4 @settitle T-gnus 6.17 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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294 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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303 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
305 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
308 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
309 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
310 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
311 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
312 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
313 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
314 License'' in the Emacs manual.
316 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
317 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
318 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
320 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
321 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
322 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
323 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
331 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
333 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
334 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
336 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
337 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
338 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
339 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
340 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
341 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
342 License'' in the Emacs manual.
344 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
345 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
346 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
348 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
349 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
350 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
351 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
357 @title T-gnus 6.17 Manual
359 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
362 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
363 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
365 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
367 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
368 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
369 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
370 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
371 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
372 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
373 License'' in the Emacs manual.
375 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
376 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
377 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
379 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
380 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
381 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
382 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
391 @top The gnus Newsreader
395 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using T-gnus. The news
396 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
397 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
400 T-gnus provides @acronym{MIME} features based on @acronym{SEMI} API. So
401 T-gnus supports your right to read strange messages including big images
402 or other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
403 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
404 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities. Oh,
405 if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
407 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.17.
418 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
419 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
421 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
422 being accused of plagiarism:
424 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
425 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
426 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
427 can even read news with it!
429 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
430 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
431 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
432 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
433 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
439 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
440 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
441 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
442 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
443 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
444 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
445 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
446 * Various:: General purpose settings.
447 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
448 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
449 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
450 * Key Index:: Key Index.
452 Other related manuals
454 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
455 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
456 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
457 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
458 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
461 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
465 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
466 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
467 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
468 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
469 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
470 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
471 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
472 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
473 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
474 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
475 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
479 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
480 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
481 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
485 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
486 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
487 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
488 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
489 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
490 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
491 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
492 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
493 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
494 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
495 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
496 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
497 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
498 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
499 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
500 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
501 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
505 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
506 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
507 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
511 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
512 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
513 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
514 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
515 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
519 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
520 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
521 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
522 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
523 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
527 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
528 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
529 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
530 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
531 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
532 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
533 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
534 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
535 * Threading:: How threads are made.
536 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
537 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
538 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
539 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
540 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
541 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
542 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
543 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
544 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
545 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
546 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
547 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
548 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
549 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
550 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
551 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
552 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
553 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
554 or reselecting the current group.
555 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
556 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
557 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
558 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
560 Summary Buffer Format
562 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
563 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
564 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
565 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
569 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
570 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
572 Reply, Followup and Post
574 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
575 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
576 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
577 * Canceling and Superseding::
581 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
582 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
583 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
587 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
588 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
589 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
593 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
594 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
596 Customizing Threading
598 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
599 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
600 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
601 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
605 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
606 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
607 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
608 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
609 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
610 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
614 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
615 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
616 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
620 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
621 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
622 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
623 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
624 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
625 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
626 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
627 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
628 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
629 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
630 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
632 Alternative Approaches
634 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
635 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
637 Various Summary Stuff
639 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
640 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
641 * Summary Generation Commands::
642 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
646 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
647 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
648 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
649 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
650 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
654 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
655 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
656 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
657 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
658 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
659 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
660 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
661 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
665 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
666 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
667 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
668 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
669 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
670 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
671 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
672 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
676 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
677 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
678 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
679 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
680 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
681 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
682 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
686 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
687 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
691 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
692 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
693 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
697 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
698 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
699 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
700 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
701 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
702 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
703 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
704 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
705 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
706 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
707 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
708 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
709 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
713 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
714 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
715 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
717 Choosing a Mail Back End
719 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
720 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
721 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
722 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
723 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
724 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
725 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
730 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
731 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
732 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
733 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
734 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
735 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
739 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
740 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
741 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
742 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
743 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
744 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
748 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
749 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
750 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
751 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
752 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
756 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
760 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
761 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
762 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
766 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
767 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
771 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
772 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
773 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
774 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
775 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
776 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
777 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
778 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
779 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
780 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
781 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
782 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
783 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
787 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
788 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
789 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
793 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
794 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
795 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
799 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
800 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
801 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
802 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
803 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
804 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
805 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
806 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
807 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
808 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
809 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
810 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
811 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
812 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
813 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
814 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
815 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
819 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
820 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
821 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
822 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
826 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
827 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
828 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
832 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
833 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
834 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
835 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
836 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
837 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
838 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
839 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
840 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
841 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
842 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
843 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
844 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
845 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
846 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
847 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
848 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
849 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
850 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
851 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
855 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
856 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
857 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
858 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
859 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
860 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
861 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
862 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
866 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
867 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
868 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
869 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
870 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
874 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
875 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
876 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
877 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
878 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
879 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
881 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
883 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
884 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
885 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
886 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
887 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
889 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
890 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
892 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
894 * ifile spam filtering::
895 * spam-stat spam filtering::
897 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
899 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
901 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
902 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
903 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
907 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
908 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
909 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
910 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
911 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
912 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
913 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
914 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
915 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
919 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
920 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
921 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
922 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
923 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
924 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
925 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
926 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
927 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
931 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
932 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
933 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
934 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
935 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
936 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
940 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
941 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
942 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
943 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
947 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
948 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
949 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
950 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
951 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
952 * Group Info:: The group info format.
953 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
954 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
955 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
959 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
960 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
961 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
962 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
963 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
964 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
968 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
969 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
973 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
974 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
980 @chapter Starting gnus
985 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
986 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
989 @findex gnus-other-frame
990 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
991 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
992 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
994 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
995 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
996 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
998 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
999 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
1002 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
1003 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
1004 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
1005 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
1006 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
1007 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
1008 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
1009 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
1010 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
1011 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
1012 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
1016 @node Finding the News
1017 @section Finding the News
1018 @cindex finding news
1020 @vindex gnus-select-method
1022 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
1023 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1024 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1025 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1028 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1029 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1032 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1035 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1038 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1041 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1042 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1043 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1045 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1047 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1048 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1049 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1050 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1051 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1052 If that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1053 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1055 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1056 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1057 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1058 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1060 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1061 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1062 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1063 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1064 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1065 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1066 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1067 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1068 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1071 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1073 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1074 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1075 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1076 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1077 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1078 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1080 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1082 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1083 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1084 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1085 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1086 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1087 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1090 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1091 you would typically set this variable to
1094 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1098 @node The First Time
1099 @section The First Time
1100 @cindex first time usage
1102 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1103 be subscribed by default.
1105 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1106 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1107 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1108 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1111 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1112 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1113 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1115 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1116 help you with most common problems.
1118 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1119 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1123 @node The Server is Down
1124 @section The Server is Down
1125 @cindex server errors
1127 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1128 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1129 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1131 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1132 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1133 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1134 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1135 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1136 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1137 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1139 @findex gnus-no-server
1140 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1142 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1143 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1144 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1145 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1146 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1147 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1148 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1152 @section Slave Gnusae
1155 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1156 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1157 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1158 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1160 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1161 @file{.newsrc} file.
1163 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1164 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1165 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1166 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1167 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1168 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1169 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1172 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1173 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1174 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1175 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1176 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1177 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1178 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1179 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1181 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1182 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1184 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1185 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1186 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1187 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1188 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1190 @node Fetching a Group
1191 @section Fetching a Group
1192 @cindex fetching a group
1194 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1195 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1196 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1197 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1198 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1199 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1205 @cindex subscription
1207 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1208 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1209 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1210 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1211 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1212 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1213 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1214 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1215 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1218 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1219 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1220 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1224 @node Checking New Groups
1225 @subsection Checking New Groups
1227 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1228 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1229 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1230 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1231 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1232 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1233 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1234 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1235 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1236 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1238 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1239 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1240 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1241 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1242 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1243 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1244 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1245 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1246 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1247 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1248 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1250 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1251 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1252 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1253 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1254 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1255 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1258 @node Subscription Methods
1259 @subsection Subscription Methods
1261 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1262 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1263 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1265 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1266 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1268 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1272 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1273 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1274 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1275 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1276 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1278 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1279 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1280 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1281 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1283 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1284 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1285 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1287 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1288 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1289 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1290 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1291 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1292 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1293 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1294 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1295 up. Or something like that.
1297 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1298 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1299 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1300 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1301 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1303 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1304 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1305 Kill all new groups.
1307 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1308 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1309 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1310 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1311 topic parameter that looks like
1317 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1320 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1325 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1326 A closely related variable is
1327 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1328 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1329 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1330 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1333 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1334 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1335 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1336 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1339 @node Filtering New Groups
1340 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1342 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1343 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1344 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1347 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1350 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1351 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1352 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1353 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1354 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1355 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1356 subscribing these groups.
1357 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1358 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1360 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1361 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1362 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1363 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1364 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1365 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1366 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1367 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1369 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1370 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1371 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1372 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1373 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1374 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1375 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1376 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1377 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1378 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1381 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1382 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1385 @node Changing Servers
1386 @section Changing Servers
1387 @cindex changing servers
1389 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1390 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1391 very flaky and you want to use another.
1393 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1394 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1398 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1399 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1400 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1401 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1404 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1405 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1406 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1407 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1409 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1410 @findex gnus-change-server
1411 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1412 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1413 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1414 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1415 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1417 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1418 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1419 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1420 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1421 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1423 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1424 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1425 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1426 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1427 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1428 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1430 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1431 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1432 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1433 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1435 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1436 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1437 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1438 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1439 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1440 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1441 cache for all groups).
1445 @section Startup Files
1446 @cindex startup files
1451 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1452 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1454 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1455 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1456 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1457 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1458 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1459 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1460 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1462 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1463 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1464 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1465 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1466 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1467 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1469 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1470 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1471 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1472 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1473 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1474 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1475 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1476 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1477 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1478 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1480 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1481 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1482 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1483 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1484 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1485 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1486 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1487 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1488 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1489 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1490 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1491 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1493 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1494 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1495 @vindex version-control
1496 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1497 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1498 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1499 If you want version control for this file, set
1500 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1501 @code{version-control} variable.
1503 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1504 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1505 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1506 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1507 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1508 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1509 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1510 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1511 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1512 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1515 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1516 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1518 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1519 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1522 @vindex gnus-init-file
1523 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1524 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1525 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1526 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1527 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1528 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1529 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1530 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1531 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1532 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1538 @cindex dribble file
1541 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1542 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1543 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1544 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1545 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1548 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1549 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1552 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1553 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1554 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1556 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1557 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1558 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1559 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1560 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1561 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1563 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1564 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1565 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1568 @node The Active File
1569 @section The Active File
1571 @cindex ignored groups
1573 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1574 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1575 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1577 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1578 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1579 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1580 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1581 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1582 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1583 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1586 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1587 @c if you set it to anything else.
1589 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1591 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1592 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1593 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1595 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1596 you actually subscribe to.
1598 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1599 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1600 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1601 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1603 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1604 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1605 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1606 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1607 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1608 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1610 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1611 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1612 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1615 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1616 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1617 @acronym{NNTP} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1618 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1619 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1620 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1622 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1623 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1625 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1626 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1628 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1629 secondary select methods.
1632 @node Startup Variables
1633 @section Startup Variables
1637 @item gnus-load-hook
1638 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1639 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1640 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1641 times you start gnus.
1643 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1644 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1645 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1647 @item gnus-startup-hook
1648 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1649 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1651 @item gnus-started-hook
1652 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1653 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1656 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1657 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1658 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1659 generating the group buffer.
1661 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1662 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1663 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1664 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1665 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1666 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1667 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1668 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1670 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1671 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1672 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1673 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1674 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1675 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1677 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1678 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1679 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1681 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1682 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1683 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1685 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1686 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1687 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1688 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1694 @chapter Group Buffer
1695 @cindex group buffer
1697 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1699 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1700 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1701 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1702 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1703 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1704 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1705 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1706 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1707 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1708 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1709 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1710 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1711 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1712 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1713 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1714 @c human rights at 9...
1717 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1718 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1719 long as gnus is active.
1723 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1724 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1725 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1726 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1727 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1728 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1729 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1730 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1736 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1737 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1738 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1739 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1740 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1741 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1742 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1743 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1744 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1745 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1746 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1747 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1748 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1749 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1750 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1751 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1752 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1756 @node Group Buffer Format
1757 @section Group Buffer Format
1760 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1761 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1762 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1766 @node Group Line Specification
1767 @subsection Group Line Specification
1768 @cindex group buffer format
1770 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1771 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1773 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1776 25: news.announce.newusers
1777 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1782 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1783 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1784 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1785 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1787 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1788 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1789 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1790 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1791 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1792 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1794 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1796 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1797 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1798 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1799 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1800 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1802 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1803 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1804 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1806 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1811 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1814 Whether the group is subscribed.
1817 Level of subscribedness.
1820 Number of unread articles.
1823 Number of dormant articles.
1826 Number of ticked articles.
1829 Number of read articles.
1832 Number of unseen articles.
1835 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1836 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1838 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1839 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1840 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1841 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1842 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1843 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1844 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1845 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1848 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1851 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1860 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1861 comment element in the group parameters.
1864 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1865 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1866 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1870 @samp{m} if moderated.
1873 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1879 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1885 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1889 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1892 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1893 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1894 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1895 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1896 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1899 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1901 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1905 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1908 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1912 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1913 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1914 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1915 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1916 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1917 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1922 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1923 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1924 group, or a bogus native group.
1927 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1928 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1929 @cindex group mode line
1931 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1932 The mode line can be changed by setting
1933 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1934 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1938 The native news server.
1940 The native select method.
1944 @node Group Highlighting
1945 @subsection Group Highlighting
1946 @cindex highlighting
1947 @cindex group highlighting
1949 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1950 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1951 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1952 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1953 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1955 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1959 (cond (window-system
1960 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1961 (defface my-group-face-1
1962 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1963 (defface my-group-face-2
1964 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1965 "Second group face")
1966 (defface my-group-face-3
1967 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1968 (defface my-group-face-4
1969 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1970 (defface my-group-face-5
1971 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1973 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1974 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1975 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1976 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1977 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1978 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1981 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1983 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1990 The number of unread articles in the group.
1994 Whether the group is a mail group.
1996 The level of the group.
1998 The score of the group.
2000 The number of ticked articles in the group.
2002 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
2003 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
2005 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
2006 topic being inserted.
2009 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2010 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
2011 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2013 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2014 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2015 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2016 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2017 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2020 @node Group Maneuvering
2021 @section Group Maneuvering
2022 @cindex group movement
2024 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2025 expected, hopefully.
2031 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2032 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2033 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2039 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2040 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2041 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2045 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2046 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2050 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2051 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2056 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2057 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2061 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2062 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2063 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2066 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2072 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2073 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2074 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2079 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2080 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2081 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2085 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2086 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2087 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2090 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2091 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2092 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2093 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2097 @node Selecting a Group
2098 @section Selecting a Group
2099 @cindex group selection
2104 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2105 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2106 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2107 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2108 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2109 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2110 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2111 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2112 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2113 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2115 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2116 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2117 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2119 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2120 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2125 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2126 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2127 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2128 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2129 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2133 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2134 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2135 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2136 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2137 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2138 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2139 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2140 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2141 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2142 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2145 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2146 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2147 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2148 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2149 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2152 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2153 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2154 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2155 doing any processing of its contents
2156 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2157 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2158 manner will have no permanent effects.
2162 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2163 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2164 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2165 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2166 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2167 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2168 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2169 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2170 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2171 most recently will be fetched.
2173 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2174 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2175 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2178 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2179 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2180 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2181 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2182 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2183 Which article this is is controlled by the
2184 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2190 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2193 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2196 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2198 @item unseen-or-unread
2199 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2200 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2204 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2208 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2209 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2211 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2212 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2213 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2214 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2218 @node Subscription Commands
2219 @section Subscription Commands
2220 @cindex subscription
2228 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2229 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2230 Toggle subscription to the current group
2231 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2237 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2238 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2239 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2240 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2246 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2247 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2248 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2254 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2255 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2258 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2259 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2260 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2261 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2262 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2268 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2269 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2273 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2274 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2277 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2278 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2279 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2280 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2281 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2282 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2283 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2284 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2285 @file{.newsrc} file.
2289 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2299 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2300 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2301 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2302 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2303 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2304 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2309 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2310 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2311 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2315 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2316 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2317 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2319 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2320 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2321 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2322 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2323 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2324 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2331 @section Group Levels
2335 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2336 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2337 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2338 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2339 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2341 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2347 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2348 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2349 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2350 prompted for a level.
2353 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2354 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2355 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2356 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2357 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2358 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2359 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2360 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2361 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2362 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2363 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2364 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2365 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2366 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2367 reasons of efficiency.
2369 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2370 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2372 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2373 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2374 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2375 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2376 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2377 groups are hidden, in a way.
2379 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2380 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2381 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2382 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2383 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2384 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2386 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2387 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2388 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2389 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2390 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2391 list of killed groups.)
2393 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2394 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2395 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2397 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2398 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2399 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2400 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2401 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2402 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2403 relevant valid ranges.
2405 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2406 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2407 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2408 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2409 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2410 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2413 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2414 one with the best level.
2416 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2417 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2418 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2421 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2422 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2423 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2424 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2427 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2428 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2429 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2430 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2432 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2433 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2434 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2435 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2436 to 5. The default is 6.
2440 @section Group Score
2445 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2446 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2447 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2450 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2451 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2452 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2453 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2454 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2455 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2456 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2457 least significant part.))
2459 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2460 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2461 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2462 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2463 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2464 action after each summary exit, you can add
2465 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2466 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2467 slow things down somewhat.
2470 @node Marking Groups
2471 @section Marking Groups
2472 @cindex marking groups
2474 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2475 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2476 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2477 bidding on those groups.
2479 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2480 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2481 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2489 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2490 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2497 Remove the mark from the current group
2498 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2502 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2503 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2507 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2508 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2512 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2513 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2518 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2519 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2522 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2524 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2525 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2526 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2527 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2528 the command to be executed.
2531 @node Foreign Groups
2532 @section Foreign Groups
2533 @cindex foreign groups
2535 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2536 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2537 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2538 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2545 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2546 @cindex making groups
2547 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2548 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2549 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2553 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2554 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2555 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2559 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2560 @cindex renaming groups
2561 Rename the current group to something else
2562 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2563 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2569 @findex gnus-group-customize
2570 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2574 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2575 @cindex renaming groups
2576 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2577 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2581 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2582 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2583 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2587 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2588 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2589 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2593 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2595 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2596 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2601 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2602 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2606 @cindex (ding) archive
2607 @cindex archive group
2608 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2609 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2610 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2611 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2612 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2613 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2614 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2618 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2620 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2621 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2622 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2623 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2627 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2629 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2630 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2631 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2635 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2636 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2638 Make a group based on some file or other
2639 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2640 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2641 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2642 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2643 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2644 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2645 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2646 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2647 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2651 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2652 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2653 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2654 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2658 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2662 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2663 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2664 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2665 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2666 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2667 @xref{Web Searches}.
2669 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2670 to a particular group by using a match string like
2671 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2675 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2676 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2677 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2681 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2682 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2683 This function will delete the current group
2684 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2685 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2686 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2687 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2688 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2692 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2693 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2694 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2698 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2699 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2700 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2703 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2706 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2707 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2708 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2709 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2710 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2711 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2715 @node Group Parameters
2716 @section Group Parameters
2717 @cindex group parameters
2719 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2720 Here's an example group parameter list:
2723 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2727 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2728 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2729 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2730 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2732 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2733 is an alist of regexps and values.
2735 The following group parameters can be used:
2740 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2743 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2746 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2747 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2748 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2749 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2750 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2752 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2753 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2754 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2755 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2756 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2757 list address instead.
2759 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2763 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2766 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2769 It is totally ignored
2770 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2771 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2773 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2774 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2775 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2776 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2777 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2779 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2780 @cindex mail list groups
2781 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2782 entering summary buffer.
2784 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2789 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2790 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2791 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2792 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2793 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2794 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2795 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2796 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2799 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2800 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2803 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2804 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2808 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2809 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2810 of whether it has any unread articles.
2812 @item broken-reply-to
2813 @cindex broken-reply-to
2814 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2815 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2816 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2817 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2818 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2819 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2823 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2824 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2828 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2829 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2830 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2835 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2836 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2837 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2838 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2839 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2840 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2841 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2843 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2844 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2845 doesn't accept articles.
2849 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2850 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2851 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2853 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2856 @cindex total-expire
2857 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2858 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2859 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2860 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2863 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2867 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2868 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2869 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2870 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2871 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2872 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2873 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2876 @cindex expiry-target
2877 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2878 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2881 @cindex score file group parameter
2882 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2883 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2884 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2887 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2888 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2889 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2890 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2893 @cindex admin-address
2894 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2895 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2896 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2897 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2901 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2902 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2906 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2909 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2910 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2913 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2917 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2919 Here are some examples:
2923 Display only unread articles.
2926 Display everything except expirable articles.
2928 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2929 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2933 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2934 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2935 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2936 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2937 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2941 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2942 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2943 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2947 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2948 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2949 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2953 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2954 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2955 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2957 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2959 @item ignored-charsets
2960 @cindex ignored-charset
2961 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2962 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2963 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2965 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2968 @cindex posting-style
2969 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2970 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2971 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2972 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2973 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2975 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2976 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2977 like this in the group parameters:
2982 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2983 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2988 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2989 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2993 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2994 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2995 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2996 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2997 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3001 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3002 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3003 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3004 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3006 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3007 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3008 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3009 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3012 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
3013 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
3017 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3018 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3020 @item (agent parameters)
3021 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3022 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3023 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3024 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3025 minimize the configuration effort.
3027 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3028 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3029 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3030 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3031 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3032 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3033 @code{eval}ed there.
3035 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3036 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3037 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3038 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3039 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3040 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3041 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3042 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3045 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3048 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3049 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3050 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3053 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3056 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3057 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3058 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3059 into the group parameters for the group.
3061 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
3062 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
3063 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
3064 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
3065 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
3069 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3070 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3071 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3072 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3073 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3075 @vindex gnus-parameters
3076 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3077 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3081 (setq gnus-parameters
3083 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3084 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3085 (gnus-summary-line-format
3086 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3090 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3094 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3098 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3101 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3102 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3105 @node Listing Groups
3106 @section Listing Groups
3107 @cindex group listing
3109 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3117 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3118 List all groups that have unread articles
3119 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3120 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3121 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3122 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3129 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3130 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3131 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3132 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3133 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3134 unsubscribed groups).
3138 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3139 List all unread groups on a specific level
3140 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3141 with no unread articles.
3145 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3146 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3147 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3148 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3153 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3154 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3158 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3159 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3160 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3164 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3165 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3169 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3170 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3171 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3172 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3173 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3174 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3175 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3176 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3180 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3181 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3182 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3186 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3187 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3188 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3192 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3193 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3197 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3198 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3202 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3203 List groups limited within the current selection
3204 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3208 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3209 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3213 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3214 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3218 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3219 @cindex visible group parameter
3220 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3221 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3222 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3223 get the same effect.
3225 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3226 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3227 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3228 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3229 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3232 @node Sorting Groups
3233 @section Sorting Groups
3234 @cindex sorting groups
3236 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3237 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3238 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3239 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3240 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3241 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3246 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3247 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3248 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3250 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3251 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3252 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3254 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3255 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3256 Sort by group level.
3258 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3259 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3260 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3262 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3263 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3264 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3265 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3267 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3268 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3269 Sort by number of unread articles.
3271 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3272 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3273 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3275 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3276 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3277 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3282 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3283 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3287 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3288 some sorting criteria:
3292 @kindex G S a (Group)
3293 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3294 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3295 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3298 @kindex G S u (Group)
3299 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3300 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3301 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3304 @kindex G S l (Group)
3305 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3306 Sort the group buffer by group level
3307 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3310 @kindex G S v (Group)
3311 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3312 Sort the group buffer by group score
3313 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3316 @kindex G S r (Group)
3317 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3318 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3319 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3322 @kindex G S m (Group)
3323 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3324 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3325 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3328 @kindex G S n (Group)
3329 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3330 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3331 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3335 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3336 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3338 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3339 commands will sort in reverse order.
3341 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3345 @kindex G P a (Group)
3346 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3347 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3348 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3351 @kindex G P u (Group)
3352 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3353 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3354 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3357 @kindex G P l (Group)
3358 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3359 Sort the groups by group level
3360 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3363 @kindex G P v (Group)
3364 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3365 Sort the groups by group score
3366 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3369 @kindex G P r (Group)
3370 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3371 Sort the groups by group rank
3372 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3375 @kindex G P m (Group)
3376 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3377 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3378 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3381 @kindex G P n (Group)
3382 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3383 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3384 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3387 @kindex G P s (Group)
3388 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3389 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3393 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3397 @node Group Maintenance
3398 @section Group Maintenance
3399 @cindex bogus groups
3404 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3405 Find bogus groups and delete them
3406 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3410 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3411 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3412 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3413 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3414 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3418 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3419 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3420 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3421 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3422 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3423 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3426 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3427 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3428 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3429 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3434 @node Browse Foreign Server
3435 @section Browse Foreign Server
3436 @cindex foreign servers
3437 @cindex browsing servers
3442 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3443 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3444 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3445 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3448 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3449 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3450 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3451 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3453 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3458 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3459 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3463 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3464 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3467 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3468 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3469 Enter the current group and display the first article
3470 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3473 @kindex RET (Browse)
3474 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3475 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3479 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3480 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3481 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3487 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3488 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3492 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3493 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3497 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3498 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3499 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3504 @section Exiting gnus
3505 @cindex exiting gnus
3507 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3512 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3513 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3514 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3515 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3519 @findex gnus-group-exit
3520 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3521 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3525 @findex gnus-group-quit
3526 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3527 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3530 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3531 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3532 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3533 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3534 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3535 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3541 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3542 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3543 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3549 @section Group Topics
3552 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3553 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3554 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3555 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3556 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3557 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3561 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3562 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3573 2: alt.religion.emacs
3576 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3578 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3579 13: comp.sources.unix
3582 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3584 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3585 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3586 is a toggling command.)
3588 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3589 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3590 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3591 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3594 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3595 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3596 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3599 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3603 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3604 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3605 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3606 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3607 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3611 @node Topic Commands
3612 @subsection Topic Commands
3613 @cindex topic commands
3615 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3616 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3617 definitions slightly.
3619 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3620 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3621 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3622 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3623 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3624 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3626 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3633 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3634 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3635 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3639 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3641 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3642 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3643 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3644 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3647 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3648 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3649 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3650 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3654 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3655 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3656 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3657 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3663 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3664 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3665 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3669 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3670 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3671 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3674 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3675 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3676 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3677 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3678 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3680 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3681 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3685 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3686 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3693 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3695 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3696 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3697 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3698 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3699 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3700 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3704 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3710 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3711 Move the current group to some other topic
3712 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3713 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3717 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3718 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3722 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3723 Copy the current group to some other topic
3724 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3725 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3729 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3730 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3731 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3735 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3736 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3737 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3741 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3742 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3743 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3744 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3745 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3746 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3747 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3750 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3751 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3755 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3756 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3757 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3761 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3762 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3763 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3767 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3768 Toggle hiding empty topics
3769 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3773 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3774 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3775 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3776 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3779 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3780 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3781 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3782 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3783 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3786 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3787 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3788 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3789 expiry process (if any)
3790 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3794 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3795 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3798 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3799 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3800 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3804 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3805 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3806 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3809 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3810 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3811 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3814 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3815 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3816 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3820 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3821 @cindex group parameters
3822 @cindex topic parameters
3824 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3825 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3830 @node Topic Variables
3831 @subsection Topic Variables
3832 @cindex topic variables
3834 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3835 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3837 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3838 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3839 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3852 Number of groups in the topic.
3854 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3856 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3859 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3860 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3861 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3864 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3865 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3867 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3868 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3869 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3873 @subsection Topic Sorting
3874 @cindex topic sorting
3876 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3882 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3883 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3884 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3885 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3888 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3889 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3890 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3891 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3894 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3895 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3896 Sort the current topic by group level
3897 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3900 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3901 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3902 Sort the current topic by group score
3903 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3906 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3907 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3908 Sort the current topic by group rank
3909 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3912 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3913 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3914 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3915 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3918 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3919 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3920 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3921 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3924 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3925 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3926 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3927 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3928 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3932 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3933 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3937 @node Topic Topology
3938 @subsection Topic Topology
3939 @cindex topic topology
3942 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3949 2: alt.religion.emacs
3952 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3954 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3955 13: comp.sources.unix
3959 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3960 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3961 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3966 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3967 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3971 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3972 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3973 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3974 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3975 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3976 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3978 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3979 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3980 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3983 @node Topic Parameters
3984 @subsection Topic Parameters
3985 @cindex topic parameters
3987 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
3988 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
3989 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
3990 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
3991 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
3993 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3998 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3999 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4000 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4003 @item subscribe-level
4004 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4005 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4006 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4010 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4011 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4012 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4013 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4020 2: alt.religion.emacs
4024 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4026 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4027 13: comp.sources.unix
4032 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4033 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4034 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4035 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4036 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4037 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4039 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4040 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4041 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4042 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4043 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4045 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4046 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4047 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4048 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4049 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4050 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4051 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4052 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4055 @node Misc Group Stuff
4056 @section Misc Group Stuff
4059 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4060 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4061 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4062 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4063 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4070 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4071 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4072 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4076 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4077 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4078 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4079 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4080 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4081 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4082 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4086 @findex gnus-group-mail
4087 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4088 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4089 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4090 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4094 @findex gnus-group-news
4095 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4096 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4097 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4099 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4100 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4101 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4102 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4103 for this to work though.
4107 Variables for the group buffer:
4111 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4112 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4113 is called after the group buffer has been
4116 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4117 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4118 is called after the group buffer is
4119 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4122 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4123 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4124 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4125 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4127 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4128 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4129 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4130 whether they are empty or not.
4132 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4133 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4134 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4135 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4139 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4140 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4143 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4144 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4145 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4146 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4147 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4148 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4149 default is @code{nil}.
4153 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4154 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4159 @node Scanning New Messages
4160 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4161 @cindex new messages
4162 @cindex scanning new news
4168 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4169 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4170 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4171 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4172 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4173 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4178 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4179 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4180 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4181 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4182 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4183 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4184 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4186 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4187 @cindex activating groups
4189 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4190 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4195 @findex gnus-group-restart
4196 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4197 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4198 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4202 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4203 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4205 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4206 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4210 @node Group Information
4211 @subsection Group Information
4212 @cindex group information
4213 @cindex information on groups
4220 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4221 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4224 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4225 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4226 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4227 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4228 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4229 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4230 used for fetching the file.
4232 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4233 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4237 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4238 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4240 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4241 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4244 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4245 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4246 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4250 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4251 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4252 @cindex control message
4253 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4254 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4255 group if given a prefix argument.
4257 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4258 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4259 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4260 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4262 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4263 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4264 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4268 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4270 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4271 @cindex describing groups
4272 @cindex group description
4273 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4274 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4275 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4279 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4280 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4281 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4288 @findex gnus-version
4289 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4293 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4294 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4297 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4300 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4301 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4305 @node Group Timestamp
4306 @subsection Group Timestamp
4308 @cindex group timestamps
4310 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4311 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4312 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4315 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4318 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4320 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4321 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4324 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4325 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4328 This will result in lines looking like:
4331 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4332 0: custom 19961002T012713
4335 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4336 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4340 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4341 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4344 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4345 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4349 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4350 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4351 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4352 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4354 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4360 @subsection File Commands
4361 @cindex file commands
4367 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4368 @vindex gnus-init-file
4369 @cindex reading init file
4370 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4371 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4375 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4376 @cindex saving .newsrc
4377 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4378 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4379 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4382 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4383 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4384 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4389 @node Sieve Commands
4390 @subsection Sieve Commands
4391 @cindex group sieve commands
4393 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4394 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4395 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4396 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4397 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4399 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4400 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4401 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4402 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4403 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4404 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4405 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4406 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4407 regenerate the Sieve script.
4409 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4410 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4411 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4412 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4413 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4414 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4415 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4416 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4417 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4418 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4421 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4422 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4427 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4433 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4434 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4435 @cindex generating sieve script
4436 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4437 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4441 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4442 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4443 @cindex updating sieve script
4444 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4445 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4446 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4451 @node Summary Buffer
4452 @chapter Summary Buffer
4453 @cindex summary buffer
4455 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4456 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4458 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4459 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4461 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4464 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4465 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4466 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4467 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4468 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4469 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4470 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4471 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4472 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4473 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4474 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4475 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4476 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4477 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4478 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4479 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4480 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4481 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4482 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4483 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4484 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4485 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4486 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4487 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4488 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4489 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4490 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4491 or reselecting the current group.
4492 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4493 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4494 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4495 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4499 @node Summary Buffer Format
4500 @section Summary Buffer Format
4501 @cindex summary buffer format
4505 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4506 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4507 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4513 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4514 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4515 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4516 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4519 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4520 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4521 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4522 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4523 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4524 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4525 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4526 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4527 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4528 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4529 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4530 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4531 other function instead:
4534 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4535 'mail-extract-address-components)
4538 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4539 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4540 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4541 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4544 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4545 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4547 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4548 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4549 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4550 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4551 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4553 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4554 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4555 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4556 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4557 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4558 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4560 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4562 The following format specification characters and extended format
4563 specification(s) are understood:
4569 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4570 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4572 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4573 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4574 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4576 Full @code{From} header.
4578 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4580 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4583 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4584 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4585 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4586 may be more thorough.
4588 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4591 Number of lines in the article.
4593 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4594 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4596 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4597 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4599 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4601 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4602 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4615 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4616 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4617 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4618 line-drawing glyphs.
4620 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4621 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4622 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4623 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4625 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4626 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4627 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4628 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4630 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4631 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4632 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4633 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4635 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4636 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4637 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4639 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4640 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4641 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4643 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4644 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4645 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4647 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4648 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4649 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4654 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4655 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4657 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4658 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4660 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4661 for adopted articles.
4663 One space for each thread level.
4665 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4667 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4670 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4671 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4672 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4675 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4677 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4678 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4679 default level. If the difference between
4680 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4681 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4689 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4691 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4697 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4698 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4700 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4701 article has any children.
4707 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4708 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4710 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4711 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4712 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4713 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4714 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4715 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4718 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4719 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4720 There can only be one such area.
4722 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4723 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4724 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4725 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4726 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4727 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4729 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4730 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4732 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4735 @node To From Newsgroups
4736 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4740 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4741 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4742 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4743 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4744 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4748 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4749 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4750 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4754 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4755 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4758 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4759 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4762 @findex gnus-extra-header
4763 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4764 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4765 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4768 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4772 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4773 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4774 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4775 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4776 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4777 headers are used instead.
4781 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4782 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4783 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4784 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4785 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4786 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4789 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4790 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4791 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4792 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4794 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4798 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4800 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4801 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4802 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4803 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4807 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4810 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4811 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4814 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4815 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4816 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4822 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4823 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4826 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4827 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4829 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4830 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4831 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4832 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4834 Here are the elements you can play with:
4840 Unprefixed group name.
4842 Current article number.
4844 Current article score.
4848 Number of unread articles in this group.
4850 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4853 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4854 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4855 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4856 and no unselected ones.
4858 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4859 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4861 Subject of the current article.
4863 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4865 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4867 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4869 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4871 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4873 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4877 @node Summary Highlighting
4878 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4882 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4883 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4884 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4885 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4886 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4888 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4889 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4890 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4891 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4893 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4894 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4895 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4896 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4898 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4899 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4900 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4901 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4902 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4903 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4906 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4907 ((> score default) . bold))
4909 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4910 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4914 @node Summary Maneuvering
4915 @section Summary Maneuvering
4916 @cindex summary movement
4918 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4919 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4921 None of these commands select articles.
4926 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4927 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4928 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4929 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4930 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4934 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4935 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4936 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4937 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4938 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4941 @kindex G g (Summary)
4942 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4943 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4944 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4947 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4948 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4949 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4950 to the group buffer.
4952 Variables related to summary movement:
4956 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4957 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4958 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4959 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4960 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4961 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4962 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4963 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4964 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4965 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4966 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4967 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4968 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4969 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4971 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4972 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4973 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4974 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4975 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4976 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4977 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4979 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4981 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4982 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4983 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4984 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4985 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4987 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4988 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4989 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4990 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4991 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4992 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4993 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4994 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4997 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4998 the given number of lines from the top.
5003 @node Choosing Articles
5004 @section Choosing Articles
5005 @cindex selecting articles
5008 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5009 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5013 @node Choosing Commands
5014 @subsection Choosing Commands
5016 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5017 and they all select and display an article.
5019 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5020 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5024 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5026 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5027 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5029 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5030 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5031 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5036 @kindex G n (Summary)
5037 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5038 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5039 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5044 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5045 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5046 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5051 @kindex G N (Summary)
5052 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5053 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5058 @kindex G P (Summary)
5059 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5060 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5063 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5065 Go to the next article with the same subject
5066 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5069 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5070 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5071 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5072 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5076 @kindex G f (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5079 Go to the first unread article
5080 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5084 @kindex G b (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5087 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5088 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5089 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5094 @kindex G l (Summary)
5095 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5096 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5099 @kindex G o (Summary)
5100 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5102 @cindex article history
5103 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5104 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5105 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5106 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5107 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5108 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5113 @kindex G j (Summary)
5114 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5115 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5116 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5121 @node Choosing Variables
5122 @subsection Choosing Variables
5124 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5127 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5128 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5129 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5130 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5131 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5132 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5134 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5135 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5136 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5137 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5138 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5139 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5141 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5142 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5143 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5144 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5145 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5146 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5147 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5148 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5149 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5150 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5151 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5152 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5153 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5154 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5159 @node Paging the Article
5160 @section Scrolling the Article
5161 @cindex article scrolling
5166 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5167 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5168 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5169 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5170 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5172 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5173 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5174 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5175 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5176 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5177 what is considered uninteresting with
5178 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5179 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5182 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5183 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5184 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5187 @kindex RET (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5189 Scroll the current article one line forward
5190 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5193 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5194 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5195 Scroll the current article one line backward
5196 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5200 @kindex A g (Summary)
5202 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5203 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5204 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5205 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5206 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5207 the way it came from the server.
5209 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5210 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5211 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5214 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5219 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5224 @kindex A < (Summary)
5225 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5226 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5227 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5232 @kindex A > (Summary)
5233 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5234 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5238 @kindex A s (Summary)
5240 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5241 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5242 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5246 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5247 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5252 @node Reply Followup and Post
5253 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5256 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5257 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5258 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5259 * Canceling and Superseding::
5263 @node Summary Mail Commands
5264 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5266 @cindex composing mail
5268 Commands for composing a mail message:
5274 @kindex S r (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5277 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5278 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5279 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5280 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5285 @kindex S R (Summary)
5286 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5287 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5288 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5289 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5290 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5293 @kindex S w (Summary)
5294 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5295 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5296 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5297 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5298 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5299 present, that's used instead.
5302 @kindex S W (Summary)
5303 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5304 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5305 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5306 the process/prefix convention.
5309 @kindex S v (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5311 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5312 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5313 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5314 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5315 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5318 @kindex S V (Summary)
5319 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5320 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5321 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5322 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5325 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5326 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5327 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5328 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5329 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5330 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5331 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5332 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5335 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5336 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5337 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5338 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5339 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5343 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5344 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5346 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5347 Forward the current article to some other person
5348 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5349 headers of the forwarded article.
5354 @kindex S m (Summary)
5355 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5356 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5357 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5358 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5359 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5364 @kindex S i (Summary)
5365 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5366 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5367 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5368 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5370 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5371 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5372 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5373 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5374 for this to work though.
5377 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5378 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5379 @cindex bouncing mail
5380 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5381 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5382 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5383 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5384 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5385 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5386 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5387 very well fail, though.
5390 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5391 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5392 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5393 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5394 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5395 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5396 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5397 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5398 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5399 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5401 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5402 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5403 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5404 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5405 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5407 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5408 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5411 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5412 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5413 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5414 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5415 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5418 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5420 @cindex crossposting
5421 @cindex excessive crossposting
5422 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5423 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5425 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5426 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5427 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5428 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5429 command understands the process/prefix convention
5430 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5434 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5435 Manual}, for more information.
5438 @node Summary Post Commands
5439 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5441 @cindex composing news
5443 Commands for posting a news article:
5449 @kindex S p (Summary)
5450 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5451 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5452 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5453 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5454 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5459 @kindex S f (Summary)
5460 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5461 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5462 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5466 @kindex S F (Summary)
5468 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5469 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5470 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5471 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5472 process/prefix convention.
5475 @kindex S n (Summary)
5476 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5477 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5478 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5481 @kindex S N (Summary)
5482 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5483 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5484 message through mail and include the original message
5485 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5486 the process/prefix convention.
5489 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5490 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5491 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5492 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5493 headers of the forwarded article.
5496 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5499 @cindex making digests
5500 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5501 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5502 process/prefix convention.
5505 @kindex S u (Summary)
5506 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5507 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5508 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5509 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5512 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5513 Manual}, for more information.
5516 @node Summary Message Commands
5517 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5521 @kindex S y (Summary)
5522 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5523 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5524 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5525 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5526 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5531 @node Canceling and Superseding
5532 @subsection Canceling Articles
5533 @cindex canceling articles
5534 @cindex superseding articles
5536 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5537 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5539 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5541 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5543 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5544 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5545 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5546 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5547 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5548 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5550 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5551 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5554 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5555 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5556 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5558 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5559 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5560 message, Message Manual}).
5562 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5563 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5564 your original article.
5566 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5568 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5569 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5570 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5573 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5574 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5575 have posted almost the same article twice.
5577 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5578 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5579 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5580 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5581 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5582 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5583 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5584 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5585 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5586 canceled/superseded.
5588 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5590 @node Delayed Articles
5591 @section Delayed Articles
5592 @cindex delayed sending
5593 @cindex send delayed
5595 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5596 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5597 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5598 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5601 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5604 @findex gnus-delay-article
5605 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5606 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5607 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5608 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5612 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5613 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5614 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5615 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5618 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5619 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5620 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5623 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5624 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5625 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5626 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5627 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5628 that means a time tomorrow.
5631 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5632 couple of variables:
5635 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5636 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5637 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5638 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5640 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5641 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5642 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5643 formats described above.
5645 @item gnus-delay-group
5646 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5647 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5648 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5649 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5651 @item gnus-delay-header
5652 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5653 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5654 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5655 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5658 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5659 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5660 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5661 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5662 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5664 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5665 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5666 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5667 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5668 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5669 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5670 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5673 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5674 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5676 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5677 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5678 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5679 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5680 argument is ignored.
5682 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5683 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5684 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5688 @node Marking Articles
5689 @section Marking Articles
5690 @cindex article marking
5691 @cindex article ticking
5694 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5696 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5697 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5698 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5700 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5703 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5704 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5705 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5709 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5713 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5714 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5715 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5719 @node Unread Articles
5720 @subsection Unread Articles
5722 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5727 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5728 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5730 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5731 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5732 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5733 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5734 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5735 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5736 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5739 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5740 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5742 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5743 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5744 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5745 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5749 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5750 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5752 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5757 @subsection Read Articles
5758 @cindex expirable mark
5760 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5765 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5766 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5767 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5770 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5771 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5774 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5775 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5776 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5779 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5780 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5783 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5784 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5787 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5788 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5791 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5792 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5795 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5796 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5799 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5800 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5803 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5804 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5808 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5809 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5810 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5814 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5815 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5817 One more special mark, though:
5821 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5822 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5824 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5825 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5826 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5827 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5833 @subsection Other Marks
5834 @cindex process mark
5837 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5843 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5844 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5845 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5846 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5847 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5850 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5851 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5852 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5853 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5856 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5857 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5858 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5861 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5862 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5863 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5866 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5867 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5868 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5869 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5872 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5873 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5874 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5875 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5876 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5877 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5880 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5881 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5882 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5883 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5886 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5887 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5888 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5889 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5890 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5894 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5895 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5896 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5897 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5898 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5899 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5902 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5903 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5904 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5905 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5906 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5907 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5911 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5912 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5913 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5914 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5915 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5918 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5919 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5920 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5921 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5922 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5923 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5927 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5928 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5929 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5931 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5932 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5933 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5937 @subsection Setting Marks
5938 @cindex setting marks
5940 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5945 @kindex M c (Summary)
5946 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5948 @cindex mark as unread
5949 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5950 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5956 @kindex M t (Summary)
5957 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5958 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5959 @xref{Article Caching}.
5964 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5965 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5966 Mark the current article as dormant
5967 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5971 @kindex M d (Summary)
5973 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5974 Mark the current article as read
5975 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5979 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5980 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5981 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5986 @kindex M k (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5988 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5989 and then select the next unread article
5990 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5994 @kindex M K (Summary)
5995 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5996 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5997 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5998 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6001 @kindex M C (Summary)
6002 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6003 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6004 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6007 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6008 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6009 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6010 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6013 @kindex M H (Summary)
6014 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6015 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6016 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6019 @kindex M h (Summary)
6020 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6021 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6022 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6025 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6026 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6027 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6028 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6031 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6032 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6033 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6034 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6038 @kindex M e (Summary)
6040 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6041 Mark the current article as expirable
6042 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6045 @kindex M b (Summary)
6046 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6047 Set a bookmark in the current article
6048 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6051 @kindex M B (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6053 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6054 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6057 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6058 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6059 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6060 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6063 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6064 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6065 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6066 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6069 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6071 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6072 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6073 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6076 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6077 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6078 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6079 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6080 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6081 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6082 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6083 The default is @code{t}.
6086 @node Generic Marking Commands
6087 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6089 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6090 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6091 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6092 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6093 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6096 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6097 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6100 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6101 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6102 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6103 to list in this manual.
6105 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6106 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6107 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6108 article, you could say something like:
6112 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6113 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6114 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6122 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6123 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6127 @node Setting Process Marks
6128 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6129 @cindex setting process marks
6131 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6132 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6133 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6134 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6135 commands into the cache. For more information,
6136 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6143 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6144 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6145 Mark the current article with the process mark
6146 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6147 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6151 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6152 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6153 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6154 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6157 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6159 Remove the process mark from all articles
6160 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6163 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6165 Invert the list of process marked articles
6166 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6169 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6171 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6172 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6175 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6176 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6177 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6178 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6181 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6182 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6183 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6186 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6187 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6188 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6191 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6192 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6193 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6194 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6197 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6198 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6199 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6200 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6203 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6204 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6205 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6206 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6209 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6211 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6214 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6215 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6216 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6217 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6220 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6222 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6225 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6226 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6227 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6228 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6231 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6232 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6233 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6234 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6237 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6239 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6240 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6243 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6244 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6245 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6246 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6250 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6251 set process marks based on article body contents.
6258 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6259 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6260 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6263 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6264 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6265 additional articles.
6271 @kindex / / (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6273 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6278 @kindex / a (Summary)
6279 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6280 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6281 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6285 @kindex / x (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6287 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6288 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6294 @kindex / u (Summary)
6296 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6297 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6298 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6299 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6300 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6303 @kindex / m (Summary)
6304 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6305 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6306 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6309 @kindex / t (Summary)
6310 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6311 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6312 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6313 articles younger than that number of days.
6316 @kindex / n (Summary)
6317 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6318 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6319 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6320 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6323 @kindex / w (Summary)
6324 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6325 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6326 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6330 @kindex / . (Summary)
6331 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6332 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6333 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6336 @kindex / v (Summary)
6337 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6338 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6339 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6342 @kindex / p (Summary)
6343 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6344 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6345 group parameter predicate
6346 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6347 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6351 @kindex M S (Summary)
6352 @kindex / E (Summary)
6353 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6354 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6355 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6358 @kindex / D (Summary)
6359 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6360 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6361 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6364 @kindex / * (Summary)
6365 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6366 Include all cached articles in the limit
6367 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6370 @kindex / d (Summary)
6371 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6372 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6373 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6376 @kindex / M (Summary)
6377 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6378 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6381 @kindex / T (Summary)
6382 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6383 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6386 @kindex / c (Summary)
6387 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6388 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6389 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6392 @kindex / C (Summary)
6393 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6394 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6395 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6396 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6399 @kindex / N (Summary)
6400 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6401 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6402 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6405 @kindex / o (Summary)
6406 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6407 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6408 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6416 @cindex article threading
6418 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6419 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6420 hierarchical fashion.
6422 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6423 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6424 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6425 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6426 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6427 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6428 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6430 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6434 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6437 A tree-like article structure.
6440 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6443 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6444 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6445 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6446 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6447 called loose threads.
6449 @item thread gathering
6450 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6452 @item sparse threads
6453 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6454 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6460 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6461 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6465 @node Customizing Threading
6466 @subsection Customizing Threading
6467 @cindex customizing threading
6470 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6471 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6472 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6473 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6478 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6481 @cindex loose threads
6484 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6485 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6486 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6487 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6488 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6489 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6491 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6492 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6493 There are four possible values:
6497 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6498 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6499 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6500 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6501 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6506 @cindex adopting articles
6511 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6512 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6513 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6514 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6517 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6518 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6519 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6520 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6521 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6522 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6523 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6524 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6525 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6526 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6529 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6530 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6531 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6535 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6536 display them after one another.
6539 Don't gather loose threads.
6542 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6543 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6544 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6545 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6546 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6547 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6548 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6549 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6550 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6551 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6552 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6554 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6555 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6556 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6559 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6560 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6561 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6562 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6563 simplification is used.
6565 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6566 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6567 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6568 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6570 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6572 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6578 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6579 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6580 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6581 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6586 (mapconcat 'identity
6587 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6589 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6592 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6595 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6596 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6597 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6598 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6599 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6600 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6602 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6605 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6606 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6607 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6609 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6610 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6613 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6614 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6615 Remove excessive whitespace.
6617 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6618 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6619 Remove all whitespace.
6622 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6625 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6626 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6627 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6628 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6629 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6630 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6631 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6632 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6634 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6635 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6636 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6637 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6638 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6639 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6640 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6641 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6642 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6646 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6647 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6648 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6649 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6651 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6652 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6653 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6656 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6660 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6661 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6667 @node Filling In Threads
6668 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6671 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6672 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6673 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6674 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6675 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6676 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6677 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6678 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6679 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6680 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6681 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6682 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6685 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6686 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6687 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6689 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6690 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6691 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6694 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6695 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6696 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6697 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6698 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6699 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6700 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6701 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6702 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6703 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6704 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6705 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6706 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6707 @code{nil} by default.
6709 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6710 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6711 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6712 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6713 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6714 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6715 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6717 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6718 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6719 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6724 @node More Threading
6725 @subsubsection More Threading
6728 @item gnus-show-threads
6729 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6730 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6731 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6732 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6733 slower and more awkward.
6735 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6736 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6737 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6740 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6741 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6742 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6747 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6748 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6749 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6752 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6753 unread, but you get my drift.)
6756 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6757 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6758 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6759 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6760 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6761 threads are expunged.
6763 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6764 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6765 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6768 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6769 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6770 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6771 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6772 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6773 result in a new thread.
6775 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6776 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6777 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6780 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6781 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6782 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6783 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6784 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6785 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6786 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6787 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6788 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6789 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6790 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6795 @node Low-Level Threading
6796 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6800 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6801 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6802 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6803 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6804 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6805 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6807 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6808 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6809 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6810 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6811 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6812 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6813 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6814 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6815 meaningful. Here's one example:
6818 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6820 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6821 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6823 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6825 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6832 @node Thread Commands
6833 @subsection Thread Commands
6834 @cindex thread commands
6840 @kindex T k (Summary)
6841 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6842 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6843 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6844 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6845 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6850 @kindex T l (Summary)
6851 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6852 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6853 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6854 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6857 @kindex T i (Summary)
6858 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6859 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6860 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6863 @kindex T # (Summary)
6864 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6865 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6866 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6869 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6870 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6871 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6872 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6875 @kindex T T (Summary)
6876 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6877 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6880 @kindex T s (Summary)
6881 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6882 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6883 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6886 @kindex T h (Summary)
6887 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6888 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6891 @kindex T S (Summary)
6892 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6893 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6896 @kindex T H (Summary)
6897 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6898 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6901 @kindex T t (Summary)
6902 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6903 Re-thread the current article's thread
6904 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6905 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6908 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6909 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6910 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6911 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6915 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6916 understand the numeric prefix.
6921 @kindex T n (Summary)
6923 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6925 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6926 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6927 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6930 @kindex T p (Summary)
6932 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6934 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6935 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6936 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6939 @kindex T d (Summary)
6940 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6941 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6944 @kindex T u (Summary)
6945 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6946 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6949 @kindex T o (Summary)
6950 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6951 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6954 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6955 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6956 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6957 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6958 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6959 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6960 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6961 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6962 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6963 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6964 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6965 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6969 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6970 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6972 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6973 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6974 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6975 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6976 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6977 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6978 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6979 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6980 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
6981 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
6982 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6983 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6984 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6985 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6987 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6988 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6989 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6990 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6991 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6992 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6993 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6994 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6996 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6997 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6998 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7000 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7001 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7002 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7003 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7004 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7005 ascending article order.
7007 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7008 by number, you could do something like:
7011 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7012 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7013 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7014 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7017 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7018 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7019 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7020 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7021 which the articles arrived.
7023 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7027 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7029 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7030 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7033 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7034 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7035 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7036 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7039 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7040 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7041 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7042 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7043 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7044 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7045 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7046 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7047 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7048 variable. It is very similar to the
7049 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7050 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7051 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7052 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7053 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7054 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7055 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7057 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7061 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7062 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7063 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7068 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7069 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7070 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7071 @cindex article pre-fetch
7074 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7075 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7076 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7077 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7078 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7080 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7081 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
7083 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7084 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7085 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7086 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7087 connection is blocked.
7089 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7090 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7091 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7092 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
7094 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7095 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7096 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7097 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7100 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7103 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7104 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7105 happen automatically.
7107 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7108 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7109 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7110 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7111 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7112 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7113 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7115 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7116 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7117 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7118 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7119 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7120 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7121 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7122 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7123 article data structure as the only parameter.
7125 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7126 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7129 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7130 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7131 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7132 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7135 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7138 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7139 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7140 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7142 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7143 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7144 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7145 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7149 Remove articles when they are read.
7152 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7155 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7157 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7158 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7159 @c from the next group.
7162 @node Article Caching
7163 @section Article Caching
7164 @cindex article caching
7167 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7168 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7169 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7170 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7171 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7173 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7175 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7176 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7177 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7178 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7179 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7180 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7181 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7182 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7184 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7185 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7186 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7187 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7188 as dormant, and don't worry.
7190 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7192 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7193 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7194 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7195 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7196 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7197 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7198 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7199 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7200 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7201 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7203 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7204 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7205 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7206 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7207 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7208 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7209 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7210 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7211 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7212 not then be downloaded by this command.
7214 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7215 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7216 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7217 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7218 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7219 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7221 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7222 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7223 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7224 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7225 variables, the group is not cached.
7227 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7228 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7229 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7230 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7231 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7232 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7233 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7234 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7235 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7238 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7239 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7240 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7241 where, isn't that cool?
7243 @node Persistent Articles
7244 @section Persistent Articles
7245 @cindex persistent articles
7247 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7248 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7249 useful in my opinion.
7251 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7252 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7253 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7254 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7255 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7256 the expiry going on at the news server.
7258 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7259 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7260 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7266 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7267 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7270 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7271 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7272 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7273 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7277 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7279 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7280 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7281 interested in persistent articles:
7284 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7288 @node Article Backlog
7289 @section Article Backlog
7291 @cindex article backlog
7293 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7294 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7295 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7296 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7297 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7298 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7299 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7300 increase memory usage some.
7302 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7303 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7304 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7305 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7306 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7307 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7308 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7310 The default value is 20.
7313 @node Saving Articles
7314 @section Saving Articles
7315 @cindex saving articles
7317 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7318 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7319 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7320 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7321 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7323 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7324 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7325 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7327 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7328 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7329 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7331 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7332 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7333 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7334 deleted before saving.
7340 @kindex O o (Summary)
7342 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7343 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7344 Save the current article using the default article saver
7345 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7348 @kindex O m (Summary)
7349 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7350 Save the current article in mail format
7351 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7354 @kindex O r (Summary)
7355 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7356 Save the current article in Rmail format
7357 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7360 @kindex O f (Summary)
7361 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7362 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7363 Save the current article in plain file format
7364 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7367 @kindex O F (Summary)
7368 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7369 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7370 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7373 @kindex O b (Summary)
7374 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7375 Save the current article body in plain file format
7376 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7379 @kindex O h (Summary)
7380 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7381 Save the current article in mh folder format
7382 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7385 @kindex O v (Summary)
7386 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7387 Save the current article in a VM folder
7388 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7392 @kindex O p (Summary)
7394 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7395 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7396 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7397 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7398 complete headers in the piped output.
7401 @kindex O P (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7403 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7404 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7405 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7406 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7407 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7408 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7412 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7413 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7414 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7415 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7416 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7417 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7418 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7419 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7420 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7421 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7422 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7423 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7427 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7428 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7429 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7430 functions below, or you can create your own.
7434 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7435 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7436 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7437 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7438 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7439 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7440 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7442 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7443 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7444 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7445 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7446 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7447 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7449 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7450 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7451 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7452 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7453 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7454 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7455 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7457 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7458 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7459 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7460 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7461 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7462 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7464 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7465 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7466 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7467 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7468 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7470 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7471 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7472 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7473 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7474 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7477 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7478 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7479 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7480 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7481 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7483 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7484 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7485 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7486 reader to use this setting.
7489 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7490 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7491 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7492 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7495 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7496 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7497 available functions that generate names:
7501 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7502 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7503 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7505 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7506 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7507 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7509 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7510 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7511 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7513 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7514 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7515 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7517 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7518 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7519 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7522 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7523 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7524 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7525 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7526 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7530 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7531 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7532 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7533 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7536 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7537 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7538 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7539 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7540 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7541 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7542 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7543 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7544 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7546 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7547 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7548 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7549 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7551 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7552 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7553 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7556 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7557 lots of mail groups called things like
7558 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7559 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7560 following will do just that:
7563 (defun my-save-name (group)
7564 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7565 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7567 (setq gnus-split-methods
7568 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7573 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7574 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7575 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7576 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7577 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7578 all the files in the top level directory
7579 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7580 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7581 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7582 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7584 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7585 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7586 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7587 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7588 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7591 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7595 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7596 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7597 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7600 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7601 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7602 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7603 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7606 @node Decoding Articles
7607 @section Decoding Articles
7608 @cindex decoding articles
7610 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7611 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7614 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7615 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7616 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7617 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7618 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7619 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7623 @cindex article series
7624 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7625 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7626 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7627 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7628 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7630 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7631 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7632 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7634 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7635 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7636 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7638 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7639 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7640 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7643 @node Uuencoded Articles
7644 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7646 @cindex uuencoded articles
7651 @kindex X u (Summary)
7652 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7653 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7654 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7657 @kindex X U (Summary)
7658 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7659 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7660 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7663 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7664 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7665 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7668 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7669 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7670 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7671 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7675 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7676 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7677 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7678 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7679 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7681 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7682 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7683 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7684 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7687 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7688 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7689 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7690 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7691 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7692 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7696 @node Shell Archives
7697 @subsection Shell Archives
7699 @cindex shell archives
7700 @cindex shared articles
7702 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7703 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7704 some commands to deal with these:
7709 @kindex X s (Summary)
7710 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7711 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7714 @kindex X S (Summary)
7715 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7716 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7719 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7720 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7721 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7724 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7725 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7726 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7727 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7731 @node PostScript Files
7732 @subsection PostScript Files
7738 @kindex X p (Summary)
7739 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7740 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7743 @kindex X P (Summary)
7744 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7745 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7746 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7749 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7750 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7751 View the current PostScript series
7752 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7755 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7756 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7757 View and save the current PostScript series
7758 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7763 @subsection Other Files
7767 @kindex X o (Summary)
7768 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7769 Save the current series
7770 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7773 @kindex X b (Summary)
7774 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7775 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7776 doesn't really work yet.
7780 @node Decoding Variables
7781 @subsection Decoding Variables
7783 Adjective, not verb.
7786 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7787 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7788 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7792 @node Rule Variables
7793 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7794 @cindex rule variables
7796 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7797 variables are of the form
7800 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7807 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7808 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7810 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7811 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7814 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7815 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7818 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7819 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7820 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7821 user and default view rules.
7823 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7824 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7825 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7830 @node Other Decode Variables
7831 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7834 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7836 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7837 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7838 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7839 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7840 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7844 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7845 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7848 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7849 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7850 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7853 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7854 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7855 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7856 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7857 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7860 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7861 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7862 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7864 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7865 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7866 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7867 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7868 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7871 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7872 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7873 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7875 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7876 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7877 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7878 looking for files to display.
7880 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7881 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7882 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7885 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7886 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7887 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7890 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7891 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7892 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7895 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7896 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7897 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7900 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7901 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7902 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7903 decoded articles as unread.
7905 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7906 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7907 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7908 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7910 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7911 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7912 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7914 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7915 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7917 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7918 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7919 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7920 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7922 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7923 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7924 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7925 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7926 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7927 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7928 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7929 simply dropped them.
7934 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7935 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7939 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7940 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7941 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7942 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7943 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7944 for you when you post the article.
7946 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7947 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7948 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7949 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7951 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7952 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7953 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7954 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7955 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7956 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7957 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7959 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7960 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7961 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7962 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7963 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7964 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7965 Default is @code{t}.
7971 @subsection Viewing Files
7972 @cindex viewing files
7973 @cindex pseudo-articles
7975 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7976 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7977 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7978 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7979 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7980 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7981 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7983 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7984 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7985 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7986 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7988 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7989 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7990 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7992 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7993 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7994 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7995 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7996 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7998 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7999 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8000 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8001 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8002 a list of parameters to that command.
8004 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8005 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8006 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8008 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8009 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8010 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8013 @node Article Treatment
8014 @section Article Treatment
8016 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8017 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8018 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8019 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8020 these articles easier.
8023 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8024 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8025 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8026 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8027 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8028 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8029 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8030 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8031 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8032 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8033 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8037 @node Article Highlighting
8038 @subsection Article Highlighting
8039 @cindex highlighting
8041 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8042 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8047 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8048 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8049 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8050 Do much highlighting of the current article
8051 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8052 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8055 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8056 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8057 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8058 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8059 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8060 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8061 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8062 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8063 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8064 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8065 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8066 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8069 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8070 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8071 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8073 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8076 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8078 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8079 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8080 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8082 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8083 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8084 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8086 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8087 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8088 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8089 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8090 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8091 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8093 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8094 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8095 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8097 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8098 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8099 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8101 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8102 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8103 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8104 that it's a citation.
8106 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8107 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8108 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8110 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8111 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8112 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8114 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8115 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8116 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8117 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8123 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8124 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8125 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8126 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8127 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8128 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8129 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8130 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8135 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8138 @node Article Fontisizing
8139 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8141 @cindex article emphasis
8143 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8144 @kindex W e (Summary)
8145 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8146 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8147 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8148 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8150 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8151 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8152 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8153 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8154 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8155 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8156 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8157 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8161 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8162 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8163 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8172 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8173 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8174 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8175 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8176 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8177 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8178 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8179 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8180 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8181 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8182 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8183 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8184 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8186 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8187 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8188 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8192 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8195 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8197 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8198 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8199 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8200 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8202 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8205 @node Article Hiding
8206 @subsection Article Hiding
8207 @cindex article hiding
8209 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8210 too much cruft in most articles.
8215 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8216 @findex gnus-article-hide
8217 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8218 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8219 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8222 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8223 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8224 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8228 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8229 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8230 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8231 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8234 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8235 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8236 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8240 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8241 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8242 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8243 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8244 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8245 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8246 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8247 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8251 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8252 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8253 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8254 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8259 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8260 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8261 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8262 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8265 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8266 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8267 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8268 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8271 @cindex stripping advertisements
8272 @cindex advertisements
8273 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8274 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8275 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8276 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8277 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8278 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8279 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8280 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8281 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8282 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8285 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8286 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8287 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8291 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8292 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8293 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8294 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8295 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8296 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8297 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8298 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8299 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8300 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8301 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8304 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8305 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8311 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8312 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8313 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8314 customizing the hiding:
8318 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8319 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8320 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8321 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8322 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8323 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8324 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8329 Starting point of the hidden text.
8331 Ending point of the hidden text.
8333 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8335 Number of lines of hidden text.
8338 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8339 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8340 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8341 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8342 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8347 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8348 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8350 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8351 following two variables:
8354 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8355 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8356 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8357 50), hide the cited text.
8359 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8360 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8361 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8366 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8367 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8368 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8369 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8370 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8371 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8375 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8376 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8377 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8379 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8380 citation customization.
8382 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8386 @node Article Washing
8387 @subsection Article Washing
8389 @cindex article washing
8391 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8392 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8394 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8395 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8398 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8399 articles by default.
8404 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8405 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8409 Force redisplaying of the current article
8410 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8411 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8412 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8413 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8416 @kindex W l (Summary)
8417 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8418 Remove page breaks from the current article
8419 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8423 @kindex W r (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8425 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8426 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8427 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8428 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8429 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8431 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8432 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8433 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8434 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8437 @kindex W m (Summary)
8438 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8439 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8443 @kindex W t (Summary)
8445 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8446 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8447 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8450 @kindex W v (Summary)
8451 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8452 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8453 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8456 @kindex W m (Summary)
8457 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8458 Toggle whether to run the article through @acronym{MIME} before
8459 displaying (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8462 @kindex W o (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8464 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8467 @kindex W d (Summary)
8468 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8469 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8471 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8473 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8474 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8475 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8476 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8479 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8480 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8481 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8482 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8485 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8486 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8487 @cindex Outlook Express
8488 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8489 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8490 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8493 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8494 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8495 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8496 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8497 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8498 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8499 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8500 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8501 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8502 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8505 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8506 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8507 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8508 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8511 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8512 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8513 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8514 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8517 @kindex W w (Summary)
8518 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8519 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8521 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8525 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8527 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8530 @kindex W C (Summary)
8531 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8532 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8533 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8536 @kindex W c (Summary)
8537 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8538 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8539 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8540 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8541 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8543 @kindex W q (Summary)
8544 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8545 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8546 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8547 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8548 makes strings like @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which
8549 doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually done
8550 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8551 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8552 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8555 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8556 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8557 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8558 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8559 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8560 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8561 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8562 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8565 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8566 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8567 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8568 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8569 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8572 @kindex W u (Summary)
8573 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8574 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8575 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8576 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8577 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8580 @kindex W h (Summary)
8581 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8582 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8583 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8584 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8586 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8588 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8589 The default is to use the function specified by
8590 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8591 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8592 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8593 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8601 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8604 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8607 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8610 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8615 @kindex W b (Summary)
8616 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8617 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8618 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8621 @kindex W B (Summary)
8622 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8623 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8624 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8627 @kindex W p (Summary)
8628 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8629 Verify a signed control message
8630 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8631 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8632 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8633 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8634 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8635 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8638 @kindex W s (Summary)
8639 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8640 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8641 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8642 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8645 @kindex W a (Summary)
8646 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8647 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8648 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8651 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8652 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8653 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8654 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8657 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8658 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8659 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8660 lines with a single empty line.
8661 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8664 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8665 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8666 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8667 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8670 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8671 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8672 Do all the three commands above
8673 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8676 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8677 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8678 Remove all blank lines
8679 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8682 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8683 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8684 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8685 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8688 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8689 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8690 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8691 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8695 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8698 @node Article Header
8699 @subsection Article Header
8701 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8706 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8707 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8708 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8711 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8712 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8713 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8714 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8717 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8718 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8719 Fold all the message headers
8720 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8723 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8724 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8725 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8726 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8731 @node Article Buttons
8732 @subsection Article Buttons
8735 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8736 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8737 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8738 button on these references.
8740 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8741 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8742 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8743 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8744 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8748 @item gnus-button-alist
8749 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8750 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8753 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8759 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8760 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8761 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8762 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8763 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8766 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8767 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8768 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8771 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8772 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8773 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8774 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8775 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8777 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8780 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8783 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8784 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8788 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8791 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8794 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8795 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8796 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8797 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8798 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8801 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8804 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8807 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8810 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8811 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8813 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8815 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8816 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8817 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8818 default values of the variables above.
8820 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8822 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8823 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8824 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8825 argument with a string naming the man page.
8827 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8829 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8830 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8831 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8833 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8834 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8835 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8836 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8837 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8838 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8839 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8840 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8841 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8842 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8843 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8844 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8846 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8847 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8848 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8849 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8850 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8853 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8854 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8855 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8856 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8858 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8860 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8861 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8862 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8863 argument, the string naming the URL.
8866 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8867 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8868 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8872 @item gnus-article-button-face
8873 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8874 Face used on buttons.
8876 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8877 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8878 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8882 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8885 @node Article Button Levels
8886 @subsection Article button levels
8887 @cindex button levels
8888 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8889 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8890 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8891 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8892 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8893 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8894 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8895 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8898 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8899 (setq gnus-parameters
8900 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8901 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8902 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8907 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8908 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8909 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8910 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8911 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8912 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8914 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8915 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8916 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8917 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8918 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8919 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8920 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8921 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8922 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8923 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8924 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8925 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8926 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8928 @item gnus-button-man-level
8929 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8930 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8931 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8933 @item gnus-button-message-level
8934 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8935 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8936 Related variables and functions include
8937 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8938 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8939 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8940 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8942 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8943 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8944 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8945 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8946 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8947 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8948 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8954 @subsection Article Date
8956 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8957 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8958 when the article was sent.
8963 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8964 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8965 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8966 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8969 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8970 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8972 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8973 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8976 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8977 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8978 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8981 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8982 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8983 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8984 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8987 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8988 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8989 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8990 @findex format-time-string
8991 Display the date using a user-defined format
8992 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8993 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8994 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8995 for a list of possible format specs.
8998 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8999 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9000 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9001 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9002 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9003 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9006 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9009 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9010 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9011 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9014 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9015 into wonderful absurdities.
9017 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9020 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9023 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9024 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9028 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9029 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9030 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9031 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9032 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9033 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9034 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9038 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9039 preferred format automatically.
9042 @node Article Display
9043 @subsection Article Display
9048 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9049 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9051 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9052 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9054 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9055 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9057 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9058 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9060 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9061 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9063 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9068 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9069 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9070 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9071 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9074 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9075 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9076 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9077 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9080 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9081 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9082 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9085 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9086 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9087 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9090 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9091 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9092 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9093 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9096 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9097 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9098 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9099 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9102 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9103 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9104 Remove all images from the article buffer
9105 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9111 @node Article Signature
9112 @subsection Article Signature
9114 @cindex article signature
9116 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9117 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9118 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9119 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9120 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9121 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9122 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9123 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9124 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9127 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9128 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9129 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9130 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9131 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9132 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9133 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9134 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9137 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9140 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9141 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9142 signature when displaying articles.
9146 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9149 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9152 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9153 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9155 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9156 in question is not a signature.
9159 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9160 listed above. Here's an example:
9163 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9164 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9167 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9168 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9169 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9170 signature after all.
9173 @node Article Miscellanea
9174 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9178 @kindex A t (Summary)
9179 @findex gnus-article-babel
9180 Translate the article from one language to another
9181 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9187 @section MIME Commands
9188 @cindex MIME decoding
9190 @cindex viewing attachments
9192 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9193 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9199 @kindex K v (Summary)
9200 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9203 @kindex K o (Summary)
9204 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9207 @kindex K c (Summary)
9208 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9211 @kindex K e (Summary)
9212 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9215 @kindex K i (Summary)
9216 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9219 @kindex K | (Summary)
9220 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9223 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9228 @kindex K b (Summary)
9229 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9230 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9234 @kindex K m (Summary)
9235 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9236 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9237 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9238 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9239 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9242 @kindex X m (Summary)
9243 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9244 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9245 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9246 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9249 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9250 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9251 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9252 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9255 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9256 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9257 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9258 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9261 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9262 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9263 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9264 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9266 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9267 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9268 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9269 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9270 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9271 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9274 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9275 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9276 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9277 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9284 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9285 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9286 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9287 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9290 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9293 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9297 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9298 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9299 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9300 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9301 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9302 default is @code{nil}.
9304 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9305 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9306 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9307 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9308 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9309 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9310 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9312 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9313 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9314 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9315 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9316 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9317 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9318 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9319 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9321 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9322 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9323 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9324 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9325 displayed. This variable overrides
9326 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9327 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9330 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9331 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9332 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9334 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9335 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9336 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9337 default value is @code{nil}.
9339 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9340 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9341 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9342 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9343 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9344 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9345 save all jpegs into some directory).
9347 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9350 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9351 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9353 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9354 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9355 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9356 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9357 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9360 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9361 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9362 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9364 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9365 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9366 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9367 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9369 Ready-made functions include@*
9370 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9371 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9372 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9373 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9374 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9375 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9376 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9377 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9378 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9379 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9380 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9381 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9383 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9384 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9386 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9387 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9388 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9391 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9392 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9393 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9394 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9398 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9407 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9408 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9409 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9410 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9411 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9412 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9413 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9415 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9416 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9417 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9418 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9420 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9421 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9422 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9423 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9424 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9425 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9426 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9427 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9428 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9430 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9431 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9432 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9433 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9434 quoted-printable header encoding.
9436 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9437 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9438 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9442 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9445 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9446 means encode all charsets),
9448 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9449 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9450 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9457 @cindex coding system aliases
9458 @cindex preferred charset
9460 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9462 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9463 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9466 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9467 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9470 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9471 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9473 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9476 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9479 This will almost do the right thing.
9481 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9485 (codepage-setup 1251)
9486 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9490 @node Article Commands
9491 @section Article Commands
9498 @kindex A P (Summary)
9499 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9500 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9501 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9502 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9503 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9504 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9509 @node Summary Sorting
9510 @section Summary Sorting
9511 @cindex summary sorting
9513 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9514 can't really see why you'd want that.
9519 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9520 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9521 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9524 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9525 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9526 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9529 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9530 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9531 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9534 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9535 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9536 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9539 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9540 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9541 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9544 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9545 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9546 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9549 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9550 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9551 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9554 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9555 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9556 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9559 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9560 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9561 Sort using the default sorting method
9562 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9565 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9566 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9567 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9568 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9569 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9573 @node Finding the Parent
9574 @section Finding the Parent
9575 @cindex parent articles
9576 @cindex referring articles
9581 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9582 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9583 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9584 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9585 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9586 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9587 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9588 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9589 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9591 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9592 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9593 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9594 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9595 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9599 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9600 @kindex A R (Summary)
9601 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9602 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9605 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9606 @kindex A T (Summary)
9607 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9608 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9609 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9610 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9611 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9612 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9613 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9615 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9616 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9617 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9618 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9619 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9620 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9623 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9624 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9626 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9627 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9628 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9629 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9630 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9631 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9632 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9635 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9636 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9637 by giving this command a prefix.
9639 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9640 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9641 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9642 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9643 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9644 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9647 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9648 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9649 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9652 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9653 then ask Google if that fails:
9656 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9658 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9661 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9662 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9663 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9664 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9665 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9666 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9667 not support this at all.
9670 @node Alternative Approaches
9671 @section Alternative Approaches
9673 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9674 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9677 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9678 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9683 @subsection Pick and Read
9684 @cindex pick and read
9686 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9687 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9688 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9689 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9691 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9692 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9693 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9694 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9695 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9696 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9698 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9703 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9704 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9705 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9706 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9707 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9708 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9709 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9710 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9713 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9714 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9715 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9716 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9720 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9721 Unpick the thread or article
9722 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9723 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9724 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9725 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9726 the thread or article at that line.
9730 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9731 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9732 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9733 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9734 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9735 will still be visible when you are reading.
9739 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9740 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9741 which is mapped to the same function
9742 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9744 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9747 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9750 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9751 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9753 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9754 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9755 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9757 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9758 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9759 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9760 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9761 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9762 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9763 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9767 @subsection Binary Groups
9768 @cindex binary groups
9770 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9771 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9772 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9773 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9774 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9775 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9776 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9779 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9780 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9781 command, when you have turned on this mode
9782 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9784 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9785 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9789 @section Tree Display
9792 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9793 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9794 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9795 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9798 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9801 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9802 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9803 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9805 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9806 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9807 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9808 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9809 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9811 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9812 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9813 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9814 default is @code{modeline}.
9816 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9817 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9818 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9819 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9820 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9821 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9822 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9828 The name of the poster.
9830 The @code{From} header.
9832 The number of the article.
9834 The opening bracket.
9836 The closing bracket.
9841 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9843 Variables related to the display are:
9846 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9847 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9848 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9849 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9851 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9852 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9853 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9855 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9857 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9858 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9859 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9860 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9864 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9865 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9866 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9867 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9868 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9869 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9870 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9871 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9872 other windows displayed next to it.
9874 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9878 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9879 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9882 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9883 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9884 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9885 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9886 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9887 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9888 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9892 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9895 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9905 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9910 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9911 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9913 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9915 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9921 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9922 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9923 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9926 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9927 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9928 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9929 (gnus-add-configuration
9933 (summary 0.75 point)
9938 @xref{Window Layout}.
9941 @node Mail Group Commands
9942 @section Mail Group Commands
9943 @cindex mail group commands
9945 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9946 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9948 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9949 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9954 @kindex B e (Summary)
9955 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9956 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9957 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9958 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9959 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9962 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9963 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9964 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9965 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9966 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9967 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9970 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9971 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9972 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9973 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9974 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9975 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9978 @kindex B m (Summary)
9980 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9981 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9982 Move the article from one mail group to another
9983 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9984 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9987 @kindex B c (Summary)
9989 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9990 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9991 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9992 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9993 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9996 @kindex B B (Summary)
9997 @cindex crosspost mail
9998 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9999 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10000 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10001 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10002 be properly updated.
10005 @kindex B i (Summary)
10006 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10007 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10008 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10009 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10012 @kindex B I (Summary)
10013 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10014 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10015 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10016 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10019 @kindex B r (Summary)
10020 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10021 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10022 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10023 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10024 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10025 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10026 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10027 (which is the default).
10031 @kindex B w (Summary)
10032 @kindex e (Summary)
10033 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10034 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10035 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10036 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10037 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10038 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10039 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10042 @kindex B q (Summary)
10043 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10044 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10045 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10046 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10049 @kindex B t (Summary)
10050 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10051 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10052 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10055 @kindex B p (Summary)
10056 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10057 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10058 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10059 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10060 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10061 article from your news server (or rather, from
10062 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10063 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10064 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10065 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10066 just not have arrived yet.
10069 @kindex K E (Summary)
10070 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10071 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10072 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10073 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10074 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10078 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10079 @cindex moving articles
10080 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
10081 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10082 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10083 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10084 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10085 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10086 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10089 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10090 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10091 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10092 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10096 @node Various Summary Stuff
10097 @section Various Summary Stuff
10100 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10101 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10102 * Summary Generation Commands::
10103 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10107 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10108 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10109 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10110 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10111 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10112 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10114 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10115 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10116 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10119 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10120 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10121 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10123 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10124 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10125 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10126 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10127 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10128 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10131 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10132 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10133 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10134 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10135 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10137 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10138 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10139 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10142 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10143 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10144 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10145 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10146 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10147 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10148 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
10149 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10150 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10151 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10153 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10154 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10155 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10156 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10157 list of articles to be selected.
10159 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10160 the list in one particular group:
10163 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10164 (if (string= group "some.group")
10165 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10169 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10170 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10171 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10172 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10173 @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary buffer is
10174 active. These variables can be used to set variables in the group
10175 parameters while still allowing them to affect operations done in
10176 other buffers. For example:
10179 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10180 '(message-use-followup-to
10181 (gnus-visible-headers .
10182 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10188 @node Summary Group Information
10189 @subsection Summary Group Information
10194 @kindex H f (Summary)
10195 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10196 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10197 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10198 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10199 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10200 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10201 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10202 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10203 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10206 @kindex H d (Summary)
10207 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10208 Give a brief description of the current group
10209 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10210 rereading the description from the server.
10213 @kindex H h (Summary)
10214 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10215 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10216 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10219 @kindex H i (Summary)
10220 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10221 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10225 @node Searching for Articles
10226 @subsection Searching for Articles
10231 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10232 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10233 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10234 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10237 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10238 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10239 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10240 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10243 @kindex & (Summary)
10244 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10245 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10246 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10247 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10248 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10249 search backward instead.
10251 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10252 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10255 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10256 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10257 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10258 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10261 @node Summary Generation Commands
10262 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10267 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10268 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10269 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10272 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10273 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10274 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10275 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10278 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10279 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10280 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10281 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10286 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10287 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10293 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10294 @kindex A D (Summary)
10295 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10296 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10297 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10298 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10299 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10300 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10301 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10302 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10306 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10307 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10308 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10309 several documents into one biiig group
10310 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10311 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10312 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10313 command understands the process/prefix convention
10314 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10317 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10318 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10319 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10320 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10321 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10322 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10325 @kindex = (Summary)
10326 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10327 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10328 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10331 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10332 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10333 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10334 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10337 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10338 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10339 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10340 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10345 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10346 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10347 @cindex summary exit
10348 @cindex exiting groups
10350 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10351 group and return you to the group buffer.
10358 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10359 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10360 @kindex q (Summary)
10361 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10362 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10363 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10364 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10365 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10366 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10367 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10368 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10369 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10370 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10371 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10372 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10376 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10377 @kindex Q (Summary)
10378 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10379 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10380 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10384 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10385 @kindex c (Summary)
10386 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10388 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10389 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10392 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10393 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10394 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10395 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10398 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10399 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10400 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10401 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10405 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10406 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10407 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10408 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10409 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10410 all articles, both read and unread.
10414 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10415 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10416 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10417 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10418 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10419 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10420 articles, both read and unread.
10423 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10424 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10425 Exit the group and go to the next group
10426 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10429 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10430 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10431 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10432 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10435 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10436 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10437 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10438 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10439 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10440 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10443 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10444 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10445 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10446 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10448 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10449 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10450 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10451 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10452 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10453 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10454 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10455 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10456 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10457 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10458 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10459 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10461 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10463 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10464 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10465 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10466 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10467 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10468 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10469 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10470 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10471 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10474 @node Crosspost Handling
10475 @section Crosspost Handling
10479 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10480 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10481 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10482 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10483 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10484 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10487 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10488 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10489 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10490 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10491 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10493 @cindex cross-posting
10495 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10496 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10497 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10498 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10499 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10500 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10501 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10502 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10503 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10504 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10505 the cross reference mechanism.
10507 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10508 @cindex overview.fmt
10509 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10510 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10511 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10512 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10513 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10514 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10517 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10518 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10519 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10524 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10527 @node Duplicate Suppression
10528 @section Duplicate Suppression
10530 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10531 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10532 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10533 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10538 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10539 is evil and not very common.
10542 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10543 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10546 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10547 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10550 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10553 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10554 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10556 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10557 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10558 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10559 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10560 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10561 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10562 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10565 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10566 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10567 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10568 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10569 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10570 saw the article in.
10573 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10574 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10575 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10577 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10578 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10579 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10580 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10581 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10582 session are suppressed.
10584 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10585 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10586 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10587 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10589 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10590 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10591 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10592 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10595 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10596 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10597 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10598 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10599 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10600 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10601 to you to figure out, I think.
10606 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10607 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10608 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10613 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10614 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10615 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10616 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10619 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10620 or newer is recommended.
10624 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10625 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10628 @item mm-verify-option
10629 @vindex mm-verify-option
10630 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10631 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10632 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10634 @item mm-decrypt-option
10635 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10636 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10637 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10638 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10641 @vindex mml1991-use
10642 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10643 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10644 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10648 @vindex mml2015-use
10649 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10650 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10651 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10656 @cindex snarfing keys
10657 @cindex importing PGP keys
10658 @cindex PGP key ring import
10659 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10660 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10661 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10662 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10663 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10664 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10665 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10666 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10667 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10670 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10673 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10674 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10677 @section Mailing List
10678 @cindex mailing list
10681 @kindex A M (summary)
10682 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10683 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10684 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10685 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10688 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10693 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10694 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10695 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10698 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10699 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10700 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10703 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10704 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10705 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10709 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10710 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10711 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10714 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10715 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10716 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10719 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10720 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10721 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10726 @node Article Buffer
10727 @chapter Article Buffer
10728 @cindex article buffer
10730 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10731 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10732 tell gnus otherwise.
10735 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10736 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10737 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10738 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10739 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10743 @node Hiding Headers
10744 @section Hiding Headers
10745 @cindex hiding headers
10746 @cindex deleting headers
10748 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10749 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10751 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10752 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10753 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10754 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10755 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10756 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10757 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10758 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10759 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10761 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10765 @item gnus-visible-headers
10766 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10767 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10768 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10769 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10771 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10772 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10775 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10778 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10781 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10782 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10783 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10784 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10785 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10786 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10788 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10789 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10792 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10795 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10798 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10799 variable will have no effect.
10803 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10804 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10805 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10806 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10807 the headers are to be displayed.
10809 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10810 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10813 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10816 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10817 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10819 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10820 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10821 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10822 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10823 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10824 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
10825 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10828 These conditions are:
10831 Remove all empty headers.
10833 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10834 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10836 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
10837 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
10840 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10843 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10844 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
10846 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10847 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10849 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10850 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10852 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10855 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10857 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10860 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10863 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10864 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10867 This is also the default value for this variable.
10871 @section Using MIME
10872 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10874 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10875 while people stand around yawning.
10877 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10878 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10880 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10881 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10882 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10884 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10885 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10886 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10887 gnus handles @acronym{MIME} by pushing the articles through
10888 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10889 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10890 calls the @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For
10891 more information on @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View, see its manual page
10892 (however it is not existed yet, sorry).
10894 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10895 @acronym{MIME} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set,
10896 then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10897 These can't be avoided.
10899 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10900 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10901 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10902 @acronym{MIME} has decoded the sound file in the article and some
10903 horrible sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you
10904 can't find the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are
10905 starting to look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't,
10906 and you can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else
10907 in the room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll
10908 feel rather stupid.)
10910 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10912 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10913 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10914 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10915 buffer when there are nobody else.
10917 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10920 @node Customizing Articles
10921 @section Customizing Articles
10922 @cindex article customization
10924 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10925 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10926 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10927 called automatically when you select the articles.
10929 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10930 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10931 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10932 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10934 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10935 for sensible values.
10939 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10942 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10945 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10948 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10951 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10955 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10956 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10957 regexps in the list.
10960 A list where the first element is not a string:
10962 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10963 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10964 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10968 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10972 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10977 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10978 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
10979 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10980 considered to contain just a single part.
10982 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10983 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10984 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10985 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10986 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10987 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10988 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10990 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10991 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10992 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10993 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10996 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10997 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10999 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11001 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11002 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11003 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11004 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11005 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
11006 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11007 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11008 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11009 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11010 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11011 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
11013 @xref{Article Washing}.
11015 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11016 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11017 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11018 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11019 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11020 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11021 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11023 @xref{Article Date}.
11025 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11026 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11027 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11031 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11033 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11035 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11036 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11037 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11041 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11045 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11049 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11050 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11051 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11052 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11053 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11054 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11055 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11056 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11057 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11058 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11060 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11062 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11063 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11064 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11066 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11068 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11069 @item gnus-treat-translate
11070 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11072 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11073 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11074 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11075 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11077 @xref{Article Header}.
11082 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11083 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11084 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11085 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11086 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11090 @node Article Keymap
11091 @section Article Keymap
11093 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11094 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11095 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11096 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11099 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11104 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11105 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11106 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11107 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11110 @kindex DEL (Article)
11111 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11112 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11113 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11116 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11117 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11118 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11119 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11120 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11123 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11124 @findex gnus-article-mail
11125 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11126 given a prefix, include the mail.
11129 @kindex s (Article)
11130 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11131 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11132 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11135 @kindex ? (Article)
11136 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11137 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11138 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11141 @kindex TAB (Article)
11142 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11143 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11144 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11147 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11148 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11149 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11152 @kindex R (Article)
11153 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11154 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11155 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11156 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11160 @kindex F (Article)
11161 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11162 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11163 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11164 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11172 @section Misc Article
11176 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11177 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11178 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11179 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11182 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11183 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11184 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11185 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11186 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11188 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11189 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11190 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11191 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11192 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11193 the contents of the article buffer.
11195 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11196 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11197 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11199 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11200 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11201 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11202 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11204 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11205 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11206 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11207 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11209 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11210 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11211 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11212 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11213 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11219 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11220 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11221 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11226 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11229 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11232 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11233 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11234 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11237 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11240 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11243 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11248 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11252 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11254 @item gnus-break-pages
11255 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11256 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11257 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11258 paging will not be done.
11260 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11261 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11262 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11266 @cindex internationalized domain names
11267 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11268 @item gnus-use-idna
11269 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11270 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11271 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11272 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11273 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11278 @node Composing Messages
11279 @chapter Composing Messages
11280 @cindex composing messages
11283 @cindex sending mail
11288 @cindex using s/mime
11289 @cindex using smime
11291 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11292 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11293 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11294 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11295 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11296 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11299 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11300 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11301 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11302 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11303 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11304 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11305 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11306 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11309 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11310 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11316 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11319 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11320 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11321 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11322 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11323 @code{nil} include all headers.
11325 @item gnus-add-to-list
11326 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11327 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11328 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11330 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11331 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11332 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11333 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11334 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11335 confirmation is should be asked for.
11337 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11338 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11340 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11341 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11342 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11343 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11344 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11349 @node Posting Server
11350 @section Posting Server
11352 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11353 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11355 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11357 It can be quite complicated.
11359 @vindex gnus-post-method
11360 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11361 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11362 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11363 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11364 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11365 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11366 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11367 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11368 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11371 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11374 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11375 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11376 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11377 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11379 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11380 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11382 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11383 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11386 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11387 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11389 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11390 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11391 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11392 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11393 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11394 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11395 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11396 package correctly. An example:
11399 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11400 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11401 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11402 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11403 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11406 To the thing similar to this, there is
11407 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your ISP requires
11408 the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. See the
11409 documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11411 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11412 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11413 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11415 @node Mail and Post
11416 @section Mail and Post
11418 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11422 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11423 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11424 @cindex mailing lists
11426 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11427 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11428 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11429 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11430 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11431 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11432 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11433 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11434 still a pain, though.
11436 @item gnus-user-agent
11437 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11440 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11441 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11442 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11443 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11444 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11445 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11446 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11450 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11451 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11452 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11455 @findex ispell-message
11457 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11460 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11461 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11464 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11468 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11469 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11471 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11474 Modify to suit your needs.
11477 @node Archived Messages
11478 @section Archived Messages
11479 @cindex archived messages
11480 @cindex sent messages
11482 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11483 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11484 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11485 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11488 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11489 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11492 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11493 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11494 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11497 (nnfolder "archive"
11498 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11499 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11500 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11501 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11504 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11505 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11506 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11507 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11510 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11511 '(nnfolder "archive"
11512 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11513 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11514 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11517 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11519 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11520 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11521 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11523 This variable can be used to do the following:
11527 Messages will be saved in that group.
11529 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11530 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11531 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11532 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11533 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11534 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11535 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11536 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11539 @item a list of strings
11540 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11542 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11543 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11546 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11551 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11553 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11556 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11558 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11561 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11563 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11564 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11565 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11566 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11569 More complex stuff:
11571 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11572 '((if (message-news-p)
11577 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11578 messages in one file per month:
11581 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11582 '((if (message-news-p)
11584 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11587 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11588 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11590 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11591 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11592 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11593 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11594 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11595 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11596 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11597 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11598 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11599 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11601 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11602 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11603 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11604 this will disable archiving.
11607 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11608 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11609 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11610 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11611 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11614 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11615 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11616 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11619 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11620 but the latter is the preferred method.
11622 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11623 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11624 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11626 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11627 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11628 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11629 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11630 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11631 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11632 changed in the future.
11637 @node Posting Styles
11638 @section Posting Styles
11639 @cindex posting styles
11642 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11644 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11645 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11646 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11649 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11650 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11651 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11652 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11653 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11658 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11659 (organization "What me?"))
11661 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11662 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11663 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11666 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11667 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11668 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11669 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11670 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11671 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11672 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11673 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11675 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11676 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11677 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11678 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11679 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11680 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
11681 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11682 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11683 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11684 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11685 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11686 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11687 said to @dfn{match}.
11689 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11690 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11691 attribute name can be one of:
11694 @item @code{signature}
11695 @item @code{signature-file}
11696 @item @code{x-face-file}
11697 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
11698 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
11702 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
11703 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
11704 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
11705 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
11706 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
11708 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11709 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11710 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11711 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11712 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11713 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11714 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11715 references chars lines xref extra.
11717 @vindex message-reply-headers
11719 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11720 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11721 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11723 @findex message-mail-p
11724 @findex message-news-p
11726 So here's a new example:
11729 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11731 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11733 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11734 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11736 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11737 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11738 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11739 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11740 (signature my-news-signature))
11741 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11742 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11743 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11744 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11745 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11746 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11747 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11748 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11749 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11750 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11752 (From (save-excursion
11753 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11754 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11756 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11759 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11760 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11761 if you fill many roles.
11763 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11764 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11765 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11766 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11767 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11768 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11769 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11770 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11775 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11777 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11779 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11780 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11783 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11786 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11787 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11794 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11795 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11796 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11797 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11798 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11800 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11801 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11802 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11803 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11804 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11808 @vindex nndraft-directory
11809 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11810 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11811 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11812 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11813 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11814 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11816 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11817 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11818 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11819 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11820 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11821 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11822 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11823 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11824 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11826 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11827 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11828 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11829 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11830 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11831 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11832 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11833 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11834 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11835 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11836 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11837 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11838 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11839 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11841 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11842 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11843 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11845 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11846 @kindex D e (Draft)
11847 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11848 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11849 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11851 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11854 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11855 @kindex D s (Draft)
11856 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11857 @kindex D S (Draft)
11858 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11859 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11860 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11861 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11862 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11865 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11866 @kindex D t (Draft)
11867 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11868 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11869 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11872 @node Rejected Articles
11873 @section Rejected Articles
11874 @cindex rejected articles
11876 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11877 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11878 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11879 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11881 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11882 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11883 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11884 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11885 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11887 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11888 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11889 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11891 @node Signing and encrypting
11892 @section Signing and encrypting
11894 @cindex using s/mime
11895 @cindex using smime
11897 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
11898 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
11899 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
11900 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
11902 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11903 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11904 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11905 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11906 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11907 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11908 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11909 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11910 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11911 automatically encrypted messages.
11913 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
11914 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
11915 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11920 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
11921 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11923 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11926 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
11927 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11929 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11932 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
11933 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11935 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11938 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
11939 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11941 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11944 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
11945 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11947 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11950 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
11951 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11953 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11956 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
11957 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11958 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
11962 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11964 @node Select Methods
11965 @chapter Select Methods
11966 @cindex foreign groups
11967 @cindex select methods
11969 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11970 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11971 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11972 personal mail group.
11974 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11975 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11976 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11977 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11978 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11979 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11981 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11982 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11984 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11987 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
11988 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11989 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11990 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11991 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11993 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11996 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11997 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11998 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11999 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12000 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12001 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12002 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12003 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12007 @node Server Buffer
12008 @section Server Buffer
12010 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12011 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12012 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12013 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12014 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12015 back end represents a virtual server.
12017 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12018 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12019 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12020 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12022 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12023 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12024 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12025 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12026 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12027 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12028 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12030 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12031 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12034 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12035 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12036 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12037 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12038 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12039 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12040 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12043 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12044 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12047 @node Server Buffer Format
12048 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12049 @cindex server buffer format
12051 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12052 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12053 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12054 variable, with some simple extensions:
12059 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12062 The name of this server.
12065 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12068 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12071 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12072 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12073 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12074 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12084 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12087 @node Server Commands
12088 @subsection Server Commands
12089 @cindex server commands
12095 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12096 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12100 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12101 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12104 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12105 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12106 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12110 @findex gnus-server-exit
12111 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12115 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12116 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12120 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12121 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12125 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12126 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12130 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12131 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12135 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12136 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12137 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12142 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12143 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12144 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12145 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12150 @node Example Methods
12151 @subsection Example Methods
12153 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12156 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12159 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12165 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12166 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12169 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12170 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12172 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12173 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12177 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12180 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12181 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12183 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12184 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12185 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12189 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12192 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12195 Here's the method for a public spool:
12199 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12200 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12206 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12207 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12208 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12209 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12210 should probably look something like this:
12214 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12215 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12216 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12217 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12220 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12221 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12222 configuration to the example above:
12225 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12228 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12230 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12231 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12232 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12236 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12237 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12238 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12239 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12242 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12243 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12244 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12245 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12248 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12249 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12251 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12252 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12254 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12255 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12256 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12258 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12260 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12261 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12262 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12263 will contain the following:
12273 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12274 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12277 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12278 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12279 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12282 @node Server Variables
12283 @subsection Server Variables
12284 @cindex server variables
12285 @cindex server parameters
12287 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12288 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12289 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12290 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12291 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12293 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12294 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12295 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12296 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12297 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12298 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12299 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12300 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12301 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12305 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12306 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12307 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12310 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12312 @node Servers and Methods
12313 @subsection Servers and Methods
12315 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12316 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12317 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12318 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12322 @node Unavailable Servers
12323 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12325 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12326 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12327 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12328 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12329 actually the case or not.
12331 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12332 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12333 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12334 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12335 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12336 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12337 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12338 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12340 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12341 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12343 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12344 with the following commands:
12350 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12351 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12352 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12356 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12357 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12358 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12362 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12363 Mark the current server as unreachable
12364 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12367 @kindex M-o (Server)
12368 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12369 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12370 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12373 @kindex M-c (Server)
12374 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12375 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12376 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12380 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12381 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12382 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12386 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12387 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12393 @section Getting News
12394 @cindex reading news
12395 @cindex news back ends
12397 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12398 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12399 or it can read from a local spool.
12402 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12403 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12411 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12412 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12413 server as the, uhm, address.
12415 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12416 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12417 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12418 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12420 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12421 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12422 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12424 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12429 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12430 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12431 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12433 @cindex authentification
12434 @cindex nntp authentification
12435 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12436 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12437 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12438 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12439 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12440 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12441 present in this hook.
12443 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12444 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12445 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12446 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12447 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12448 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12449 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12450 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12451 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12452 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12453 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12454 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12458 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12461 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12463 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12464 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12465 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12466 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12467 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12468 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12469 @samp{force} is explained below.
12473 Here's an example file:
12476 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12477 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12480 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12481 have to be first, for instance.
12483 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12484 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12485 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12486 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12487 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12488 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12489 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12491 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12492 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12498 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12499 previously mentioned.
12501 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12503 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12504 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12505 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12506 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12507 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12510 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12511 '(("innd" (ding))))
12514 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12516 The default value is
12519 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12520 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12521 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12524 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12525 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12527 @item nntp-maximum-request
12528 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12529 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12530 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12531 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12532 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12533 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12534 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12536 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12537 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12538 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12539 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12540 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12541 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12542 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12543 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12544 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12545 no timeouts are done.
12547 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12548 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12549 @c @cindex PPP connections
12550 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12551 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12552 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12553 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12554 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12555 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12556 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12557 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12558 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12559 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12561 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12562 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12563 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12564 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12565 @c described above.
12567 @item nntp-server-hook
12568 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12569 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12572 @item nntp-buggy-select
12573 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12574 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12576 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12577 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12578 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12579 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12582 @item nntp-xover-commands
12583 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12584 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12586 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12587 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12591 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12592 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12593 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12594 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12595 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12596 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12597 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12598 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12599 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12600 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12601 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12603 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12604 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12605 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12607 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12608 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12609 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12610 server closes connection.
12612 @item nntp-record-commands
12613 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12614 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12615 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12616 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12617 that doesn't seem to work.
12619 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12620 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12621 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12622 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12623 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12624 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12625 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12626 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12628 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12629 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12630 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12631 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12632 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12633 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12634 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12637 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12640 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12641 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12643 @item nntp-read-timeout
12644 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12645 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12646 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12647 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12648 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12651 @item nntp-list-options
12652 @vindex nntp-list-options
12653 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12654 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12655 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12656 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12657 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12661 (setq gnus-select-method
12662 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12663 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12666 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12667 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12668 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12669 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12670 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12671 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12672 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12675 (setq gnus-select-method
12676 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12677 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12680 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12681 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12682 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12683 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12684 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12685 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12686 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12689 (setq gnus-select-method
12690 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12691 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12696 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12697 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12698 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12702 @node Direct Functions
12703 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12704 @cindex direct connection functions
12706 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12707 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12708 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12709 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12712 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12713 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12714 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12717 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12718 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12719 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12720 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12721 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12724 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12725 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12727 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12728 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12729 (nntp-port-number )
12730 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12733 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12734 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12735 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12736 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12737 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12738 then define a server as follows:
12741 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12742 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12744 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12745 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12746 (nntp-port-number 563)
12747 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12750 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12751 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12752 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12753 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12754 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12755 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12756 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12757 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12761 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12762 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12763 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12766 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12767 session, which is not a good idea.
12771 @node Indirect Functions
12772 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12773 @cindex indirect connection functions
12775 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12776 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12777 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12778 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12779 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12780 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12783 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12784 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12785 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12786 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12787 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12789 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12792 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12793 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12794 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12795 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12797 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12798 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12799 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12800 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12801 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12802 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12803 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12804 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12808 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12809 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12810 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12811 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12813 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12816 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12817 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12818 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12821 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12822 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12823 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12824 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12826 @item nntp-via-user-password
12827 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12828 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12830 @item nntp-via-envuser
12831 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12832 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12833 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12834 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12836 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12837 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12838 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12839 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12846 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12851 @item nntp-via-user-name
12852 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12853 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12855 @item nntp-via-address
12856 @vindex nntp-via-address
12857 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12862 @node Common Variables
12863 @subsubsection Common Variables
12865 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12866 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12871 @item nntp-pre-command
12872 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12873 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12874 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12875 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12876 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12879 @vindex nntp-address
12880 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12882 @item nntp-port-number
12883 @vindex nntp-port-number
12884 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12885 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
12886 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12887 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
12888 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
12889 not work with named ports.
12891 @item nntp-end-of-line
12892 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12893 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
12894 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12895 using a non native connection function.
12897 @item nntp-telnet-command
12898 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12899 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
12900 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
12901 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12904 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12905 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12906 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12913 @subsection News Spool
12917 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12918 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12919 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12922 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12923 anything else) as the address.
12925 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12926 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12927 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12928 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12932 @item nnspool-inews-program
12933 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12934 Program used to post an article.
12936 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12937 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12938 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12940 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12941 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12942 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12943 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12945 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12946 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12947 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
12948 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12950 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12951 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12952 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12954 @item nnspool-active-file
12955 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12956 The name of the active file.
12958 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12959 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12960 The name of the group descriptions file.
12962 @item nnspool-history-file
12963 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12964 The name of the news history file.
12966 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12967 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12968 The name of the active date file.
12970 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12971 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12972 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
12975 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12976 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12978 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12979 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
12980 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
12987 @section Getting Mail
12988 @cindex reading mail
12991 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12995 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12996 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12997 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12998 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12999 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13000 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13001 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13002 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13003 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13004 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13005 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13006 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13007 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13011 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13012 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13014 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13015 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13016 of a culture shock.
13018 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13019 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13021 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13022 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13023 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13024 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13026 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13028 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13029 deleted? How awful!
13031 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13032 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13033 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13034 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13037 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13038 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13039 they want to treat a message.
13041 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13042 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13043 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13044 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13045 archived somewhere else.
13047 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13048 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13049 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13050 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13051 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13053 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13054 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13055 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13057 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13058 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13061 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13062 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13063 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13064 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13065 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13067 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13068 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13069 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13070 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13071 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13072 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13076 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13077 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13079 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13080 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13081 and things will happen automatically.
13083 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13084 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13087 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13090 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13091 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13092 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13093 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13094 like any other group.
13096 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13099 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13100 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13101 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13105 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13106 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13107 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13110 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13111 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13112 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13115 @node Splitting Mail
13116 @subsection Splitting Mail
13117 @cindex splitting mail
13118 @cindex mail splitting
13119 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13121 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13122 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13123 to be split into groups.
13126 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13127 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13128 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13129 ("mail.other" "")))
13132 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13133 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13134 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13135 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13136 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13137 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13138 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13141 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13144 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13145 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13146 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13147 mail belongs in that group.
13149 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13150 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13151 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13152 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13153 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13154 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
13156 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13157 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13158 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13159 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13160 thinks should carry this mail message.
13162 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13163 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13164 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13165 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13167 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13168 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13169 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13170 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13171 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13173 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13176 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13177 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13178 links. If that's the case for you, set
13179 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13180 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13182 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13183 @findex nnmail-split-history
13184 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13185 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13186 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13187 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13190 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13191 Header lines longer than the value of
13192 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13195 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13196 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13197 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13198 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13199 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13200 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13201 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13202 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13204 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13205 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13206 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13207 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13208 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13209 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13210 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13211 other kinds of entries.)
13213 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13214 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13215 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13216 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13217 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13218 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13219 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13220 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13221 month's rent money.
13225 @subsection Mail Sources
13227 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13228 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13229 maildir, for instance.
13232 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13233 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13234 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13238 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13239 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13241 @cindex mail server
13244 @cindex mail source
13246 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13247 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13252 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13255 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13256 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13257 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13260 The following mail source types are available:
13264 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13270 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13271 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13272 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13276 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13279 An example file mail source:
13282 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13285 Or using the default file name:
13291 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13292 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13293 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13294 mail spool while moving the mail.
13296 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13300 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13303 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13307 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13310 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13312 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13315 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13319 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13320 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13321 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13322 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13323 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13324 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13325 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13326 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13327 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13328 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13330 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13331 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13332 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13333 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13339 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13343 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13347 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13348 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13349 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13350 predicate are considered.
13354 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13358 An example directory mail source:
13361 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13366 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13372 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13373 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13376 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13377 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13378 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13379 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13380 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13383 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13387 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13388 the user is prompted.
13391 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13392 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13395 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13398 The valid format specifier characters are:
13402 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13403 included in this string.
13406 The name of the server.
13409 The port number of the server.
13412 The user name to use.
13415 The password to use.
13418 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13419 corresponding keywords.
13422 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13423 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13426 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13427 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13430 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13431 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13432 mail should be moved to.
13434 @item :authentication
13435 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13436 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13440 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13441 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13442 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13443 programs and libraries:
13447 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13448 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13449 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13451 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13452 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13457 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13458 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13462 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13463 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13465 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13466 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13472 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13475 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13476 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13479 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13482 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13486 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13487 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13488 contains exactly one mail.
13494 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13495 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13498 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13499 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13501 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13502 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13503 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13506 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13507 from locking problems).
13511 Two example maildir mail sources:
13514 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13515 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13519 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13524 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13525 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13526 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13527 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13528 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13530 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13531 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13537 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13538 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13541 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13542 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13545 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13549 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13553 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13554 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13555 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13556 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13558 @item :authentication
13559 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13560 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13561 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13562 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13565 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13566 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13567 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13573 The valid format specifier characters are:
13577 The name of the server.
13580 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13583 The port number of the server.
13586 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13587 corresponding keywords.
13590 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13591 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13594 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13595 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13596 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13597 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13598 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13599 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13602 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13603 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13604 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13605 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13608 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13609 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13613 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13616 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13618 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13622 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13623 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13624 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13626 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13627 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13629 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13635 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13636 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13639 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13643 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13647 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13648 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13652 An example webmail source:
13655 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13657 :password "secret")
13662 @item Common Keywords
13663 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13669 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13670 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13675 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13680 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13681 useful when you use local mail and news.
13686 @subsubsection Function Interface
13688 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13689 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13690 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13691 consider the following mail-source setting:
13694 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13695 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13698 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13699 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13700 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13701 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13702 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13704 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13707 @node Mail Source Customization
13708 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13710 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13711 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13715 @item mail-source-crash-box
13716 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13717 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13718 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13720 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13721 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13722 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13723 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13724 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13725 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
13726 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13727 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13729 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13730 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13731 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13732 files. This variable only applies when
13733 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13735 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13736 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13737 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13739 @item mail-source-directory
13740 @vindex mail-source-directory
13741 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13742 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13743 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13746 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13747 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13748 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13749 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13750 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13751 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13753 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13754 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13755 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13757 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13758 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13759 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13760 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13765 @node Fetching Mail
13766 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13768 @vindex mail-sources
13769 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13770 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13771 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13772 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13774 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13775 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13778 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13779 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13784 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13785 :password "secret")))
13788 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13792 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13793 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13796 :password "secret")))
13800 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13801 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13802 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13803 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13804 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13805 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13809 @node Mail Back End Variables
13810 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13812 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13816 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13817 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13818 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13819 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13821 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13822 @item nnmail-split-hook
13823 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13824 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
13825 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
13826 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13827 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13828 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13829 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13830 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13831 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13834 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13835 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13836 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13837 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13838 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13839 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13840 starting to handle the new mail) and
13841 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13842 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13843 default file modes the new mail files get:
13846 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13847 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13849 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13850 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13853 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13854 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13855 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13856 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13857 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13858 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13859 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13861 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13862 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13863 @findex delete-file
13864 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13866 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13867 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13868 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13869 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13870 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13872 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13873 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13874 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13875 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13876 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13878 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13879 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13880 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13885 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13886 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13887 @cindex mail splitting
13888 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13890 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13891 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13892 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13893 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13894 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13895 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13897 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13900 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
13901 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
13902 ;; @r{from real errors.}
13903 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13905 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
13906 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
13907 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
13908 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13909 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13910 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
13911 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13912 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13913 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
13914 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
13915 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
13916 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
13917 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13918 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13919 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
13920 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13921 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
13925 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
13926 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
13927 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
13932 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
13933 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
13935 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split})
13936 If the split is a list, the first element of which is a string, then
13937 store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field}
13938 (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict}
13939 (yet another regexp) matches some string after @var{field} and before
13940 the end of the matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If
13941 none of the @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13943 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
13944 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
13945 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
13946 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
13947 stored in one or more groups.
13949 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
13950 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
13951 process all @var{split}s in the list.
13954 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
13955 this message. Use with extreme caution.
13957 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
13958 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
13959 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
13960 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
13963 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13964 body of the messages:
13967 (defun split-on-body ()
13971 (goto-char (point-min))
13972 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13976 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
13977 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
13978 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
13979 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
13980 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
13981 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to t to do that (@pxref{Splitting in
13984 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
13985 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
13986 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
13987 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
13988 should return a split.
13991 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13995 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13996 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13997 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13998 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13999 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
14001 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14002 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14003 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14004 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14005 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14006 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14007 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14011 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14013 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14014 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14016 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14019 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14020 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14021 when all this splitting is performed.
14023 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14024 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14025 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14028 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14031 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14032 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14034 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14035 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14036 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14037 groupings 1 through 9.
14039 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14040 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} controls whether partial
14041 words are matched during fancy splitting.
14043 Normally, regular expressions given in @code{nnmail-split-fancy} are
14044 implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers, which are word
14045 delimiters. If this variable is true, they are not implicitly
14046 surrounded by anything.
14049 (any "joe" "joemail")
14052 In this example, messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will
14053 normally not be filed in @samp{joemail}. With
14054 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} set to t, however, the
14055 match will happen. In effect, the requirement of a word boundary is
14056 removed and instead the match becomes more like a grep.
14058 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14059 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14060 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14061 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14062 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14063 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14064 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14065 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14066 it once per thread.
14068 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14069 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14070 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14071 using the colon feature, like so:
14073 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14074 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14076 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14077 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14081 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14082 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14083 in the file specified by the variable
14084 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14085 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14086 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14087 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14088 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14089 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14090 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14091 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14092 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14093 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14094 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14095 300 kBytes in size.)
14096 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14097 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14098 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14099 messages goes into the new group.
14101 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14102 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14103 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14104 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14105 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14106 ``outgoing'' group.
14109 @node Group Mail Splitting
14110 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14111 @cindex mail splitting
14112 @cindex group mail splitting
14114 @findex gnus-group-split
14115 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14116 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14117 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14118 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14119 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14120 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14121 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14122 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14124 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14125 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14126 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14127 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14129 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14130 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14131 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14132 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14133 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14134 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14135 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14137 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14138 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14139 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14140 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14141 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14142 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14143 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14145 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14146 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14147 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14148 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14149 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14150 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14151 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14152 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14153 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14154 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14155 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14156 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14157 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14159 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14164 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14165 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14167 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14168 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14169 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14170 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14172 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14175 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14176 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14177 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14180 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14181 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14182 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14186 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14187 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14188 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14192 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14195 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14196 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14197 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14198 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14199 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14200 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14201 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14202 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14203 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14205 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14206 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14207 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14208 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14209 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14210 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14211 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14212 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14213 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14215 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14216 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14217 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14218 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14219 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14220 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14223 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14226 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14227 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14228 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14229 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14230 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14233 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14234 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14235 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14236 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14238 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14239 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14240 @cindex incorporating old mail
14241 @cindex import old mail
14243 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14244 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14245 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14248 Doing so can be quite easy.
14250 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14251 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14252 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14253 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14254 your @code{nnml} groups.
14260 Go to the group buffer.
14263 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14264 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14267 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14270 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14271 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14274 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14275 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14278 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14279 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14280 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14281 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14282 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14284 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14285 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14286 using the new mail back end.
14289 @node Expiring Mail
14290 @subsection Expiring Mail
14291 @cindex article expiry
14293 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14294 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14295 different approach to mail reading.
14297 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14298 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14299 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14300 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14301 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14302 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14305 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14306 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14307 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14308 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14309 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14310 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14311 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14312 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14313 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14315 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14316 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14317 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14318 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14319 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14320 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14321 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14324 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14325 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14326 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14327 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14328 into its own group.)
14330 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14331 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14332 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14333 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14334 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14335 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14336 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14337 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14340 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14341 Groups that match the regular expression
14342 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14343 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14344 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14346 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14347 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14348 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14349 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14350 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14352 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14354 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14355 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14356 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14359 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14360 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14361 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14362 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14363 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14365 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14366 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14369 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14370 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14373 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14374 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14376 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14377 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14378 don't really mix very well.
14380 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14381 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14382 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14383 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14386 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14387 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14388 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14389 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14392 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14394 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14396 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14398 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14400 ((string= group "important")
14406 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14407 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14409 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14410 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14411 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14414 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14415 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14417 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14418 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14419 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14420 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14421 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14422 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14423 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14424 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14425 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14426 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14427 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14428 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14429 name or @code{delete}.
14431 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14433 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14436 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14437 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14438 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14439 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14440 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14443 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14444 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14445 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14446 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14447 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14450 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14451 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14452 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14453 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14454 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14455 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14457 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14458 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14459 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14460 easier for procmail users.
14462 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14463 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14464 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14465 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14466 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14467 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14468 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14469 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14470 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14471 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14472 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14473 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14474 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14477 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14479 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14480 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14481 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14482 auto-expire turned on.
14486 @subsection Washing Mail
14487 @cindex mail washing
14488 @cindex list server brain damage
14489 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14491 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14492 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14493 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14494 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14495 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14496 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14498 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14499 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14500 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14503 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14504 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14505 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14506 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14509 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14510 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14511 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14512 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14513 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14516 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14517 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14518 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14519 Emacs running on MS machines.
14523 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14524 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14525 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14526 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14529 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14530 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14531 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14532 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14534 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14535 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14536 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14537 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14538 into a feature by documenting it.)
14540 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14541 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14542 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14543 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14544 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14545 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14546 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14549 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14550 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14553 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14554 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14557 This can also be done non-destructively with
14558 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14560 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14561 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14562 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14564 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14565 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14567 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14568 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14569 @code{References} headers.
14573 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14574 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14575 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14579 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14580 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14581 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14588 @subsection Duplicates
14590 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14591 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14592 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14593 @cindex duplicate mails
14594 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14595 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14596 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14597 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14598 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14599 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14600 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14601 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14602 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14603 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14604 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14605 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14606 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14608 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14609 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14610 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14611 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14613 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14616 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14617 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14621 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14622 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14623 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14624 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14625 (any mail "mail.misc")
14626 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14632 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14633 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14634 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14638 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14639 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14640 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14641 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14642 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14645 @node Not Reading Mail
14646 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14648 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14649 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14650 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14652 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14653 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14654 mail, which should help.
14656 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14657 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14658 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14659 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14660 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14661 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14662 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14663 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14664 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14665 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14666 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14668 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14669 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14673 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14674 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14676 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14677 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14678 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14680 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14681 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14682 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14686 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14687 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14688 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14689 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14690 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14691 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14692 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14696 @node Unix Mail Box
14697 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14699 @cindex unix mail box
14701 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14702 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14703 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14704 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14705 which group it belongs in.
14707 Virtual server settings:
14710 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14711 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14712 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14715 @item nnmbox-active-file
14716 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14717 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14718 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14720 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14721 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14722 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14723 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14728 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14732 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14733 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14734 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14735 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14736 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14738 Virtual server settings:
14741 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14742 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14743 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14745 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14746 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14747 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14748 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14750 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14751 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14752 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14758 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14760 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14762 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14763 format. It should be used with some caution.
14765 @vindex nnml-directory
14766 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14767 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14768 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14769 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14771 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14774 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14775 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14776 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14777 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14778 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14779 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14780 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14781 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14783 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14784 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14785 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14786 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14788 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14790 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14791 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14792 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14793 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14794 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14795 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14796 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14797 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14800 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14801 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14802 them next time it starts.
14804 Virtual server settings:
14807 @item nnml-directory
14808 @vindex nnml-directory
14809 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14810 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14813 @item nnml-active-file
14814 @vindex nnml-active-file
14815 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14816 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14818 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14819 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14820 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14821 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14823 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14824 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14825 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14828 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14829 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14830 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
14831 default is @code{nil}.
14833 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14834 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14835 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14837 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14838 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14839 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14841 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14842 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14843 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14844 default is @code{nil}.
14846 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14847 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14848 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14850 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14851 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14852 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14857 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14858 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
14859 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14860 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14861 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14862 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14863 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14868 @subsubsection MH Spool
14870 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14872 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14873 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
14874 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
14875 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
14878 Virtual server settings:
14881 @item nnmh-directory
14882 @vindex nnmh-directory
14883 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14884 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14887 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14888 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14889 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14893 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14894 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14895 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
14896 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14897 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14898 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
14899 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14904 @subsubsection Maildir
14908 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14909 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14910 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14911 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
14912 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
14915 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14916 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
14917 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14918 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14919 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
14920 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
14921 that appear as group in Gnus.
14923 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
14924 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
14925 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
14927 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
14928 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
14929 another, and you will keep your marks.
14931 Virtual server settings:
14935 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
14936 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
14937 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
14938 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
14939 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
14940 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
14941 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
14942 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
14943 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
14944 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
14946 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14947 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14948 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14949 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14950 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14951 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14952 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14953 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14954 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14955 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
14958 @item target-prefix
14959 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14960 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14961 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14964 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
14965 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14966 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14967 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14968 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14969 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
14970 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14971 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14972 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14974 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14975 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14976 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14977 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14978 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14980 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14981 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14982 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14983 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14984 @code{force} argument.
14986 @item directory-files
14987 This should be a function with the same interface as
14988 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14989 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14990 parameter is optional; the default is
14991 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14992 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14993 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14994 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14995 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14996 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14999 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15000 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15001 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15002 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15003 value is @code{nil}.
15005 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15006 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15007 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15008 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15009 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15012 @subsubsection Group parameters
15014 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15015 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15016 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15017 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15018 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15019 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15022 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15023 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15024 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15025 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15026 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15027 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15028 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15029 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15030 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15034 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15035 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15036 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15037 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15038 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overrideable by
15039 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
15040 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15041 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15042 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15043 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15044 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15045 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15048 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15050 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15052 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15053 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15054 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15055 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15056 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15057 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15058 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15059 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15060 article. So that form can refer to
15061 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15062 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir} does
15063 not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15064 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15067 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15068 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15069 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15070 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15071 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15072 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15073 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15074 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15075 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15076 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15077 contain extra copies of the articles.
15079 @item directory-files
15080 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15081 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15082 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15083 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15085 @item distrust-Lines:
15086 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15087 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15088 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15091 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15092 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15093 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15094 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15095 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15096 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15099 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15100 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15101 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15102 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15103 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15104 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15105 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15107 @item nov-cache-size
15108 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15109 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15110 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15111 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15112 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15113 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15114 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15115 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15116 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15117 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15118 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15121 @subsubsection Article identification
15122 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15123 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15124 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15125 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15126 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15127 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15128 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15129 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15130 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15131 request the article in the summary buffer.
15133 @subsubsection NOV data
15134 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15135 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15136 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15137 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15138 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15139 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15140 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15141 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15142 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15143 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15144 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15146 @subsubsection Article marks
15147 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15148 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15149 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15150 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15151 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15152 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15153 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15154 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15156 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15157 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15158 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15159 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15160 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15161 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15162 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15163 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15164 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15168 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15170 @cindex mbox folders
15171 @cindex mail folders
15173 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15174 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15175 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15176 numbers and arrival dates.
15178 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15180 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15181 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15182 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15183 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15184 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15185 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15186 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15187 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15188 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15189 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15191 Virtual server settings:
15194 @item nnfolder-directory
15195 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15196 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15197 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15198 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15200 @item nnfolder-active-file
15201 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15202 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15204 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15205 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15206 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15207 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15209 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15210 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15211 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15212 default is @code{t}
15214 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15215 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15216 @cindex backup files
15217 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15218 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15219 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15220 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15223 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15224 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15226 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15229 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15230 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15231 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15232 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15233 extract some information from it before removing it.
15235 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15236 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15237 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15238 default is @code{nil}.
15240 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15241 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15242 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15244 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15245 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15246 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15247 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15249 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15250 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15251 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15252 default is @code{nil}.
15254 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15255 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15256 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15258 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15259 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15260 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15261 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15266 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15267 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15268 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15269 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15270 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15271 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15274 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15275 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15277 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15278 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15279 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15280 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15281 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15283 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15284 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15285 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15286 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15287 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15288 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15289 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15290 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15293 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15294 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15295 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15296 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15301 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15302 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15303 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15304 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15305 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15306 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15307 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15308 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15309 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15310 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15311 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15312 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15313 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15318 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15319 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15320 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15321 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15322 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15323 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15324 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15325 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15326 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15327 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15328 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15329 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15330 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15331 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15333 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15334 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15339 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15340 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15341 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15342 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15343 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15344 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15345 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15346 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15347 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15348 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15349 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15350 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15351 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15352 provided by the active file and overviews.
15354 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15355 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15356 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15357 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15358 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15361 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15362 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15367 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15368 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15369 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15370 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15371 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15372 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15373 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15377 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15378 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15379 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15380 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15381 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15382 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15383 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15384 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15385 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15387 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15388 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15389 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15390 friendly mail back end all over.
15394 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15395 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15398 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15399 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15400 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15401 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15402 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15403 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15404 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15405 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15408 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15409 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15410 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15411 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15412 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15413 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15414 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15415 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15416 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15417 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15418 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15420 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15421 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15422 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15423 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15424 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15427 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15428 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15429 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15430 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15431 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15432 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15433 removed in the future.
15435 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15436 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15437 on your file system.
15439 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15440 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15445 @node Browsing the Web
15446 @section Browsing the Web
15448 @cindex browsing the web
15452 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15453 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15454 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15455 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15456 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15457 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15458 even know what a news group is.
15460 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15461 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15462 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15463 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15464 you mad in the end.
15466 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15469 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15470 interfaces to these sources.
15474 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15475 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15476 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15477 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15478 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15479 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15482 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15484 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15485 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15486 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15487 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15488 though, you should be ok.
15490 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15491 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15492 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15493 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15494 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15496 @node Archiving Mail
15497 @subsection Archiving Mail
15498 @cindex archiving mail
15499 @cindex backup of mail
15501 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15502 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15503 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15504 marks is fairly simple.
15506 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15507 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15510 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15511 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15512 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15513 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15514 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15515 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15516 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15517 before you restore the data.
15519 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15520 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15521 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15522 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15523 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15524 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15525 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15526 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15527 is unnecessary in that case.
15530 @subsection Web Searches
15535 @cindex Usenet searches
15536 @cindex searching the Usenet
15538 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15539 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15540 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15541 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15542 searches without having to use a browser.
15544 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15545 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15546 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15547 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15548 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15550 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15551 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15552 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15553 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15554 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15555 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15556 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15557 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15558 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15559 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15562 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15563 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15564 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15565 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15566 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15567 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15569 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15570 to use @code{nnweb}.
15572 Virtual server variables:
15577 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15578 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15579 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15582 @vindex nnweb-search
15583 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15585 @item nnweb-max-hits
15586 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15587 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15590 @item nnweb-type-definition
15591 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15592 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15593 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15598 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15602 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15605 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15608 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15612 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15619 @subsection Slashdot
15623 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15624 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15625 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15627 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15628 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15631 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15632 '((nnslashdot "")))
15635 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15636 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15637 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15638 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15639 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15642 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15643 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15645 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15646 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15647 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15648 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
15649 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15650 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15651 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15653 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15656 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15657 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15658 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15659 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15660 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15661 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15662 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15664 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15665 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15666 The login name to use when posting.
15668 @item nnslashdot-password
15669 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15670 The password to use when posting.
15672 @item nnslashdot-directory
15673 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15674 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15675 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15677 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15678 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15679 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
15680 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
15681 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15683 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15684 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15685 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
15687 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15688 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15689 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
15690 article. The default is
15691 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15693 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15694 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15695 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15697 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15698 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15699 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15700 updated. The default is 0.
15707 @subsection Ultimate
15709 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15711 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15712 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15713 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15714 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15716 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15717 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15718 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
15719 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15720 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15721 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15722 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15724 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15727 @item nnultimate-directory
15728 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15729 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15730 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15735 @subsection Web Archive
15737 @cindex Web Archive
15739 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15740 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15741 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15742 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15745 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15746 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15747 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15748 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15749 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15750 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15751 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15752 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15754 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15757 @item nnwarchive-directory
15758 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15759 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15760 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15762 @item nnwarchive-login
15763 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15764 The account name on the web server.
15766 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15767 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15768 The password for your account on the web server.
15776 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
15777 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
15778 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
15779 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
15780 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
15782 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
15783 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15785 @kindex G R (Summary)
15786 Use @kbd{G R} from the summary buffer to subscribe to a feed---you
15787 will be prompted for the location of the feed.
15789 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
15790 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET y}, then
15791 subscribe to groups.
15793 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15796 @item nnrss-directory
15797 @vindex nnrss-directory
15798 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15799 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15801 @item nnrss-use-local
15802 @vindex nnrss-use-local
15803 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
15804 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
15805 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
15806 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
15807 download script using @command{wget}.
15810 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15811 the summary buffer.
15814 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15815 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15817 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15819 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15820 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15823 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15826 (require 'browse-url)
15828 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15830 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15833 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15834 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15837 (browse-url (cdr url))
15838 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15839 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15841 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15842 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15843 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15844 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15847 @node Customizing w3
15848 @subsection Customizing w3
15854 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15855 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15856 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15858 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15859 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15860 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15863 (eval-after-load "w3"
15865 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15866 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15867 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15868 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15870 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15873 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15874 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15881 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
15883 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15884 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
15885 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15886 specify the network address of the server.
15888 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
15889 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
15890 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
15891 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
15892 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
15893 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15895 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
15896 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
15897 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
15898 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
15900 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15901 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15902 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
15903 usage explained in this section.
15905 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
15906 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
15907 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
15911 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15912 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
15913 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
15915 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15916 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15917 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
15919 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15920 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15921 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15922 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
15923 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15924 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15925 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15926 (nnimap-stream network))
15927 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
15929 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15930 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15931 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15934 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15935 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15936 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15937 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15939 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15944 @item nnimap-address
15945 @vindex nnimap-address
15947 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
15948 server name if not specified.
15950 @item nnimap-server-port
15951 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15952 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
15954 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15957 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15958 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15961 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15962 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15963 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15964 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15965 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
15966 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15967 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15969 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15970 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15971 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15974 Example server specification:
15977 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15978 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15979 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15982 @item nnimap-stream
15983 @vindex nnimap-stream
15984 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15985 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15986 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
15987 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
15988 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15990 Example server specification:
15993 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15994 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15997 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16001 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16002 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16004 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16006 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16007 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16010 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16011 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16013 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16014 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16016 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16018 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16021 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16022 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16023 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16024 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16025 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16026 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16027 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16028 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16029 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16032 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16033 needed. It is available from
16034 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16036 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16037 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16038 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16039 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16040 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16041 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16042 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16045 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16046 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16047 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16048 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16049 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16050 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16051 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16054 @vindex imap-shell-program
16055 @vindex imap-shell-host
16056 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16057 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16059 @item nnimap-authenticator
16060 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16062 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16063 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16065 Example server specification:
16068 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16069 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16072 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16076 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16077 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16079 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16082 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16083 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16085 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16087 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16089 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16092 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16094 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16095 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16096 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16097 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16098 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16099 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16102 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16103 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16104 running in circles yet?
16106 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16107 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16110 The possible options are:
16115 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16118 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16119 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16120 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16121 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16123 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16128 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16129 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16131 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16132 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16133 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16134 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16135 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16138 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16139 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16142 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16143 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16144 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16145 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16148 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16149 as ticked for other users.
16151 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16153 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16155 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16156 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16157 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16158 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16160 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16161 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16162 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16163 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16165 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16166 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16168 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16169 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16170 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16173 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16174 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16176 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16177 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16183 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16184 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16185 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16186 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16187 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16188 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16193 @node Splitting in IMAP
16194 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16195 @cindex splitting imap mail
16197 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16198 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16199 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16200 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16201 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16205 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16206 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16207 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16209 Here are the variables of interest:
16213 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16214 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16216 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16218 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16219 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16220 found will be used.
16222 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16224 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16225 @cindex splitting, inbox
16227 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16229 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16230 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16231 splitting is disabled!
16234 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16235 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16238 No nnmail equivalent.
16240 @item nnimap-split-rule
16241 @cindex splitting, rules
16242 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16244 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16247 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16248 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16249 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16250 Neither did I, we need examples.
16253 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16255 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16256 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16257 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16260 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16261 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16262 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16264 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16265 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16269 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16272 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16273 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16275 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16276 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16277 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16278 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16280 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16281 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16282 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16283 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16284 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16285 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16287 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16288 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16289 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16291 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16292 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16293 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16295 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16297 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16298 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16299 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16302 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16303 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16304 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16305 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16306 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16307 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16310 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16311 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16312 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16313 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16314 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16315 group/function elements.
16317 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16319 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16321 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16323 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16324 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16326 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16327 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16328 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16331 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16332 @cindex splitting, fancy
16333 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16334 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16336 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16337 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16338 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16340 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16341 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16342 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16343 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16348 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16349 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16352 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16354 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16355 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16356 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16358 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16359 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16360 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16361 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16365 @node Expiring in IMAP
16366 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16367 @cindex expiring imap mail
16369 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16370 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16371 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16372 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16373 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16374 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16377 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16378 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16379 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16380 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16381 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16382 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16383 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16384 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16388 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16389 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16391 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16392 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16394 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16396 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16397 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16398 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16399 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16403 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16404 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16405 @cindex editing imap acls
16406 @cindex Access Control Lists
16407 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16408 @kindex G l (Group)
16409 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16411 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16412 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16413 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16416 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16417 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16418 editing window with detailed instructions.
16420 Some possible uses:
16424 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16425 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16426 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16428 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16429 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16430 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16434 @node Expunging mailboxes
16435 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16439 @cindex manual expunging
16440 @kindex G x (Group)
16441 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16443 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16444 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16445 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16447 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16450 @node A note on namespaces
16451 @subsection A note on namespaces
16452 @cindex IMAP namespace
16455 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16456 by the following text in the RFC:
16459 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16461 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16462 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16463 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16464 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16466 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16467 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16468 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16469 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16470 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16471 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16474 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16475 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16476 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16478 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16479 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16480 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16481 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16482 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16483 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16484 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16485 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16488 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16489 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16490 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16492 @node Debugging IMAP
16493 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16494 @cindex IMAP debugging
16495 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16497 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16498 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16499 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behaviour, chances
16500 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16502 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16503 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16504 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16505 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16506 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16507 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16508 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16512 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16513 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16520 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16521 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16522 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16523 @code{BAD} - but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16526 @node Other Sources
16527 @section Other Sources
16529 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16530 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16534 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16535 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16536 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16537 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16538 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16542 @node Directory Groups
16543 @subsection Directory Groups
16545 @cindex directory groups
16547 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16548 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16551 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16552 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16553 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16554 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16556 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16557 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16558 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16559 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16560 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16562 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16564 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16565 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16566 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16567 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16570 @node Anything Groups
16571 @subsection Anything Groups
16574 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16575 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16576 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16579 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16580 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16581 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16582 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16583 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16584 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16585 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16586 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16587 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16588 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16591 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16592 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16593 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16594 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16596 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16597 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16598 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16599 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16601 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16602 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16603 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16604 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16605 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16606 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16607 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16608 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16613 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16614 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16615 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16616 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16618 @item nneething-exclude-files
16619 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16620 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16621 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16623 @item nneething-include-files
16624 @vindex nneething-include-files
16625 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16626 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16628 @item nneething-map-file
16629 @vindex nneething-map-file
16630 Name of the map files.
16634 @node Document Groups
16635 @subsection Document Groups
16637 @cindex documentation group
16640 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16641 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16648 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16653 The standard Unix mbox file.
16655 @cindex MMDF mail box
16657 The MMDF mail box format.
16660 Several news articles appended into a file.
16663 @cindex rnews batch files
16664 The rnews batch transport format.
16665 @cindex forwarded messages
16668 Forwarded articles.
16671 Netscape mail boxes.
16674 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16676 @item standard-digest
16677 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16680 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16682 @item lanl-gov-announce
16683 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16685 @item rfc822-forward
16686 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16689 The Outlook mail box.
16692 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16695 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16698 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16701 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16707 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16710 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16716 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16717 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16718 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16721 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16722 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16723 group. And that's it.
16725 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16726 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16727 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16728 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16729 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16730 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16731 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16732 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16733 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16734 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16736 Virtual server variables:
16739 @item nndoc-article-type
16740 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16741 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16742 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16743 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16744 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16745 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16747 @item nndoc-post-type
16748 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16749 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16750 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16755 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16759 @node Document Server Internals
16760 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16762 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16763 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16764 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16765 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16767 First, here's an example document type definition:
16771 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16772 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16775 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16776 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16777 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16778 types can be defined with very few settings:
16781 @item first-article
16782 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16783 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16786 @item article-begin
16787 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16788 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16790 @item head-begin-function
16791 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16794 @item nndoc-head-begin
16795 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16798 @item nndoc-head-end
16799 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16800 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16802 @item body-begin-function
16803 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16807 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16810 @item body-end-function
16811 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16815 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16818 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16819 regexp will be totally ignored.
16823 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16824 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16825 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16826 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16827 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16830 @item prepare-body-function
16831 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16832 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16833 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16835 @item article-transform-function
16836 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16837 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16838 body of the article.
16840 @item generate-head-function
16841 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16842 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16843 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16844 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16848 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16853 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16854 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16855 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16856 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16857 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16858 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16859 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16860 (subtype digest guess))
16863 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16864 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16865 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16866 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16867 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16869 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16870 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16871 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16872 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16873 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
16874 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
16875 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
16876 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16877 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
16878 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16879 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
16880 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16888 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16889 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16890 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16892 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16893 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16894 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16897 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16898 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16899 that interested in doing things properly.
16901 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16902 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16905 First some terminology:
16910 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16911 get news and/or mail from.
16914 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16915 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16918 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16922 @item message packets
16923 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16924 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16925 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16927 @item response packets
16928 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16929 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16930 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16940 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16941 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16942 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16943 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16946 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16949 You put the packet in your home directory.
16952 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16953 the native or secondary server.
16956 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16957 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16960 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16964 You transfer this packet to the server.
16967 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16970 You then repeat until you die.
16974 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16975 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16978 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16979 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16980 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16984 @node SOUP Commands
16985 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16987 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16991 @kindex G s b (Group)
16992 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16993 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16994 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16995 process/prefix convention.
16998 @kindex G s w (Group)
16999 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17000 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17003 @kindex G s s (Group)
17004 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17005 Send all replies from the replies packet
17006 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17009 @kindex G s p (Group)
17010 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17011 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17014 @kindex G s r (Group)
17015 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17016 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17019 @kindex O s (Summary)
17020 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17021 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17022 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17023 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17028 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17033 @item gnus-soup-directory
17034 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17035 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17036 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17038 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17039 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17040 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17041 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17043 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17044 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17045 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17046 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17048 @item gnus-soup-packer
17049 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17050 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17051 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17053 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17054 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17055 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17056 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17058 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17059 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17060 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17062 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17063 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17064 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17065 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17071 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17074 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17075 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17076 you can read them at leisure.
17078 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17082 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17083 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17084 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17085 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17087 @item nnsoup-directory
17088 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17089 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17090 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17092 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17093 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17094 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17095 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17097 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17098 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17099 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17100 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17101 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17103 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17104 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17105 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17106 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17108 @item nnsoup-active-file
17109 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17110 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17111 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17112 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17113 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17115 @item nnsoup-packer
17116 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17117 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17118 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17120 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17121 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17122 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17123 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17125 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17126 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17127 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17130 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17131 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17132 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17135 @item nnsoup-always-save
17136 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17137 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17143 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17145 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17146 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17147 more for that to happen.
17149 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17150 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17151 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17154 In specific, this is what it does:
17157 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17158 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17161 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17162 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17163 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17166 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17167 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17168 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17171 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17172 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17173 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17175 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17181 @item nngateway-address
17182 @vindex nngateway-address
17183 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17185 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17186 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17187 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17188 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17189 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17190 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17191 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17194 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17195 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17196 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17199 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17202 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17205 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17208 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17210 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17213 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17214 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17215 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17217 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17219 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17220 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17221 @code{nngateway-address}.
17229 (setq gnus-post-method
17231 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17232 (nngateway-header-transformation
17233 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17236 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17239 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17244 @node Combined Groups
17245 @section Combined Groups
17247 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17251 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17252 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17256 @node Virtual Groups
17257 @subsection Virtual Groups
17259 @cindex virtual groups
17260 @cindex merging groups
17262 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17265 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17266 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17267 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17269 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17270 regexp to match component groups.
17272 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17273 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17274 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17275 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17276 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17277 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17278 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17279 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17281 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17282 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17285 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17288 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17289 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17291 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17292 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17293 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17294 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17297 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17300 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17301 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17302 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17304 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17305 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17306 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17307 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17308 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17310 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17311 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17312 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17314 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17315 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17316 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17317 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17318 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17319 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17320 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17321 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17322 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17323 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17324 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17326 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17327 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17328 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17329 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17330 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17331 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17332 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17334 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17335 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17337 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17338 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17342 @node Kibozed Groups
17343 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17347 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17348 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17349 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17350 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17352 @kindex G k (Group)
17353 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17356 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17357 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17358 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17359 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17361 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17362 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17363 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17365 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17366 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17367 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17368 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17369 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17370 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17371 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17372 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17374 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17375 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17376 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17377 Stranger things have happened.
17379 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17380 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17382 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17383 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17384 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17385 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17386 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17387 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17388 component articles.
17390 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17391 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17394 @node Gnus Unplugged
17395 @section Gnus Unplugged
17400 @cindex Gnus unplugged
17402 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17403 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17404 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17405 read news. Believe it or not.
17407 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17408 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17409 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17410 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17411 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17413 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17414 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17415 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17416 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17417 reading news on a machine.
17419 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17420 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17422 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17425 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17426 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17427 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17428 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
17429 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17430 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17431 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17432 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17433 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17434 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17435 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17436 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17437 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17442 @subsection Agent Basics
17444 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17446 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17447 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17448 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17449 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17451 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17452 connected to the net continuously.
17454 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17455 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17457 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
17458 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
17459 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
17460 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
17461 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
17463 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
17464 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
17465 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
17466 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
17467 they're kinda like plugged always).
17469 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
17470 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
17471 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
17474 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
17475 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
17476 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
17477 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
17478 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
17480 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17485 @findex gnus-unplugged
17486 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17487 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17488 already fetched while in this mode.
17491 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17492 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17493 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17494 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
17495 Source Specifiers}).
17498 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
17499 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
17500 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
17501 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
17502 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
17505 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17506 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17507 then you read the news offline.
17510 And then you go to step 2.
17513 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17519 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17520 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17521 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17522 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17523 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17524 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17525 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17526 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17529 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17530 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17531 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17532 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
17534 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17535 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17536 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17537 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17538 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17539 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17543 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17547 @node Agent Categories
17548 @subsection Agent Categories
17550 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17551 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17552 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17553 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17554 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17555 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17556 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17558 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17559 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17560 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17561 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17562 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17564 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17565 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17566 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17567 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17568 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17571 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17572 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17573 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17574 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17575 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17576 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17580 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17581 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17582 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17586 @node Category Syntax
17587 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17589 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17590 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17591 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17594 @cindex Agent Parameters
17596 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17597 The name of the category.
17599 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17600 The list of groups that are in this category.
17602 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17603 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17604 are eligible for downloading; and
17606 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17607 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17608 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17609 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17611 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17612 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17613 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17614 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17615 only groups that should not be expired.
17617 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17618 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17619 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17621 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17622 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17624 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17625 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17627 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17628 an integer that overrides the value of
17629 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17631 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17632 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17634 @c @item gnus-agent-cat-disable-undownloaded-faces
17635 @c a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should @emph{not} display
17636 @c undownloaded articles using the gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face
17637 @c faces. The symbol nil will enable the use of undownloaded faces while
17638 @c all other symbols disable them.
17640 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-undownloaded-faces
17641 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
17642 undownloaded articles using the gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face
17643 faces. The symbol nil will disable the use of undownloaded faces while
17644 all other symbols enable them.
17647 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17650 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17651 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17652 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17655 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17656 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17657 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17658 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17660 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17661 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17662 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17664 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17665 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17666 operators sprinkled in between.
17668 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17670 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17671 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17677 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17678 short (for some value of ``short'').
17680 Here's a more complex predicate:
17689 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17690 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17693 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17694 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17695 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17697 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17698 you want to do, you can write your own.
17700 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17701 bound to the value determined by calling
17702 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17703 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17704 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17705 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17706 predicate to individual groups.
17710 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17711 lines; default 100.
17714 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17715 lines; default 200.
17718 True iff the article has a download score less than
17719 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17722 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17723 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17726 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17727 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17728 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17737 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17738 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17739 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17742 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17743 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17744 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17745 something along the lines of the following:
17748 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17749 "Say whether an article is old."
17750 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17751 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17754 with the predicate then defined as:
17757 (not my-article-old-p)
17760 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17761 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17765 (require 'gnus-agent)
17766 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17767 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17768 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17771 and simply specify your predicate as:
17777 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17778 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17779 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17780 just don't give a damn.
17782 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17783 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17784 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17785 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
17786 parameters like so:
17789 (agent-predicate . short)
17792 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17793 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17794 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17796 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17799 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17802 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17803 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17804 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17807 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17808 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17809 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17810 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17811 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17812 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17814 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17815 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17816 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17817 if it's to be specific to that group.
17819 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17826 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
17827 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17833 Category specification
17837 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17843 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17846 (agent-score ("from"
17847 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17852 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17858 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17859 keywords stated above.
17865 Category specification
17868 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17874 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17878 Group Parameter specification
17881 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17884 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17889 Use @code{normal} score files
17891 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17892 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17893 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17894 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17896 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17897 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17898 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17899 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17903 Category Specification
17910 Group Parameter specification
17913 (agent-score . file)
17918 @node Category Buffer
17919 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17921 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17922 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17923 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17925 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17929 @kindex q (Category)
17930 @findex gnus-category-exit
17931 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17934 @kindex e (Category)
17935 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17936 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17937 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17940 @kindex k (Category)
17941 @findex gnus-category-kill
17942 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17945 @kindex c (Category)
17946 @findex gnus-category-copy
17947 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17950 @kindex a (Category)
17951 @findex gnus-category-add
17952 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17955 @kindex p (Category)
17956 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17957 Edit the predicate of the current category
17958 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17961 @kindex g (Category)
17962 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17963 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17964 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17967 @kindex s (Category)
17968 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17969 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17970 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17973 @kindex l (Category)
17974 @findex gnus-category-list
17975 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17979 @node Category Variables
17980 @subsubsection Category Variables
17983 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17984 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17985 Hook run in category buffers.
17987 @item gnus-category-line-format
17988 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17989 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17990 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17994 The name of the category.
17997 The number of groups in the category.
18000 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18001 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18002 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18004 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18005 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18006 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18008 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18009 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18010 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18012 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18013 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18014 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18017 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18018 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18019 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18022 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18023 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18024 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18025 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18026 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18027 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18028 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18029 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18033 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18034 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18035 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18036 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18037 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18038 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18039 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18044 @node Agent Commands
18045 @subsection Agent Commands
18046 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18047 @kindex J j (Agent)
18049 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18050 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18051 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18055 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18056 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18057 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18063 @node Group Agent Commands
18064 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18068 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18069 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18070 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18071 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18074 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18075 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18076 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18079 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18080 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18081 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18082 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18085 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18086 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18087 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18088 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18091 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18092 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18093 Add the current group to an Agent category
18094 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18095 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18098 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18099 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18100 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18101 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18102 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18105 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18106 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18107 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18113 @node Summary Agent Commands
18114 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18118 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18119 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18120 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18123 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18124 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18125 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18126 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18130 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18131 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18132 Toggle whether to download the article
18133 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18137 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18138 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18139 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18142 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18143 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18144 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18145 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18148 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18149 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
18150 Download all processable articles in this group.
18151 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
18154 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18155 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18156 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18157 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18162 @node Server Agent Commands
18163 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18167 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18168 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18169 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18170 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18173 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18174 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18175 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18176 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18181 @node Agent Visuals
18182 @subsection Agent Visuals
18184 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18185 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18186 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18187 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18188 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18189 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18190 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18191 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18192 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18193 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18195 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18196 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18197 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18198 way, "If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18199 less than satisfying unplugged session". For this reason, the Agent
18200 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18201 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18202 articles will be available when unplugged.
18204 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18205 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18206 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18207 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18208 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18209 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18210 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18211 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18213 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18214 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18215 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18216 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18217 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18218 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18219 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18220 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18221 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18223 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18224 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18225 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18226 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18227 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear.
18229 For occasional Agent users, the undownloaded faces may appear to be an
18230 absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since most of their
18231 articles have not been fetched into the Agent, most of the normal
18232 faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces. If this is your
18233 situation, you have two choices available. First, you can completely
18234 disable the undownload faces by customizing
18235 @code{gnus-summary-highlight} to delete the three cons-cells that
18236 refer to the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face} faces. Second, if
18237 you prefer to take a more fine-grained approach, you may set the
18238 @code{agent-disable-undownloaded-faces} group parameter to t. This
18239 parameter, like all other agent parameters, may be set on an Agent
18240 Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}), a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic
18241 Parameters}), or an individual group (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18243 @node Agent as Cache
18244 @subsection Agent as Cache
18246 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18247 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18248 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18249 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18250 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18251 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18252 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18253 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18254 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18256 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18257 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18258 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18259 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18260 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18263 @subsection Agent Expiry
18265 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18266 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18267 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18268 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18269 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18270 @cindex agent expiry
18271 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18274 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18275 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18276 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18277 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18278 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18279 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18280 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18281 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18283 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
18284 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
18285 synchronized with the group.
18287 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18288 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18290 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18291 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18292 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18293 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18294 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18295 be kept indefinitely.
18297 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18298 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18299 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18300 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18302 @node Agent Regeneration
18303 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18305 @cindex agent regeneration
18306 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
18307 @cindex regeneration
18309 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18310 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18311 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18312 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18313 internal inconsistencies.
18315 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18316 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18317 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18318 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18319 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18320 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18322 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18323 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18324 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18325 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18326 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18327 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18329 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18330 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18331 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18332 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18333 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18334 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18337 @node Agent and IMAP
18338 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18340 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18341 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18342 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18343 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18345 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18346 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18347 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18348 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18350 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18351 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18352 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18353 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18355 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18356 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18357 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18358 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18359 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18360 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18362 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18363 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18364 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18365 in the group buffer.
18367 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18368 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18373 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18376 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18380 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18381 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18382 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18383 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group and
18384 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18385 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18386 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18387 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18390 @node Outgoing Messages
18391 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18393 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
18394 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
18395 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18397 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
18398 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
18399 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
18400 messages in the draft group.
18404 @node Agent Variables
18405 @subsection Agent Variables
18408 @item gnus-agent-directory
18409 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18410 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18411 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18413 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18414 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18415 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18416 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18417 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18420 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18421 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18422 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18424 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18425 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18426 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18428 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18429 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18430 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18432 @item gnus-agent-cache
18433 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18434 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18435 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18436 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18438 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18439 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18440 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18441 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18442 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18443 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18444 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18447 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18448 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18449 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18450 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18451 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18452 read. The default is t.
18454 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18455 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18456 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18457 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
18458 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
18459 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
18460 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
18461 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
18462 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
18463 over and over again.
18465 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18466 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18467 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18468 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18469 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18470 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18471 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18472 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18473 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18474 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18475 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18476 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18479 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18480 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18481 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18482 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18483 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18484 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18485 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18486 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18487 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18489 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18490 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18491 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
18492 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18493 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18494 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18496 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18497 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18498 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18499 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18500 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18502 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18503 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18504 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
18505 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
18506 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
18507 which backends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
18508 to agentize remote backends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
18509 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
18510 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
18511 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
18512 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
18517 @node Example Setup
18518 @subsection Example Setup
18520 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18521 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18522 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18525 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18526 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18527 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18529 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18530 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18531 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18533 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18534 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18536 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18537 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18538 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18541 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18542 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18545 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18546 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18547 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18548 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18549 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18552 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18553 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18554 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18555 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18556 back all the killed groups.)
18558 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18559 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18560 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18563 @node Batching Agents
18564 @subsection Batching Agents
18565 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18567 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18568 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18569 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18571 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18572 following incantation:
18576 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18580 @node Agent Caveats
18581 @subsection Agent Caveats
18583 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18584 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18588 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18590 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18591 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18592 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18594 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18595 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18597 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18601 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18602 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18603 locally stored articles.
18610 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18611 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18612 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18615 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18616 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18617 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18618 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18619 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18621 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18622 before generating the summary buffer.
18624 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18625 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18626 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18628 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18629 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18630 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18631 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18634 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18635 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18636 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18637 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18638 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18639 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18640 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18641 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18642 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18643 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18644 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18645 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18646 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18647 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18648 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18649 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18650 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18654 @node Summary Score Commands
18655 @section Summary Score Commands
18656 @cindex score commands
18658 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18659 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18660 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18661 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18662 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18664 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18665 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18666 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18667 score file the current one.
18669 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18674 @kindex V s (Summary)
18675 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18676 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18679 @kindex V S (Summary)
18680 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18681 Display the score of the current article
18682 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18685 @kindex V t (Summary)
18686 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18687 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18688 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18689 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
18690 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
18691 score file and edit it.
18694 @kindex V w (Summary)
18695 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18696 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18699 @kindex V R (Summary)
18700 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18701 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18702 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18703 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18704 effect you're having.
18707 @kindex V c (Summary)
18708 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18709 Make a different score file the current
18710 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18713 @kindex V e (Summary)
18714 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18715 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18716 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18720 @kindex V f (Summary)
18721 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18722 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18723 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18726 @kindex V F (Summary)
18727 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18728 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18729 after editing score files.
18732 @kindex V C (Summary)
18733 @findex gnus-score-customize
18734 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18735 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18739 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18744 @kindex V m (Summary)
18745 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18746 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18747 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18750 @kindex V x (Summary)
18751 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18752 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18753 expunge all articles below this score
18754 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18757 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18758 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18761 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18762 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18766 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18767 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18769 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18770 keys are available:
18774 Score on the author name.
18777 Score on the subject line.
18780 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18783 Score on the @code{References} line.
18789 Score on the number of lines.
18792 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18795 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18796 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18799 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18800 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18801 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18810 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18816 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18817 what headers you are scoring on.
18829 Substring matching.
18832 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18861 Greater than number.
18866 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18867 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18868 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18873 Temporary score entry.
18876 Permanent score entry.
18879 Immediately scoring.
18883 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18884 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18885 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18889 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18890 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18891 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18892 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18894 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18895 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18896 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18897 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18898 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18900 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18901 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18902 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18903 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18904 current score file.
18906 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18907 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18908 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18911 @node Group Score Commands
18912 @section Group Score Commands
18913 @cindex group score commands
18915 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18920 @kindex W e (Group)
18921 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
18922 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
18923 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
18926 @kindex W f (Group)
18927 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18928 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18929 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18930 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18934 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18936 @findex gnus-batch-score
18937 @cindex batch scoring
18939 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18943 @node Score Variables
18944 @section Score Variables
18945 @cindex score variables
18949 @item gnus-use-scoring
18950 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18951 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18952 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18954 @item gnus-kill-killed
18955 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18956 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18957 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18958 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18959 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18960 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18961 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18963 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18964 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18965 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18966 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18967 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18969 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18970 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18971 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18972 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18974 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18975 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18976 @cindex score cache
18977 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18978 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18979 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18980 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18981 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18982 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18983 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18986 @item gnus-save-score
18987 @vindex gnus-save-score
18988 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18989 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18990 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18992 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18993 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18994 across group visits.
18996 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18997 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18998 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18999 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19000 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19001 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19002 manually entered data.
19004 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19005 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19006 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19008 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19009 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19010 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19011 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19012 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19013 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19015 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19016 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19017 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19018 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19020 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19021 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19022 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19023 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19025 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19026 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19027 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19028 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19030 Predefined functions available are:
19033 @item gnus-score-find-single
19034 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19035 Only apply the group's own score file.
19037 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19038 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19039 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19040 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19041 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19042 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19043 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19044 then a regexp match is done.
19046 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19047 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19049 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19050 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19051 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19052 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19054 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19055 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19056 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19057 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19058 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19062 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19063 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19064 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19065 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19066 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19067 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19068 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19071 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19072 overall score file, you could use the value
19074 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19075 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19078 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19079 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19080 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19081 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19082 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19084 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19085 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19086 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19087 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19088 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19089 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19090 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19091 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19093 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19094 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19095 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19097 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19098 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19099 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19100 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19101 threading---according to the current value of
19102 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19103 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19104 simplified in this manner.
19109 @node Score File Format
19110 @section Score File Format
19111 @cindex score file format
19113 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19114 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19115 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19117 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19121 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19123 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19125 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19127 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19132 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19136 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19137 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19138 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19139 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19143 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19144 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19146 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19147 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19148 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19150 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19155 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19156 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19157 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19158 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19159 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19160 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19161 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19162 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19163 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19164 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19165 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19166 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19167 to articles that matches these score entries.
19169 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19170 score entry has one to four elements.
19174 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19175 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19179 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19180 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19181 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19182 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19183 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19184 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19187 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19188 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19189 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19190 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19191 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19194 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19195 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19196 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19197 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19200 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19201 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19202 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19203 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19204 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19205 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19206 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19207 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19208 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19209 instead, if you feel like.
19212 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19213 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19214 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19215 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19216 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19217 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19221 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19222 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19226 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19227 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19229 These predicates are true if
19232 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19235 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19236 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19243 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19244 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19245 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19246 it's not. I think.)
19248 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19249 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19250 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19251 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19254 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19255 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19256 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
19257 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
19258 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
19259 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
19260 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
19264 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
19265 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
19266 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
19267 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
19268 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
19269 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
19270 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
19271 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
19274 @item Head, Body, All
19275 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
19279 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
19280 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
19281 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
19282 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
19283 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
19284 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
19285 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
19289 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
19290 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
19291 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
19292 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
19293 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
19294 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
19295 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
19296 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
19297 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
19298 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
19299 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
19303 @cindex score file atoms
19305 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19306 lower than this number will be marked as read.
19309 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19310 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
19312 @item mark-and-expunge
19313 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19314 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
19317 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
19318 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
19319 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
19320 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
19321 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
19324 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
19325 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19328 @item exclude-files
19329 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19330 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19334 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19335 ignored when handling global score files.
19338 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19339 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19340 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19341 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19344 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19345 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19346 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19347 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19349 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19353 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19356 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19357 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19358 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19359 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19360 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19362 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19363 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19364 scoring rules exist.
19367 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19368 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19369 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19370 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19371 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19372 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19373 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19374 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19375 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19376 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19377 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19381 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19382 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19383 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19384 file for a number of groups.
19387 @cindex local variables
19388 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19389 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19390 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19391 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19392 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19397 @node Score File Editing
19398 @section Score File Editing
19400 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19401 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19402 with a mode for that.
19404 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19405 additional commands:
19410 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19411 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19412 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19413 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19416 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19417 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19418 Insert the current date in numerical format
19419 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19420 you were wondering.
19423 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19424 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19425 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19426 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19427 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19432 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19434 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19435 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19437 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
19438 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
19441 @node Adaptive Scoring
19442 @section Adaptive Scoring
19443 @cindex adaptive scoring
19445 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19446 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19447 stupidity, to be precise.
19449 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19450 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19451 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19452 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19453 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19454 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19455 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19456 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19457 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19459 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19460 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19461 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19462 might look something like this:
19465 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19466 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19467 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19468 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19469 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19470 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19471 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19472 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19473 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19474 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19475 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19476 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19479 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19480 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19481 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19482 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19483 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19484 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19487 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19488 will be applied to each article.
19490 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19491 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19492 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19493 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19495 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19496 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19497 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19498 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19500 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19501 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19502 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19503 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19505 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19506 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19507 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19508 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19509 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19510 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19512 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19513 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19514 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19516 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19517 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19518 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19520 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19521 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19522 let you use different rules in different groups.
19524 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19525 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19526 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19529 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19530 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19531 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19532 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19533 the length of the match is less than
19534 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19535 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19538 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19539 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19540 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19541 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19542 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19545 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19546 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19547 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19548 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19549 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19552 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19553 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19554 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19555 score with 30 points.
19557 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19558 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19559 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19560 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19561 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19563 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19564 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19565 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19566 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19567 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19569 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19570 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19571 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19572 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19574 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19575 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19576 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19577 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19579 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19580 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19581 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19582 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19583 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19585 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19586 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19587 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19589 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19590 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19591 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19592 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19595 @node Home Score File
19596 @section Home Score File
19598 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19599 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19600 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19601 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19603 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19604 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19605 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19607 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19608 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19613 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19617 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19618 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19622 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19626 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19627 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19630 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19631 be used as the home score file.
19634 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19637 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19642 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19645 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19646 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19649 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19650 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19652 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19654 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19655 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19658 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19659 Other functions include
19662 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19663 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19664 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19665 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19669 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19670 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19671 their own home score files:
19674 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19675 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19676 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19677 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19678 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19681 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19682 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19683 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19684 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19685 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19687 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19688 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19689 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19690 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19691 precedence over this variable.
19694 @node Followups To Yourself
19695 @section Followups To Yourself
19697 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19698 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19699 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19700 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19701 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19702 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19706 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19707 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19708 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19711 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19712 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19713 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19717 @vindex message-sent-hook
19718 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19719 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19721 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19725 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19726 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19730 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19731 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19734 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19735 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19740 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19744 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19745 is system-dependent.
19748 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19749 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19750 @cindex scoring on other headers
19752 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19753 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19754 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19755 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19756 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19758 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19759 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
19760 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
19761 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
19762 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19764 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19767 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19768 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19771 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19772 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19773 time if you have much mail.
19775 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19776 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19782 @section Scoring Tips
19783 @cindex scoring tips
19789 @cindex scoring crossposts
19790 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19791 the @code{Xref} header.
19793 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19796 @item Multiple crossposts
19797 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19798 more than, say, 3 groups:
19801 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19805 @item Matching on the body
19806 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19807 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19808 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19809 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19810 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19811 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19812 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19815 @item Marking as read
19816 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19817 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19818 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19822 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19824 @item Negated character classes
19825 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19826 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19827 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19831 @node Reverse Scoring
19832 @section Reverse Scoring
19833 @cindex reverse scoring
19835 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19836 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19837 like this in your score file:
19841 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19846 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19847 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19850 @node Global Score Files
19851 @section Global Score Files
19852 @cindex global score files
19854 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19855 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19856 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19858 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19859 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19860 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19862 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19863 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19864 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19865 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19866 files are applicable to which group.
19868 To use the score file
19869 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19870 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19874 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19875 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19876 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19879 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19881 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19882 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19883 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19884 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19886 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19887 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19889 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19890 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19891 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19892 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19893 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19894 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19896 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19902 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19904 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19906 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19908 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19909 lowered out of existence.
19911 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19912 articles completely.
19915 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19916 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19917 old articles for a long time.
19920 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19921 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19922 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19923 holding our breath yet?
19927 @section Kill Files
19930 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19931 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19932 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19934 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19935 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19936 files into score files.
19938 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19939 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19940 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19941 that isn't a very good idea.
19943 Normal kill files look like this:
19946 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19947 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19951 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19952 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19954 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19955 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19958 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
19963 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19964 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19965 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19968 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19969 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19970 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19973 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19978 @kindex M-k (Group)
19979 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19980 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19983 @kindex M-K (Group)
19984 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19985 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19988 Kill file variables:
19991 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19992 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19993 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19994 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19995 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19996 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19997 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19999 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20000 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20001 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20002 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20005 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20006 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20007 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20008 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20009 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20010 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20011 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20012 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20013 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20015 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20016 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20017 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20022 @node Converting Kill Files
20023 @section Converting Kill Files
20025 @cindex converting kill files
20027 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20028 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20029 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20032 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
20033 You can fetch it from
20034 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20036 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20037 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20038 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20046 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
20047 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
20049 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/, GroupLens} is a
20050 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
20051 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
20052 news articles generated every day.
20054 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
20055 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
20056 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
20057 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
20058 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
20059 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
20060 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
20061 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
20065 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
20066 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
20067 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
20068 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
20072 @node Using GroupLens
20073 @subsection Using GroupLens
20075 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local
20076 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html, Better Bit
20077 Bureau (BBB)} is the only better bit in town at the moment.
20079 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
20083 @item gnus-use-grouplens
20084 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
20085 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
20086 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
20088 @item grouplens-pseudonym
20089 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
20090 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
20091 with the Better Bit Bureau.
20093 @item grouplens-newsgroups
20094 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
20095 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
20099 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
20100 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
20101 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
20102 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
20103 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
20104 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
20107 @node Rating Articles
20108 @subsection Rating Articles
20110 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
20111 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
20112 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
20113 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
20116 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
20121 @kindex r (GroupLens)
20122 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
20123 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
20126 @kindex k (GroupLens)
20127 @findex grouplens-score-thread
20128 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
20129 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
20130 threads in rec.humor.
20134 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
20135 the score of the article you're reading.
20140 @kindex n (GroupLens)
20141 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
20142 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
20145 @kindex , (GroupLens)
20146 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
20147 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
20151 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
20152 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
20155 @node Displaying Predictions
20156 @subsection Displaying Predictions
20158 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
20159 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
20160 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
20161 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
20162 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
20164 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
20165 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
20166 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
20167 regular Gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
20168 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
20169 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
20170 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
20171 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
20172 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
20173 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
20174 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
20175 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
20176 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
20178 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
20179 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
20180 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
20181 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
20183 The following are valid values for that variable.
20186 @item prediction-spot
20187 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
20190 @item confidence-interval
20191 A numeric confidence interval.
20193 @item prediction-bar
20194 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
20196 @item confidence-bar
20197 Numerical confidence.
20199 @item confidence-spot
20200 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
20202 @item prediction-num
20203 Plain-old numeric value.
20205 @item confidence-plus-minus
20206 Prediction +/- confidence.
20211 @node GroupLens Variables
20212 @subsection GroupLens Variables
20216 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
20217 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
20218 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
20219 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
20222 @item grouplens-bbb-host
20223 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
20226 @item grouplens-bbb-port
20227 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
20229 @item grouplens-score-offset
20230 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
20231 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
20234 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
20235 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
20236 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
20241 @node Advanced Scoring
20242 @section Advanced Scoring
20244 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20245 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20246 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20247 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20248 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20250 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20254 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20255 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20256 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20260 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20261 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20263 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20264 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20265 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20266 non-@code{nil} value.
20268 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20269 operator, and various match operators.
20276 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20277 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20278 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20283 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20284 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20285 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20290 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20291 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20295 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20296 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20297 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20298 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20299 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20300 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20301 the ancestry you want to go.
20303 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20304 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20305 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20306 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20307 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20310 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20311 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20313 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20314 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20317 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20318 when he's talking about Gnus:
20323 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20324 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20331 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20335 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20342 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20343 really don't want to read what he's written:
20347 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20348 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20352 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20353 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20354 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20361 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20362 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20363 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20364 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20368 The possibilities are endless.
20371 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20372 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20374 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20375 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20376 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20377 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20378 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20379 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20380 @samp{subject}) first.
20382 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20383 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20394 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20395 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20401 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20408 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20409 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20414 @section Score Decays
20415 @cindex score decays
20418 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20419 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20420 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20421 use them in any sensible way.
20423 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20424 @findex gnus-decay-score
20425 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20426 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20427 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20428 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20429 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20430 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20431 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20432 definition of that function:
20435 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20436 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20437 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20439 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
20441 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20443 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20444 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
20445 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
20446 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
20447 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
20449 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
20453 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20454 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20455 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20456 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20460 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20463 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20466 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20470 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20471 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20472 the new score, which should be an integer.
20474 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20475 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20480 @include message.texi
20481 @chapter Emacs MIME
20482 @include emacs-mime.texi
20484 @include sieve.texi
20486 @c @include pgg.texi
20488 @c @include sasl.texi
20496 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20497 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20498 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20499 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20500 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20501 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20502 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20503 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20504 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20505 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20506 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20507 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20508 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20509 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20510 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20511 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20512 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20513 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20514 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
20515 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20519 @node Process/Prefix
20520 @section Process/Prefix
20521 @cindex process/prefix convention
20523 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20524 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20526 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20527 command to be performed on.
20531 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20532 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20533 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20534 with the current one.
20536 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20537 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20538 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20540 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20541 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20544 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20545 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20547 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20550 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20551 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20552 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20553 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20555 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20556 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20557 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20558 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20559 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20560 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20561 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20562 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20564 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20565 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20566 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20567 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20568 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20572 @section Interactive
20573 @cindex interaction
20577 @item gnus-novice-user
20578 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20579 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20580 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20581 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20582 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20585 @item gnus-expert-user
20586 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20587 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20588 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20589 matter how strange.
20591 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20592 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20593 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20594 is @code{t} by default.
20596 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20597 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20598 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20603 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20604 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20605 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20607 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20608 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20609 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20610 rule of 900 to the current article.
20612 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20613 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20614 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20615 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20616 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20617 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20618 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20620 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20621 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20622 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20623 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20624 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20625 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20626 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20627 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20628 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20630 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20631 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20632 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20634 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20638 @node Formatting Variables
20639 @section Formatting Variables
20640 @cindex formatting variables
20642 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20643 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20644 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20645 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20646 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20649 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20650 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20651 lots of percentages everywhere.
20654 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20655 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20656 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20657 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20658 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20659 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20660 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20661 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20664 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20665 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20666 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20667 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20668 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20669 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20670 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20671 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20673 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20674 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20676 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20677 @findex gnus-update-format
20678 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20679 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20680 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20681 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20685 @node Formatting Basics
20686 @subsection Formatting Basics
20688 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20689 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20690 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20692 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20693 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20694 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20695 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20696 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20699 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20700 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20701 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20702 less than 4 characters wide.
20704 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20705 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20708 @node Mode Line Formatting
20709 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20711 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20712 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20713 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20714 with the following two differences:
20719 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20722 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20723 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20724 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20725 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20726 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20727 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20728 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20733 @node Advanced Formatting
20734 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20736 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20737 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20738 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20739 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20741 These are the valid modifiers:
20746 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20750 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20755 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20758 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20763 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20766 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20769 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20772 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20778 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20783 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20784 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20785 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20786 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20787 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20788 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20789 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20791 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20792 last operation, padding.
20794 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20795 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
20796 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
20797 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
20798 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
20799 the look of your lines.
20800 @xref{Compilation}.
20803 @node User-Defined Specs
20804 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20806 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20807 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20808 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20809 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20810 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20811 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20812 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20813 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20814 should protect against that.
20816 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20817 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20819 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20820 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20821 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20822 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20826 @node Formatting Fonts
20827 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20829 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20830 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20831 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20832 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20835 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20836 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20837 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20838 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20839 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20840 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20842 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20843 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20844 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20845 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20846 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20847 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20848 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20849 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20850 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20851 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20852 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20855 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20858 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20859 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20860 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20862 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20863 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20864 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20865 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20866 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20867 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20868 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20870 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20871 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20872 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20875 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20876 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20878 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20879 mode-line variables.
20881 @node Positioning Point
20882 @subsection Positioning Point
20884 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20885 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20886 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20888 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20890 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20891 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20892 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20894 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20895 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20896 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20901 @subsection Tabulation
20903 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20904 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20905 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20906 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20908 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20909 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20911 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20912 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20913 This is the soft tabulator.
20915 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20916 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20917 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20920 @node Wide Characters
20921 @subsection Wide Characters
20923 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20924 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20925 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20927 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20928 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20929 these countries, that's not true.
20931 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20932 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20933 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20934 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20938 @node Window Layout
20939 @section Window Layout
20940 @cindex window layout
20942 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20944 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20945 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20946 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20947 @code{t} by default.
20949 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20950 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20952 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20953 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20954 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20957 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20958 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20959 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20963 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20964 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20965 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20966 possible names is listed below.
20968 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20969 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20972 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20976 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20977 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20978 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20979 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20980 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20981 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20982 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20983 size spec per split.
20985 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20986 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20987 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20988 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20989 present) gets focus.
20991 Here's a more complicated example:
20994 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20995 (summary 0.25 point)
20996 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
21000 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
21001 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
21002 occupy, not a percentage.
21004 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
21005 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
21006 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
21007 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
21008 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
21011 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
21014 (article (horizontal 1.0
21019 (summary 0.25 point)
21024 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
21025 @code{horizontal} thingie?
21027 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
21028 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
21029 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
21030 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
21031 the screen is to be given to this strip.
21033 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
21034 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
21035 lines from the splits.
21037 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
21042 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
21043 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
21044 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
21045 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
21046 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
21047 size = number | frame-params
21048 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
21052 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
21053 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
21054 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
21055 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
21057 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
21058 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
21059 @cindex window height
21060 @cindex window width
21061 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
21062 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
21063 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
21064 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
21065 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
21066 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
21068 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
21069 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
21070 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
21071 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
21073 @findex gnus-configure-frame
21074 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
21075 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
21076 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
21077 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
21078 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
21079 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
21080 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
21081 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
21082 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
21083 configuration list.
21086 (gnus-configure-frame
21090 (article 0.3 point))
21098 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
21099 @code{frame} split:
21102 (gnus-configure-frame
21105 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
21107 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
21108 (user-position . t)
21109 (left . -1) (top . 1))
21114 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
21115 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
21116 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
21117 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
21118 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
21119 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
21120 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
21121 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
21123 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
21124 be found in its default value.
21126 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
21127 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
21128 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
21132 (message (horizontal 1.0
21133 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
21135 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
21140 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
21141 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
21142 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
21147 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
21148 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
21149 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
21150 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
21151 (name . "Message"))
21152 (message 1.0 point))))
21155 @findex gnus-add-configuration
21156 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
21157 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
21158 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
21159 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21162 (gnus-add-configuration
21163 '(article (vertical 1.0
21165 (summary .25 point)
21169 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21170 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21171 Gnus has been loaded.
21173 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21174 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21175 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21176 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21177 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21179 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21180 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21181 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21184 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21188 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21189 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21204 (gnus-add-configuration
21207 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21209 (summary 0.16 point)
21212 (gnus-add-configuration
21215 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21216 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21222 @node Faces and Fonts
21223 @section Faces and Fonts
21228 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21229 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21230 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21235 @section Compilation
21236 @cindex compilation
21237 @cindex byte-compilation
21239 @findex gnus-compile
21241 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21242 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21243 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
21244 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
21245 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
21246 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21247 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21248 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21251 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21252 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21253 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21254 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
21255 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
21258 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
21259 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
21260 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
21261 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
21262 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
21267 @section Mode Lines
21270 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21271 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21272 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21273 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21274 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21275 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21276 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21279 @cindex display-time
21281 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
21282 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
21283 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
21284 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
21285 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
21286 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
21287 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
21288 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
21291 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
21293 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
21294 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
21296 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
21297 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
21298 (length display-time-string)))))
21301 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
21302 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
21303 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
21304 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
21305 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
21308 @node Highlighting and Menus
21309 @section Highlighting and Menus
21311 @cindex highlighting
21314 @vindex gnus-visual
21315 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
21316 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
21317 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
21320 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
21321 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
21324 @item group-highlight
21325 Do highlights in the group buffer.
21326 @item summary-highlight
21327 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
21328 @item article-highlight
21329 Do highlights in the article buffer.
21331 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
21333 Create menus in the group buffer.
21335 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21337 Create menus in the article buffer.
21339 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21341 Create menus in the server buffer.
21343 Create menus in the score buffers.
21345 Create menus in all buffers.
21348 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21349 buffers, you could say something like:
21352 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21355 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21358 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21361 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21362 in all Gnus buffers.
21364 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21367 @item gnus-mouse-face
21368 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21369 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21370 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21374 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21378 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21379 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21380 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21382 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21383 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21384 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21386 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21387 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21388 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21390 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21391 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21392 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21394 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21395 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21396 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21398 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21399 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21400 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21411 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21412 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21413 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21414 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21415 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21419 @vindex gnus-carpal
21420 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21421 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21422 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21427 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21428 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21429 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21431 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21432 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21433 Face used on buttons.
21435 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21436 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21437 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21439 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21440 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21441 Buttons in the group buffer.
21443 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21444 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21445 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21447 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21448 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21449 Buttons in the server buffer.
21451 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21452 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21453 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21456 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21457 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21458 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21466 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21467 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21468 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21469 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21470 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21472 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21473 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21474 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21476 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21477 been idle for thirty minutes:
21480 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21483 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21487 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21490 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
21491 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21492 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21494 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21495 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21496 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21497 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21499 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21500 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21501 @var{idle} minutes.
21503 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21504 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21507 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21508 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21509 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21511 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21512 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21513 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21514 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21516 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21517 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21519 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21521 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21524 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21525 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21526 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21527 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21528 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21529 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21530 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21531 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21532 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21533 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21534 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21536 @findex gnus-demon-init
21537 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21538 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21539 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21540 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21541 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21543 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21544 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21545 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21554 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21555 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21557 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21558 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21559 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21560 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21563 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21564 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21565 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21566 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21568 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21569 this will make spam disappear.
21571 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21574 @item gnus-use-nocem
21575 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21576 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21579 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21580 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21581 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21584 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21585 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21588 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21589 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21590 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21591 people you want to listen to. The default is
21593 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21594 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21596 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21598 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21599 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21601 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21602 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21603 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21604 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21605 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21606 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21607 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21608 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21609 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21610 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21612 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21613 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21616 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21619 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21620 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21623 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21626 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21629 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21630 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21632 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21633 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21634 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21635 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21637 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21638 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21641 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21643 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21651 This might be dangerous, though.
21653 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21654 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21655 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21656 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21658 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21659 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21660 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21661 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21662 might then see old spam.
21664 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21665 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21666 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21667 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21668 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21671 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21672 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21673 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21674 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21678 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21679 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21680 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21681 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21688 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21689 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21690 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21692 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21693 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21694 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21695 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21696 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21697 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21698 @code{undo} function.
21700 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21701 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21702 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21703 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21704 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21705 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21706 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21707 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21708 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21709 never be totally undoable.
21711 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21712 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21714 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21715 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21716 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21717 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21721 @node Predicate Specifiers
21722 @section Predicate Specifiers
21723 @cindex predicate specifiers
21725 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21726 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21727 to type all that much.
21729 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21734 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21735 gnus-article-unread-p)
21738 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21739 functions all take one parameter.
21741 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21742 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21743 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21744 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21749 @section Moderation
21752 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21753 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21754 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21757 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21761 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21764 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21766 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21771 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21772 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21773 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21776 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21777 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21780 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21781 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21785 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21788 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21789 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21793 @node Image Enhancements
21794 @section Image Enhancements
21796 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
21797 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
21798 taken advantage of that.
21801 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21802 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
21803 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21804 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21805 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21813 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21814 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21815 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21819 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21820 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21821 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21829 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21830 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21831 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21832 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21834 The variable that controls this is the
21835 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21836 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21837 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21838 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21839 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21841 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21842 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21843 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21844 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21847 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21848 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21849 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21850 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21851 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21852 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21853 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21854 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21856 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21859 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21860 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21862 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21863 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21864 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21865 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21866 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21867 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21868 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21869 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21870 header data as a string.
21872 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21873 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21874 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21875 randomly generated data.
21877 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21878 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21879 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21880 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21881 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21883 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21884 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21887 (setq message-required-news-headers
21888 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21889 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21892 Using the last function would be something like this:
21895 (setq message-required-news-headers
21896 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21897 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21898 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21899 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21907 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
21909 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
21910 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
21911 represent the author of the message.
21914 @findex gnus-article-display-face
21915 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
21916 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
21919 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21920 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
21922 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
21923 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
21924 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
21926 @findex gnus-face-from-file
21927 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
21928 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
21929 converts the file to Face format by using the
21930 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
21932 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
21933 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21936 (setq message-required-news-headers
21937 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21938 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
21939 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
21944 @subsection Smileys
21949 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21954 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21955 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21957 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21958 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21961 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21964 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21965 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21966 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21967 text and maps that to file names.
21969 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21970 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21971 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21972 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21973 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21976 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21981 @item smiley-data-directory
21982 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21983 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21985 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21986 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21987 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
22001 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
22002 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
22003 over your shoulder as you read news.
22005 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
22014 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
22015 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
22016 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
22017 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
22018 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
22019 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
22020 @code{GIF} formats.
22023 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22024 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
22025 point your Web browser at
22026 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
22028 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
22029 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
22031 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
22032 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
22035 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
22039 @item gnus-picon-databases
22040 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22041 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
22042 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
22043 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
22044 "/usr/local/faces")}.
22046 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
22047 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
22048 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22049 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
22051 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
22052 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
22053 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
22054 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
22056 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
22057 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
22058 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22059 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
22060 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
22062 @item gnus-picon-file-types
22063 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
22064 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
22065 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
22071 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
22074 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22075 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22076 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
22077 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
22078 unusual directory structure.
22080 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22081 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22082 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
22083 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
22085 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22086 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22087 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
22088 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
22089 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
22090 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
22092 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22093 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22094 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
22099 @subsubsection Toolbar
22103 @item gnus-use-toolbar
22104 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
22105 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
22106 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
22107 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
22109 @item gnus-group-toolbar
22110 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
22111 The toolbar in the group buffer.
22113 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
22114 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
22115 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
22117 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22118 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22119 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
22130 @node Fuzzy Matching
22131 @section Fuzzy Matching
22132 @cindex fuzzy matching
22134 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22135 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22137 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22138 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22139 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22141 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22142 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22143 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22144 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22145 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22148 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22149 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22153 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22155 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22156 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22157 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22158 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22159 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22160 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22161 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22162 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22165 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22166 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22167 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22168 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22169 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22170 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22172 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22175 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22176 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22177 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22178 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22179 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22180 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22183 @node The problem of spam
22184 @subsection The problem of spam
22186 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22187 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22189 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22191 First, some background on spam.
22193 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22194 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
22195 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
22196 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
22197 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
22198 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
22199 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
22200 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
22201 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22203 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22204 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22205 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22206 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22207 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22208 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22209 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22210 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22211 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22214 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
22215 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
22216 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
22217 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
22218 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
22219 lots of spam from China, for example, you try to filter all mail from
22222 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. For
22223 instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has been
22224 blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
22225 words that were common in spam messages. The risks of blocking a
22226 whole country from contacting you should also be obvious, so don't do
22227 it if you have the choice. Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with
22228 great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
22230 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
22231 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
22232 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
22233 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
22234 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
22235 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
22236 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
22237 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
22238 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
22240 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
22241 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
22242 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
22243 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
22244 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
22245 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
22246 down for some time because of the incident.
22248 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
22249 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
22250 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
22251 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
22252 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
22253 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
22254 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
22255 to store the database of spam analyses. Statistical analysis on the
22256 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
22257 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
22258 the server that it has misclassified mail.
22260 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
22261 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
22262 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
22263 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
22264 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
22265 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
22266 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
22269 @node Anti-Spam Basics
22270 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
22274 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22276 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
22277 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
22279 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
22280 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
22281 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
22282 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
22283 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
22284 part of the mail address.)
22287 (setq message-default-news-headers
22288 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
22291 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22292 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22296 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
22297 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
22298 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
22303 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
22304 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
22305 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
22306 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
22308 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
22309 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
22310 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
22311 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
22312 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
22313 your fancy split rule in this way:
22318 (to "larsi" "misc")
22322 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
22323 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
22324 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
22325 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
22326 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
22328 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
22329 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
22330 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
22331 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
22333 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
22337 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
22338 @cindex SpamAssassin
22339 @cindex Vipul's Razor
22342 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
22343 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
22344 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
22345 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
22346 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
22347 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
22348 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
22350 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
22351 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
22352 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
22355 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
22356 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
22357 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
22358 Specifiers}) follow.
22362 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
22366 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
22369 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
22370 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
22371 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
22374 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
22378 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22381 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
22382 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
22386 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
22387 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
22388 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
22389 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
22392 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
22394 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
22398 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22399 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22403 Note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will not be
22404 downloaded by default. You need to set
22405 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to t to do that (@pxref{Splitting in
22408 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22409 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22410 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22413 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22414 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22416 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22417 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22418 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22422 @subsection Hashcash
22425 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22426 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22427 you cannot rely on everyone in the world using this technique,
22428 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22429 in smaller communities.
22431 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22432 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22433 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22434 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22435 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22436 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
22437 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22438 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22439 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22440 one of them separately.
22443 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22444 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22445 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22446 header. For more details, and for the external application
22447 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22448 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22449 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22451 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22455 (require 'hashcash)
22456 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22459 The @file{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22460 contrib directory or at
22461 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22463 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22467 @item hashcash-default-payment
22468 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22469 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22470 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22471 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22473 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22474 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22475 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22476 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22477 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22478 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22479 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22480 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22481 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22485 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22489 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22490 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22491 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22492 a useful contribution, however.
22494 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22495 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22496 @cindex spam filtering
22499 The idea behind @file{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22500 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @file{spam.el} does two things: it
22501 filters new mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22502 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @file{spam.el} to indicate
22505 First of all, you @strong{must} run the function
22506 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @code{spam.el} and to install the
22507 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
22508 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
22509 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
22512 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
22516 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
22518 First, some hooks will get installed by @code{spam-initialize}. There
22519 are some hooks for @code{spam-stat} so it can save its databases, and
22520 there are hooks so interesting things will happen when you enter and
22521 leave a group. More on the sequence of events later (@pxref{Spam
22522 ELisp Package Sequence of Events}).
22524 You get the following keyboard commands:
22534 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22535 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22537 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22538 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22539 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22540 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22546 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22547 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22549 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22555 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22556 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22560 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
22561 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
22562 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
22563 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
22564 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22565 * BBDB Whitelists::
22566 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
22567 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
22569 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22571 * ifile spam filtering::
22572 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22574 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
22577 @node Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22578 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22579 @cindex spam filtering
22580 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
22583 You must read this section to understand how @code{spam.el} works.
22584 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
22586 There are two @emph{contact points}, if you will, between
22587 @code{spam.el} and the rest of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and
22590 Getting new mail is done in one of two ways. You can either split
22591 your incoming mail or you can classify new articles as ham or spam
22592 when you enter the group.
22594 Splitting incoming mail is better suited to mail backends such as
22595 @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap} where new mail appears in a single file
22596 called a @dfn{Spool File}. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Filtering of
22599 For backends such as @code{nntp} there is no incoming mail spool, so
22600 an alternate mechanism must be used. This may also happen for
22601 backends where the server is in charge of splitting incoming mail, and
22602 Gnus does not do further splitting. The @code{spam-autodetect} and
22603 @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameters (accessible with
22604 @kbd{G c} and @kbd{G p} as usual), and the corresponding variables
22605 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods} and
22606 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods} (accessible with @kbd{M-x
22607 customize-variable} as usual).
22609 When @code{spam-autodetect} is used, it hooks into the process of
22610 entering a group. Thus, entering a group with unseen or unread
22611 articles becomes the substitute for checking incoming mail. Whether
22612 only unseen articles or all unread articles will be processed is
22613 determined by the @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages}. When set
22614 to t, unread messages will be rechecked.
22616 @code{spam-autodetect} grants the user at once more and less control
22617 of spam filtering. The user will have more control over each group's
22618 spam methods, so for instance the @samp{ding} group may have
22619 @code{spam-use-BBDB} as the autodetection method, while the
22620 @samp{suspect} group may have the @code{spam-use-blacklist} and
22621 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods enabled. Every article detected to
22622 be spam will be marked with the spam mark @samp{$} and processed on
22623 exit from the group as normal spam. The user has less control over
22624 the @emph{sequence} of checks, as he might with @code{spam-split}.
22626 When the newly split mail goes into groups, or messages are
22627 autodetected to be ham or spam, those groups must be exited (after
22628 entering, if needed) for further spam processing to happen. It
22629 matters whether the group is considered a ham group, a spam group, or
22630 is unclassified, based on its @code{spam-content} parameter
22631 (@pxref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). Spam groups have the
22632 additional characteristic that, when entered, any unseen or unread
22633 articles (depending on the @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam}
22634 variable) will be marked as spam. Thus, mail split into a spam group
22635 gets automatically marked as spam when you enter the group.
22637 So, when you exit a group, the @code{spam-processors} are applied, if
22638 any are set, and the processed mail is moved to the
22639 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination}
22640 depending on the article's classification. If the
22641 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination},
22642 whichever is appropriate, are nil, the article is left in the current
22645 If a spam is found in any group (this can be changed to only non-spam
22646 groups with @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only}), it is
22647 processed by the active @code{spam-processors} (@pxref{Spam ELisp
22648 Package Global Variables}) when the group is exited. Furthermore, the
22649 spam is moved to the @code{spam-process-destination} (@pxref{Spam
22650 ELisp Package Global Variables}) for further training or deletion.
22651 You have to load the @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22652 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want spam to be processed
22653 no more than once. Thus, spam is detected and processed everywhere,
22654 which is what most people want. If the
22655 @code{spam-process-destination} is nil, the spam is marked as
22656 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
22658 If spam can not be moved - because of a read-only backend such as NNTP,
22659 for example, it will be copied.
22661 If a ham mail is found in a ham group, as determined by the
22662 @code{ham-marks} parameter, it is processed as ham by the active ham
22663 @code{spam-processor} when the group is exited. With the variables
22664 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
22665 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} the behavior can be further
22666 altered so ham found anywhere can be processed. You have to load the
22667 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22668 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want ham to be processed
22669 no more than once. Thus, ham is detected and processed only when
22670 necessary, which is what most people want. More on this in
22671 @xref{Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples}.
22673 If ham can not be moved - because of a read-only backend such as NNTP,
22674 for example, it will be copied.
22676 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
22677 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface... err, sorry, that's
22678 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
22680 @node Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22681 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22682 @cindex spam filtering
22683 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
22686 To use the @file{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22687 must add the following to your fancy split list
22688 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22694 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22695 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22696 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22698 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22699 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22700 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22701 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
22702 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
22703 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
22704 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
22705 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
22706 actually give you the group
22707 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
22708 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
22710 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
22711 e.g. @samp{'spam-use-regex-headers} or @samp{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
22714 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
22715 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
22718 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22719 (any "ding" "ding")
22725 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
22726 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
22727 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
22728 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
22729 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
22730 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
22732 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
22733 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
22734 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
22737 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22738 ;;; all spam detected by spam-use-regex-headers goes to "regex-spam"
22739 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22740 (any "ding" "ding")
22741 ;;; all other spam detected by spam-split goes to spam-split-group
22747 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
22748 your particular needs, and to target the results of those checks to a
22749 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
22750 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
22751 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
22752 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
22753 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
22755 You should still have specific checks such as
22756 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you
22757 specifically invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is
22758 that when loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done
22759 depending on what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. This
22760 is usually not critical, though.
22762 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22764 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22765 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22766 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
22767 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22768 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22769 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22770 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and
22771 that is not an appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user.
22773 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22775 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22776 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22779 @node Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22780 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22781 @cindex spam filtering
22782 @cindex spam filtering variables
22783 @cindex spam variables
22786 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
22787 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22788 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22789 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22790 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22791 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22792 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22793 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22794 will be detected later.
22796 The format of the spam or ham processor entry used to be a symbol,
22797 but now it is a cons cell. See the individual spam processor entries
22798 for more information.
22800 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22801 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22802 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22803 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22804 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22805 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22806 by customizing the corresponding variable
22807 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22808 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22809 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22810 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22811 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22812 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22813 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22816 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
22818 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22819 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
22820 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
22821 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
22822 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
22823 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
22824 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
22825 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
22826 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
22827 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
22828 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
22829 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
22830 processor which will study them as spam samples.
22832 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22833 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
22834 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22835 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22836 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22837 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22838 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22839 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
22842 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22843 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
22844 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
22845 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
22846 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
22847 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
22848 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
22853 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22854 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
22855 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
22856 you really want to.
22859 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22860 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22861 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22862 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22863 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22864 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22867 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
22868 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22869 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22870 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22871 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22872 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22873 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22874 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22875 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22876 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
22877 newsgroup specification has the format (REGEXP PROCESSOR) in a
22878 standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually.
22879 The ultimate location is a group name or names. If the
22880 @code{ham-process-destination} parameter is not set, ham articles are
22881 left in place. If the
22882 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
22883 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
22885 If ham can not be moved - because of a read-only backend such as NNTP,
22886 for example, it will be copied.
22888 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
22889 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
22890 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
22892 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22893 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22895 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
22896 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
22897 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
22898 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
22899 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
22901 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
22902 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
22903 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
22904 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
22905 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
22908 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
22909 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22910 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22911 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22912 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22913 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22914 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22915 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each newsgroup specification has
22916 the repeated format (REGEXP GROUP) and they are all in a standard Lisp
22917 list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. The ultimate
22918 location is a group name or names. If the
22919 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
22920 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
22921 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
22922 group buffer then you need it here as well.
22924 If spam can not be moved - because of a read-only backend such as NNTP,
22925 for example, it will be copied.
22927 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
22928 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
22931 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
22932 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
22933 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
22934 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
22935 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
22936 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
22937 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
22939 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
22940 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
22941 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to nil,
22942 unread articles will also be marked as spam.
22944 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
22945 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
22946 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
22947 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham - the article will be placed
22948 in your ham-process-destination, unmarked as if it came fresh from
22951 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
22952 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
22953 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
22954 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
22956 @node Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
22957 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
22958 @cindex spam filtering
22959 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
22960 @cindex spam configuration examples
22963 @subsubheading Ted's setup
22965 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
22968 ;; for gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent and spam autodetection
22969 ;; see gnus-registry.el for more information
22970 (gnus-registry-initialize)
22973 ;; I like control-S for marking spam
22974 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map "\C-s" 'gnus-summary-mark-as-spam)
22977 spam-log-to-registry t ;; for spam autodetection
22979 spam-use-regex-headers t ; catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)
22980 ;; all groups with "spam" in the name contain spam
22981 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
22982 ;; see documentation for these
22983 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
22984 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
22985 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
22986 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
22987 ;; understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!
22988 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22989 ;; trace references to parents and put in their group
22990 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
22991 ;; this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags
22992 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22993 (any "ding" "ding")
22994 ;; note that spam by default will go to "spam"
22999 ;; my parameters, set with `G p'
23001 ;; all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except
23002 ;; "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train" and
23003 ;; "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam": any spam goes to nnimap training,
23004 ;; because it must have been detected manually
23006 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23009 ;; autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB
23010 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
23011 ;; send all spam to the training group
23012 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23014 ;; only some NNTP groups, where I want to autodetect spam
23015 ((spam-autodetect . t))
23017 ;; my nnimap "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam" group
23019 ;; this is a spam group
23020 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
23022 ;; any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,
23023 ;; because of the gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents setting above), goes to
23024 ;; "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train" unless I mark it as ham
23026 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
23028 ;; any ham goes to my "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail" folder, but
23029 ;; also to my "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham" folder for training
23031 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
23032 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
23033 ;; in this group, only '!' marks are ham
23035 (gnus-ticked-mark))
23036 ;; remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out - this is
23037 ;; definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better
23038 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
23040 ;; Later, on the IMAP server I use the "train" group for training
23041 ;; SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the "trainham" group for
23042 ;; recognizing ham - but Gnus has nothing to do with it.
23046 @subsubheading Using @file{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
23048 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23050 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
23051 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
23052 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
23053 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
23054 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
23055 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
23056 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
23057 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
23058 @samp{training.spam} folders.
23060 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
23061 does most of the job for me:
23064 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
23065 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
23066 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
23067 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23068 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
23069 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
23070 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
23075 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
23077 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
23078 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
23079 bogofilter or DCC).
23081 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
23082 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
23083 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark (@code{ham-marks},
23084 @ref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). On group exit, those
23085 messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (were I want to have
23086 the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter) and
23087 deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
23089 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
23090 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
23091 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
23092 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
23093 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
23094 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
23096 @item @b{Ham folders:}
23098 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
23099 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
23100 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
23101 @samp{training.ham}.
23104 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
23106 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23108 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
23109 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
23110 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
23114 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
23117 Additionally, I use `(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)'
23118 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
23119 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
23120 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
23121 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
23123 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
23124 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
23125 @cindex spam filtering
23126 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
23127 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
23130 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
23132 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
23133 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
23134 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
23135 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
23140 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
23142 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
23143 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
23144 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23145 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
23146 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23150 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
23152 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
23153 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23154 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
23158 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
23160 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23161 customizing the group parameters or the
23162 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23163 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23164 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
23168 Instead of the obsolete
23169 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
23170 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
23171 the same way, we promise.
23175 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
23177 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23178 customizing the group parameters or the
23179 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23180 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23181 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23182 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
23183 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23187 Instead of the obsolete
23188 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
23189 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
23190 the same way, we promise.
23194 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
23195 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
23196 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
23197 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
23198 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
23200 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
23201 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
23202 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
23203 Emacs regular expression syntax.
23205 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
23206 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
23207 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
23208 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
23209 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
23210 @file{blacklist} respectively.
23212 @node BBDB Whitelists
23213 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
23214 @cindex spam filtering
23215 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
23216 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
23219 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
23221 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23222 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
23223 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
23224 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
23225 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23226 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
23227 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23231 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
23233 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
23234 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23235 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
23236 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
23237 classified as spammers.
23241 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
23243 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23244 customizing the group parameters or the
23245 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23246 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23247 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23248 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
23249 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23253 Instead of the obsolete
23254 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
23255 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
23256 the same way, we promise.
23260 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
23261 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
23262 @cindex spam reporting
23263 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23264 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23267 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
23269 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23270 customizing the group parameters or the
23271 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23272 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23273 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
23276 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
23280 Instead of the obsolete
23281 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
23282 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
23283 same way, we promise.
23287 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
23289 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
23290 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
23291 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
23292 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
23293 @code{spam-report.el} will use the @code{X-Report-Spam} header that
23298 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23299 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23300 @cindex spam filtering
23301 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
23304 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
23306 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23307 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
23308 instead of the sender address. You must have the @code{hashcash.el}
23309 package loaded for @code{spam-use-hashcash} to work properly.
23310 Messages without a hashcash payment token will be sent to the next
23311 spam-split rule. This is an explicit filter, meaning that unless a
23312 hashcash token is found, the messages are not assumed to be spam or
23318 @subsubsection Blackholes
23319 @cindex spam filtering
23320 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
23323 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
23325 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
23326 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
23327 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
23328 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
23329 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
23330 contains outdated servers.
23332 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
23333 @file{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
23334 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
23335 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
23336 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
23337 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
23341 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
23343 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
23347 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
23349 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
23350 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
23354 @defvar spam-use-dig
23356 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
23357 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
23361 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
23362 ham processor for blackholes.
23364 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
23365 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
23366 @cindex spam filtering
23367 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
23370 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
23372 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
23373 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
23374 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
23375 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
23376 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
23377 message is spam or ham, respectively.
23381 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
23383 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23384 the message, positively identify it as spam.
23388 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
23390 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23391 the message, positively identify it as ham.
23395 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
23396 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
23399 @subsubsection Bogofilter
23400 @cindex spam filtering
23401 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
23404 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
23406 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23409 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
23410 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
23411 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
23412 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
23413 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
23414 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
23416 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
23417 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
23420 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
23421 processing will be turned off.
23423 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
23427 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
23429 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23430 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
23431 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
23432 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
23433 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
23434 installation documents for details.
23436 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
23440 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
23441 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23442 customizing the group parameters or the
23443 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23444 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
23445 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
23449 Instead of the obsolete
23450 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23451 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23452 the same way, we promise.
23455 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
23456 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23457 customizing the group parameters or the
23458 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23459 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23460 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
23461 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
23462 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23466 Instead of the obsolete
23467 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23468 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23469 the same way, we promise.
23472 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
23474 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
23475 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
23476 database directory.
23480 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
23481 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23482 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
23483 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
23484 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
23485 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
23487 @node ifile spam filtering
23488 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
23489 @cindex spam filtering
23490 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
23493 @defvar spam-use-ifile
23495 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
23496 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
23500 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
23502 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
23503 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
23504 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
23508 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
23510 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
23511 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
23512 the default value of @samp{spam}.
23515 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
23517 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
23518 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
23522 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
23523 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23524 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
23525 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
23528 @node spam-stat spam filtering
23529 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
23530 @cindex spam filtering
23531 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
23535 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
23537 @defvar spam-use-stat
23539 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
23540 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
23544 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
23545 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23546 customizing the group parameters or the
23547 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23548 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23549 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
23553 Instead of the obsolete
23554 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23555 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23556 the same way, we promise.
23559 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
23560 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23561 customizing the group parameters or the
23562 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23563 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23564 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
23565 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
23566 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23570 Instead of the obsolete
23571 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23572 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23573 the same way, we promise.
23576 This enables @file{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
23577 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
23578 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
23579 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
23580 @code{spam-split} are provided.
23583 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
23584 @cindex spam filtering
23588 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
23589 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
23590 installed separately.
23592 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
23593 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
23594 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
23595 mail as a spam mail or not.
23597 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
23598 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
23599 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
23601 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
23602 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
23604 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
23605 To enable SpamOracle usage by @file{spam.el}, set the variable
23606 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
23607 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
23608 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
23609 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
23610 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
23611 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
23615 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
23616 spam-split-group "Junk"
23617 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
23618 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23619 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
23622 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
23623 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
23627 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
23628 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
23629 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
23633 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
23634 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
23635 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
23636 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
23637 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
23638 database to live somewhere special, set
23639 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
23642 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
23643 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
23644 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
23645 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
23646 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
23647 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
23648 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @file{spam.el}'s
23649 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
23650 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
23651 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
23653 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
23654 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23655 customizing the group parameter or the
23656 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23657 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
23658 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
23662 Instead of the obsolete
23663 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23664 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23665 the same way, we promise.
23668 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
23669 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23670 customizing the group parameter or the
23671 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23672 to a grup's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
23673 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
23674 messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam} or
23675 @emph{unclassified} groups.
23679 Instead of the obsolete
23680 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23681 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23682 the same way, we promise.
23685 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
23686 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
23689 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
23690 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
23691 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
23693 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
23694 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
23695 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
23696 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
23697 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
23698 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
23700 @node Extending the Spam ELisp package
23701 @subsubsection Extending the Spam ELisp package
23702 @cindex spam filtering
23703 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
23704 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
23706 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
23707 incoming mail, provide the following:
23715 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
23716 "True if blackbox should be used.")
23721 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
23723 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
23727 (gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox ham spam-use-blackbox)
23728 (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox spam spam-use-blackbox)
23730 to @code{spam-list-of-processors}.
23734 (spam-use-blackbox spam-blackbox-register-routine
23736 spam-blackbox-unregister-routine
23739 to @code{spam-registration-functions}. Write the register/unregister
23740 routines using the bogofilter register/unregister routines as a
23741 start, or other restister/unregister routines more appropriate to
23747 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
23748 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other
23749 conventions. See the existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for
23750 examples of what you can do, and stick to the template unless you
23751 fully understand the reasons why you aren't.
23753 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
23754 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
23755 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
23759 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
23766 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
23767 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
23769 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
23770 variables. Instead the form @code{'(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
23771 @code{'(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
23772 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
23775 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
23776 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
23777 Only applicable to spam groups.")
23779 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
23780 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
23781 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
23790 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
23791 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
23793 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
23794 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
23795 variable customization.
23799 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
23801 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
23807 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23808 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23809 @cindex Paul Graham
23810 @cindex Graham, Paul
23811 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
23812 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
23813 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
23815 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
23816 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
23817 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
23818 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
23819 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
23820 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
23821 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
23822 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
23823 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
23826 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
23827 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
23828 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
23829 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
23830 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
23831 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
23832 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
23833 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
23835 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
23836 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
23837 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
23838 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
23839 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
23842 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
23843 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
23844 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
23847 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23848 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23850 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
23851 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
23852 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
23853 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
23854 need several hundred emails in both collections.
23856 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
23857 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
23858 per mail. Use the following:
23860 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
23861 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
23862 is treated as one spam mail.
23865 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
23866 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
23867 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
23870 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
23871 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
23872 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
23873 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
23874 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
23875 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
23877 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
23878 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
23879 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
23880 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
23881 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
23884 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
23885 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
23886 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
23887 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
23890 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
23891 reset the dictionary.
23893 @defun spam-stat-reset
23894 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
23897 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
23898 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
23899 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
23900 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
23901 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
23902 only non-spam mails.
23904 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
23905 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
23906 to update the dictionary incrementally.
23909 @defun spam-stat-save
23910 Save the dictionary.
23913 @defvar spam-stat-file
23914 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
23915 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
23918 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
23919 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
23921 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
23922 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23925 (require 'spam-stat)
23929 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
23932 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
23933 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
23934 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
23935 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
23937 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
23938 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
23939 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
23940 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
23943 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23944 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23948 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
23949 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
23952 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
23953 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
23954 expression are considered potential spam.
23957 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23958 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23959 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23963 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
23964 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
23965 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
23966 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
23967 mails, when creating the dictionary!
23970 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23971 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23972 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23976 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
23977 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
23978 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
23979 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
23980 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
23984 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23985 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
23986 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23987 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23992 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23993 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23995 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
23997 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
23998 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
23999 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24002 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
24003 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
24004 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24007 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
24008 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
24009 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
24010 already been processed as non-spam.
24013 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
24014 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
24015 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
24016 been processed as spam.
24019 @defun spam-stat-save
24020 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
24021 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24024 @defun spam-stat-load
24025 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
24026 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24029 @defun spam-stat-score-word
24030 Return the spam score for a word.
24033 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
24034 Return the spam score for a buffer.
24037 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
24038 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
24039 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
24042 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
24043 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24046 (require 'spam-stat)
24050 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
24053 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24054 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24055 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24056 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24057 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24058 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24059 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24060 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24061 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24062 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24063 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24064 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24065 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24066 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24069 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
24072 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24073 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24074 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24075 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
24076 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24077 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24081 @section Interaction with other modes
24086 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provided some useful functions for dired
24087 buffers. It is enabled with
24089 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
24094 @findex gnus-dired-attach
24095 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
24096 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
24099 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
24100 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
24101 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
24105 @findex gnus-dired-print
24106 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
24107 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
24110 @node Various Various
24111 @section Various Various
24117 @item gnus-home-directory
24118 @vindex gnus-home-directory
24119 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
24120 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
24122 @item gnus-directory
24123 @vindex gnus-directory
24124 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
24125 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
24126 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
24128 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
24129 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
24130 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
24131 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
24133 @item gnus-default-directory
24134 @vindex gnus-default-directory
24135 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
24136 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
24137 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
24138 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
24139 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
24140 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
24143 @vindex gnus-verbose
24144 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
24145 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
24146 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
24147 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
24148 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
24150 @item gnus-verbose-backends
24151 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
24152 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
24153 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
24155 @item nnheader-max-head-length
24156 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
24157 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
24158 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
24159 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
24160 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
24161 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
24162 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
24163 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
24164 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
24166 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
24167 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
24168 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
24169 read when doing the operation described above.
24171 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24172 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24174 @cindex invalid characters in file names
24175 @cindex characters in file names
24176 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
24177 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
24178 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
24182 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24187 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
24188 Windows (phooey) systems.
24190 @item gnus-hidden-properties
24191 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
24192 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
24193 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
24194 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
24196 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
24197 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
24198 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
24199 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
24200 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
24202 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
24203 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
24204 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
24206 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24207 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24209 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
24210 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
24211 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
24212 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
24215 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
24223 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
24224 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
24226 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
24228 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
24234 Not because of victories @*
24237 but for the common sunshine,@*
24239 the largess of the spring.
24243 but for the day's work done@*
24244 as well as I was able;@*
24245 not for a seat upon the dais@*
24246 but at the common table.@*
24251 @chapter Appendices
24254 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
24255 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
24256 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
24257 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
24258 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
24259 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
24260 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
24261 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
24262 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
24269 @cindex installing under XEmacs
24271 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
24272 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
24273 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
24274 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
24275 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{w3},
24276 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
24283 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
24284 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
24286 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
24287 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
24288 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
24289 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
24290 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
24292 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
24293 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
24294 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
24295 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
24296 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
24297 appropriate name, don't you think?)
24299 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
24300 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
24301 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
24302 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
24305 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
24306 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
24307 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
24308 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
24309 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
24310 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
24311 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
24312 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
24313 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
24317 @node Gnus Versions
24318 @subsection Gnus Versions
24320 @cindex September Gnus
24322 @cindex Quassia Gnus
24323 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
24326 @cindex Gnus versions
24328 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
24329 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
24330 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
24332 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
24333 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
24335 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
24336 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
24338 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
24339 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
24341 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
24342 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
24345 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
24347 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
24348 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
24349 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
24350 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
24351 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
24352 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
24355 @node Other Gnus Versions
24356 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
24359 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
24360 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
24361 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
24362 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
24364 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
24365 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
24366 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
24367 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
24374 What's the point of Gnus?
24376 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
24377 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
24378 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
24379 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
24380 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
24381 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
24382 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
24383 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
24384 keep track of millions of people who post?
24386 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
24387 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
24388 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
24389 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
24390 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
24391 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
24392 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
24393 every one of you to explore and invent.
24395 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
24396 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
24399 @node Compatibility
24400 @subsection Compatibility
24402 @cindex compatibility
24403 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
24404 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
24405 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
24410 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
24414 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
24417 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
24420 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
24421 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
24422 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
24423 important variables have their values copied into their global
24424 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
24425 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
24427 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
24428 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
24429 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
24430 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
24431 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
24435 @cindex highlighting
24436 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
24437 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
24438 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
24439 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
24440 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
24441 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
24444 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
24445 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
24446 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
24447 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
24449 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
24450 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
24451 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
24452 to stop doing it the old way.
24454 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
24456 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24458 @cindex reporting bugs
24460 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
24461 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
24462 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
24464 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
24465 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
24466 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
24467 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
24472 @subsection Conformity
24474 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
24475 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
24483 There are no known breaches of this standard.
24487 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
24489 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
24490 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
24491 We do have some breaches to this one.
24497 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
24498 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
24499 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
24500 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
24501 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
24506 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
24507 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
24508 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
24509 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
24511 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
24512 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
24513 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
24515 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
24516 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
24518 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
24521 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
24522 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
24523 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
24524 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
24525 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
24528 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
24529 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
24530 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
24531 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
24533 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
24534 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
24536 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
24537 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
24538 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
24539 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
24540 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
24541 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
24542 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
24543 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
24547 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
24548 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
24553 @subsection Emacsen
24559 Gnus should work on:
24567 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
24571 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
24572 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
24573 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
24574 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
24575 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
24577 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
24578 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
24579 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
24583 @node Gnus Development
24584 @subsection Gnus Development
24586 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
24587 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
24588 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
24589 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
24590 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
24591 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
24592 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
24593 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
24595 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
24596 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
24597 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
24598 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
24599 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
24602 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
24603 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
24604 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
24605 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
24606 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
24608 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
24609 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
24610 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
24611 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
24612 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
24613 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
24614 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
24615 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
24616 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
24617 can't be assumed to do so.
24622 @subsection Contributors
24623 @cindex contributors
24625 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
24626 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
24627 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
24628 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
24629 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
24630 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
24631 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
24632 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
24633 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
24634 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
24636 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
24642 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
24645 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
24646 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
24647 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
24648 functionality and stuff.
24651 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
24652 well as numerous other things).
24655 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
24658 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
24661 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
24664 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
24667 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
24668 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
24671 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
24674 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
24675 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
24678 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
24681 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
24684 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
24687 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
24690 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
24691 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
24694 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
24697 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
24700 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
24703 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
24707 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
24710 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
24713 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
24716 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
24717 well as autoconf support.
24721 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
24722 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
24724 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
24739 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
24741 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
24745 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
24755 Alexei V. Barantsev,
24770 Massimo Campostrini,
24775 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
24776 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
24780 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
24783 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
24789 Michael Welsh Duggan,
24794 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
24798 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
24806 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
24808 Michelangelo Grigni,
24812 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
24814 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
24816 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
24823 François Felix Ingrand,
24824 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
24825 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
24827 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
24837 Peter Skov Knudsen,
24838 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
24840 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
24841 Thor Kristoffersen,
24844 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
24862 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
24863 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
24870 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
24875 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
24879 John McClary Prevost,
24885 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
24890 Christian von Roques,
24893 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
24900 Philippe Schnoebelen,
24902 Randal L. Schwartz,
24916 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
24921 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
24941 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
24942 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
24943 (550kB and counting).
24945 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
24948 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
24949 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
24953 @subsection New Features
24954 @cindex new features
24957 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
24958 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
24959 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
24960 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
24961 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
24962 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
24965 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
24966 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
24967 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
24970 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
24972 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
24977 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
24978 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
24981 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
24982 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
24985 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
24988 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
24989 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
24990 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
24993 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
24994 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
24995 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
24996 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24999 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
25000 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25003 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
25004 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
25005 (@pxref{The Active File}).
25008 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
25009 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
25012 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
25013 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
25014 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25017 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
25018 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
25019 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
25022 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
25023 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
25026 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
25027 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
25030 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
25031 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
25034 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
25035 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25038 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
25039 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
25042 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
25043 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25046 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
25049 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
25050 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
25053 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
25054 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
25057 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
25058 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
25061 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
25064 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
25065 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25068 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
25072 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
25076 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
25077 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
25080 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
25086 @node September Gnus
25087 @subsubsection September Gnus
25091 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
25095 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
25100 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
25101 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
25105 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
25106 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
25110 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
25114 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
25115 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
25118 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
25122 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
25125 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
25128 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
25131 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
25135 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
25136 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
25139 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
25143 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
25147 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
25151 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
25155 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
25158 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
25159 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
25162 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
25166 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
25167 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
25170 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
25173 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
25174 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
25175 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25178 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
25182 The Gnus cache is much faster.
25185 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
25189 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
25190 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
25193 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
25194 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
25197 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
25198 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
25201 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
25202 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
25203 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
25206 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
25207 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
25210 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
25213 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25216 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
25219 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
25222 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
25223 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
25226 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
25230 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
25233 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
25238 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
25241 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
25245 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25248 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
25252 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
25255 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
25258 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
25259 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25262 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
25263 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
25267 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
25268 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
25271 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
25275 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
25276 buffer to allow easier treatment.
25279 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
25282 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
25286 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
25290 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
25291 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
25294 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
25298 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
25299 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25302 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
25303 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25306 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
25310 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25313 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
25316 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
25322 @subsubsection Red Gnus
25324 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
25328 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
25335 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
25338 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
25339 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25342 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
25343 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
25347 Article washing status can be displayed in the
25348 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
25351 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
25354 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
25355 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
25358 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
25362 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
25363 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
25367 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
25368 Server Internals}).
25371 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
25375 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
25378 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
25379 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
25382 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
25383 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
25384 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
25387 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
25388 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25391 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
25392 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
25395 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
25399 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
25400 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25403 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
25404 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25407 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
25411 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
25414 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
25418 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
25419 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25422 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
25423 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25426 A new command for reading collections of documents
25427 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
25428 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
25431 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
25435 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
25436 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
25439 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
25440 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
25441 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
25444 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
25445 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
25449 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
25453 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
25457 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
25462 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
25466 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
25470 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
25471 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
25474 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
25480 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
25482 New features in Gnus 5.6:
25487 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
25488 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
25489 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
25492 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
25493 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
25494 group, which is created automatically.
25497 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
25501 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
25504 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
25505 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
25508 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
25512 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
25515 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
25516 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
25519 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
25522 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
25526 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
25527 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
25530 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
25531 control over simplification.
25534 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
25537 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
25541 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
25544 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
25547 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
25548 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
25549 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
25552 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
25553 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
25556 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
25560 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
25561 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
25564 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
25565 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
25568 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
25572 A history of where mails have been split is available.
25575 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
25578 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
25579 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
25582 A new function for citing in Message has been
25583 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
25586 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
25589 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
25593 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
25594 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
25597 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
25598 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
25601 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
25604 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
25608 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
25609 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
25611 New features in Gnus 5.8:
25616 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
25617 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
25619 If you used procmail like in
25622 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
25623 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
25624 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
25625 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
25628 this now has changed to
25632 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
25636 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
25639 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
25640 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
25643 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
25644 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
25647 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
25648 called to position point.
25651 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
25652 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
25655 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
25656 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
25659 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
25660 subtly different manner.
25663 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
25664 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
25665 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
25668 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
25673 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
25676 New features in Gnus 5.10:
25681 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
25685 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
25686 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
25689 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
25690 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
25693 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
25695 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
25696 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
25697 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
25698 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
25699 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
25700 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
25701 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
25702 isn't save in general.
25707 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
25708 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
25709 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
25710 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
25715 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
25716 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
25717 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
25721 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
25724 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
25729 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
25730 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
25732 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
25733 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
25737 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
25738 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
25741 Retrieval of charters and control messages
25743 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
25744 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
25749 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
25750 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
25751 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
25754 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
25755 decompressed when activated.
25758 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
25759 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
25762 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
25765 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
25766 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
25769 Warn about email replies to news
25771 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
25772 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
25776 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
25777 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
25781 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
25782 opposed to old but unread messages).
25785 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
25786 Gcc articles as read.
25789 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
25792 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
25793 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
25796 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
25797 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
25800 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
25801 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
25804 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
25805 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
25808 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
25810 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
25811 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
25812 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
25813 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
25816 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
25818 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
25819 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
25820 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
25821 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
25822 the second parameter.
25824 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
25825 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
25826 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
25827 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
25828 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
25829 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
25830 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
25831 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
25832 cycle used under Unix systems.
25834 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
25838 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
25840 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
25841 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
25842 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
25843 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
25844 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
25848 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
25850 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
25851 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
25852 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
25853 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
25857 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
25859 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
25860 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
25861 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
25862 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
25864 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
25865 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
25866 message cited below.
25869 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
25872 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
25874 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
25875 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
25876 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
25877 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
25878 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
25881 (setq gnus-parameters
25883 (gnus-show-threads nil)
25884 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
25885 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
25886 (to-group . "\\1"))))
25890 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
25892 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to
25896 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
25898 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
25899 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
25900 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
25901 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
25902 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
25903 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
25904 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
25905 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
25906 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
25909 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
25911 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
25912 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
25913 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
25914 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
25915 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
25916 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
25919 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
25920 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
25924 Improved anti-spam features.
25926 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
25927 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
25928 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
25929 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
25930 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
25933 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
25936 Face headers handling.
25939 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
25940 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
25943 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
25946 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
25948 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
25949 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
25950 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
25951 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
25952 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
25953 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
25954 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
25955 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
25956 when getting new mail, remove the function.
25959 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
25961 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
25962 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
25963 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
25964 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
25965 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
25966 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
25967 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
25968 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
25969 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
25970 was inserted directly.
25973 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
25975 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
25976 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
25982 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
25983 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
25984 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
25985 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
25986 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
25987 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
25988 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
25989 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
25990 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
25991 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
25992 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
25993 behaviour of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
25994 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
25995 is not needed any more.
25998 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
26000 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
26001 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
26002 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
26003 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
26004 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
26008 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
26010 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
26011 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
26014 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
26016 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
26017 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
26018 lisp directory into load-path.
26020 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
26021 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
26024 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
26026 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
26029 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
26031 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
26032 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
26033 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
26034 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
26037 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
26039 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
26041 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
26042 'bbdb-complete-name)
26046 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
26048 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
26049 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
26050 local files as external parts.
26052 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
26053 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
26054 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
26055 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
26056 that support editing.
26059 @code{gnus-default-charset}
26061 The default value is determined from the
26062 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
26063 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
26064 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
26067 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
26069 Add a new format of match like
26071 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
26072 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26074 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
26076 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
26077 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26081 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
26083 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
26084 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
26085 need add those two headers too.
26088 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
26090 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
26091 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
26092 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
26095 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
26096 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
26097 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
26101 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
26103 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
26106 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
26108 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
26111 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
26113 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
26114 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
26115 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
26118 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
26120 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
26124 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
26126 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
26127 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
26128 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
26129 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
26130 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
26131 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
26132 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
26133 The behaviour can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
26136 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
26138 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
26139 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
26140 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
26141 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
26142 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
26145 Extended format specs.
26147 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
26148 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
26149 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
26150 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
26151 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
26152 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
26155 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
26157 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
26158 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
26159 out other articles.
26161 @item Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
26163 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
26164 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
26165 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
26166 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
26169 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
26171 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
26172 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
26173 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
26176 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
26178 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
26179 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
26180 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
26181 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
26182 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
26183 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
26184 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
26185 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
26186 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
26187 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
26188 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
26191 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
26192 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
26195 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
26196 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
26197 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
26198 message, Message Manual}).
26201 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
26202 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
26204 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
26205 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
26206 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
26208 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
26212 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
26213 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
26215 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
26216 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
26217 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
26218 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
26221 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
26224 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
26227 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
26228 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
26231 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
26233 The behaviour for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
26234 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
26235 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
26236 invalidate the digital signature.
26243 @section The Manual
26247 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
26248 either @code{texi2dvi}
26250 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
26251 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
26253 to get what you hold in your hands now.
26255 The following conventions have been used:
26260 This is a @samp{string}
26263 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
26266 This is a @file{file}
26269 This is a @code{symbol}
26273 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
26277 (setq flargnoze "yes")
26280 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
26283 (setq flumphel 'yes)
26286 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
26287 ever get them confused.
26291 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
26292 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
26293 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
26294 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
26295 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
26296 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
26297 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
26303 @node On Writing Manuals
26304 @section On Writing Manuals
26306 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
26307 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
26308 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
26309 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
26310 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
26311 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
26314 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
26315 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
26316 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
26319 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
26320 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
26325 @section Terminology
26327 @cindex terminology
26332 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
26333 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
26334 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
26335 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
26336 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
26340 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
26341 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
26342 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
26343 not posting, and replying is not following up.
26347 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
26351 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
26356 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
26357 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
26358 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
26359 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
26360 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
26361 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
26362 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
26363 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
26364 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
26367 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
26368 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
26369 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
26370 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
26371 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
26372 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
26374 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
26375 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
26376 access the articles.
26378 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
26379 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
26380 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
26385 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
26386 default, way of getting news.
26390 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
26391 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
26396 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
26397 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
26401 A message that has been posted as news.
26404 @cindex mail message
26405 A message that has been mailed.
26409 A mail message or news article
26413 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
26418 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
26423 A line from the head of an article.
26427 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
26428 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
26430 @item @acronym{NOV}
26431 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
26432 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
26433 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
26434 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
26435 normal @sc{head} format.
26439 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
26440 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
26441 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
26442 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
26443 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
26444 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
26446 @item killed groups
26447 @cindex killed groups
26448 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
26449 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
26451 @item zombie groups
26452 @cindex zombie groups
26453 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
26456 @cindex active file
26457 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
26458 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
26459 is rather large, as you might surmise.
26462 @cindex bogus groups
26463 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
26464 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
26465 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
26468 @cindex activating groups
26469 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
26470 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
26471 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
26475 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
26477 @item select method
26478 @cindex select method
26479 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
26482 @item virtual server
26483 @cindex virtual server
26484 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
26485 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
26486 whole is a virtual server.
26490 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
26491 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
26494 @item ephemeral groups
26495 @cindex ephemeral groups
26496 @cindex temporary groups
26497 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
26498 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
26499 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
26502 @cindex solid groups
26503 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
26504 group buffer are solid groups.
26506 @item sparse articles
26507 @cindex sparse articles
26508 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
26509 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
26513 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
26514 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
26518 @cindex thread root
26519 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
26520 articles in the thread.
26524 An article that has responses.
26528 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
26532 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
26533 specified by RFC 1153.
26536 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
26537 @cindex mail sorting
26538 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
26539 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
26540 incorrectly called mail filtering.
26546 @node Customization
26547 @section Customization
26548 @cindex general customization
26550 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
26551 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
26552 for some quite common situations.
26555 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
26556 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
26557 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
26558 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
26562 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
26563 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
26565 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
26566 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
26567 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
26571 @item gnus-read-active-file
26572 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
26573 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
26574 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26575 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
26576 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
26578 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
26579 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
26580 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
26581 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
26585 @node Slow Terminal Connection
26586 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
26588 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
26589 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
26590 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
26594 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
26595 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
26596 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
26597 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
26598 horizontal and vertical recentering.
26600 @item gnus-visible-headers
26601 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
26602 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
26603 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
26604 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
26606 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
26608 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
26609 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
26610 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
26613 @item gnus-use-full-window
26614 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
26615 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
26616 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
26617 want to read them anyway.
26619 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
26620 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
26624 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
26625 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
26626 lines, which might save some time.
26630 @node Little Disk Space
26631 @subsection Little Disk Space
26634 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
26635 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
26639 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
26640 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
26641 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26642 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26645 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
26646 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
26647 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26648 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26651 @item gnus-save-killed-list
26652 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
26653 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
26654 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
26655 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
26661 @subsection Slow Machine
26662 @cindex slow machine
26664 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
26665 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
26667 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26668 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
26670 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
26671 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
26672 summary buffer faster.
26676 @node Troubleshooting
26677 @section Troubleshooting
26678 @cindex troubleshooting
26680 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
26688 Make sure your computer is switched on.
26691 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
26692 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
26696 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
26697 like @samp{T-gnus 6.17.* (based on Gnus v5.10.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
26698 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old
26699 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
26702 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
26703 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
26706 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
26707 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
26708 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
26709 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
26710 something like that.
26713 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
26716 @cindex reporting bugs
26718 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26720 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
26721 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
26722 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
26723 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
26725 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
26726 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
26727 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
26728 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
26731 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
26732 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
26733 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
26734 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
26735 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
26736 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
26738 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
26739 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
26740 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
26744 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
26745 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
26748 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
26749 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
26750 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
26751 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
26752 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
26753 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
26754 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
26755 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
26756 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
26757 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
26758 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
26759 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
26760 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
26761 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
26766 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
26767 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
26768 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
26769 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
26770 helps isolating the real problem areas).
26772 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
26773 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
26774 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
26775 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
26776 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
26777 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
26778 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
26779 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
26780 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
26781 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
26782 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
26783 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
26784 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
26787 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
26788 @cindex ding mailing list
26789 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
26790 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
26791 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
26792 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
26796 @node Gnus Reference Guide
26797 @section Gnus Reference Guide
26799 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
26800 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
26801 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
26802 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
26805 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
26806 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
26807 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
26808 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
26809 and general methods of operation.
26812 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
26813 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
26814 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
26815 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
26816 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
26817 * Group Info:: The group info format.
26818 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
26819 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
26820 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
26824 @node Gnus Utility Functions
26825 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
26826 @cindex Gnus utility functions
26827 @cindex utility functions
26829 @cindex internal variables
26831 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
26832 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
26833 Below is a list of the most common ones.
26837 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
26838 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
26839 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
26841 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
26842 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
26843 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
26845 @item gnus-group-real-name
26846 @findex gnus-group-real-name
26847 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
26850 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
26851 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
26852 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
26853 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
26855 @item gnus-get-info
26856 @findex gnus-get-info
26857 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
26859 @item gnus-group-unread
26860 @findex gnus-group-unread
26861 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
26865 @findex gnus-active
26866 The active entry for @var{group}.
26868 @item gnus-set-active
26869 @findex gnus-set-active
26870 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
26872 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26873 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26874 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
26877 @item gnus-continuum-version
26878 @findex gnus-continuum-version
26879 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
26880 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
26883 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
26884 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
26885 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
26887 @item gnus-news-group-p
26888 @findex gnus-news-group-p
26889 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
26891 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26892 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26893 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
26895 @item gnus-server-to-method
26896 @findex gnus-server-to-method
26897 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
26899 @item gnus-server-equal
26900 @findex gnus-server-equal
26901 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
26903 @item gnus-group-native-p
26904 @findex gnus-group-native-p
26905 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
26907 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
26908 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
26909 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
26911 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
26912 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
26913 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
26915 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
26916 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
26917 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
26918 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
26920 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
26921 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
26922 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
26924 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
26925 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
26926 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
26928 @item gnus-check-backend-function
26929 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
26930 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
26931 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
26934 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
26938 @item gnus-read-method
26939 @findex gnus-read-method
26940 Prompts the user for a select method.
26945 @node Back End Interface
26946 @subsection Back End Interface
26948 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
26949 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
26950 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
26951 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
26952 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
26953 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
26955 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
26956 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
26957 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
26958 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
26959 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
26960 been opened, the function should fail.
26962 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
26963 name. Take this example:
26967 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
26968 (nntp-port-number 4324))
26971 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
26972 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
26974 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
26975 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
26976 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
26978 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
26979 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
26980 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
26982 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
26983 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
26984 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
26985 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
26986 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
26987 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
26990 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
26991 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
26992 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
26993 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
26996 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
26997 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
26998 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
26999 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
27000 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
27001 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
27002 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
27003 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
27004 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
27005 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
27007 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
27008 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
27009 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
27010 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
27011 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
27012 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
27013 of numbers as long as possible.
27015 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
27016 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
27017 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
27019 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
27022 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
27025 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
27026 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
27027 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
27028 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
27029 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
27030 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
27034 @node Required Back End Functions
27035 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
27039 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
27041 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
27042 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
27043 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
27044 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
27046 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
27047 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
27048 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
27049 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
27051 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
27052 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
27053 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
27054 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
27055 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
27056 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
27057 number, do maximum fetches.
27059 Here's an example HEAD:
27062 221 1056 Article retrieved.
27063 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
27064 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
27065 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
27066 Subject: Re: Something very droll
27067 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
27068 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
27070 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
27071 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
27072 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
27076 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
27077 these in the data buffer.
27079 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
27083 head = error / valid-head
27084 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
27085 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
27086 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
27087 header = <text> eol
27091 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
27093 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
27094 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
27098 nov-buffer = *nov-line
27099 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
27100 field = <text except TAB>
27103 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
27107 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
27109 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
27110 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
27112 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
27113 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
27114 server. In fact, it should do so.
27116 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
27117 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
27120 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
27122 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
27123 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
27126 There should be no data returned.
27129 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
27131 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
27132 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
27133 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
27134 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
27136 There should be no data returned.
27139 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
27141 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
27142 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
27143 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
27144 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
27146 There should be no data returned.
27149 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
27151 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
27153 There should be no data returned.
27156 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
27158 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
27159 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
27160 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
27161 it would be nice if that were possible.
27163 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
27164 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
27165 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
27166 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
27167 into its article buffer.
27169 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
27170 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
27171 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
27172 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
27173 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
27174 on successful article retrieval.
27177 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
27179 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
27180 making @var{group} the current group.
27182 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
27185 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
27188 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
27191 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
27192 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
27193 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
27194 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
27195 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
27196 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
27197 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
27198 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
27199 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
27203 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
27204 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
27205 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
27209 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27211 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
27212 a no-op on most back ends.
27214 There should be no data returned.
27217 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
27219 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
27222 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
27225 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
27226 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
27229 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
27230 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
27231 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
27232 and the highest as 0.
27235 active-file = *active-line
27236 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
27238 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
27241 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
27242 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
27243 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
27246 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
27248 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
27249 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
27250 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
27251 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
27252 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
27253 clear if the posting could not be completed.
27255 There should be no result data from this function.
27260 @node Optional Back End Functions
27261 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
27265 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
27267 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
27268 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
27269 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
27271 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
27272 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
27273 former is in the same format as the data from
27274 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
27275 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
27278 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
27282 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
27284 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
27285 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
27286 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
27287 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
27288 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
27290 There should be no result data from this function.
27293 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
27295 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
27296 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
27297 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
27298 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
27299 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
27300 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
27301 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
27302 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
27304 There should be no result data from this function.
27307 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
27309 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
27310 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
27311 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
27312 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
27313 propagate the mark information to the server.
27315 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
27318 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
27321 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
27322 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
27323 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
27324 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
27325 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
27326 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
27327 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
27328 possible, not limit itself to these.
27330 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
27331 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
27332 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
27333 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
27335 An example action list:
27338 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
27339 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
27340 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
27343 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
27344 mark on (currently not used for anything).
27346 There should be no result data from this function.
27348 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
27350 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
27351 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
27352 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
27353 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
27354 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
27356 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
27357 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
27358 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
27361 There should be no result data from this function.
27364 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
27366 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
27367 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
27368 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
27369 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
27370 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
27371 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
27372 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
27373 local if that's practical.
27375 There should be no result data from this function.
27378 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
27380 The result data from this function should be a description of
27384 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
27386 description = <text>
27389 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
27391 The result data from this function should be the description of all
27392 groups available on the server.
27395 description-buffer = *description-line
27399 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
27401 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
27402 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
27403 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
27404 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
27405 in the active buffer format.
27407 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
27408 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
27409 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
27410 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
27411 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
27412 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
27413 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
27416 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27418 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
27420 There should be no return data.
27423 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
27425 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
27426 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
27427 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
27428 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
27429 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
27432 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
27435 There should be no result data returned.
27438 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
27440 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
27441 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
27443 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
27444 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
27445 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
27446 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
27447 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
27448 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
27450 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
27451 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
27454 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27455 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27457 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
27458 article for that group.
27460 There should be no data returned.
27463 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
27465 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
27466 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
27467 this function in short order.
27469 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27470 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27472 There should be no data returned.
27475 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
27477 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
27478 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
27480 There should be no data returned.
27483 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
27485 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
27486 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
27487 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
27489 There should be no data returned.
27492 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
27494 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
27495 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
27497 There should be no data returned.
27502 @node Error Messaging
27503 @subsubsection Error Messaging
27505 @findex nnheader-report
27506 @findex nnheader-get-report
27507 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
27508 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
27509 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
27510 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
27511 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
27512 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
27515 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
27517 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
27520 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
27521 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
27522 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
27523 takes one argument---the server symbol.
27525 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
27526 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
27527 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
27530 @node Writing New Back Ends
27531 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
27533 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
27534 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
27535 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
27536 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
27537 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
27540 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
27541 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
27542 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
27544 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
27545 package called @code{nnoo}.
27547 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
27548 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
27554 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
27555 parameters. For instance:
27558 (nnoo-declare nndir
27562 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
27563 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
27566 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
27567 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
27568 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
27570 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
27571 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
27572 a function in those back ends.
27575 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27576 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27577 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27580 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
27581 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
27582 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
27584 @item nnoo-define-basics
27585 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
27589 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27593 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
27594 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
27595 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
27597 @item nnoo-map-functions
27598 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
27599 functions from the parent back ends.
27602 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27603 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27604 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
27607 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
27608 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
27609 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
27610 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
27613 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
27614 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
27615 haven't already been defined.
27621 nnmh-request-newgroups)
27625 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
27626 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
27627 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
27632 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
27635 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
27636 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
27640 (require 'nnheader)
27644 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
27646 (nnoo-declare nndir
27649 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27650 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27651 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27653 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
27654 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
27657 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
27659 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
27660 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
27661 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
27663 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
27664 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
27666 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
27668 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27670 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
27671 (setq nndir-directory
27672 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
27674 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
27675 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
27676 (push `(nndir-current-group
27677 ,(file-name-nondirectory
27678 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27680 (push `(nndir-top-directory
27681 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27683 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
27685 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27686 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27687 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27688 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
27689 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
27693 nnmh-status-message
27695 nnmh-request-newgroups))
27701 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27702 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27704 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
27705 @findex gnus-declare-backend
27706 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
27707 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
27708 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
27710 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
27711 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
27716 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
27719 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
27721 The abilities can be:
27725 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
27727 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
27729 This back end supports both mail and news.
27731 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
27734 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
27735 articles and groups.
27737 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
27738 true for almost all back ends.
27739 @item prompt-address
27740 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
27741 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
27742 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
27746 @node Mail-like Back Ends
27747 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
27749 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
27750 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
27751 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
27752 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
27755 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
27756 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
27757 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
27760 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
27761 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
27764 This function takes four parameters.
27768 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
27771 @item exit-function
27772 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
27774 @item temp-directory
27775 Where the temporary files should be stored.
27778 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
27779 performed for one group only.
27782 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
27783 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
27784 find the article number assigned to this article.
27786 The function also uses the following variables:
27787 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
27788 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
27789 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
27790 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
27794 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
27795 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
27799 @node Score File Syntax
27800 @subsection Score File Syntax
27802 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
27803 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
27804 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
27806 Here's a typical score file:
27810 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
27817 BNF definition of a score file:
27820 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
27821 element = rule / atom
27822 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
27823 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
27824 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
27825 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
27827 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
27828 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
27829 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
27830 date-header = "date"
27831 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27832 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27833 score = "nil" / <integer>
27834 date = "nil" / <natural number>
27835 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
27836 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
27837 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
27838 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
27839 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27840 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27841 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
27842 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27843 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
27844 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
27845 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
27846 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
27847 exclude-files / read-only / touched
27848 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
27849 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
27850 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
27851 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
27852 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
27853 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
27854 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
27855 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
27856 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
27857 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
27858 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
27859 eval = "eval" space <form>
27860 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
27863 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
27866 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
27867 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
27868 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
27869 one looong line, then that's ok.
27871 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
27872 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27876 @subsection Headers
27878 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
27879 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
27880 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
27881 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
27883 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
27884 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
27885 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
27886 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
27887 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
27888 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
27889 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
27891 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
27892 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
27893 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
27894 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
27895 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
27897 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
27898 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
27904 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
27905 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
27907 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
27908 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
27909 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
27910 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
27912 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
27916 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
27919 is transformed into
27922 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
27925 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
27926 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
27929 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
27932 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
27933 is slightly tricky:
27936 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
27942 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
27945 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
27951 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
27958 and is equal to the previous range.
27960 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
27961 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
27962 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
27966 range = simple-range / normal-range
27967 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
27968 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
27969 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
27970 number *[ " " contents ]
27973 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
27974 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
27975 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
27976 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
27977 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
27982 @subsection Group Info
27984 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
27985 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
27986 describes the group.
27988 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
27989 second is a more complex one:
27992 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
27994 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
27995 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
27997 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
28000 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
28001 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
28002 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
28003 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
28004 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
28005 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
28006 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
28007 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
28008 this section is about.
28010 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
28011 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
28012 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
28014 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
28017 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
28018 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
28019 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28020 group = quote <string> quote
28021 ralevel = rank / level
28022 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28023 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
28024 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28026 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
28027 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
28028 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
28029 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
28032 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
28033 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
28036 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
28037 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
28040 @item gnus-info-group
28041 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
28042 @findex gnus-info-group
28043 @findex gnus-info-set-group
28044 Get/set the group name.
28046 @item gnus-info-rank
28047 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
28048 @findex gnus-info-rank
28049 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
28050 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
28052 @item gnus-info-level
28053 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
28054 @findex gnus-info-level
28055 @findex gnus-info-set-level
28056 Get/set the group level.
28058 @item gnus-info-score
28059 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
28060 @findex gnus-info-score
28061 @findex gnus-info-set-score
28062 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
28064 @item gnus-info-read
28065 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
28066 @findex gnus-info-read
28067 @findex gnus-info-set-read
28068 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
28070 @item gnus-info-marks
28071 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
28072 @findex gnus-info-marks
28073 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
28074 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
28076 @item gnus-info-method
28077 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
28078 @findex gnus-info-method
28079 @findex gnus-info-set-method
28080 Get/set the group select method.
28082 @item gnus-info-params
28083 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
28084 @findex gnus-info-params
28085 @findex gnus-info-set-params
28086 Get/set the group parameters.
28089 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
28090 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
28092 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
28093 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
28094 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
28095 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
28098 @node Extended Interactive
28099 @subsection Extended Interactive
28100 @cindex interactive
28101 @findex gnus-interactive
28103 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
28104 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
28105 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
28108 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
28109 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
28114 The best thing to do would have been to implement
28115 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
28116 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
28117 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
28118 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
28119 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
28120 @code{interactive}.
28122 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
28127 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
28128 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
28132 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
28133 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
28134 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
28137 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
28141 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
28145 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
28151 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
28152 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
28156 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
28157 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
28158 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
28160 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
28161 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
28162 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
28163 Gnus, that's very useful.
28165 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
28166 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
28167 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
28168 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
28169 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
28170 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
28171 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
28172 following function:
28175 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
28179 (,function ,@@args))
28183 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
28184 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
28185 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
28188 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
28189 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
28190 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
28192 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
28193 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
28194 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
28197 @node Various File Formats
28198 @subsection Various File Formats
28201 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
28202 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
28206 @node Active File Format
28207 @subsubsection Active File Format
28209 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
28210 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
28213 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
28216 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
28217 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
28218 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
28219 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
28220 no.general 1000 900 y
28223 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
28226 active = *group-line
28227 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
28228 group = <non-white-space string>
28230 high-number = <non-negative integer>
28231 low-number = <positive integer>
28232 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
28235 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
28236 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
28239 @node Newsgroups File Format
28240 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
28242 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
28243 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
28244 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
28247 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
28248 Here's the definition:
28252 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
28253 group = <non-white-space string>
28255 description = <string>
28260 @node Emacs for Heathens
28261 @section Emacs for Heathens
28263 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
28264 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
28265 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
28266 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
28267 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
28268 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
28269 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
28273 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
28274 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
28279 @subsection Keystrokes
28283 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
28286 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
28289 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
28290 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
28291 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
28292 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
28293 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
28294 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
28296 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
28297 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
28298 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
28299 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
28300 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
28301 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
28302 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
28304 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
28305 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
28306 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
28307 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
28308 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
28309 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
28310 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
28312 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
28313 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
28314 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
28315 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
28316 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
28322 @subsection Emacs Lisp
28324 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
28325 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
28326 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
28327 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
28329 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
28330 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
28331 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
28332 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
28333 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
28334 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
28335 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
28338 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
28339 write the following:
28342 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
28345 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
28346 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
28347 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
28350 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
28351 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
28352 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
28353 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
28354 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
28356 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
28357 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
28358 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
28362 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
28366 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
28369 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
28370 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
28373 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
28376 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
28377 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
28380 @include gnus-faq.texi
28400 @c Local Variables:
28402 @c coding: iso-8859-1