 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20862 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20863 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20864 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20865 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20868 @node Highlighting and Menus
20869 @section Highlighting and Menus
20871 @cindex highlighting
20874 @vindex gnus-visual
20875 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20876 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20877 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20880 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20881 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20884 @item group-highlight
20885 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20886 @item summary-highlight
20887 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20888 @item article-highlight
20889 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20891 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20893 Create menus in the group buffer.
20895 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20897 Create menus in the article buffer.
20899 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20901 Create menus in the server buffer.
20903 Create menus in the score buffers.
20905 Create menus in all buffers.
20908 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20909 buffers, you could say something like:
20912 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20915 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20918 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20921 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20922 in all Gnus buffers.
20924 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20927 @item gnus-mouse-face
20928 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20929 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20930 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20934 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20938 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20939 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20940 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20942 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20943 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20944 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20946 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20947 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20948 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20950 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20951 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20952 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20954 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20955 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20956 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20958 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20959 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20960 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20971 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20972 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20973 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20974 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20975 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20979 @vindex gnus-carpal
20980 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20981 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20982 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20987 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20988 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20989 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20991 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20992 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20993 Face used on buttons.
20995 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20996 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20997 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20999 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21000 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21001 Buttons in the group buffer.
21003 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21004 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21005 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21007 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21008 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21009 Buttons in the server buffer.
21011 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21012 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21013 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21016 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21017 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21018 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21026 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21027 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21028 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21029 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21030 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21032 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21033 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21034 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21036 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21037 been idle for thirty minutes:
21040 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21043 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
21047 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21050 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
21051 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21052 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21054 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21055 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21056 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21057 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21059 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21060 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21061 @var{idle} minutes.
21063 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21064 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21067 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21068 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21069 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21071 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21072 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21073 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21074 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21076 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21077 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
21079 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21081 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21084 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21085 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21086 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21087 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21088 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21089 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21090 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21091 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21092 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21093 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21094 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21096 @findex gnus-demon-init
21097 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21098 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21099 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21100 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21101 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21103 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21104 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21105 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21114 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21115 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21117 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21118 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21119 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21120 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21123 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21124 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21125 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21126 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21128 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21129 this will make spam disappear.
21131 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21134 @item gnus-use-nocem
21135 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21136 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21139 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21140 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21141 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21142 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21143 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
21145 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21146 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21147 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21148 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
21149 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
21150 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21152 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
21153 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21155 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21156 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21157 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21158 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21159 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21160 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21161 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21162 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21163 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21164 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21166 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21167 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21170 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21173 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21174 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21177 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21180 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21183 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21184 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21186 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21187 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21188 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21189 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21191 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21192 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21195 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21197 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21205 This might be dangerous, though.
21207 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21208 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21209 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
21210 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21212 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21213 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21214 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21215 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21216 might then see old spam.
21218 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21219 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21220 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21221 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21222 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21225 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21226 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21227 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21228 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21232 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21233 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21234 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21235 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21242 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21243 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21244 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21246 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21247 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21248 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21249 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21250 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21251 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21252 @code{undo} function.
21254 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21255 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21256 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21257 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21258 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21259 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21260 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21261 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21262 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21263 never be totally undoable.
21265 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21266 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21268 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21269 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21270 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21271 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21275 @node Predicate Specifiers
21276 @section Predicate Specifiers
21277 @cindex predicate specifiers
21279 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21280 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21281 to type all that much.
21283 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21288 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21289 gnus-article-unread-p)
21292 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21293 functions all take one parameter.
21295 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21296 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21297 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21298 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21303 @section Moderation
21306 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21307 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21308 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21311 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21315 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21318 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
21320 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21325 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21326 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21327 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21330 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21331 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21334 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21335 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21339 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21342 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21343 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21347 @node Image Enhancements
21348 @section Image Enhancements
21350 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
21351 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
21354 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21355 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21356 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21357 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21370 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21371 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
21372 over your shoulder as you read news.
21374 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21383 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21384 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21385 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21386 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21387 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21388 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21389 @code{GIF} formats.
21392 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21393 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21394 point your Web browser at
21395 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21397 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21398 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21400 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21401 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21404 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21408 @item gnus-picon-databases
21409 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21410 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21411 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21412 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21413 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21415 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21416 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21417 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21418 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21420 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21421 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21422 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21423 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21425 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21426 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21427 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21428 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21429 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21431 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21432 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21433 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21434 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
21439 @subsection Smileys
21444 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21449 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21450 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21452 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21453 @file{.gnus.el} file:
21456 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21459 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21460 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21461 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21462 text and maps that to file names.
21464 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21465 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21466 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21467 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21468 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21471 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21476 @item smiley-data-directory
21477 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21478 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21480 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21481 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21482 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21491 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21492 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21493 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21497 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21498 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
21499 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21500 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21508 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21509 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21510 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21511 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21513 The variable that controls this is the
21514 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21515 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21516 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21517 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21518 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21520 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21521 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21522 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21523 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21526 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21527 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21528 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21529 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21530 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21531 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21532 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21533 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21535 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21538 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21539 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21541 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21542 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21543 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21544 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21545 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21546 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21547 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21548 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21549 header data as a string.
21551 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21552 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21553 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21554 randomly generated data.
21556 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21557 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21558 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21559 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21560 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21562 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21563 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
21566 (setq message-required-news-headers
21567 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21568 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21571 Using the last function would be something like this:
21574 (setq message-required-news-headers
21575 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21576 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21577 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21578 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21583 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21586 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21587 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21588 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21589 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21590 unusual directory structure.
21592 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21593 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21594 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21595 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21597 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21598 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21599 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21600 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21601 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21602 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21604 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21605 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21606 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21611 @subsubsection Toolbar
21615 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21616 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21617 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21618 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21619 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21621 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21622 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21623 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21625 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21626 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21627 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21629 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21630 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21631 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21642 @node Fuzzy Matching
21643 @section Fuzzy Matching
21644 @cindex fuzzy matching
21646 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21647 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21649 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21650 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21651 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21653 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21654 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21655 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21656 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21657 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21660 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21661 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21665 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21667 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21668 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21669 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21670 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21671 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21672 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21673 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21674 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21677 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21678 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21679 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21680 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21681 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21682 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21684 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21687 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21688 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21689 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21690 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21691 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21692 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21695 @node The problem of spam
21696 @subsection The problem of spam
21698 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21699 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21701 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21703 First, some background on spam.
21705 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21706 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21707 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21708 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21709 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21710 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21711 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21712 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21714 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21715 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21716 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21717 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21718 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21719 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21720 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21721 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21722 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21725 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21726 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21727 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21728 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21729 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21730 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21731 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21732 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21733 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21734 mail can be useful.
21736 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21737 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21738 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21739 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21740 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21741 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21742 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21743 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21744 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21746 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21747 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21748 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21749 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21750 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21751 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21752 because of the incident.
21754 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21755 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21756 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21757 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21758 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21759 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21760 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21761 to store the database of spam analyses.
21763 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21764 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21768 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21770 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21771 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21773 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21774 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21775 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21776 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21777 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21778 part of the mail address.)
21781 (setq message-default-news-headers
21782 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21785 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21786 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21791 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21792 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21793 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21799 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21800 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21801 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21802 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21804 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21805 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21806 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21807 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21808 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21809 your fancy split rule in this way:
21814 (to "larsi" "misc")
21818 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21819 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21820 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21821 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21822 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21824 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21825 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21826 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21827 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21828 cosmic balance somewhat.
21830 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21831 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21832 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21833 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21838 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21839 @cindex SpamAssassin
21840 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21843 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21844 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21845 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21846 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21847 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21848 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21849 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21851 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21852 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21853 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21854 Specifiers}) follows.
21858 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21861 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21864 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21865 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21866 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21869 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21873 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21876 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21877 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21881 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21882 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21883 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21884 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21887 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21889 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21891 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21892 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21894 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21896 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21897 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21901 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21902 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21903 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21906 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21907 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21909 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21910 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21911 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21915 @subsection Hashcash
21918 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21919 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21920 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21921 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21922 in smaller communities.
21924 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21925 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21926 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21927 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21928 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21929 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21930 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21931 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21932 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21933 one of them separately.
21936 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21937 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21938 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21939 header. For more details, and for the external application
21940 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21941 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21942 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21944 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21948 (require 'hashcash)
21949 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21952 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21953 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21954 development contrib directory.
21956 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21960 @item hashcash-default-payment
21961 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21962 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21963 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21964 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21966 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21967 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21968 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21969 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
21970 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
21971 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
21972 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
21973 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
21974 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21978 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21982 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21983 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21984 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21985 a useful contribution, however.
21987 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21988 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21989 @cindex spam filtering
21992 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21993 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21994 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21995 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21998 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21999 the following keyboard commands:
22009 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22010 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22012 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22013 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22014 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22015 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22021 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22022 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22024 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22030 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22031 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22034 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22035 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22036 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22037 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22038 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22039 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22040 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22041 will be detected later.
22043 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22044 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22045 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22046 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22047 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22048 by customizing the corresponding variable
22049 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22050 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22051 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22052 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22053 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22054 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22055 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22058 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22059 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
22060 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
22061 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
22062 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or @kbd{d} for
22063 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
22064 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
22065 will study them as spam samples.
22067 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22068 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
22069 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22070 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22071 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22072 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22073 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22074 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
22076 @defvar spam-ham-marks
22077 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22078 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
22079 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
22082 @defvar spam-spam-marks
22083 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
22084 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
22087 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22088 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22089 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22090 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22091 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22092 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22095 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22096 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22097 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22098 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22099 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22100 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22101 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22102 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22103 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
22104 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
22105 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
22107 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22108 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22110 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22111 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22112 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22113 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22114 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22115 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22116 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
22117 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
22118 the spam articles are only expired.
22120 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22121 must add the following to your fancy split list
22122 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22128 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22129 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22130 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22132 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22133 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22134 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22135 but you can customize it.
22137 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22139 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22140 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22141 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
22142 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
22143 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
22144 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
22145 because it will slow IMAP down.
22147 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22149 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
22150 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
22151 longer spam or ham.}
22153 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22154 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22157 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
22158 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
22161 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22162 * BBDB Whitelists::
22164 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22166 * ifile spam filtering::
22167 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22168 * Extending the spam elisp package::
22171 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22172 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22173 @cindex spam filtering
22174 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22175 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22178 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22180 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22181 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22182 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22183 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22188 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22190 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22191 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22192 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22193 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22194 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22198 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22200 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22201 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22202 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22206 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22208 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22209 customizing the group parameters or the
22210 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22211 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22212 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22216 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
22218 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22219 customizing the group parameters or the
22220 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22221 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22222 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22223 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22224 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22228 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22229 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22230 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22231 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22232 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22234 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
22235 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
22236 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
22237 Emacs regular expression syntax.
22239 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
22240 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
22241 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
22242 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
22243 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
22244 @file{blacklist} respectively.
22246 @node BBDB Whitelists
22247 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
22248 @cindex spam filtering
22249 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
22250 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
22253 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
22255 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22256 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
22257 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
22258 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
22259 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22260 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
22261 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22265 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
22267 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
22268 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22269 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
22270 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
22271 classified as spammers.
22275 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
22277 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22278 customizing the group parameters or the
22279 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22280 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22281 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22282 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22283 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22288 @subsubsection Blackholes
22289 @cindex spam filtering
22290 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
22293 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
22295 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
22296 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
22297 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
22298 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
22299 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
22300 contains outdated servers.
22302 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
22303 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
22304 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
22305 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
22306 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
22307 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
22311 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
22313 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
22317 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
22319 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
22320 blackhole server list. When set to nil, it has no effect.
22324 @defvar spam-use-dig
22326 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
22327 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
22331 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
22332 ham processor for blackholes.
22334 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
22335 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
22336 @cindex spam filtering
22337 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
22340 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
22342 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
22343 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
22344 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
22345 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
22346 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
22347 message is spam or ham, respectively.
22351 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
22353 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22354 the message, positively identify it as spam.
22358 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
22360 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22361 the message, positively identify it as ham.
22365 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
22366 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
22369 @subsubsection Bogofilter
22370 @cindex spam filtering
22371 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
22374 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
22376 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22379 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
22380 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
22381 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
22382 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
22383 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
22384 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
22386 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
22387 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
22390 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
22391 processing will be turned off.
22393 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
22397 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
22399 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22400 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
22401 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
22402 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
22403 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
22404 installation documents for details.
22406 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
22410 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
22411 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22412 customizing the group parameters or the
22413 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22414 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
22415 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
22418 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
22419 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22420 customizing the group parameters or the
22421 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22422 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22423 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
22424 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22425 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22428 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
22430 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
22431 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
22432 database directory.
22436 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
22437 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22438 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
22439 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
22440 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
22441 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
22443 @node ifile spam filtering
22444 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
22445 @cindex spam filtering
22446 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
22449 @defvar spam-use-ifile
22451 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
22452 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
22456 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
22458 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
22459 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
22460 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
22464 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
22466 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
22467 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
22468 the default value of @samp{spam}.
22471 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
22473 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
22474 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
22478 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
22479 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22480 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
22481 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
22484 @node spam-stat spam filtering
22485 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
22486 @cindex spam filtering
22487 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
22491 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
22493 @defvar spam-use-stat
22495 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
22496 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
22500 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
22501 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22502 customizing the group parameters or the
22503 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22504 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22505 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
22508 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
22509 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22510 customizing the group parameters or the
22511 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22512 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22513 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
22514 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22515 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22518 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
22519 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
22520 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
22521 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
22524 @node Extending the spam elisp package
22525 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
22526 @cindex spam filtering
22527 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
22528 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
22530 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
22531 incoming mail, provide the following:
22539 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
22540 "True if blackbox should be used.")
22545 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
22547 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
22552 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
22553 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
22554 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
22556 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
22557 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
22558 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
22562 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
22569 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
22570 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
22573 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22574 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
22575 Only applicable to spam groups.")
22577 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22578 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
22579 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22587 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22588 (spam-generic-register-routine
22589 ;; the spam function
22591 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22592 (when (stringp from)
22593 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22594 ;; the ham function
22597 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22598 (spam-generic-register-routine
22599 ;; the spam function
22601 ;; the ham function
22603 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22604 (when (stringp from)
22605 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22608 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22609 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22610 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22611 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22612 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22613 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22618 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22619 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22620 @cindex Paul Graham
22621 @cindex Graham, Paul
22622 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22623 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22624 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22626 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22627 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22628 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22629 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22630 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22631 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22632 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22633 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22634 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22637 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22638 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22639 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22640 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22641 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22642 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22643 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22644 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22646 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22647 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22648 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22649 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22650 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22653 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22654 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22655 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22658 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22659 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22661 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22662 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22663 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22664 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22665 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22667 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22668 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22669 per mail. Use the following:
22671 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22672 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22673 is treated as one spam mail.
22676 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22677 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22678 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22681 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22682 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22683 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22684 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22685 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22686 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22688 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
22689 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
22690 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22691 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22692 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22695 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22696 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22697 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22698 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22701 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22702 reset the dictionary.
22704 @defun spam-stat-reset
22705 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22708 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22709 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22710 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22711 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22712 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22713 only non-spam mails.
22715 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22716 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22717 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22720 @defun spam-stat-save
22721 Save the dictionary.
22724 @defvar spam-stat-file
22725 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22726 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22729 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22730 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22732 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22733 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22736 (require 'spam-stat)
22740 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22743 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22744 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22745 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22746 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22748 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22749 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22750 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22751 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22754 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22755 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22759 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22760 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22763 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22764 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22765 expression are considered potential spam.
22768 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22769 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22770 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22774 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22775 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22776 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22777 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22778 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22781 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22782 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22783 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22787 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22788 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22789 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22790 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22791 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22795 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22796 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22797 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22798 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22803 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22804 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22806 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22808 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22809 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22810 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22813 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22814 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22815 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22818 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22819 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22820 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22821 already been processed as non-spam.
22824 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22825 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22826 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22827 been processed as spam.
22830 @defun spam-stat-save
22831 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22832 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22835 @defun spam-stat-load
22836 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22837 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22840 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22841 Return the spam score for a word.
22844 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22845 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22848 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22849 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22850 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22853 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22854 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22857 (require 'spam-stat)
22861 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22864 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22865 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22866 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22867 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22868 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22869 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22870 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22871 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22872 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22873 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22874 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22875 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22876 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22877 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22880 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22883 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22884 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22885 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22886 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22887 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22888 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22891 @node Various Various
22892 @section Various Various
22898 @item gnus-home-directory
22899 @vindex gnus-home-directory
22900 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22901 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22903 @item gnus-directory
22904 @vindex gnus-directory
22905 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22906 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22907 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22909 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22910 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22911 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22912 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22914 @item gnus-default-directory
22915 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22916 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22917 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22918 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22919 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22920 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22921 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22924 @vindex gnus-verbose
22925 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22926 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22927 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22928 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22929 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22931 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22932 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22933 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22934 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22936 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22937 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22938 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22939 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22940 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22941 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22942 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22943 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22944 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22945 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22947 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22948 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22949 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22950 read when doing the operation described above.
22952 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22953 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22955 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22956 @cindex characters in file names
22957 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22958 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22959 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22962 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22966 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22967 Windows (phooey) systems.
22969 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22970 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22971 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22972 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22973 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22975 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22976 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22977 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22978 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22979 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22981 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22982 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22983 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22985 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22986 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22988 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22989 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22990 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22991 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22994 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
23002 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
23003 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
23005 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
23007 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
23013 Not because of victories @*
23016 but for the common sunshine,@*
23018 the largess of the spring.
23022 but for the day's work done@*
23023 as well as I was able;@*
23024 not for a seat upon the dais@*
23025 but at the common table.@*
23030 @chapter Appendices
23033 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
23034 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
23035 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
23036 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
23037 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
23038 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
23039 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
23040 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
23041 * Frequently Asked Questions::
23048 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
23050 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
23051 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
23052 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
23053 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
23054 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
23055 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
23062 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
23063 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
23065 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
23066 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
23067 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
23068 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
23069 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
23071 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
23072 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
23073 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
23074 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
23075 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
23076 appropriate name, don't you think?)
23078 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
23079 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
23080 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
23081 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
23084 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
23085 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
23086 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
23087 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
23088 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
23089 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
23090 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
23091 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
23092 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
23096 @node Gnus Versions
23097 @subsection Gnus Versions
23099 @cindex September Gnus
23101 @cindex Quassia Gnus
23102 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
23105 @cindex Gnus versions
23107 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
23108 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
23109 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
23111 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
23112 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
23114 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
23115 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
23117 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
23118 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
23120 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
23121 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
23124 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
23126 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
23127 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
23128 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
23129 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
23130 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
23131 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
23134 @node Other Gnus Versions
23135 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
23138 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
23139 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
23140 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
23141 @sc{mime} capabilities.
23143 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
23144 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
23145 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
23146 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
23153 What's the point of Gnus?
23155 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
23156 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
23157 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
23158 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
23159 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
23160 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
23161 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
23162 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
23163 keep track of millions of people who post?
23165 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
23166 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
23167 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
23168 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
23169 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
23170 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
23171 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
23172 every one of you to explore and invent.
23174 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
23175 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
23178 @node Compatibility
23179 @subsection Compatibility
23181 @cindex compatibility
23182 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
23183 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
23184 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
23189 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
23193 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
23196 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
23199 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
23200 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
23201 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
23202 important variables have their values copied into their global
23203 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
23204 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
23206 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
23207 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
23208 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
23209 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
23210 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
23214 @cindex highlighting
23215 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
23216 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
23217 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
23218 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
23219 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
23220 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
23223 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
23224 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
23225 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
23226 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
23228 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
23229 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
23230 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
23231 to stop doing it the old way.
23233 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
23235 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23237 @cindex reporting bugs
23239 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
23240 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
23241 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
23243 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
23244 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
23245 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
23246 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
23251 @subsection Conformity
23253 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
23254 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
23262 There are no known breaches of this standard.
23266 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
23268 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
23269 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
23270 We do have some breaches to this one.
23276 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
23277 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
23278 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
23279 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
23280 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
23285 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
23286 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
23287 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
23288 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
23290 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
23292 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
23294 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
23295 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
23297 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
23300 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
23301 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
23302 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
23303 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
23304 decoding (verification and decryption).
23306 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
23307 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
23308 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
23309 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
23311 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
23312 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
23314 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
23315 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
23316 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
23317 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
23318 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
23319 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
23320 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
23324 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
23325 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
23330 @subsection Emacsen
23336 Gnus should work on :
23344 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
23348 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
23349 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
23350 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
23351 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
23352 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
23354 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
23355 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
23356 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
23360 @node Gnus Development
23361 @subsection Gnus Development
23363 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
23364 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
23365 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
23366 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
23367 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
23368 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
23369 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
23370 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
23372 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
23373 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
23374 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
23375 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
23376 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
23379 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
23380 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
23381 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
23382 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
23383 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
23385 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
23386 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
23387 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
23388 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
23389 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
23390 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
23391 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
23392 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
23393 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
23394 can't be assumed to do so.
23399 @subsection Contributors
23400 @cindex contributors
23402 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
23403 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
23404 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
23405 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
23406 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
23407 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
23408 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
23409 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
23410 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
23411 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
23413 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
23419 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
23422 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
23423 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
23424 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
23425 functionality and stuff.
23428 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
23429 well as numerous other things).
23432 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
23435 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
23438 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
23441 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
23444 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
23445 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
23448 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
23451 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
23452 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23455 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
23458 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
23461 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
23464 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
23467 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
23468 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
23471 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
23474 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
23477 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
23480 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
23484 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
23487 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
23490 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
23493 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
23494 well as autoconf support.
23498 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
23499 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
23501 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
23510 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
23514 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
23524 Alexei V. Barantsev,
23539 Massimo Campostrini,
23544 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
23545 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
23549 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
23552 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
23558 Michael Welsh Duggan,
23563 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
23567 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
23575 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
23577 Michelangelo Grigni,
23581 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23583 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
23585 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23592 François Felix Ingrand,
23593 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
23594 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23596 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23607 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23608 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23610 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23611 Thor Kristoffersen,
23614 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23632 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23633 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23640 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23645 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23649 John McClary Prevost,
23655 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23660 Christian von Roques,
23663 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23670 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23672 Randal L. Schwartz,
23686 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23691 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23707 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23712 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23713 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23714 (550kB and counting).
23716 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23719 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23720 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23724 @subsection New Features
23725 @cindex new features
23728 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23729 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23730 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23731 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23732 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23735 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23736 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23737 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23740 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23742 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23747 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23748 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23751 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23752 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23755 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23758 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23759 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23760 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23763 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23764 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23765 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23766 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23769 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23770 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23773 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23774 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23775 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23778 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23779 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23782 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23783 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23784 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23787 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23788 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23789 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23792 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23793 the @file{.emacs} file.
23796 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23797 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23800 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23801 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23804 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23805 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23808 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23809 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23812 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23813 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23816 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23819 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23820 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23823 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23824 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23827 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23828 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23831 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23834 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23835 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23838 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23842 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23846 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23847 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23850 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23856 @node September Gnus
23857 @subsubsection September Gnus
23861 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23865 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23870 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23871 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23875 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23876 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23880 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23884 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23885 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23888 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23892 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23895 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23898 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23901 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23905 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23906 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23909 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23913 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23917 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23921 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23925 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23928 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23929 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23932 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23936 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23937 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23940 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23943 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23944 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23945 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23948 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23952 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23955 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23959 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23960 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23963 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23964 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23967 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23968 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23971 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23972 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23973 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23976 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23977 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23980 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23983 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23986 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23989 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23992 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23993 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23996 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
24000 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
24003 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
24008 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
24011 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
24015 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24018 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
24022 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
24025 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
24028 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
24029 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24032 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
24033 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
24037 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
24038 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
24041 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
24045 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
24046 buffer to allow easier treatment.
24049 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
24052 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
24056 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
24060 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
24061 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
24064 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
24068 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
24069 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24072 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
24073 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24076 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
24080 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24083 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
24086 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
24092 @subsubsection Red Gnus
24094 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
24098 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
24105 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
24108 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
24109 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24112 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
24113 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
24117 Article washing status can be displayed in the
24118 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
24121 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
24124 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
24125 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
24128 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
24132 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
24133 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
24137 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
24138 Server Internals}).
24141 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
24145 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
24148 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
24149 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
24152 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
24153 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
24154 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
24157 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
24158 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24161 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
24162 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
24165 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
24169 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
24170 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24173 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
24174 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24177 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
24181 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
24184 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
24188 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
24189 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24192 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
24193 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24196 A new command for reading collections of documents
24197 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
24198 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
24201 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
24205 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
24206 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
24209 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
24210 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
24211 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
24214 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
24215 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
24219 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
24223 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
24227 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
24232 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
24236 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
24240 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
24241 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
24244 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
24250 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
24252 New features in Gnus 5.6:
24257 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
24258 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
24259 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
24262 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
24263 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
24264 group, which is created automatically.
24267 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
24271 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
24274 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
24275 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
24278 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
24282 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
24285 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
24286 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
24289 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
24292 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section ``Symbolic
24293 Prefixes'' in the Gnus manual for details.
24296 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
24297 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
24300 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
24301 control over simplification.
24304 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
24307 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
24311 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
24314 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
24317 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
24318 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
24319 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
24322 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
24323 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
24326 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
24330 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
24331 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
24334 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
24335 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
24338 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
24342 A history of where mails have been split is available.
24345 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
24348 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
24349 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
24352 A new function for citing in Message has been
24353 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
24356 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
24359 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
24363 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
24364 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
24367 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
24368 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
24371 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
24374 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
24378 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
24379 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
24381 New features in Gnus 5.8:
24386 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
24387 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
24389 If you used procmail like in
24392 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
24393 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
24394 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
24395 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
24398 this now has changed to
24402 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
24406 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
24407 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
24410 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
24411 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
24414 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
24415 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
24418 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
24419 called to position point.
24422 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
24423 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
24426 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
24427 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
24430 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
24431 subtly different manner.
24434 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
24435 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
24436 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
24439 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
24447 @section The Manual
24451 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
24452 either @code{texi2dvi}
24454 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
24455 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
24457 to get what you hold in your hands now.
24459 The following conventions have been used:
24464 This is a @samp{string}
24467 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
24470 This is a @file{file}
24473 This is a @code{symbol}
24477 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
24481 (setq flargnoze "yes")
24484 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
24487 (setq flumphel 'yes)
24490 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
24491 ever get them confused.
24495 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
24496 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
24497 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
24498 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
24499 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
24500 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
24501 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
24507 @node On Writing Manuals
24508 @section On Writing Manuals
24510 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
24511 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
24512 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
24513 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
24514 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
24515 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
24518 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
24519 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
24520 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
24523 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
24524 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
24529 @section Terminology
24531 @cindex terminology
24536 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
24537 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
24538 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
24539 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
24540 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
24544 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
24545 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
24546 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
24547 not posting, and replying is not following up.
24551 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
24555 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
24560 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
24561 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
24562 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
24563 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
24564 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
24565 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
24566 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
24567 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
24568 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
24570 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
24571 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
24572 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
24573 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
24574 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
24577 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
24578 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
24579 access the articles.
24581 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
24582 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
24583 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24588 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24589 default, way of getting news.
24593 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24594 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24599 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24600 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24604 A message that has been posted as news.
24607 @cindex mail message
24608 A message that has been mailed.
24612 A mail message or news article
24616 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24621 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24626 A line from the head of an article.
24630 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24631 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
24635 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24636 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24637 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24638 normal @sc{head} format.
24642 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24643 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24644 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24645 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24646 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24647 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24649 @item killed groups
24650 @cindex killed groups
24651 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24652 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24654 @item zombie groups
24655 @cindex zombie groups
24656 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24659 @cindex active file
24660 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24661 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24662 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24665 @cindex bogus groups
24666 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24667 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24668 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24671 @cindex activating groups
24672 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24673 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24674 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24678 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24680 @item select method
24681 @cindex select method
24682 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24685 @item virtual server
24686 @cindex virtual server
24687 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24688 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24689 whole is a virtual server.
24693 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24694 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24697 @item ephemeral groups
24698 @cindex ephemeral groups
24699 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24700 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24701 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24704 @cindex solid groups
24705 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24706 group buffer are solid groups.
24708 @item sparse articles
24709 @cindex sparse articles
24710 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24711 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24715 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24716 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24720 @cindex thread root
24721 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24722 articles in the thread.
24726 An article that has responses.
24730 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24734 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24735 specified by RFC 1153.
24741 @node Customization
24742 @section Customization
24743 @cindex general customization
24745 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24746 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24747 for some quite common situations.
24750 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24751 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24752 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24753 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24757 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24758 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24760 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24761 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24762 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24766 @item gnus-read-active-file
24767 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24768 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24769 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24770 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24771 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24773 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24774 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24775 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24776 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24780 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24781 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24783 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24784 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24785 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24789 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24790 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24791 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24792 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24793 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24795 @item gnus-visible-headers
24796 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24797 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24798 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24799 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24801 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24803 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24804 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24805 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24808 @item gnus-use-full-window
24809 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24810 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24811 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24812 want to read them anyway.
24814 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24815 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24819 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24820 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24821 lines, which might save some time.
24825 @node Little Disk Space
24826 @subsection Little Disk Space
24829 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24830 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24834 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24835 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24836 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24837 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24840 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24841 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24842 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24843 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24846 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24847 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24848 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24849 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24850 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24856 @subsection Slow Machine
24857 @cindex slow machine
24859 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24860 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24862 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24863 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24865 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24866 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24867 summary buffer faster.
24871 @node Troubleshooting
24872 @section Troubleshooting
24873 @cindex troubleshooting
24875 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24883 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24886 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24887 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24891 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24892 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
24893 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
24894 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
24895 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24898 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24902 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24903 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24904 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24905 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24906 something like that.
24909 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24912 @cindex reporting bugs
24914 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24916 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24917 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24918 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24919 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24921 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24922 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24923 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24924 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24927 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24928 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24929 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24930 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24931 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24932 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24934 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24935 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24936 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24940 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24941 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24944 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24945 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24946 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24947 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24948 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24949 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24950 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24951 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24952 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24953 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24954 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24955 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24956 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24957 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24962 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24963 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24964 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
24965 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24966 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24967 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24968 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24969 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24970 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24971 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET message}. Then perform
24972 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24973 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24974 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24975 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24976 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24977 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24978 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24979 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24981 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24982 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24984 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24985 @cindex ding mailing list
24986 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@email{ding@@gnus.org}.
24987 Write to @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24991 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24992 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24994 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24995 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24996 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24997 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
25000 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
25001 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
25002 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
25003 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
25004 and general methods of operation.
25007 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
25008 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
25009 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
25010 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
25011 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
25012 * Group Info:: The group info format.
25013 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
25014 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
25015 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
25019 @node Gnus Utility Functions
25020 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
25021 @cindex Gnus utility functions
25022 @cindex utility functions
25024 @cindex internal variables
25026 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
25027 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
25028 Below is a list of the most common ones.
25032 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
25033 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
25034 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
25036 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
25037 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
25038 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
25040 @item gnus-group-real-name
25041 @findex gnus-group-real-name
25042 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
25045 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
25046 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
25047 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
25048 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
25050 @item gnus-get-info
25051 @findex gnus-get-info
25052 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
25054 @item gnus-group-unread
25055 @findex gnus-group-unread
25056 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
25060 @findex gnus-active
25061 The active entry for @var{group}.
25063 @item gnus-set-active
25064 @findex gnus-set-active
25065 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
25067 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25068 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25069 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
25072 @item gnus-continuum-version
25073 @findex gnus-continuum-version
25074 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
25075 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
25078 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
25079 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
25080 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
25082 @item gnus-news-group-p
25083 @findex gnus-news-group-p
25084 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
25086 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25087 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25088 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
25090 @item gnus-server-to-method
25091 @findex gnus-server-to-method
25092 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
25094 @item gnus-server-equal
25095 @findex gnus-server-equal
25096 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
25098 @item gnus-group-native-p
25099 @findex gnus-group-native-p
25100 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
25102 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
25103 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
25104 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
25106 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
25107 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
25108 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
25110 @item group-group-find-parameter
25111 @findex group-group-find-parameter
25112 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
25113 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
25115 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
25116 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
25117 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
25119 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
25120 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
25121 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
25123 @item gnus-check-backend-function
25124 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
25125 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
25126 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
25129 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
25133 @item gnus-read-method
25134 @findex gnus-read-method
25135 Prompts the user for a select method.
25140 @node Back End Interface
25141 @subsection Back End Interface
25143 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
25144 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
25145 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
25146 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
25147 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
25148 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
25150 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
25151 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
25152 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
25153 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
25154 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
25155 been opened, the function should fail.
25157 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
25158 name. Take this example:
25162 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
25163 (nntp-port-number 4324))
25166 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
25167 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
25169 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
25170 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
25171 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
25173 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
25174 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
25175 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
25177 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
25178 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
25179 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
25180 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
25181 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
25182 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
25185 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
25186 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
25187 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
25188 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
25191 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
25192 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
25193 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
25194 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
25195 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
25196 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
25197 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
25198 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
25199 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
25200 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
25202 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
25203 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
25204 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
25205 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
25206 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
25207 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
25208 of numbers as long as possible.
25210 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
25211 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
25212 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
25214 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
25217 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
25220 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
25221 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
25222 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
25223 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
25224 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
25225 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
25229 @node Required Back End Functions
25230 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
25234 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
25236 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
25237 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
25238 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
25239 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
25241 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
25242 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
25243 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
25244 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
25246 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
25247 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
25248 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
25249 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
25250 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
25251 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
25252 number, do maximum fetches.
25254 Here's an example HEAD:
25257 221 1056 Article retrieved.
25258 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
25259 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
25260 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
25261 Subject: Re: Something very droll
25262 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
25263 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
25265 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
25266 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
25267 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
25271 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
25272 these in the data buffer.
25274 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
25278 head = error / valid-head
25279 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
25280 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
25281 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
25282 header = <text> eol
25286 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
25288 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
25289 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
25293 nov-buffer = *nov-line
25294 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
25295 field = <text except TAB>
25298 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
25302 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
25304 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
25305 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
25307 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
25308 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
25309 server. In fact, it should do so.
25311 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
25312 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
25315 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
25317 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
25318 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
25321 There should be no data returned.
25324 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
25326 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
25327 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
25328 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
25329 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
25331 There should be no data returned.
25334 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
25336 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
25337 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
25338 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
25339 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
25341 There should be no data returned.
25344 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
25346 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
25348 There should be no data returned.
25351 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
25353 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
25354 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
25355 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
25356 it would be nice if that were possible.
25358 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
25359 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
25360 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
25361 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
25362 into its article buffer.
25364 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
25365 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
25366 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
25367 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
25368 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
25369 on successful article retrieval.
25372 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
25374 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
25375 making @var{group} the current group.
25377 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
25380 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
25383 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
25386 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
25387 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
25388 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
25389 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
25390 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
25391 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
25392 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
25393 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
25394 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
25398 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
25399 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
25400 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
25404 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25406 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
25407 a no-op on most back ends.
25409 There should be no data returned.
25412 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
25414 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
25417 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
25420 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
25421 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
25424 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
25425 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
25426 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
25427 and the highest as 0.
25430 active-file = *active-line
25431 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
25433 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
25436 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
25437 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
25438 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
25441 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
25443 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
25444 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
25445 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
25446 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
25447 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
25448 clear if the posting could not be completed.
25450 There should be no result data from this function.
25455 @node Optional Back End Functions
25456 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
25460 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
25462 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
25463 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
25464 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
25466 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
25467 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
25468 former is in the same format as the data from
25469 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
25470 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
25473 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
25477 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
25479 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
25480 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
25481 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
25482 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
25483 should return a non-nil value.
25485 There should be no result data from this function.
25488 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
25490 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
25491 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
25492 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
25493 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
25494 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
25495 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
25496 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
25497 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
25499 There should be no result data from this function.
25502 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
25504 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
25505 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
25506 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
25507 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
25508 propagate the mark information to the server.
25510 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
25513 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
25516 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
25517 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
25518 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
25519 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
25520 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
25521 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
25522 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
25523 possible, not limit itself to these.
25525 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
25526 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
25527 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
25528 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
25530 An example action list:
25533 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
25534 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
25535 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
25538 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
25539 mark on (currently not used for anything).
25541 There should be no result data from this function.
25543 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
25545 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
25546 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
25547 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
25548 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
25549 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
25551 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
25552 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
25553 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
25556 There should be no result data from this function.
25559 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
25561 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
25562 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
25563 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
25564 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
25565 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
25566 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
25567 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
25569 There should be no result data from this function.
25572 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
25574 The result data from this function should be a description of
25578 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
25580 description = <text>
25583 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
25585 The result data from this function should be the description of all
25586 groups available on the server.
25589 description-buffer = *description-line
25593 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25595 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25596 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25597 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25598 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25599 in the active buffer format.
25601 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25602 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25603 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25604 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25605 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25606 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25607 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25610 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25612 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25614 There should be no return data.
25617 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25619 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25620 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25621 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25622 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25623 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25626 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25629 There should be no result data returned.
25632 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
25634 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25635 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25637 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25638 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25639 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25640 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25641 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25642 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25644 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25645 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25648 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25649 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25651 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25652 article for that group.
25654 There should be no data returned.
25657 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25659 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25660 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25661 this function in short order.
25663 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25664 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25666 There should be no data returned.
25669 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25671 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25672 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25674 There should be no data returned.
25677 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25679 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25680 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25681 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25683 There should be no data returned.
25686 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25688 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25689 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25691 There should be no data returned.
25696 @node Error Messaging
25697 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25699 @findex nnheader-report
25700 @findex nnheader-get-report
25701 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25702 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25703 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25704 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25705 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25706 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25709 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25711 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25714 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25715 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25716 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25717 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25719 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25720 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25721 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25724 @node Writing New Back Ends
25725 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25727 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25728 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25729 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25730 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25731 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25734 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25735 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25736 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25738 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25739 package called @code{nnoo}.
25741 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25742 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25748 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25749 parameters. For instance:
25752 (nnoo-declare nndir
25756 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25757 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25760 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25761 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25762 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25764 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25765 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25766 a function in those back ends.
25769 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25770 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25771 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25774 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25775 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25776 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25778 @item nnoo-define-basics
25779 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25783 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25787 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25788 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25789 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25791 @item nnoo-map-functions
25792 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25793 functions from the parent back ends.
25796 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25797 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25798 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25801 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25802 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25803 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25804 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25807 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25808 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25809 haven't already been defined.
25815 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25819 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25820 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25821 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25826 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25829 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25830 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25834 (require 'nnheader)
25838 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25840 (nnoo-declare nndir
25843 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25844 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25845 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25847 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25848 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25851 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25853 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25854 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25855 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25857 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25858 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25860 ;;; Interface functions.
25862 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25864 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25865 (setq nndir-directory
25866 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25868 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25869 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25870 (push `(nndir-current-group
25871 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25872 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25874 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25875 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25877 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25879 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25880 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25881 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25882 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25883 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25887 nnmh-status-message
25889 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25895 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25896 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25898 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25899 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25900 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25901 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25902 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25904 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25905 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25910 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25913 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25915 The abilities can be:
25919 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25921 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25923 This back end supports both mail and news.
25925 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25928 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25929 articles and groups.
25931 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25932 true for almost all back ends.
25933 @item prompt-address
25934 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25935 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25936 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25940 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25941 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25943 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25944 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25945 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25946 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25949 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25950 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25951 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25954 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25955 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25958 This function takes four parameters.
25962 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25965 @item exit-function
25966 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25968 @item temp-directory
25969 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25972 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25973 performed for one group only.
25976 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25977 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25978 find the article number assigned to this article.
25980 The function also uses the following variables:
25981 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25982 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25983 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25984 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25988 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25989 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25993 @node Score File Syntax
25994 @subsection Score File Syntax
25996 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25997 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25998 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
26000 Here's a typical score file:
26004 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
26011 BNF definition of a score file:
26014 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
26015 element = rule / atom
26016 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
26017 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
26018 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
26019 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
26021 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
26022 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
26023 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
26024 date-header = "date"
26025 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26026 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26027 score = "nil" / <integer>
26028 date = "nil" / <natural number>
26029 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
26030 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
26031 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
26032 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
26033 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26034 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26035 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
26036 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26037 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
26038 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
26039 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
26040 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
26041 exclude-files / read-only / touched
26042 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
26043 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
26044 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
26045 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
26046 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
26047 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
26048 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
26049 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
26050 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
26051 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
26052 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
26053 eval = "eval" space <form>
26054 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
26057 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
26060 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
26061 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
26062 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
26063 one looong line, then that's ok.
26065 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
26066 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26070 @subsection Headers
26072 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
26073 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
26074 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
26075 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
26077 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
26078 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
26079 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
26080 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
26081 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
26082 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
26083 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
26085 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
26086 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
26087 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
26088 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
26089 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
26091 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
26092 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
26098 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
26099 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
26101 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
26102 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
26103 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
26104 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
26106 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
26110 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
26113 is transformed into
26116 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
26119 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
26120 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
26123 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
26126 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
26127 is slightly tricky:
26130 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
26136 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
26139 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
26145 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
26152 and is equal to the previous range.
26154 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
26155 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
26156 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
26160 range = simple-range / normal-range
26161 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
26162 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
26163 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
26164 number *[ " " contents ]
26167 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
26168 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
26169 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
26170 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
26171 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
26176 @subsection Group Info
26178 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
26179 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
26180 describes the group.
26182 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
26183 second is a more complex one:
26186 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
26188 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
26189 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
26191 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
26194 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
26195 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
26196 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
26197 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
26198 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
26199 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
26200 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
26201 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
26202 this section is about.
26204 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
26205 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
26206 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
26208 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
26211 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
26212 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
26213 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26214 group = quote <string> quote
26215 ralevel = rank / level
26216 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26217 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
26218 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26220 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
26221 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
26222 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
26223 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
26226 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
26227 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
26230 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
26231 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
26234 @item gnus-info-group
26235 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
26236 @findex gnus-info-group
26237 @findex gnus-info-set-group
26238 Get/set the group name.
26240 @item gnus-info-rank
26241 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
26242 @findex gnus-info-rank
26243 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
26244 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
26246 @item gnus-info-level
26247 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
26248 @findex gnus-info-level
26249 @findex gnus-info-set-level
26250 Get/set the group level.
26252 @item gnus-info-score
26253 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
26254 @findex gnus-info-score
26255 @findex gnus-info-set-score
26256 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
26258 @item gnus-info-read
26259 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
26260 @findex gnus-info-read
26261 @findex gnus-info-set-read
26262 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
26264 @item gnus-info-marks
26265 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
26266 @findex gnus-info-marks
26267 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
26268 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
26270 @item gnus-info-method
26271 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
26272 @findex gnus-info-method
26273 @findex gnus-info-set-method
26274 Get/set the group select method.
26276 @item gnus-info-params
26277 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
26278 @findex gnus-info-params
26279 @findex gnus-info-set-params
26280 Get/set the group parameters.
26283 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
26284 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
26286 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
26287 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
26288 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
26289 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
26292 @node Extended Interactive
26293 @subsection Extended Interactive
26294 @cindex interactive
26295 @findex gnus-interactive
26297 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
26298 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
26299 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
26302 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
26303 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
26308 The best thing to do would have been to implement
26309 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
26310 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
26311 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
26312 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
26313 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
26314 @code{interactive}.
26316 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
26321 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
26322 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
26326 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
26327 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
26328 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
26331 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
26335 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
26339 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
26345 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
26346 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
26350 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
26351 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
26352 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
26354 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
26355 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
26356 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
26357 Gnus, that's very useful.
26359 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
26360 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
26361 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
26362 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
26363 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
26364 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
26365 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
26366 following function:
26369 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
26373 (,function ,@@args))
26377 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
26378 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
26379 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
26382 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
26383 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
26384 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
26386 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
26387 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
26388 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
26391 @node Various File Formats
26392 @subsection Various File Formats
26395 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
26396 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
26400 @node Active File Format
26401 @subsubsection Active File Format
26403 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
26404 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
26407 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
26410 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
26411 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
26412 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
26413 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
26414 no.general 1000 900 y
26417 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
26420 active = *group-line
26421 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
26422 group = <non-white-space string>
26424 high-number = <non-negative integer>
26425 low-number = <positive integer>
26426 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
26429 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
26430 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
26433 @node Newsgroups File Format
26434 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
26436 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
26437 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
26438 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
26441 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
26442 Here's the definition:
26446 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
26447 group = <non-white-space string>
26449 description = <string>
26454 @node Emacs for Heathens
26455 @section Emacs for Heathens
26457 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
26458 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
26459 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
26460 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
26461 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
26462 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
26463 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
26467 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
26468 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
26473 @subsection Keystrokes
26477 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
26480 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
26483 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
26484 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
26485 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
26486 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
26487 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
26488 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
26490 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
26491 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
26492 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
26493 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
26494 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
26495 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
26496 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
26498 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
26499 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
26500 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
26501 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
26502 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
26503 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
26504 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
26506 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
26507 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
26508 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
26509 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
26510 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
26516 @subsection Emacs Lisp
26518 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
26519 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
26520 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
26521 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
26523 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
26524 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
26525 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
26526 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
26527 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
26528 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
26529 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
26532 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
26533 write the following:
26536 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
26539 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
26540 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
26541 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
26544 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
26545 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
26546 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
26547 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
26548 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
26550 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
26551 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
26552 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
26556 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
26560 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
26563 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
26564 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
26567 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
26570 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
26571 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
26574 @include gnus-faq.texi
26594 @c Local Variables:
26596 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26598 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26599 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26600 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26601 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26602 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref