4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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284 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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293 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
295 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
299 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
300 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
301 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
302 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
303 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
304 License'' in the Emacs manual.
306 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
307 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
308 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
310 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
311 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
312 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
313 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
321 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
323 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
324 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
326 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
327 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
328 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
329 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
330 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
331 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
332 License'' in the Emacs manual.
334 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
335 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
336 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
338 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
339 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
340 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
341 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
347 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
349 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
352 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
353 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
355 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
357 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
358 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
359 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
360 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
361 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
362 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
363 License'' in the Emacs manual.
365 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
366 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
367 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
369 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
370 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
371 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
372 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
381 @top The gnus Newsreader
385 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
386 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
387 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
390 T-gnus provides @sc{mime} features based on @sc{semi} API. So T-gnus
391 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
392 other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
393 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
394 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
395 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
397 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
408 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
409 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
411 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
412 being accused of plagiarism:
414 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
415 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
416 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
417 can even read news with it!
419 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
420 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
421 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
422 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
423 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
429 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
430 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
431 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
432 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
433 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
434 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
435 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
436 * Various:: General purpose settings.
437 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
438 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
439 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
440 * Key Index:: Key Index.
442 Other related manuals
444 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
445 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; MIME-specific parts.
446 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
447 * PGG:(pgg). PGP/MIME with Gnus.
450 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
454 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
455 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
456 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
457 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
458 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
459 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
460 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
461 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
462 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
463 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
464 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
468 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
469 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
470 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
474 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
475 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
476 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
477 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
478 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
479 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
480 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
481 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
482 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
483 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
484 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
485 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
486 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
487 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
488 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
489 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
490 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
494 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
495 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
496 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
500 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
501 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
502 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
503 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
504 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
508 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
509 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
510 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
511 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
512 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
516 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
517 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
518 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
519 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
520 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
521 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
522 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
523 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
524 * Threading:: How threads are made.
525 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
526 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
527 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
528 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
529 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
530 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
531 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
532 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
533 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
534 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
535 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
536 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
537 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
538 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
539 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
540 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
541 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
542 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
543 or reselecting the current group.
544 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
545 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
546 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
547 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
549 Summary Buffer Format
551 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
552 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
553 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
554 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
558 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
559 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
561 Reply, Followup and Post
563 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
564 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
565 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
566 * Canceling and Superseding::
570 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
571 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
572 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
574 * Generic Marking Commands::
575 * Setting Process Marks::
579 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
580 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
581 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
585 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
586 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
588 Customizing Threading
590 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
591 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
592 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
593 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
597 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
598 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
599 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
600 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
601 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
602 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
606 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
607 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
608 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
612 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
613 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
614 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
615 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
616 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
617 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
618 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
619 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
620 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
621 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
623 Alternative Approaches
625 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
626 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
628 Various Summary Stuff
630 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
631 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
632 * Summary Generation Commands::
633 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
637 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
638 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
639 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
640 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
641 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
645 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
646 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
647 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
648 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
649 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
650 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
651 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
652 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
656 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
657 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
658 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
659 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
660 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
661 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
662 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
663 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
667 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
668 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
669 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
670 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
671 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
672 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
673 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
677 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
678 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
682 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
683 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
684 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
688 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
689 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
690 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
691 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
692 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
693 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
694 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
695 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
696 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
697 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
698 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
699 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
700 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
704 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
705 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
706 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
708 Choosing a Mail Back End
710 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
711 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
712 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
713 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
714 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
715 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
720 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
721 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
722 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
723 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
724 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
725 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
729 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
730 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
731 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
732 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
733 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
737 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
738 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
739 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
740 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
741 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
745 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
749 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
750 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
751 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
755 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
756 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
760 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
761 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
762 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
763 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
764 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
765 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
766 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
767 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
768 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
769 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
770 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
771 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
775 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
776 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
777 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
781 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
782 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
783 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
787 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
788 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
789 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
790 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
791 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
792 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
793 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
794 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
795 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
796 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
797 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
798 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
799 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
800 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
801 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
802 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
803 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
807 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
808 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
809 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
810 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
814 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
815 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
816 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
820 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
821 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
822 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
823 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
824 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
825 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
826 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
827 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
828 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
829 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
830 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
831 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
832 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
833 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
834 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
835 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
836 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
837 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
838 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
842 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
843 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
844 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
845 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
846 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
847 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
848 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
849 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
853 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
854 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
855 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
856 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
860 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
861 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
862 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
863 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
864 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
865 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
869 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
870 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
871 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
872 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
873 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
874 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
875 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
876 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
877 * Frequently Asked Questions::
881 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
882 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
883 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
884 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
885 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
886 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
887 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
888 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
889 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
893 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
894 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
895 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
896 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
897 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
901 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
902 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
903 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
904 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
908 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
909 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
910 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
911 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
912 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
913 * Group Info:: The group info format.
914 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
915 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
916 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
920 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
921 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
922 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
923 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
924 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
925 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
929 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
930 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
934 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
935 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
941 @chapter Starting gnus
946 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
947 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
950 @findex gnus-other-frame
951 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
952 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
953 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
955 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
956 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
957 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
959 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
960 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
963 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
964 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
965 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
966 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
967 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
968 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
969 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
970 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
971 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
972 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
973 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
977 @node Finding the News
978 @section Finding the News
981 @vindex gnus-select-method
983 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
984 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
985 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
986 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
989 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
990 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
993 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
996 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
999 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1002 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1003 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1004 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1006 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1008 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
1009 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1010 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1011 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1012 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
1013 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1015 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1016 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1017 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1018 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1020 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1021 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1022 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1023 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1024 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1025 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1026 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1027 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1028 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1031 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1033 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1034 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1035 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1036 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1037 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1038 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1040 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1042 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1043 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1044 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1045 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1046 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1047 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1050 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1051 you would typically set this variable to
1054 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1058 @node The First Time
1059 @section The First Time
1060 @cindex first time usage
1062 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1063 be subscribed by default.
1065 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1066 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1067 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1068 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1071 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1072 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1073 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1075 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1076 help you with most common problems.
1078 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1079 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1083 @node The Server is Down
1084 @section The Server is Down
1085 @cindex server errors
1087 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1088 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1089 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1091 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1092 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1093 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1094 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1095 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1096 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1097 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1099 @findex gnus-no-server
1100 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1102 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1103 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1104 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1105 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1106 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1107 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1108 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1112 @section Slave Gnusae
1115 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1116 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1117 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1118 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1120 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1121 @file{.newsrc} file.
1123 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1124 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1125 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1126 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1127 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1128 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1129 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1132 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1133 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1134 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1135 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1136 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1137 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1138 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1139 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1141 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1142 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1144 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1145 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1146 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1147 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1148 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1150 @node Fetching a Group
1151 @section Fetching a Group
1152 @cindex fetching a group
1154 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1155 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1156 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1157 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1158 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1159 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1165 @cindex subscription
1167 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1168 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1169 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1170 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1171 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1172 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1173 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1174 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1175 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1178 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1179 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1180 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1184 @node Checking New Groups
1185 @subsection Checking New Groups
1187 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1188 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1189 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1190 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1191 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1192 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1193 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1194 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1195 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1196 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1198 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1199 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1200 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1201 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1202 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1203 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1204 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1205 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1206 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1207 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1208 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1210 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1211 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1212 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1213 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1214 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1215 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1218 @node Subscription Methods
1219 @subsection Subscription Methods
1221 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1222 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1223 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1225 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1226 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1228 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1232 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1234 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1235 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1236 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1238 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1240 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1241 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1245 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1249 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1250 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1251 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1252 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1253 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1254 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1255 up. Or something like that.
1257 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1258 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1259 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1260 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1261 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1263 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1264 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1265 Kill all new groups.
1267 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1269 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1270 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1271 topic parameter that looks like
1277 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1280 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1285 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1286 A closely related variable is
1287 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1288 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1289 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1290 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1293 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1294 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1295 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1296 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1299 @node Filtering New Groups
1300 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1302 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1303 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1304 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1307 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1310 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1311 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1312 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1313 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1314 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1315 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1316 subscribing these groups.
1317 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1318 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1320 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1321 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1322 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1323 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1324 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1325 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1326 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1327 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1329 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1330 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1331 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1332 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1333 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1334 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1335 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1336 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1337 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1338 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1341 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1342 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1345 @node Changing Servers
1346 @section Changing Servers
1347 @cindex changing servers
1349 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1350 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1351 very flaky and you want to use another.
1353 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1354 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1358 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1359 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1360 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1361 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1364 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1365 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1366 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1367 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1369 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1370 @findex gnus-change-server
1371 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1372 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1373 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1374 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1375 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1377 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1378 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1379 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1380 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1381 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1383 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1384 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1385 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1386 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1387 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1388 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1390 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1391 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1392 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1393 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1395 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1396 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1397 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1398 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1399 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1400 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1401 cache for all groups).
1405 @section Startup Files
1406 @cindex startup files
1411 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1412 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1414 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1415 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1416 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1417 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1418 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1419 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1420 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1422 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1423 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1424 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1425 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1426 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1427 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1429 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1430 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1431 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1432 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1433 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1434 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1435 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1436 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1437 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1438 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1440 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1441 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1442 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1443 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1444 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1445 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1446 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1447 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1448 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1449 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1450 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1451 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1453 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1454 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1455 @vindex version-control
1456 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1457 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1458 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1459 If you want version control for this file, set
1460 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1461 @code{version-control} variable.
1463 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1464 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1465 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1466 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1467 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1468 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1469 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1470 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1471 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1472 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1475 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1476 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1478 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1479 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1482 @vindex gnus-init-file
1483 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1484 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1485 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1486 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1487 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1488 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1489 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1490 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1491 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1492 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1498 @cindex dribble file
1501 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1502 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1503 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1504 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1505 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1508 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1509 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1512 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1513 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1514 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1516 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1517 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1518 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1519 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1520 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1521 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1523 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1524 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1525 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1528 @node The Active File
1529 @section The Active File
1531 @cindex ignored groups
1533 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1534 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1535 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1537 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1538 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1539 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1540 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1541 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1542 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1543 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1546 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1547 @c if you set it to anything else.
1549 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1551 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1552 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1553 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1555 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1556 you actually subscribe to.
1558 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1559 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1560 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1561 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1563 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1564 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1565 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1566 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1567 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1568 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1570 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1571 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1572 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1575 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1576 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1577 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1578 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1579 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1580 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1582 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1583 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1585 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1586 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1588 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1589 secondary select methods.
1592 @node Startup Variables
1593 @section Startup Variables
1597 @item gnus-load-hook
1598 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1599 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1600 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1601 times you start gnus.
1603 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1604 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1605 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1607 @item gnus-startup-hook
1608 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1609 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1611 @item gnus-started-hook
1612 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1613 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1616 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1617 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1618 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1619 generating the group buffer.
1621 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1622 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1623 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1624 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1625 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1626 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1627 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1628 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1630 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1631 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1632 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1633 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1634 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1635 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1637 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1638 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1639 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1641 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1642 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1643 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1645 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1646 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1647 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1648 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1654 @chapter Group Buffer
1655 @cindex group buffer
1657 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1659 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1660 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1661 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1662 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1663 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1664 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1665 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1666 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1667 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1668 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1669 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1670 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1671 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1672 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1673 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1674 @c human rights at 9...
1677 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1678 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1679 long as gnus is active.
1683 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1684 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1685 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1686 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1687 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1688 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1689 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1690 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1696 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1697 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1698 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1699 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1700 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1701 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1702 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1703 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1704 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1705 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1706 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1707 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1708 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1709 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1710 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1711 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1712 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1716 @node Group Buffer Format
1717 @section Group Buffer Format
1720 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1721 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1722 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1726 @node Group Line Specification
1727 @subsection Group Line Specification
1728 @cindex group buffer format
1730 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1731 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1733 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1736 25: news.announce.newusers
1737 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1742 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1743 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1744 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1745 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1747 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1748 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1749 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1750 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1751 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1752 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1754 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1756 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1757 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1758 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1759 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1760 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1762 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1763 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1764 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1766 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1771 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1774 Whether the group is subscribed.
1777 Level of subscribedness.
1780 Number of unread articles.
1783 Number of dormant articles.
1786 Number of ticked articles.
1789 Number of read articles.
1792 Number of unseen articles.
1795 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1796 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1798 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1799 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1800 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1801 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1802 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1803 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1804 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1805 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1808 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1811 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1820 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1821 comment element in the group parameters.
1824 Newsgroup description.
1827 @samp{m} if moderated.
1830 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1836 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1842 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1846 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1849 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1850 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1851 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1852 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1853 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1856 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1858 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1862 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1865 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1869 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1870 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1871 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1872 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1873 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1874 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1879 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1880 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1881 group, or a bogus native group.
1884 @node Group Modeline Specification
1885 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1886 @cindex group modeline
1888 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1889 The mode line can be changed by setting
1890 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1891 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1895 The native news server.
1897 The native select method.
1901 @node Group Highlighting
1902 @subsection Group Highlighting
1903 @cindex highlighting
1904 @cindex group highlighting
1906 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1907 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1908 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1909 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1910 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1912 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1916 (cond (window-system
1917 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1918 (defface my-group-face-1
1919 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1920 (defface my-group-face-2
1921 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1922 (defface my-group-face-3
1923 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1924 (defface my-group-face-4
1925 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1926 (defface my-group-face-5
1927 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1929 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1930 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1931 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1932 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1933 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1934 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1937 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1939 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1946 The number of unread articles in the group.
1950 Whether the group is a mail group.
1952 The level of the group.
1954 The score of the group.
1956 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1958 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1959 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1961 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1962 topic being inserted.
1965 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1966 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1967 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1969 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1970 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1971 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1972 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1973 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1976 @node Group Maneuvering
1977 @section Group Maneuvering
1978 @cindex group movement
1980 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1981 expected, hopefully.
1987 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1988 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1989 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1995 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1996 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1997 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2001 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2002 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2006 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2007 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2011 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2012 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2013 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2017 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2018 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2019 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2022 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2028 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2029 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2030 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2035 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2036 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2037 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2041 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2042 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2043 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2046 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2047 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2048 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2049 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2053 @node Selecting a Group
2054 @section Selecting a Group
2055 @cindex group selection
2060 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2061 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2062 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2063 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2064 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2065 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2066 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2067 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2068 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2069 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2071 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2072 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2073 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2075 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2076 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2081 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2082 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2083 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2084 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2085 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2089 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2090 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2091 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2092 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2093 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2094 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2095 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2096 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2097 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2098 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2101 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2102 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2103 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2104 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2105 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2108 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2109 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2110 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2111 doing any processing of its contents
2112 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2113 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2114 manner will have no permanent effects.
2118 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2119 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
2120 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2121 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2122 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2123 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2124 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2125 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2128 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2129 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2130 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2131 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2132 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2133 Which article this is is controlled by the
2134 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2140 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2143 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2146 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2148 @item unseen-or-unread
2149 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2150 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2154 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2158 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2159 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2161 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2162 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2163 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2164 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2168 @node Subscription Commands
2169 @section Subscription Commands
2170 @cindex subscription
2178 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2179 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2180 Toggle subscription to the current group
2181 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2187 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2188 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2189 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2190 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2196 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2197 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2198 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2204 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2205 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2208 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2209 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2210 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2211 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2212 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2218 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2219 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2223 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2224 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2227 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2228 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2229 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2230 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2231 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2232 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2233 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2234 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2235 @file{.newsrc} file.
2239 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2249 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2250 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2251 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2252 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2253 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2254 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2259 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2260 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2261 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2265 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2266 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2267 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2269 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2270 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2271 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2272 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2273 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2274 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2281 @section Group Levels
2285 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2286 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2287 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2288 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2289 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2291 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2297 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2298 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2299 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2300 prompted for a level.
2303 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2304 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2305 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2306 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2307 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2308 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2309 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2310 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2311 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2312 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2313 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2314 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2315 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2316 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2317 reasons of efficiency.
2319 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2320 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2322 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2323 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2324 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2325 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2326 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2327 groups are hidden, in a way.
2329 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2330 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2331 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2332 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2333 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2334 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2336 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2337 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2338 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2339 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2340 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2341 list of killed groups.)
2343 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2344 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2345 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2347 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2348 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2349 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2350 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2351 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2352 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2353 relevant valid ranges.
2355 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2356 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2357 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2358 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2359 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2360 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2363 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2364 one with the best level.
2366 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2367 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2368 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2371 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2372 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2373 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2374 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2377 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2378 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2379 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2380 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2382 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2383 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2384 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2385 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2386 to 5. The default is 6.
2390 @section Group Score
2395 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2396 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2397 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2400 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2401 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2402 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2403 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2404 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2405 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2406 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2407 least significant part.))
2409 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2410 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2411 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2412 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2413 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2414 action after each summary exit, you can add
2415 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2416 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2417 slow things down somewhat.
2420 @node Marking Groups
2421 @section Marking Groups
2422 @cindex marking groups
2424 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2425 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2426 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2427 bidding on those groups.
2429 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2430 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2431 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2439 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2440 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2446 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2447 Remove the mark from the current group
2448 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2452 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2453 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2457 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2458 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2462 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2463 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2467 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2468 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2469 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2472 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2474 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2475 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2476 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2477 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2478 the command to be executed.
2481 @node Foreign Groups
2482 @section Foreign Groups
2483 @cindex foreign groups
2485 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2486 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2487 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2488 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2495 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2496 @cindex making groups
2497 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2498 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2499 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2503 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2504 @cindex renaming groups
2505 Rename the current group to something else
2506 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2507 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2513 @findex gnus-group-customize
2514 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2518 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2519 @cindex renaming groups
2520 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2521 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2525 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2526 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2527 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2531 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2532 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2533 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2537 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2539 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2540 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2545 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2546 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2550 @cindex (ding) archive
2551 @cindex archive group
2552 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2553 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2554 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2555 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2556 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2557 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2558 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2562 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2564 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2565 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2566 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2567 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2571 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2573 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2574 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2575 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2579 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2580 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2582 Make a group based on some file or other
2583 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2584 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2585 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2586 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2587 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2588 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2589 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2590 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2591 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2595 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2596 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2597 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2598 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2602 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2606 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2607 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2608 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2609 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2610 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2611 @xref{Web Searches}.
2613 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2614 to a particular group by using a match string like
2615 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2618 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2619 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2620 This function will delete the current group
2621 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2622 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2623 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2624 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2625 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2629 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2630 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2631 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2635 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2636 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2637 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2640 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2643 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2644 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2645 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2646 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2647 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2648 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2652 @node Group Parameters
2653 @section Group Parameters
2654 @cindex group parameters
2656 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2657 Here's an example group parameter list:
2660 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2664 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2665 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2666 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2667 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2669 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2670 is an alist of regexps and values.
2672 The following group parameters can be used:
2677 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2680 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2683 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2684 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2685 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2686 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2687 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2689 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2690 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2691 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2692 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2693 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2694 list address instead.
2696 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2700 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2703 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2706 It is totally ignored
2707 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2708 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2710 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2711 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2712 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2713 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2714 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2716 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2717 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2718 sending the message.
2720 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2721 @cindex Mail List Groups
2722 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2723 entering summary buffer.
2725 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2730 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2731 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2732 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2733 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2734 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2735 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2737 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2738 directly uses this group parameter.
2742 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2743 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2744 of whether it has any unread articles.
2746 @item broken-reply-to
2747 @cindex broken-reply-to
2748 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2749 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2750 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2751 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2752 broken behavior. So there!
2756 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2757 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2761 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2762 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2763 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2768 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2769 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2770 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2771 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2772 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2773 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2774 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2775 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2776 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2780 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2781 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2782 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2784 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2787 @cindex total-expire
2788 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2789 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2790 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2791 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2794 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2798 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2799 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2800 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2801 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2802 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2803 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2804 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2807 @cindex score file group parameter
2808 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2809 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2810 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2813 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2814 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2815 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2816 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2819 @cindex admin-address
2820 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2821 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2822 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2823 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2827 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2828 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2832 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2835 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2836 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2839 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2843 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2845 Here are some examples:
2849 Display only unread articles.
2852 Display everything except expirable articles.
2854 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2855 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2859 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2860 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2861 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2862 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2863 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2867 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2868 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2869 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2873 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2874 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2875 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2879 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2880 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2881 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2883 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2885 @item ignored-charsets
2886 @cindex ignored-charset
2887 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2888 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2889 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2891 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2894 @cindex posting-style
2895 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2896 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2897 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2898 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2899 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2901 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2902 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2903 like this in the group parameters:
2908 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2909 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2914 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2915 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2919 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2920 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2921 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2922 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2923 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2927 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2928 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2929 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2930 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2932 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2933 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2934 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2935 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2938 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2939 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2943 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2946 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2947 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2948 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2949 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2950 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2951 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2952 @code{eval}ed there.
2954 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2955 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2956 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2957 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2958 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2959 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2960 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2961 parameters for the group.
2964 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2965 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2966 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2967 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2968 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2972 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2973 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2974 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2975 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2976 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2978 @vindex gnus-parameters
2979 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2980 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2984 (setq gnus-parameters
2986 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2987 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2988 (gnus-summary-line-format
2989 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2993 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2997 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3001 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3004 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3005 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3008 @node Listing Groups
3009 @section Listing Groups
3010 @cindex group listing
3012 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3020 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3021 List all groups that have unread articles
3022 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3023 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3024 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
3025 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3032 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3033 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3034 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3035 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3036 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3037 unsubscribed groups).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3042 List all unread groups on a specific level
3043 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3044 with no unread articles.
3048 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3049 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3050 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3051 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3056 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3057 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3061 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3062 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3063 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3067 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3068 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3072 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3073 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3074 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3075 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3076 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3077 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3078 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3079 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3083 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3084 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3085 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3089 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3090 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3091 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3095 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3096 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3100 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3101 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3105 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3106 List groups limited within the current selection
3107 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3111 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3112 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3116 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3117 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3121 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3122 @cindex visible group parameter
3123 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3124 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3125 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3126 get the same effect.
3128 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3129 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3130 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3131 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3132 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3135 @node Sorting Groups
3136 @section Sorting Groups
3137 @cindex sorting groups
3139 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3141 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3142 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3143 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3144 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3149 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3150 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3151 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3153 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3154 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3155 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3157 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3158 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3159 Sort by group level.
3161 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3162 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3163 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3165 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3166 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3167 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3168 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3170 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3171 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3172 Sort by number of unread articles.
3174 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3175 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3176 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3178 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3179 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3180 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3185 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3186 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3190 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3191 some sorting criteria:
3195 @kindex G S a (Group)
3196 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3197 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3198 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3201 @kindex G S u (Group)
3202 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3203 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3204 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3207 @kindex G S l (Group)
3208 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3209 Sort the group buffer by group level
3210 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3213 @kindex G S v (Group)
3214 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3215 Sort the group buffer by group score
3216 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3219 @kindex G S r (Group)
3220 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3221 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3222 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3225 @kindex G S m (Group)
3226 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3227 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3228 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3231 @kindex G S n (Group)
3232 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3233 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3234 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3238 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3239 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3241 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3242 commands will sort in reverse order.
3244 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3248 @kindex G P a (Group)
3249 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3250 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3251 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3254 @kindex G P u (Group)
3255 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3256 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3257 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3260 @kindex G P l (Group)
3261 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3262 Sort the groups by group level
3263 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3266 @kindex G P v (Group)
3267 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3268 Sort the groups by group score
3269 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3272 @kindex G P r (Group)
3273 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3274 Sort the groups by group rank
3275 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3278 @kindex G P m (Group)
3279 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3280 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3281 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3284 @kindex G P n (Group)
3285 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3286 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3287 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3290 @kindex G P s (Group)
3291 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3292 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3296 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3300 @node Group Maintenance
3301 @section Group Maintenance
3302 @cindex bogus groups
3307 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3308 Find bogus groups and delete them
3309 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3313 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3314 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3315 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3316 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3317 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3321 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3322 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3323 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3324 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3325 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3326 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3329 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3330 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3331 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3332 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3337 @node Browse Foreign Server
3338 @section Browse Foreign Server
3339 @cindex foreign servers
3340 @cindex browsing servers
3345 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3346 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3347 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3348 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3351 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3352 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3353 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3354 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3356 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3361 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3362 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3366 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3367 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3370 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3371 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3372 Enter the current group and display the first article
3373 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3376 @kindex RET (Browse)
3377 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3378 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3382 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3383 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3384 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3390 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3391 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3395 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3396 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3400 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3401 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3402 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3407 @section Exiting gnus
3408 @cindex exiting gnus
3410 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3415 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3416 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3417 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3418 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3422 @findex gnus-group-exit
3423 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3424 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3428 @findex gnus-group-quit
3429 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3430 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3433 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3434 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3435 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3436 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3437 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3438 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3443 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3444 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3445 trying to customize meta-variables.
3450 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3451 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3452 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3458 @section Group Topics
3461 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3462 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3463 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3464 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3465 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3466 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3470 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3471 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3482 2: alt.religion.emacs
3485 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3487 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3488 13: comp.sources.unix
3491 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3493 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3494 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3495 is a toggling command.)
3497 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3498 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3499 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3500 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3503 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3504 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3505 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3508 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3512 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3513 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3514 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3515 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3516 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3520 @node Topic Commands
3521 @subsection Topic Commands
3522 @cindex topic commands
3524 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3525 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3526 definitions slightly.
3528 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3529 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3530 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3531 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3532 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3533 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3535 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3542 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3543 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3544 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3548 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3550 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3551 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3552 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3553 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3556 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3557 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3558 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3559 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3563 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3564 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3565 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3566 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3572 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3573 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3574 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3578 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3579 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3580 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3583 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3584 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3585 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3586 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3587 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3589 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3590 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3594 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3595 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3602 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3604 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3605 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3606 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3607 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3608 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3609 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3613 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3619 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3620 Move the current group to some other topic
3621 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3622 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3626 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3627 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3631 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3632 Copy the current group to some other topic
3633 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3634 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3638 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3639 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3640 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3644 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3645 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3646 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3650 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3651 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3652 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3653 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3654 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3655 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3656 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3659 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3660 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3664 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3665 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3666 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3670 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3671 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3672 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3676 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3677 Toggle hiding empty topics
3678 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3682 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3683 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3684 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3685 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3688 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3689 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3690 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3691 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3692 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3695 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3696 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3697 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3698 expiry process (if any)
3699 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3703 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3704 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3707 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3708 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3709 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3713 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3714 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3715 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3718 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3719 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3720 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3723 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3724 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3725 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3729 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3730 @cindex group parameters
3731 @cindex topic parameters
3733 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3734 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3739 @node Topic Variables
3740 @subsection Topic Variables
3741 @cindex topic variables
3743 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3744 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3746 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3747 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3748 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3761 Number of groups in the topic.
3763 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3765 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3768 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3769 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3770 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3773 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3774 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3776 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3777 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3778 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3782 @subsection Topic Sorting
3783 @cindex topic sorting
3785 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3791 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3792 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3793 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3794 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3797 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3798 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3799 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3800 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3803 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3804 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3805 Sort the current topic by group level
3806 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3809 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3810 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3811 Sort the current topic by group score
3812 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3815 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3816 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3817 Sort the current topic by group rank
3818 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3821 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3822 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3823 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3824 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3827 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3828 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3829 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3830 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3834 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3835 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3836 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3837 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3841 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3842 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3846 @node Topic Topology
3847 @subsection Topic Topology
3848 @cindex topic topology
3851 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3857 2: alt.religion.emacs
3860 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3862 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3863 13: comp.sources.unix
3866 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3867 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3868 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3873 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3874 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3878 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3879 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3880 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3881 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3882 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3883 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3885 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3886 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3887 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3890 @node Topic Parameters
3891 @subsection Topic Parameters
3892 @cindex topic parameters
3894 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3895 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3896 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3898 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3903 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3904 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3905 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3908 @item subscribe-level
3909 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3910 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3911 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3915 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3916 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3917 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3918 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3924 2: alt.religion.emacs
3928 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3930 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3931 13: comp.sources.unix
3935 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3936 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3937 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3938 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3939 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3940 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3942 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3943 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3944 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3945 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3946 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3948 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3949 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3950 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3951 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3952 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3953 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3954 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3955 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3958 @node Misc Group Stuff
3959 @section Misc Group Stuff
3962 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3963 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3964 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3965 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3966 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3973 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3974 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3975 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3979 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3980 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3981 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3982 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3983 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3984 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3985 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3989 @findex gnus-group-mail
3990 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3991 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3992 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3993 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3997 @findex gnus-group-news
3998 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3999 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4000 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4002 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4003 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4004 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4005 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4006 for this to work though.
4010 Variables for the group buffer:
4014 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4015 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4016 is called after the group buffer has been
4019 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4020 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4021 is called after the group buffer is
4022 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4025 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4026 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4027 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4028 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4030 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4031 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4032 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4033 whether they are empty or not.
4035 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4036 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4037 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4038 non-ASCII group names.
4042 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4043 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4046 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4047 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4048 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4049 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4050 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4051 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is
4056 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4057 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4062 @node Scanning New Messages
4063 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4064 @cindex new messages
4065 @cindex scanning new news
4071 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4072 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4073 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4074 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4075 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4076 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4081 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4082 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4083 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4084 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4085 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4086 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4087 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4089 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4090 @cindex activating groups
4092 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4093 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4098 @findex gnus-group-restart
4099 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4100 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4101 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4105 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4106 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4108 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4109 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4113 @node Group Information
4114 @subsection Group Information
4115 @cindex group information
4116 @cindex information on groups
4123 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4124 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4127 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4128 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4129 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4130 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4131 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4132 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4133 for fetching the file.
4135 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4136 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4140 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4141 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4143 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4144 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4147 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4148 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4149 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4153 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4154 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4155 @cindex control message
4156 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4157 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4158 group if given a prefix argument.
4160 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4161 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4162 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4163 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4165 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4166 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4167 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4171 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4173 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4174 @cindex describing groups
4175 @cindex group description
4176 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4177 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4178 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4182 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4183 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4184 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4191 @findex gnus-version
4192 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4196 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4197 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4200 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4203 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4204 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4208 @node Group Timestamp
4209 @subsection Group Timestamp
4211 @cindex group timestamps
4213 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4214 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4215 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4218 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4221 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4223 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4224 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4227 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4228 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4231 This will result in lines looking like:
4234 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4235 0: custom 19961002T012713
4238 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4239 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4243 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4244 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4247 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4248 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4252 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4253 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4254 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4255 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4257 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4263 @subsection File Commands
4264 @cindex file commands
4270 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4271 @vindex gnus-init-file
4272 @cindex reading init file
4273 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4274 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4278 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4279 @cindex saving .newsrc
4280 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4281 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4282 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4285 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4286 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4287 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4292 @node Sieve Commands
4293 @subsection Sieve Commands
4294 @cindex group sieve commands
4296 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4297 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4298 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4299 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4300 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4302 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4303 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4304 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4305 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4306 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4307 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4308 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4309 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4310 regenerate the Sieve script.
4312 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4313 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4314 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4315 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4316 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4317 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4318 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4319 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4320 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4321 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4324 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4325 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4330 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4336 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4337 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4338 @cindex generating sieve script
4339 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4340 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4344 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4345 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4346 @cindex updating sieve script
4347 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4348 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4349 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4354 @node Summary Buffer
4355 @chapter Summary Buffer
4356 @cindex summary buffer
4358 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4359 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4361 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4362 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4364 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4367 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4368 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4369 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4370 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4371 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4372 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4373 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4374 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4375 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4376 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4377 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4378 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4379 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4380 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4381 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4382 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4383 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4384 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4385 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4386 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4387 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4388 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4389 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4390 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4391 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4392 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4393 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4394 or reselecting the current group.
4395 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4396 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4397 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4398 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4402 @node Summary Buffer Format
4403 @section Summary Buffer Format
4404 @cindex summary buffer format
4408 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4409 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4410 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4416 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4417 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4418 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4419 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4422 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4423 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4424 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4425 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4426 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4427 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4428 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4429 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4430 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4431 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4432 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4433 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4434 other function instead:
4437 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4438 'mail-extract-address-components)
4441 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4442 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4443 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4444 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4447 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4448 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4450 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4451 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4452 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4453 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4454 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4456 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4457 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4458 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4459 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4460 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4461 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4463 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4465 The following format specification characters and extended format
4466 specification(s) are understood:
4472 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4473 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4475 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4476 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4477 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4479 Full @code{From} header.
4481 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4483 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4486 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4487 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4488 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4489 may be more thorough.
4491 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4494 Number of lines in the article.
4496 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4497 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4499 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4500 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4502 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4504 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4505 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4518 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4519 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4520 replacing the default ASCII characters with graphic line-drawing
4523 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4524 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4525 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4526 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4528 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4529 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4530 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4531 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4533 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4534 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4535 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4537 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4538 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4539 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4541 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4542 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4543 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4545 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4546 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4547 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4552 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4553 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4555 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4556 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4558 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4559 for adopted articles.
4561 One space for each thread level.
4563 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4565 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4568 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4569 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4570 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4573 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4575 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4576 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4577 default level. If the difference between
4578 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4579 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4587 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4589 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4595 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4596 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4598 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4599 article has any children.
4605 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4606 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4608 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4609 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4610 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4611 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4612 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4613 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4616 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4617 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4618 There can only be one such area.
4620 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4621 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4622 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4623 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4624 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4625 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4627 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4628 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4630 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4633 @node To From Newsgroups
4634 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4638 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4639 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4640 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4641 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4642 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4646 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4647 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4648 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4652 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4653 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4656 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4657 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4660 @findex gnus-extra-header
4661 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4662 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4663 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4666 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4670 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4671 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4672 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4673 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4674 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4675 headers are used instead.
4679 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4680 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4681 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files.
4682 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4683 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4684 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4687 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4688 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4689 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4690 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4692 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4696 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4698 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4699 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4700 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4701 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4705 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4708 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4709 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4712 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4713 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4714 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4720 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4721 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4724 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4725 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4727 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4728 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4729 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4730 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4732 Here are the elements you can play with:
4738 Unprefixed group name.
4740 Current article number.
4742 Current article score.
4746 Number of unread articles in this group.
4748 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4751 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4752 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4753 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4754 and no unselected ones.
4756 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4757 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4759 Subject of the current article.
4761 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4763 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4765 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4767 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4769 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4771 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4775 @node Summary Highlighting
4776 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4780 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4781 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4782 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4783 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4784 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4786 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4787 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4788 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4789 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4791 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4792 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4793 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4794 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4796 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4797 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4798 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4799 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4800 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4801 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4804 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4805 ((> score default) . bold))
4807 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4808 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4812 @node Summary Maneuvering
4813 @section Summary Maneuvering
4814 @cindex summary movement
4816 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4817 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4819 None of these commands select articles.
4824 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4825 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4826 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4827 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4828 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4832 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4833 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4834 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4835 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4836 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4839 @kindex G g (Summary)
4840 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4841 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4842 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4845 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4846 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4847 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4848 to the group buffer.
4850 Variables related to summary movement:
4854 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4855 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4856 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4857 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4858 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4859 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4860 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4861 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4862 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4863 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4864 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4865 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4866 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4867 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4869 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4870 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4871 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4872 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4873 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4874 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4875 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4877 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4879 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4880 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4881 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4882 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4883 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4885 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4886 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4887 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4888 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4889 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4890 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4891 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4892 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4895 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4896 the given number of lines from the top.
4901 @node Choosing Articles
4902 @section Choosing Articles
4903 @cindex selecting articles
4906 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4907 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4911 @node Choosing Commands
4912 @subsection Choosing Commands
4914 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4915 and they all select and display an article.
4917 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4918 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4922 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4923 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4924 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4925 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4927 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4928 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4929 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @pxref{Paging the Article}.
4934 @kindex G n (Summary)
4935 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4936 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4937 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4942 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4943 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4944 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4949 @kindex G N (Summary)
4950 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4951 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4956 @kindex G P (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4958 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4961 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4963 Go to the next article with the same subject
4964 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4967 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4968 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4969 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4970 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4974 @kindex G f (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4977 Go to the first unread article
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4982 @kindex G b (Summary)
4984 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4985 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4986 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4987 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4992 @kindex G l (Summary)
4993 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4994 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4997 @kindex G o (Summary)
4998 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5000 @cindex article history
5001 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5002 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5003 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5004 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5005 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5006 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5011 @kindex G j (Summary)
5012 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5013 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5014 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5019 @node Choosing Variables
5020 @subsection Choosing Variables
5022 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5025 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5026 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5027 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5028 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5029 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5030 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5032 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5033 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5034 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5035 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5036 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5037 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5039 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5040 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5041 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5042 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5043 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5044 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5045 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5046 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5047 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5048 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5049 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5050 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5051 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5052 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5057 @node Paging the Article
5058 @section Scrolling the Article
5059 @cindex article scrolling
5064 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5065 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5066 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5067 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5068 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5070 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5071 If the rest of the article consists only of citations and signature,
5072 then it will be skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You
5073 can customize what is considered uninteresting with
5074 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}, or set it to @code{nil} to disable
5075 this feature. You can manually view the article's pages, no matter how
5076 boring, using @kbd{C-v} in the article buffer.
5079 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5081 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5084 @kindex RET (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5086 Scroll the current article one line forward
5087 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5090 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5091 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5092 Scroll the current article one line backward
5093 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5097 @kindex A g (Summary)
5099 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5100 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5101 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5102 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5103 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5104 the way it came from the server.
5106 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5107 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5108 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5111 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5116 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5121 @kindex A < (Summary)
5122 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5123 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5124 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5129 @kindex A > (Summary)
5130 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5131 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5135 @kindex A s (Summary)
5137 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5138 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5139 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5143 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5144 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5149 @node Reply Followup and Post
5150 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5153 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5154 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5155 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5156 * Canceling and Superseding::
5160 @node Summary Mail Commands
5161 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5163 @cindex composing mail
5165 Commands for composing a mail message:
5171 @kindex S r (Summary)
5173 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5174 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5175 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5176 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5177 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5182 @kindex S R (Summary)
5183 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5184 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5185 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5186 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5187 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5190 @kindex S w (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5192 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5193 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5194 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5195 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5198 @kindex S W (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5200 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5201 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5202 the process/prefix convention.
5205 @kindex S v (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5207 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5208 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5209 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5210 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5211 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5214 @kindex S V (Summary)
5215 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5216 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5217 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5218 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5221 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5222 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5223 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5224 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5227 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5228 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5229 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5230 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5231 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5235 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5236 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5238 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5239 Forward the current article to some other person
5240 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5241 headers of the forwarded article.
5246 @kindex S m (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5248 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5249 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5250 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5251 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5256 @kindex S i (Summary)
5257 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5258 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5259 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5260 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5262 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5263 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5264 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5265 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5266 for this to work though.
5269 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5270 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5271 @cindex bouncing mail
5272 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5273 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5274 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5275 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5276 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5277 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5278 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5279 very well fail, though.
5282 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5284 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5285 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5286 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5287 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5288 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5289 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5290 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5291 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5293 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5294 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5295 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5296 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5297 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5299 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5300 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5303 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5305 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5306 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5307 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5310 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5311 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5312 @cindex crossposting
5313 @cindex excessive crossposting
5314 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5315 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5317 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5318 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5319 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5320 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5321 command understands the process/prefix convention
5322 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5326 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5327 Manual}, for more information.
5330 @node Summary Post Commands
5331 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5333 @cindex composing news
5335 Commands for posting a news article:
5341 @kindex S p (Summary)
5342 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5343 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5344 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5345 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5346 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5351 @kindex S f (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5353 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5354 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5358 @kindex S F (Summary)
5360 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5361 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5362 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5363 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5364 process/prefix convention.
5367 @kindex S n (Summary)
5368 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5369 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5370 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5373 @kindex S N (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5375 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5376 message through mail and include the original message
5377 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5378 the process/prefix convention.
5381 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5382 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5383 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5384 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5385 headers of the forwarded article.
5388 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5389 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5391 @cindex making digests
5392 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5393 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5394 process/prefix convention.
5397 @kindex S u (Summary)
5398 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5399 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5400 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5401 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5404 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5405 Manual}, for more information.
5408 @node Summary Message Commands
5409 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5413 @kindex S y (Summary)
5414 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5415 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5416 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5417 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5418 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5423 @node Canceling and Superseding
5424 @subsection Canceling Articles
5425 @cindex canceling articles
5426 @cindex superseding articles
5428 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5429 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5431 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5433 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5435 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5436 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5437 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5438 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5439 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5440 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5442 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5443 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5446 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5447 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5448 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5450 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5451 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5452 your original article.
5454 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5456 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5457 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5458 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5461 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5462 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5463 have posted almost the same article twice.
5465 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5466 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5467 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5468 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5469 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5470 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5471 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5472 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5473 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5474 canceled/superseded.
5476 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5478 @node Delayed Articles
5479 @section Delayed Articles
5480 @cindex delayed sending
5481 @cindex send delayed
5483 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5484 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5485 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5486 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5489 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5492 @findex gnus-delay-article
5493 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5494 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5495 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5496 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5500 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5501 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5502 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5503 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5506 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5507 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5508 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5511 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5512 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5513 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5514 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5515 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5516 that means a time tomorrow.
5519 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5520 couple of variables:
5523 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5524 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5525 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5526 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5528 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5529 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5530 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5531 formats described above.
5533 @item gnus-delay-group
5534 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5535 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5536 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5537 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5539 @item gnus-delay-header
5540 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5541 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5542 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5543 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5546 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5547 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5548 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5549 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5550 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5552 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5553 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5554 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5555 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5556 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5557 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5558 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5561 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5562 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5564 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5565 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5566 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5567 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5568 argument is ignored.
5570 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5571 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5572 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5576 @node Marking Articles
5577 @section Marking Articles
5578 @cindex article marking
5579 @cindex article ticking
5582 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5584 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5585 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5586 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5588 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5591 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5592 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5593 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5597 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5601 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5602 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5603 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5607 @node Unread Articles
5608 @subsection Unread Articles
5610 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5615 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5616 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5618 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5619 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5620 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5621 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5622 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5623 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5624 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5627 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5628 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5630 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5631 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5632 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5633 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5637 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5638 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5640 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5645 @subsection Read Articles
5646 @cindex expirable mark
5648 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5653 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5654 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5655 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5658 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5659 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5662 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5663 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5664 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5667 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5668 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5671 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5672 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5675 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5676 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5679 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5680 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5683 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5684 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5687 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5688 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5691 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5692 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5696 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5697 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5698 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5702 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5703 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5705 One more special mark, though:
5709 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5710 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5712 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5713 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5714 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5715 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5721 @subsection Other Marks
5722 @cindex process mark
5725 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5731 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5732 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5733 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5734 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5735 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5738 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5739 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5740 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5741 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5744 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5745 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5746 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5749 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5750 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5751 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5754 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5755 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5756 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5757 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5760 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5761 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5762 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5763 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5764 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5765 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5768 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5769 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5770 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5771 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5774 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5775 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5776 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5777 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5778 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5782 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5783 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5784 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5785 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5786 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5787 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5790 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5791 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5792 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5793 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5794 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5795 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5799 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5800 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5801 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5802 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5803 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5806 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5807 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5808 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5809 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5810 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5811 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5815 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5816 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5817 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5819 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5820 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5821 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5825 @subsection Setting Marks
5826 @cindex setting marks
5828 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5833 @kindex M c (Summary)
5834 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5835 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5836 @cindex mark as unread
5837 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5838 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5844 @kindex M t (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5846 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5847 @xref{Article Caching}.
5852 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5854 Mark the current article as dormant
5855 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5859 @kindex M d (Summary)
5861 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5862 Mark the current article as read
5863 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5867 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5868 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5869 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5874 @kindex M k (Summary)
5875 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5876 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5877 and then select the next unread article
5878 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5882 @kindex M K (Summary)
5883 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5885 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5886 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5889 @kindex M C (Summary)
5890 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5891 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5892 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5895 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5896 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5897 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5898 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5901 @kindex M H (Summary)
5902 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5903 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5904 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5907 @kindex M h (Summary)
5908 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5909 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5910 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5913 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5914 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5915 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5916 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5919 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5920 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5921 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5922 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5926 @kindex M e (Summary)
5928 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5929 Mark the current article as expirable
5930 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5933 @kindex M b (Summary)
5934 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5935 Set a bookmark in the current article
5936 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5939 @kindex M B (Summary)
5940 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5941 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5942 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5945 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5946 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5947 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5948 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5951 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5952 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5953 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5954 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5957 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5958 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5959 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5960 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5961 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5964 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5965 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5966 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5967 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5968 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5969 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5970 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5971 The default is @code{t}.
5974 @node Generic Marking Commands
5975 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5977 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5978 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5979 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5980 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5981 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5984 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5985 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5988 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5989 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5990 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5991 to list in this manual.
5993 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5994 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5995 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5996 article, you could say something like:
5999 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6000 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6001 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6007 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6008 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6012 @node Setting Process Marks
6013 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6014 @cindex setting process marks
6016 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6017 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6018 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6019 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6020 commands into the cache. For more information,
6021 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6028 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6029 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6030 Mark the current article with the process mark
6031 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6032 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6036 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6037 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6038 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6039 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6042 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6043 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6044 Remove the process mark from all articles
6045 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6048 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6049 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6050 Invert the list of process marked articles
6051 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6054 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6055 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6056 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6057 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6060 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6061 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6062 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6063 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6066 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6067 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6068 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6072 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6073 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6076 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6077 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6078 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6079 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6082 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6083 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6084 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6085 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6088 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6089 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6090 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6091 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6094 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6095 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6096 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6099 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6100 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6101 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6102 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6105 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6106 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6107 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6110 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6111 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6112 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6113 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6116 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6117 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6118 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6119 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6122 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6123 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6124 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6125 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6128 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6129 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6130 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6131 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6135 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6136 set process marks based on article body contents.
6143 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6144 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6145 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6148 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6149 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6150 additional articles.
6156 @kindex / / (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6158 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6159 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6163 @kindex / a (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6165 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6166 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6170 @kindex / x (Summary)
6171 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6172 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6173 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6174 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6179 @kindex / u (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6182 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6183 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6184 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6185 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6188 @kindex / m (Summary)
6189 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6190 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6191 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6194 @kindex / t (Summary)
6195 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6196 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6197 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6198 articles younger than that number of days.
6201 @kindex / n (Summary)
6202 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6203 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6204 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6205 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6208 @kindex / w (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6210 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6211 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6215 @kindex / . (Summary)
6216 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6217 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6218 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6221 @kindex / v (Summary)
6222 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6223 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6224 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6227 @kindex / p (Summary)
6228 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6229 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6230 group parameter predicate
6231 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6232 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6236 @kindex M S (Summary)
6237 @kindex / E (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6239 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6240 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6243 @kindex / D (Summary)
6244 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6245 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6246 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6249 @kindex / * (Summary)
6250 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6251 Include all cached articles in the limit
6252 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6255 @kindex / d (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6257 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6258 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6261 @kindex / M (Summary)
6262 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6263 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6266 @kindex / T (Summary)
6267 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6268 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6271 @kindex / c (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6273 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6277 @kindex / C (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6279 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6280 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6281 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6284 @kindex / N (Summary)
6285 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6286 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6287 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6290 @kindex / o (Summary)
6291 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6292 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6293 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6301 @cindex article threading
6303 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6304 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6305 hierarchical fashion.
6307 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6308 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6309 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6310 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6311 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6312 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6313 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6315 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6319 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6322 A tree-like article structure.
6325 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6328 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6329 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6330 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6331 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6332 called loose threads.
6334 @item thread gathering
6335 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6337 @item sparse threads
6338 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6339 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6345 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6346 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6350 @node Customizing Threading
6351 @subsection Customizing Threading
6352 @cindex customizing threading
6355 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6356 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6357 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6358 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6363 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6366 @cindex loose threads
6369 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6370 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6371 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6372 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6373 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6374 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6376 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6377 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6378 There are four possible values:
6382 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6383 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6384 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6385 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6386 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6391 @cindex adopting articles
6396 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6397 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6398 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6399 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6402 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6403 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6404 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6405 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6406 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6407 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6408 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6409 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6410 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6411 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6414 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6415 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6416 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6420 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6421 display them after one another.
6424 Don't gather loose threads.
6427 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6428 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6429 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6430 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6431 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6432 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6433 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6434 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6435 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6436 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6437 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6439 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6440 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6441 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6444 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6445 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6446 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6447 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6448 simplification is used.
6450 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6451 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6452 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6453 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6455 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6457 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6463 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6464 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6465 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6466 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6471 (mapconcat 'identity
6472 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6474 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6477 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6480 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6481 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6482 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6483 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6484 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6485 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6487 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6490 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6491 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6492 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6494 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6495 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6498 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6499 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6500 Remove excessive whitespace.
6502 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6503 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6504 Remove all whitespace.
6507 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6510 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6511 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6512 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6513 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6514 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6515 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6516 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6517 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6519 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6520 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6521 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6522 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6523 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6524 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6525 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6526 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6527 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6531 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6532 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6533 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6534 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6536 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6537 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6538 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6541 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6545 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6546 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6552 @node Filling In Threads
6553 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6556 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6557 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6558 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6559 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6560 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6561 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6562 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6563 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6564 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6565 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6566 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6567 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6570 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6571 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6572 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6574 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6575 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6576 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6577 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6578 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6579 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6580 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6581 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6582 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6583 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6584 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6585 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6586 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6587 @code{nil} by default.
6589 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6590 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6591 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6592 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6593 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6594 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6595 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6597 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6598 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6599 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6604 @node More Threading
6605 @subsubsection More Threading
6608 @item gnus-show-threads
6609 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6610 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6611 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6612 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6613 slower and more awkward.
6615 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6616 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6617 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6620 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6621 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6622 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6627 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6628 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6629 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6632 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6633 unread, but you get my drift.)
6636 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6637 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6638 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6639 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6640 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6641 threads are expunged.
6643 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6644 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6645 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6648 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6649 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6650 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6651 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6652 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6653 result in a new thread.
6655 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6656 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6657 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6660 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6661 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6662 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6663 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6664 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6665 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6666 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6667 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6668 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6669 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6670 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6675 @node Low-Level Threading
6676 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6680 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6681 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6682 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6683 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6684 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6685 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6687 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6688 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6689 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6690 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6691 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6692 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6693 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6694 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6695 meaningful. Here's one example:
6698 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6700 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6701 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6703 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6705 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6712 @node Thread Commands
6713 @subsection Thread Commands
6714 @cindex thread commands
6720 @kindex T k (Summary)
6721 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6722 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6723 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6724 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6725 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6730 @kindex T l (Summary)
6731 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6732 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6733 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6734 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6737 @kindex T i (Summary)
6738 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6739 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6740 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6743 @kindex T # (Summary)
6744 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6745 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6746 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6749 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6750 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6751 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6752 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6755 @kindex T T (Summary)
6756 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6757 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6760 @kindex T s (Summary)
6761 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6762 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6763 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6766 @kindex T h (Summary)
6767 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6768 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6771 @kindex T S (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6773 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6776 @kindex T H (Summary)
6777 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6778 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6781 @kindex T t (Summary)
6782 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6783 Re-thread the current article's thread
6784 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6785 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6788 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6789 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6790 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6791 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6795 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6796 understand the numeric prefix.
6801 @kindex T n (Summary)
6803 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6805 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6806 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6807 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6810 @kindex T p (Summary)
6812 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6814 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6815 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6816 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6819 @kindex T d (Summary)
6820 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6821 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6824 @kindex T u (Summary)
6825 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6826 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6829 @kindex T o (Summary)
6830 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6831 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6834 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6835 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6836 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6837 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6838 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6839 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6840 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6841 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6842 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6843 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6844 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6845 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6849 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6850 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6852 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6853 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6854 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6855 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6856 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6857 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6858 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6859 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6860 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6861 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6862 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6863 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6864 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6866 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6867 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6868 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6869 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6870 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6871 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6872 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6873 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6875 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6876 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6877 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6879 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6880 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6881 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6882 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6883 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6884 ascending article order.
6886 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6887 by number, you could do something like:
6890 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6891 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6892 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6893 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6896 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6897 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6898 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6899 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6900 which the articles arrived.
6902 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6906 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6908 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6909 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6912 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6913 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6914 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6915 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6918 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6919 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6920 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6921 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6922 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6923 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6924 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6925 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6926 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6927 variable. It is very similar to the
6928 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6929 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6930 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6931 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6932 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6933 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6934 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6936 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6940 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6941 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6942 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6947 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6948 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6949 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6950 @cindex article pre-fetch
6953 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6954 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6955 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6956 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6957 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6959 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6960 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6962 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6963 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6964 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6965 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6966 connection is blocked.
6968 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6969 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6970 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6971 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6973 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6974 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6975 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6976 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6979 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
6982 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6983 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6984 happen automatically.
6986 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6987 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6988 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6989 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6990 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6991 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6992 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6994 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6995 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6996 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6997 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
6998 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
6999 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7000 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7001 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7002 article data structure as the only parameter.
7004 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7005 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7008 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7009 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7010 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7011 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7014 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7017 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7018 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7019 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7021 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7022 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7023 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7024 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7028 Remove articles when they are read.
7031 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7034 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7036 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7037 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7038 @c from the next group.
7041 @node Article Caching
7042 @section Article Caching
7043 @cindex article caching
7046 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
7047 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7048 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7049 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7050 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7052 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7054 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7055 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7056 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7057 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7058 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7059 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7060 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7061 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7063 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7064 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7065 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7066 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7067 as dormant, and don't worry.
7069 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7071 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7072 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7073 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7074 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7075 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7076 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7077 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7078 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7079 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7080 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7082 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7083 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7084 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7085 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7086 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7087 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
7088 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7089 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7090 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7091 not then be downloaded by this command.
7093 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7094 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7095 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7096 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7097 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7098 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7100 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7101 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7102 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7103 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7104 variables, the group is not cached.
7106 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7107 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7108 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7109 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7110 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7111 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7112 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7113 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
7114 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7117 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7118 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7119 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7120 where, isn't that cool?
7122 @node Persistent Articles
7123 @section Persistent Articles
7124 @cindex persistent articles
7126 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7127 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7128 useful in my opinion.
7130 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7131 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7132 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7133 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7134 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7135 the expiry going on at the news server.
7137 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7138 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7139 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7145 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7146 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7149 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7150 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7151 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7152 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7156 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7158 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7159 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7160 interested in persistent articles:
7163 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7167 @node Article Backlog
7168 @section Article Backlog
7170 @cindex article backlog
7172 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7173 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7174 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7175 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7176 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7177 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7178 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7179 increase memory usage some.
7181 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7182 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7183 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7184 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7185 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7186 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7187 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7189 The default value is 20.
7192 @node Saving Articles
7193 @section Saving Articles
7194 @cindex saving articles
7196 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7197 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7198 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7199 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7200 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7202 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7203 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7204 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7206 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7207 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7208 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7210 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7211 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7212 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7213 deleted before saving.
7219 @kindex O o (Summary)
7221 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7222 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7223 Save the current article using the default article saver
7224 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7227 @kindex O m (Summary)
7228 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7229 Save the current article in mail format
7230 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7233 @kindex O r (Summary)
7234 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7235 Save the current article in rmail format
7236 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7239 @kindex O f (Summary)
7240 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7241 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7242 Save the current article in plain file format
7243 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7246 @kindex O F (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7248 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7249 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7252 @kindex O b (Summary)
7253 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7254 Save the current article body in plain file format
7255 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7258 @kindex O h (Summary)
7259 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7260 Save the current article in mh folder format
7261 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7264 @kindex O v (Summary)
7265 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7266 Save the current article in a VM folder
7267 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7271 @kindex O p (Summary)
7273 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7274 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7275 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7276 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7277 complete headers in the piped output.
7280 @kindex O P (Summary)
7281 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7282 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7283 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7284 external program Muttprint (see
7285 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7286 options to use is controlled by the variable
7287 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7291 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7292 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7293 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7294 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7295 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7296 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7297 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7298 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7299 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7300 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7301 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7302 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7306 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7307 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7308 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7309 functions below, or you can create your own.
7313 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7314 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7315 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7316 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7317 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7318 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7319 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7321 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7322 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7323 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7324 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7325 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7326 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7328 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7329 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7330 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7331 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7332 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7333 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7334 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7336 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7337 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7338 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7339 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7340 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7341 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7343 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7344 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7345 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7346 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7347 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7349 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7350 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7351 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7352 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7353 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7356 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7357 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7358 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7359 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7360 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7362 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7363 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7364 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7365 reader to use this setting.
7368 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7369 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7370 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7371 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7374 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7375 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7376 available functions that generate names:
7380 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7381 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7382 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7384 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7385 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7386 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7388 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7389 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7390 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7392 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7393 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7394 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7396 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7397 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7398 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7401 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7402 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7403 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7404 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7405 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7409 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7410 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7411 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7412 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7415 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7416 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7417 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7418 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7419 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7420 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7421 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7422 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7423 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7425 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7426 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7427 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7428 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7430 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7431 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7432 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7435 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7436 lots of mail groups called things like
7437 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7438 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7439 following will do just that:
7442 (defun my-save-name (group)
7443 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7444 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7446 (setq gnus-split-methods
7447 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7452 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7453 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7454 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7455 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7456 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7457 all the files in the top level directory
7458 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7459 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7460 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7461 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7463 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7464 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7465 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7466 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7467 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7470 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7474 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7475 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7476 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7479 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7480 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7481 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7482 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7485 @node Decoding Articles
7486 @section Decoding Articles
7487 @cindex decoding articles
7489 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7490 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7493 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7494 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7495 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7496 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7497 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7498 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7502 @cindex article series
7503 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7504 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7505 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7506 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7507 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7509 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7510 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7511 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7513 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7514 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7515 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7517 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7518 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7519 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7522 @node Uuencoded Articles
7523 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7525 @cindex uuencoded articles
7530 @kindex X u (Summary)
7531 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7532 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7533 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7536 @kindex X U (Summary)
7537 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7538 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7539 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7542 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7543 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7544 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7547 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7548 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7549 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7550 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7554 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7555 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7556 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7557 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7558 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7560 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7561 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7562 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7563 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7566 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7567 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7568 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7569 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7570 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7571 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7575 @node Shell Archives
7576 @subsection Shell Archives
7578 @cindex shell archives
7579 @cindex shared articles
7581 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7582 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7583 some commands to deal with these:
7588 @kindex X s (Summary)
7589 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7590 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7593 @kindex X S (Summary)
7594 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7595 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7598 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7599 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7600 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7603 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7604 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7605 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7606 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7610 @node PostScript Files
7611 @subsection PostScript Files
7617 @kindex X p (Summary)
7618 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7619 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7622 @kindex X P (Summary)
7623 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7624 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7625 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7628 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7629 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7630 View the current PostScript series
7631 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7634 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7635 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7636 View and save the current PostScript series
7637 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7642 @subsection Other Files
7646 @kindex X o (Summary)
7647 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7648 Save the current series
7649 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7652 @kindex X b (Summary)
7653 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7654 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7655 doesn't really work yet.
7659 @node Decoding Variables
7660 @subsection Decoding Variables
7662 Adjective, not verb.
7665 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7666 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7667 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7671 @node Rule Variables
7672 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7673 @cindex rule variables
7675 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7676 variables are of the form
7679 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7686 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7687 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7689 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7690 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7693 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7694 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7697 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7698 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7699 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7700 user and default view rules.
7702 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7703 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7704 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7709 @node Other Decode Variables
7710 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7713 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7715 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7716 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7717 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7718 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7719 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7723 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7724 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7727 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7728 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7729 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7732 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7733 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7734 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7735 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7736 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7739 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7740 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7741 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7743 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7744 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7745 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7746 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7747 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7750 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7751 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7752 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7754 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7755 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7756 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7757 looking for files to display.
7759 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7760 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7761 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7764 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7765 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7766 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7769 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7770 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7771 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7774 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7775 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7776 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7779 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7780 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7781 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7782 decoded articles as unread.
7784 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7785 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7786 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7787 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7789 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7790 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7791 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7793 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7794 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7796 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7797 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7798 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7799 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7801 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7802 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7803 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7804 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7805 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7806 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7807 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7808 simply dropped them.
7813 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7814 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7818 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7819 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7820 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7821 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7822 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7823 for you when you post the article.
7825 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7826 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7827 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7828 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7830 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7831 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7832 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7833 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7834 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7835 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7836 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7838 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7839 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7840 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7841 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7842 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7843 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7844 Default is @code{t}.
7850 @subsection Viewing Files
7851 @cindex viewing files
7852 @cindex pseudo-articles
7854 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7855 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7856 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7857 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7858 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7859 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7860 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7862 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7863 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7864 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7865 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7867 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7868 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7869 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7871 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7872 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7873 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7874 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7875 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7877 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7878 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7879 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7880 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7881 a list of parameters to that command.
7883 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7884 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7885 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7887 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7888 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7889 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7892 @node Article Treatment
7893 @section Article Treatment
7895 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7896 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7897 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7898 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7899 these articles easier.
7902 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7903 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7904 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7905 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7906 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7907 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7908 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7909 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7910 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7911 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7915 @node Article Highlighting
7916 @subsection Article Highlighting
7917 @cindex highlighting
7919 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7920 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7925 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7926 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7927 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7928 Do much highlighting of the current article
7929 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7930 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7933 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7934 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7935 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7936 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7937 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7938 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7939 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7940 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7941 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7942 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7943 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7944 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7947 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7948 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7949 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7951 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7954 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7956 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7957 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7958 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7960 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7961 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7962 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7964 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7965 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7966 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7967 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7968 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7969 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7971 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7972 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7973 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7975 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7976 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7977 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7979 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7980 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7981 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7982 that it's a citation.
7984 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7985 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7986 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7988 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7989 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7990 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7992 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7993 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7994 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7995 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8001 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8002 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8003 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8004 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8005 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8006 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8007 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8008 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8013 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8016 @node Article Fontisizing
8017 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8019 @cindex article emphasis
8021 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8022 @kindex W e (Summary)
8023 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8024 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8025 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8026 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8028 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8029 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8030 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8031 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8032 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8033 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8034 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8035 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8039 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8040 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8041 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8050 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8051 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8052 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8053 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8054 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8055 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8056 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8057 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8058 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8059 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8060 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8061 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8062 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8064 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8065 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8066 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8070 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8073 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8075 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8076 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8077 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8078 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8080 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8083 @node Article Hiding
8084 @subsection Article Hiding
8085 @cindex article hiding
8087 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8088 too much cruft in most articles.
8093 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8094 @findex gnus-article-hide
8095 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8096 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8097 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
8100 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8101 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8102 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8106 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8107 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8108 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8109 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8112 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8113 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8114 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8118 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8119 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8120 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8121 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8122 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8123 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8124 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8125 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8129 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8130 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8131 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8132 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8137 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8138 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8139 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8140 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8143 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8144 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8145 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8146 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8149 @cindex stripping advertisements
8150 @cindex advertisements
8151 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8152 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8153 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8154 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8155 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8156 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8157 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8158 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8159 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8160 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8163 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8164 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8165 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8169 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8170 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8171 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8172 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8173 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8174 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8175 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8176 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8177 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8178 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8179 following element to remove them:
8182 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8188 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8189 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8190 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8191 customizing the hiding:
8195 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8196 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8197 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8198 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8199 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8200 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8201 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8206 Starting point of the hidden text.
8208 Ending point of the hidden text.
8210 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8212 Number of lines of hidden text.
8215 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8216 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8217 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8218 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8219 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8224 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8225 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8227 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8228 following two variables:
8231 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8232 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8233 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8234 50), hide the cited text.
8236 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8237 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8238 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8243 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8244 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8245 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8246 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8247 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8248 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8252 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8253 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8254 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8256 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8257 citation customization.
8259 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8263 @node Article Washing
8264 @subsection Article Washing
8266 @cindex article washing
8268 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8269 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8271 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8272 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8275 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8276 articles by default.
8281 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8282 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8286 Force redisplaying of the current article
8287 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8288 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8289 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8290 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8293 @kindex W l (Summary)
8294 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8295 Remove page breaks from the current article
8296 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8300 @kindex W r (Summary)
8301 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8302 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8303 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8304 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8305 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8306 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8308 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8309 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8310 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8311 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8314 @kindex W m (Summary)
8315 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8316 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8320 @kindex W t (Summary)
8322 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8323 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8324 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8327 @kindex W v (Summary)
8328 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8329 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8330 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8333 @kindex W m (Summary)
8334 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8335 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
8336 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8339 @kindex W o (Summary)
8340 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8341 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8344 @kindex W d (Summary)
8345 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8346 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8348 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8350 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8351 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8352 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8353 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8356 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8357 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8358 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8359 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8362 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8363 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8364 @cindex Outlook Express
8365 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8366 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8367 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8370 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8371 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8372 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8373 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8374 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8375 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8376 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8377 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the miminum and
8378 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8379 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8382 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8383 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8384 Repair a broken attribution line.
8385 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8388 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8389 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8390 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8391 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8394 @kindex W w (Summary)
8395 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8396 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8398 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8402 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8403 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8404 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8407 @kindex W C (Summary)
8408 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8409 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8410 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8413 @kindex W c (Summary)
8414 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8415 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8416 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8417 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8418 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8421 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8422 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8423 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8424 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8425 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8426 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8427 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8429 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8432 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8433 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8434 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8435 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8436 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8439 @kindex W u (Summary)
8440 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8441 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8442 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8443 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8444 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8447 @kindex W h (Summary)
8448 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8449 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8450 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8451 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8453 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8455 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8456 The default is to use the function specified by
8457 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{(emacs-mime)Display
8458 Customization}) to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by
8459 the @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions
8460 you can use include:
8467 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8471 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8474 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8477 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8482 @kindex W b (Summary)
8483 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8484 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8485 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8488 @kindex W B (Summary)
8489 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8490 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8491 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8494 @kindex W p (Summary)
8495 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8496 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8497 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8498 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8499 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8500 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8501 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8504 @kindex W s (Summary)
8505 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8506 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8507 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8510 @kindex W a (Summary)
8511 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8512 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8513 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8516 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8517 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8518 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8519 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8522 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8523 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8524 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8525 lines with a single empty line.
8526 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8529 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8530 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8531 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8532 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8535 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8536 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8537 Do all the three commands above
8538 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8541 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8542 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8543 Remove all blank lines
8544 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8547 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8548 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8549 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8550 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8553 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8554 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8555 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8556 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8560 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8563 @node Article Header
8564 @subsection Article Header
8566 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8571 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8573 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8576 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8578 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8579 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8582 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8583 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8584 Fold all the message headers
8585 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8589 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8590 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8591 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8596 @node Article Buttons
8597 @subsection Article Buttons
8600 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8601 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8602 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8603 button on these references.
8605 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8606 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8607 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8608 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8609 one that handles article heads:
8613 @item gnus-button-alist
8614 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8615 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8618 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8624 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8625 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8626 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8627 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8628 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8631 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8632 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8633 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8636 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8637 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8638 avoid false matches.
8641 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8644 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8645 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8649 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8652 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8655 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8656 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8657 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8658 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8659 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8662 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8665 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8667 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8668 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8669 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8670 default values of the variables above.
8672 @item gnus-article-button-face
8673 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8674 Face used on buttons.
8676 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8677 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8678 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8682 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8686 @subsection Article Date
8688 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8689 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8690 when the article was sent.
8695 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8696 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8697 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8698 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8701 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8702 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8704 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8705 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8708 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8709 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8710 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8713 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8714 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8715 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8716 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8719 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8720 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8721 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8722 @findex format-time-string
8723 Display the date using a user-defined format
8724 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8725 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8726 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8727 for a list of possible format specs.
8730 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8731 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8732 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8733 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8734 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8735 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8738 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8741 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8742 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8743 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8746 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8747 into wonderful absurdities.
8749 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8752 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8755 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8756 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8760 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8761 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8762 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8763 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8764 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8765 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8766 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8770 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8771 preferred format automatically.
8774 @node Article Display
8775 @subsection Article Display
8780 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8781 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8783 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8784 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8786 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8787 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8789 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8790 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8792 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8797 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8798 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8799 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8800 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8803 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8804 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8805 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8806 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8809 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8810 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8811 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8814 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8815 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8816 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8819 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8820 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8821 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8822 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8825 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8826 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8827 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8828 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8831 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8832 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8833 Remove all images from the article buffer
8834 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8840 @node Article Signature
8841 @subsection Article Signature
8843 @cindex article signature
8845 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8846 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8847 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8848 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8849 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8850 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8851 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8852 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8853 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8856 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8857 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8858 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8859 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8860 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8861 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8862 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8863 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8866 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8869 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8870 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8871 signature when displaying articles.
8875 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8878 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8881 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8882 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8884 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8885 in question is not a signature.
8888 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8889 listed above. Here's an example:
8892 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8893 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8896 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8897 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8898 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8899 signature after all.
8902 @node Article Miscellania
8903 @subsection Article Miscellania
8907 @kindex A t (Summary)
8908 @findex gnus-article-babel
8909 Translate the article from one language to another
8910 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8916 @section MIME Commands
8917 @cindex MIME decoding
8919 @cindex viewing attachments
8921 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8922 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8928 @kindex K v (Summary)
8929 View the @sc{mime} part.
8932 @kindex K o (Summary)
8933 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8936 @kindex K c (Summary)
8937 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8940 @kindex K e (Summary)
8941 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8944 @kindex K i (Summary)
8945 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8948 @kindex K | (Summary)
8949 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8952 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8957 @kindex K b (Summary)
8958 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8959 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8963 @kindex K m (Summary)
8964 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8965 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8966 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8967 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8968 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8971 @kindex X m (Summary)
8972 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8973 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8974 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8975 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8978 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8979 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8980 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8981 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8984 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8985 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8986 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8987 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8990 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8991 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8992 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8993 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8995 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8996 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8997 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8998 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8999 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9000 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9003 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9004 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9005 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
9006 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9013 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9014 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9015 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9016 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9019 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9022 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9026 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9027 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9028 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9029 before interpreting the message as a @sc{mime} message. This helps
9030 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9031 default is @code{nil}.
9033 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9034 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9035 There are other, non-@sc{mime} encoding methods used. The most common
9036 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9037 This variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9038 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9039 Gnus @sc{mime} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9041 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9042 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9043 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9044 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9045 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9046 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9047 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9048 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is nil.
9050 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9051 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9052 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
9053 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9054 displayed. This variable overrides
9055 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9056 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9059 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9060 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9061 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9063 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9064 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9065 If this is non-nil, then all @sc{mime} parts get buttons. The default
9066 value is @code{nil}.
9068 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9069 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9070 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
9071 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9072 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9073 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9074 save all jpegs into some directory).
9076 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9079 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9080 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9082 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9083 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9084 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9085 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9086 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9089 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9090 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9091 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9093 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9094 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9095 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
9096 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9098 Ready-made functions include@*
9099 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9100 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9101 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9102 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9103 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9104 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9105 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9106 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9107 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9108 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9109 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9110 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9112 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9113 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9115 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9116 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9117 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9120 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9121 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9122 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9123 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9127 to your @file{.gnus.el} file.
9136 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
9137 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9138 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
9139 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9140 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9141 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9142 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9144 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9145 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9146 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9147 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9149 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9150 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
9151 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9152 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9153 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9154 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9155 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9156 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9157 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9159 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9160 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9161 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
9162 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9163 quoted-printable header encoding.
9165 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9166 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9167 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9171 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9174 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9175 means encode all charsets),
9177 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9178 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9179 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9186 @cindex coding system aliases
9187 @cindex preferred charset
9189 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9191 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9192 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9195 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9196 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9199 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9200 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9202 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9205 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9208 This will almost do the right thing.
9210 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9214 (codepage-setup 1251)
9215 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9219 @node Article Commands
9220 @section Article Commands
9227 @kindex A P (Summary)
9228 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9229 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9230 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9231 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9232 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9233 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9238 @node Summary Sorting
9239 @section Summary Sorting
9240 @cindex summary sorting
9242 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9243 can't really see why you'd want that.
9248 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9249 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9250 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9253 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9254 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9255 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9258 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9259 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9260 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9263 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9264 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9265 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9268 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9269 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9270 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9273 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9274 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9275 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9278 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9279 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9280 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9283 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9284 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9285 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9288 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9289 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9290 Sort using the default sorting method
9291 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9294 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9295 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9296 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9297 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9298 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9302 @node Finding the Parent
9303 @section Finding the Parent
9304 @cindex parent articles
9305 @cindex referring articles
9310 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9311 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9312 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9313 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9314 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9315 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9316 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9317 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9318 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9320 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9321 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9322 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9323 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9324 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9328 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9329 @kindex A R (Summary)
9330 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9331 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9334 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9335 @kindex A T (Summary)
9336 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9337 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9338 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9339 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9340 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9341 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9342 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9344 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9345 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9346 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9347 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9348 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9349 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9352 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9353 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9355 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9356 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9357 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9358 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9359 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9360 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9361 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9364 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9365 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9366 by giving this command a prefix.
9368 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9369 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9370 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9371 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9372 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9373 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9376 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9377 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9378 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9381 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9382 then ask Google if that fails:
9385 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9387 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9390 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9391 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9392 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9393 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9394 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9395 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9396 support this at all.
9399 @node Alternative Approaches
9400 @section Alternative Approaches
9402 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9403 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9406 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9407 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9412 @subsection Pick and Read
9413 @cindex pick and read
9415 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9416 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9417 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9418 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9420 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9421 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9422 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9423 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9424 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9425 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9427 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9432 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9433 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9434 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9435 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9436 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9437 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9438 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9439 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9442 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9443 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9444 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9445 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9449 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9450 Unpick the thread or article
9451 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9452 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9453 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9454 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9455 the thread or article at that line.
9459 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9460 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9461 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9462 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9463 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9464 will still be visible when you are reading.
9468 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9469 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9470 which is mapped to the same function
9471 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9473 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9476 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9479 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9480 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9482 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9483 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9484 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9486 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9487 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9488 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9489 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9490 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9491 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9492 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9496 @subsection Binary Groups
9497 @cindex binary groups
9499 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9500 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9501 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9502 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9503 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9504 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9505 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9508 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9509 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9510 command, when you have turned on this mode
9511 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9513 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9514 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9518 @section Tree Display
9521 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9522 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9523 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9524 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9527 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9530 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9531 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9532 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9534 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9535 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9536 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9537 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9538 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9540 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9541 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9542 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9543 default is @code{modeline}.
9545 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9546 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9547 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9548 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9549 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9550 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9551 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9557 The name of the poster.
9559 The @code{From} header.
9561 The number of the article.
9563 The opening bracket.
9565 The closing bracket.
9570 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9572 Variables related to the display are:
9575 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9576 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9577 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9578 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9579 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9580 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9582 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9583 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9584 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9585 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9589 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9590 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9591 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9592 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9593 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9594 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9595 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9596 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9597 other windows displayed next to it.
9599 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9603 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9604 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9607 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9608 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9609 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9610 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9611 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9612 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9613 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9617 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9620 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9630 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9634 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9635 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9637 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9639 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9644 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9645 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9646 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9649 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9650 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9651 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9652 (gnus-add-configuration
9656 (summary 0.75 point)
9661 @xref{Window Layout}.
9664 @node Mail Group Commands
9665 @section Mail Group Commands
9666 @cindex mail group commands
9668 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9669 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9671 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9672 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9677 @kindex B e (Summary)
9678 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9679 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9680 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9681 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9682 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9685 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9686 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9687 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9688 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9689 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9690 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9693 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9694 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9695 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9696 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9697 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9698 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9701 @kindex B m (Summary)
9703 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9704 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9705 Move the article from one mail group to another
9706 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9707 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9710 @kindex B c (Summary)
9712 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9713 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9714 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9715 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9716 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9719 @kindex B B (Summary)
9720 @cindex crosspost mail
9721 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9722 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9723 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9724 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9725 be properly updated.
9728 @kindex B i (Summary)
9729 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9730 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9731 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9732 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9735 @kindex B I (Summary)
9736 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9737 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9738 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9739 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9742 @kindex B r (Summary)
9743 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9744 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9745 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9746 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9747 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9748 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9749 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9750 (which is the default).
9754 @kindex B w (Summary)
9756 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9757 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9758 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9759 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9760 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9761 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9762 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9765 @kindex B q (Summary)
9766 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9767 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9768 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9769 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9772 @kindex B t (Summary)
9773 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9774 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9775 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9778 @kindex B p (Summary)
9779 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9780 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
9781 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9782 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9783 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9784 article from your news server (or rather, from
9785 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9786 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9787 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9788 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9789 just not have arrived yet.
9792 @kindex K E (Summary)
9793 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9794 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9795 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9796 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9797 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9801 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9802 @cindex moving articles
9803 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
9804 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9805 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9806 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9807 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9808 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9809 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9812 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9813 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9814 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9815 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9819 @node Various Summary Stuff
9820 @section Various Summary Stuff
9823 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9824 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9825 * Summary Generation Commands::
9826 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9830 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
9831 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
9832 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
9833 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
9834 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
9835 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
9837 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9838 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9839 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9841 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9842 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9843 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9844 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9845 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9846 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9849 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9850 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9851 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9852 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9853 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9855 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9856 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9857 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9860 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9861 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9862 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9863 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9864 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9865 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9866 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
9867 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9868 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9869 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9871 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9872 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9873 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9874 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9875 list of articles to be selected.
9877 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9878 the list in one particular group:
9881 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9882 (if (string= group "some.group")
9883 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9887 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9888 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9889 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9890 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9891 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9892 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9893 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9894 buffers. For example:
9897 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9898 '(message-use-followup-to
9899 (gnus-visible-headers .
9900 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9906 @node Summary Group Information
9907 @subsection Summary Group Information
9912 @kindex H f (Summary)
9913 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9914 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9915 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9916 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9917 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9918 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9919 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9920 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9921 be used for fetching the file.
9924 @kindex H d (Summary)
9925 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9926 Give a brief description of the current group
9927 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9928 rereading the description from the server.
9931 @kindex H h (Summary)
9932 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9933 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9934 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9937 @kindex H i (Summary)
9938 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9939 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9943 @node Searching for Articles
9944 @subsection Searching for Articles
9949 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9950 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9951 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9952 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9955 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9956 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9957 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9958 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9962 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9963 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9964 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9965 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9966 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9967 search backward instead.
9969 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9970 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9973 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9974 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9975 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9976 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9979 @node Summary Generation Commands
9980 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9985 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9986 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9987 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9990 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9991 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9992 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9993 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9996 @kindex Y d (Summary)
9997 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
9998 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9999 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10004 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10005 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10011 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10012 @kindex A D (Summary)
10013 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10014 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10015 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10016 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10017 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10018 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10019 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10020 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10024 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10025 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10026 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10027 several documents into one biiig group
10028 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10029 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10030 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10031 command understands the process/prefix convention
10032 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10035 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10036 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10037 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10038 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10039 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10040 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10043 @kindex = (Summary)
10044 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10045 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10046 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10049 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10050 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10051 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10052 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10055 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10056 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10057 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10058 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10063 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10064 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10065 @cindex summary exit
10066 @cindex exiting groups
10068 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10069 group and return you to the group buffer.
10075 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10076 @kindex q (Summary)
10077 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10078 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10079 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10080 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10081 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10082 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10083 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10084 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10085 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10086 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10087 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10088 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10092 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10093 @kindex Q (Summary)
10094 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10095 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10096 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10100 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10101 @kindex c (Summary)
10102 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10103 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10104 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10105 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10108 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10109 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10110 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10111 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10114 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10115 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10116 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10117 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10120 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10121 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10122 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10123 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10124 all articles, both read and unread.
10128 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10129 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10130 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10131 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10132 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10133 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10134 articles, both read and unread.
10137 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10138 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10139 Exit the group and go to the next group
10140 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10143 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10144 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10145 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10146 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10149 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10150 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10151 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10152 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10153 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10154 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10157 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10158 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10159 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10160 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10162 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10163 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10164 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10165 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10166 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10167 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10168 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10169 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10170 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10171 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10172 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10173 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10175 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10177 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10178 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10179 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10180 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10181 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10182 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10183 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10184 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10185 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10188 @node Crosspost Handling
10189 @section Crosspost Handling
10193 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10194 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10195 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10196 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10197 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10198 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10201 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10202 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10203 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10204 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10205 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10207 @cindex cross-posting
10210 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10211 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10212 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10213 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10214 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10215 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10216 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10217 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10218 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10219 the cross reference mechanism.
10221 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10222 @cindex overview.fmt
10223 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10224 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10225 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10226 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10227 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10228 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10231 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10232 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10233 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10238 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10241 @node Duplicate Suppression
10242 @section Duplicate Suppression
10244 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10245 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10246 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10247 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10252 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10253 is evil and not very common.
10256 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10257 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10260 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10261 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10264 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10267 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10268 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10270 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10271 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10272 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10273 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10274 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10275 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10276 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10279 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10280 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10281 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10282 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10283 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10284 saw the article in.
10287 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10288 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10289 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10291 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10292 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10293 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10294 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10295 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10296 session are suppressed.
10298 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10299 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10300 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10301 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10303 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10304 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10305 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10306 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10309 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10310 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10311 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10312 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10313 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10314 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10315 to you to figure out, I think.
10320 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10321 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10322 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10326 To handle PGP and PGP/MIME messages, you have to install an OpenPGP
10327 implementation such as GnuPG. The lisp interface to GnuPG included
10328 with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG Manual}), but
10329 Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10332 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10333 or newer is recommended.
10337 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10338 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10341 @item mm-verify-option
10342 @vindex mm-verify-option
10343 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10344 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10345 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10347 @item mm-decrypt-option
10348 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10349 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10350 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10351 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10354 @vindex mml1991-use
10355 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for PGP
10356 messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt} and
10357 @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10360 @vindex mml2015-use
10361 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10362 PGP/MIME messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but @code{mailcrypt}
10363 and @code{gpg} are also supported although deprecated.
10368 @section Mailing List
10370 @kindex A M (summary)
10371 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10372 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10373 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10374 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10377 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10382 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10383 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10384 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10387 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10388 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10389 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10392 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10393 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10394 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10398 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10399 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10400 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10403 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10404 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10405 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10408 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10409 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10410 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10414 @node Article Buffer
10415 @chapter Article Buffer
10416 @cindex article buffer
10418 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10419 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10420 tell gnus otherwise.
10423 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10424 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10425 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10426 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10427 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10431 @node Hiding Headers
10432 @section Hiding Headers
10433 @cindex hiding headers
10434 @cindex deleting headers
10436 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10437 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10439 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10440 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10441 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10442 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10443 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10444 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10445 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10446 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10447 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10449 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10453 @item gnus-visible-headers
10454 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10455 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10456 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10457 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10459 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10460 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10463 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10466 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10469 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10470 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10471 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10472 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10473 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10474 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10476 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10477 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10480 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10483 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10486 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10487 variable will have no effect.
10491 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10492 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10493 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10494 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10495 the headers are to be displayed.
10497 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10498 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10501 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10504 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10505 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10507 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10508 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10509 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10510 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10511 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10512 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10513 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10516 These conditions are:
10519 Remove all empty headers.
10521 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10522 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10524 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10525 @code{From} header.
10527 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10530 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10531 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10533 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10536 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10538 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10541 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10544 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10545 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10548 This is also the default value for this variable.
10552 @section Using MIME
10555 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10556 while people stand around yawning.
10558 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10559 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10561 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10562 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10563 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10565 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10566 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10567 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10568 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
10569 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10570 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10571 calls the @sc{semi} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
10572 information on @sc{semi} MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is
10573 not existed yet, sorry).
10575 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10576 @sc{mime} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set, then
10577 you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10578 These can't be avoided.
10580 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10581 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10582 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10583 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
10584 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
10585 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
10586 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
10587 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
10588 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
10591 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10593 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10594 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10595 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10596 buffer when there are nobody else.
10598 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10601 @node Customizing Articles
10602 @section Customizing Articles
10603 @cindex article customization
10605 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10606 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10607 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10608 called automatically when you select the articles.
10610 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10611 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10612 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10613 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10615 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10616 for sensible values.
10620 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10623 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10626 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10629 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10632 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10636 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10637 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10638 regexps in the list.
10641 A list where the first element is not a string:
10643 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10644 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10645 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10649 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10653 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10658 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10659 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10660 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10661 considered to contain just a single part.
10663 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10664 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10665 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10666 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10667 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10668 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10669 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10671 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10672 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10673 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10674 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10677 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10678 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10680 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10682 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10683 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10684 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10685 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10686 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10687 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10688 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10689 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10690 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10691 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
10692 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
10694 @xref{Article Washing}.
10696 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10697 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10698 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10699 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10700 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10701 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10702 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10704 @xref{Article Date}.
10706 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10707 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10708 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10712 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10714 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10716 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10717 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10718 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10722 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10726 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10727 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10728 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10729 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10730 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10731 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10732 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10733 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10735 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10737 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10738 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10739 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10741 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10743 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10744 @item gnus-treat-translate
10745 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10747 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10748 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10749 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10750 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10752 @xref{Article Header}.
10757 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10758 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10759 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10760 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10761 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10765 @node Article Keymap
10766 @section Article Keymap
10768 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10769 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10770 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10771 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10774 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10779 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10780 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10781 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10782 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
10785 @kindex DEL (Article)
10786 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10787 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10788 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
10791 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10792 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10793 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10794 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10795 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10798 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10799 @findex gnus-article-mail
10800 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10801 given a prefix, include the mail.
10804 @kindex s (Article)
10805 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10806 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10807 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10810 @kindex ? (Article)
10811 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10812 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10813 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10816 @kindex TAB (Article)
10817 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10818 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10819 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10822 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10823 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10824 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10827 @kindex R (Article)
10828 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10829 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10830 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10831 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10835 @kindex F (Article)
10836 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10837 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10838 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10839 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10847 @section Misc Article
10851 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10852 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10853 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10854 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10857 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10858 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10860 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10861 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10863 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10864 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10865 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10866 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10867 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10868 the contents of the article buffer.
10870 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10871 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10872 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10874 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10875 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10876 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10877 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10879 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10880 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10881 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10882 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10883 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10889 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10890 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10891 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10896 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10899 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10902 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10903 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10904 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10907 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10910 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10913 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10918 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10922 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10924 @item gnus-break-pages
10925 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10926 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10927 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10928 paging will not be done.
10930 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10931 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10932 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10937 @node Composing Messages
10938 @chapter Composing Messages
10939 @cindex composing messages
10942 @cindex sending mail
10947 @cindex using s/mime
10948 @cindex using smime
10950 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10951 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10952 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10953 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10954 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10955 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10958 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10959 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10960 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10961 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10962 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10963 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10964 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10965 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10968 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10969 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10975 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10978 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10979 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10980 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10981 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
10982 @code{nil} include all headers.
10984 @item gnus-add-to-list
10985 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10986 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10987 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10989 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10990 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10991 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
10992 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
10993 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
10994 confirmation is should be asked for.
10996 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10997 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10999 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11000 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11001 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11002 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11003 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11008 @node Posting Server
11009 @section Posting Server
11011 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11012 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11014 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11016 It can be quite complicated.
11018 @vindex gnus-post-method
11019 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11020 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11021 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11022 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11023 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11024 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11025 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11026 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11027 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11030 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11033 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11034 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11035 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11036 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11038 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11039 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11041 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11042 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11045 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11046 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11048 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11049 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11050 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11051 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11052 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
11053 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11054 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11055 package correctly. An example:
11058 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11059 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11060 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11061 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11062 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11065 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
11066 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
11067 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11069 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11070 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11071 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11073 @node Mail and Post
11074 @section Mail and Post
11076 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11080 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11081 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11082 @cindex mailing lists
11084 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11085 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
11086 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11087 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11088 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11089 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11090 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11091 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11092 still a pain, though.
11094 @item gnus-version-expose-system
11095 @vindex gnus-version-expose-system
11097 Your system type (@code{system-configuration} variable, such as
11098 @samp{i686-pc-linux}) is exposed in the auto-generated by default
11099 User-Agent header. Sometimes, it may be desireable (mostly because of
11100 aesthetic reasons) to turn it off. In this case, set it to @code{nil}.
11104 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11105 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11106 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11109 @findex ispell-message
11111 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11114 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11115 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11118 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11122 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11123 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11125 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11128 Modify to suit your needs.
11131 @node Archived Messages
11132 @section Archived Messages
11133 @cindex archived messages
11134 @cindex sent messages
11136 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11137 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11138 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11139 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11142 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11143 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11146 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11147 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11148 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11151 (nnfolder "archive"
11152 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11153 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11154 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11155 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11158 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11159 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11160 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11161 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11164 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11165 '(nnfolder "archive"
11166 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11167 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11168 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11171 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11173 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11174 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11175 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11177 This variable can be used to do the following:
11182 Messages will be saved in that group.
11184 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11185 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11186 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11187 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11188 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11189 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11190 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11191 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11195 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11197 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11198 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11201 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11206 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11208 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11211 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11213 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11216 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11218 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11219 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11220 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11221 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11224 More complex stuff:
11226 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11227 '((if (message-news-p)
11232 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11233 messages in one file per month:
11236 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11237 '((if (message-news-p)
11239 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11242 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11243 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11245 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11246 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11247 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11248 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11249 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11250 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11251 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11252 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11253 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11254 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11256 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11257 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11258 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11259 this will disable archiving.
11262 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11263 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11264 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11265 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11266 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11269 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11270 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11271 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11274 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11275 but the latter is the preferred method.
11277 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11278 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11279 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11281 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11282 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11283 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11284 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11285 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11286 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11287 changed in the future.
11292 @node Posting Styles
11293 @section Posting Styles
11294 @cindex posting styles
11297 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11299 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11300 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11301 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11304 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11305 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11306 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11307 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11308 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11313 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11314 (organization "What me?"))
11316 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11317 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11318 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11321 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11322 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11323 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11324 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11325 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11326 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11327 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11328 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11330 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11331 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11332 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11333 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11334 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11335 @var{regexp} are strings. (There original article is the one you are
11336 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11337 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11338 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11339 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11340 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11341 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11342 said to @dfn{match}.
11344 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11345 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11346 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11347 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11348 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11349 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11350 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11351 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11352 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11353 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11356 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11357 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11358 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11359 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11360 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11361 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11362 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11363 references chars lines xref extra.
11365 @vindex message-reply-headers
11367 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11368 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11369 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11371 @findex message-mail-p
11372 @findex message-news-p
11374 So here's a new example:
11377 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11379 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11381 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11382 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11384 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11385 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11386 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11387 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11388 (signature my-news-signature))
11389 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11390 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11391 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11392 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11393 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11394 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11395 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11396 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11397 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11398 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11400 (From (save-excursion
11401 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11402 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11404 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11407 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11408 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11409 if you fill many roles.
11411 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11412 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11413 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11414 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11415 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11416 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11417 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11418 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11423 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11425 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11427 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11428 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11431 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11434 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11435 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11442 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11443 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11444 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11445 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11446 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11448 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11449 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11450 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11451 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11452 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11456 @vindex nndraft-directory
11457 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11458 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11459 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11460 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11461 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11462 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11464 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11465 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11468 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11469 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11470 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11471 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11472 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11473 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11474 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11475 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11476 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11477 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11478 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11479 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11480 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11481 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11483 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11484 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11485 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11487 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11488 @kindex D e (Draft)
11489 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11490 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11491 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11493 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11496 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11497 @kindex D s (Draft)
11498 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11499 @kindex D S (Draft)
11500 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11501 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11502 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11503 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11504 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11507 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11508 @kindex D t (Draft)
11509 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11510 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11511 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11514 @node Rejected Articles
11515 @section Rejected Articles
11516 @cindex rejected articles
11518 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11519 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11520 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11521 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11523 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11524 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11525 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11526 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11527 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11529 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11530 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11531 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11533 @node Signing and encrypting
11534 @section Signing and encrypting
11536 @cindex using s/mime
11537 @cindex using smime
11539 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11540 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11541 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11542 (@pxref{Security}).
11544 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11545 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11546 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11547 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11548 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11549 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11550 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11551 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11552 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11553 automatically encrypted messages.
11555 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11556 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11557 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11562 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11563 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11565 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11568 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11569 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11571 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11574 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11575 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11577 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11580 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11581 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11583 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11586 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11587 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11589 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11592 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11593 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11595 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11598 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11599 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11600 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11604 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11606 @node Select Methods
11607 @chapter Select Methods
11608 @cindex foreign groups
11609 @cindex select methods
11611 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11612 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11613 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11614 personal mail group.
11616 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11617 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11618 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11619 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11620 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11621 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11623 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11624 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11626 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11629 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11630 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11631 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11632 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11633 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11635 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11638 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11639 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11640 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11641 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11642 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11643 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11644 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11645 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11649 @node Server Buffer
11650 @section Server Buffer
11652 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11653 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11654 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11655 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11656 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11657 back end represents a virtual server.
11659 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11660 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11661 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11662 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11664 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11665 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11666 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11667 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11668 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11669 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11670 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11672 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11673 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11676 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11677 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11678 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11679 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11680 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11681 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11682 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11685 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11686 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11689 @node Server Buffer Format
11690 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11691 @cindex server buffer format
11693 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11694 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11695 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11696 variable, with some simple extensions:
11701 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11704 The name of this server.
11707 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11710 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11713 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11714 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11715 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11716 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11726 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11729 @node Server Commands
11730 @subsection Server Commands
11731 @cindex server commands
11737 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11738 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11742 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11743 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11746 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11747 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11748 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11752 @findex gnus-server-exit
11753 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11757 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11758 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11762 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11763 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11767 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11768 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11772 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11773 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11777 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11778 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11779 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11784 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11785 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11786 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11787 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11792 @node Example Methods
11793 @subsection Example Methods
11795 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11798 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11801 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11807 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11808 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11811 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11812 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11814 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11815 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11819 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11822 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11823 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11825 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11826 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11827 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11831 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11834 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11837 Here's the method for a public spool:
11841 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11842 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11848 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11849 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11850 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11851 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11852 should probably look something like this:
11856 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11857 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11858 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11859 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11862 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11863 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11864 configuration to the example above:
11867 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11870 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11872 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11873 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11874 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11878 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11879 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11880 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11881 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11884 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11885 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11886 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11887 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11890 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11891 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11893 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11894 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11896 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11897 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11898 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11900 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11902 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11903 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11904 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11905 will contain the following:
11915 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11916 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11917 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11920 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11921 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11922 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11925 @node Server Variables
11926 @subsection Server Variables
11928 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11929 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11930 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11931 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11932 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
11934 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11935 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11936 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11937 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11938 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11939 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11940 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11941 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11942 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11946 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11947 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11948 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11952 @node Servers and Methods
11953 @subsection Servers and Methods
11955 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11956 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11957 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11958 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11962 @node Unavailable Servers
11963 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11965 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11966 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11967 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11968 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11969 actually the case or not.
11971 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11972 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11973 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11974 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11975 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11976 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11977 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11978 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11980 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11981 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11983 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11984 with the following commands:
11990 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11991 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11992 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11996 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11997 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11998 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12002 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12003 Mark the current server as unreachable
12004 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12007 @kindex M-o (Server)
12008 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12009 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12010 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12013 @kindex M-c (Server)
12014 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12015 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12016 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12020 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12021 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12022 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12026 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12027 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12033 @section Getting News
12034 @cindex reading news
12035 @cindex news back ends
12037 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12038 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
12039 or it can read from a local spool.
12042 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
12043 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12051 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
12052 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
12053 server as the, uhm, address.
12055 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12056 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12057 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12058 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12060 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12061 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12062 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12064 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12069 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12070 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12071 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12073 @cindex authentification
12074 @cindex nntp authentification
12075 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12076 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12077 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12078 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
12079 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12080 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12081 present in this hook.
12083 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12084 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12085 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12086 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12087 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
12088 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12089 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12090 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12091 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12092 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12093 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12094 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12098 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12101 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12103 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12104 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12105 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12106 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12107 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12108 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12109 @samp{force} is explained below.
12113 Here's an example file:
12116 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12117 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12120 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12121 have to be first, for instance.
12123 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12124 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12125 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12126 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12127 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12128 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12129 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12131 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12132 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12138 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12139 previously mentioned.
12141 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12143 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12144 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12145 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12146 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12147 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12150 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12151 '(("innd" (ding))))
12154 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12156 The default value is
12159 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12160 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12161 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12164 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12165 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12167 @item nntp-maximum-request
12168 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12169 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
12170 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12171 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12172 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12173 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12174 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12176 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12177 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12178 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12179 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12180 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12181 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12182 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12183 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12184 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12185 no timeouts are done.
12187 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12188 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12189 @c @cindex PPP connections
12190 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12191 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12192 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12193 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12194 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12195 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12196 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12197 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12198 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12199 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12201 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12202 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12203 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12204 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12205 @c described above.
12207 @item nntp-server-hook
12208 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12209 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12212 @item nntp-buggy-select
12213 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12214 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12216 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12217 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12218 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12219 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12222 @item nntp-xover-commands
12223 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12226 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12227 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12231 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12232 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12233 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12234 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12235 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12236 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12237 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12238 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12239 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12240 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12241 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12243 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12244 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12245 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12247 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12248 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12249 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12250 server closes connection.
12252 @item nntp-record-commands
12253 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12254 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12255 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12256 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12257 that doesn't seem to work.
12259 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12260 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12261 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12262 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12263 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12264 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12265 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12266 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12268 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12269 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12270 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12271 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12272 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12273 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12274 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12277 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12280 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12281 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12283 @item nntp-read-timeout
12284 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12285 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12286 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12287 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12288 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12291 @item nntp-list-options
12292 @vindex nntp-list-options
12293 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12294 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12295 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12296 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12297 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12301 (setq gnus-select-method
12302 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12303 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12306 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12307 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12308 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12309 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12310 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12311 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12312 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12315 (setq gnus-select-method
12316 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12317 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12320 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12321 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12322 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12323 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12324 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12325 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12326 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12329 (setq gnus-select-method
12330 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12331 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12336 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12337 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12338 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12342 @node Direct Functions
12343 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12344 @cindex direct connection functions
12346 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12347 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12348 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12349 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12352 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12353 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12354 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12357 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12358 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12359 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12360 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12361 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12362 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12363 define a server as follows:
12366 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12368 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12369 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12371 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12372 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12373 (nntp-port-number 563)
12374 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12377 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12378 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12379 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12380 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12381 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12382 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12383 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12384 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12388 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12389 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12390 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12393 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12394 session, which is not a good idea.
12398 @node Indirect Functions
12399 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12400 @cindex indirect connection functions
12402 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12403 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12404 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12405 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12406 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12407 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12410 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12411 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12412 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12413 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12414 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12416 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12419 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12420 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12421 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12422 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12424 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12425 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12426 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12427 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12428 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12429 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12430 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12431 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12434 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12435 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12436 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12437 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12439 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12442 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12443 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12444 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12447 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12448 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12449 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12450 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12452 @item nntp-via-user-password
12453 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12454 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12456 @item nntp-via-envuser
12457 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12458 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12459 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12460 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12462 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12463 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12464 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12465 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12472 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12477 @item nntp-via-user-name
12478 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12479 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12481 @item nntp-via-address
12482 @vindex nntp-via-address
12483 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12488 @node Common Variables
12489 @subsubsection Common Variables
12491 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12492 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12497 @item nntp-pre-command
12498 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12499 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12500 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12501 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12502 wrapper for instance.
12505 @vindex nntp-address
12506 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12508 @item nntp-port-number
12509 @vindex nntp-port-number
12510 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12511 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12512 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12513 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12515 @item nntp-end-of-line
12516 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12517 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12518 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12519 using a non native connection function.
12521 @item nntp-telnet-command
12522 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12523 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12524 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12525 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12527 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12528 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12529 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12536 @subsection News Spool
12540 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12541 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12542 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12545 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12546 anything else) as the address.
12548 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12549 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12550 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12551 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12555 @item nnspool-inews-program
12556 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12557 Program used to post an article.
12559 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12560 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12561 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12563 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12564 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12565 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12566 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12568 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12569 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12570 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12571 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12573 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12574 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12575 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12577 @item nnspool-active-file
12578 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12579 The name of the active file.
12581 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12582 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12583 The name of the group descriptions file.
12585 @item nnspool-history-file
12586 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12587 The name of the news history file.
12589 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12590 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12591 The name of the active date file.
12593 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12594 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12595 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12598 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12599 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12601 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12602 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12603 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12609 @section Getting Mail
12610 @cindex reading mail
12613 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12617 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12618 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12619 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12620 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12621 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12622 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12623 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12624 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12625 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12626 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12627 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12628 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12629 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12633 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12634 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12636 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12637 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12638 of a culture shock.
12640 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12641 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12643 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12644 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12645 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12646 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12648 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12650 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12651 deleted? How awful!
12653 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12654 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12655 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12656 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12659 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12660 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12661 they want to treat a message.
12663 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12664 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12665 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12666 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12667 archived somewhere else.
12669 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12670 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12671 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12672 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12673 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12675 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12676 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12677 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12679 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12680 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12683 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12684 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12685 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12686 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12687 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12689 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12690 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12691 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12692 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12693 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12694 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12698 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12699 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12701 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12702 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12703 and things will happen automatically.
12705 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
12706 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12709 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12712 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12713 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12714 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12715 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12716 like any other group.
12718 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12721 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12722 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12723 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12727 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12728 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12729 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12732 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12733 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12734 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12737 @node Splitting Mail
12738 @subsection Splitting Mail
12739 @cindex splitting mail
12740 @cindex mail splitting
12742 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12743 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12744 to be split into groups.
12747 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12748 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12749 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12750 ("mail.other" "")))
12753 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12754 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12755 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12756 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12757 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12758 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12759 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12762 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12765 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12766 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12767 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12768 mail belongs in that group.
12770 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12771 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
12772 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12773 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12774 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
12775 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
12777 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12778 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12779 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12780 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12781 thinks should carry this mail message.
12783 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12784 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12785 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12786 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12788 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12789 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12790 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12791 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12792 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
12794 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12797 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12798 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12799 links. If that's the case for you, set
12800 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12801 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12803 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12804 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12805 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12806 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12807 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12808 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12811 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12812 Header lines longer than the value of
12813 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12816 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12817 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12818 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12819 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12820 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12821 can be turned off completely by binding
12822 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12823 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12825 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12826 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12827 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12828 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12829 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12830 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12831 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12834 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12835 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12836 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12837 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12838 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12839 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12840 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12841 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12842 month's rent money.
12846 @subsection Mail Sources
12848 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12849 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12853 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12854 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12855 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12859 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12860 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12862 @cindex mail server
12865 @cindex mail source
12867 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12868 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12873 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12876 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12877 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12878 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12881 The following mail source types are available:
12885 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12891 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12892 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12893 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12897 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12900 An example file mail source:
12903 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12906 Or using the default file name:
12912 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12913 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12914 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12917 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12921 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12924 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12928 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12931 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12933 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12936 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12940 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12941 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12942 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12943 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12944 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12945 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12946 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12947 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12948 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12949 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12951 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12952 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12953 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12954 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12960 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12964 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12968 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12969 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12970 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12971 predicate are considered.
12975 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12979 An example directory mail source:
12982 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12987 Get mail from a POP server.
12993 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12994 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12997 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12998 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12999 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13000 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13001 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13004 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
13008 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
13012 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
13013 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13016 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13019 The valid format specifier characters are:
13023 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13024 included in this string.
13027 The name of the server.
13030 The port number of the server.
13033 The user name to use.
13036 The password to use.
13039 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13040 corresponding keywords.
13043 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13044 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13047 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13048 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13051 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
13052 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
13055 @item :authentication
13056 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13057 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13061 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13062 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13063 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13064 programs and libraries:
13068 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13069 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13070 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13072 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13073 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13078 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13079 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13083 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13084 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13086 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
13087 default user name, and default fetcher:
13093 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13096 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13097 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13100 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13103 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13107 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13108 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13109 contains exactly one mail.
13115 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13116 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13119 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13120 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13122 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13123 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13124 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13127 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13128 from locking problems).
13132 Two example maildir mail sources:
13135 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13136 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13140 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13145 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
13146 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
13147 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
13148 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
13151 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
13152 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13158 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
13159 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13162 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13163 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
13166 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
13170 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
13174 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13175 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13176 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
13177 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13179 @item :authentication
13180 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13181 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13182 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13183 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13186 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13187 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13188 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13194 The valid format specifier characters are:
13198 The name of the server.
13201 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13204 The port number of the server.
13207 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13208 corresponding keywords.
13211 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13212 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13215 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13216 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13217 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
13218 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13219 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13220 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13223 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13224 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13225 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13226 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13229 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
13230 after finishing the fetch.
13234 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
13237 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13239 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13243 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13244 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13245 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
13247 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13248 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13250 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13256 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13257 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13260 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13264 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13268 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13269 folder after finishing the fetch.
13273 An example webmail source:
13276 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13278 :password "secret")
13283 @item Common Keywords
13284 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13290 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13291 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13295 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13300 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13301 useful when you use local mail and news.
13306 @subsubsection Function Interface
13308 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13309 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13310 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13311 consider the following mail-source setting:
13314 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13315 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13318 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13319 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13320 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13321 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13322 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13324 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13327 @node Mail Source Customization
13328 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13330 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13331 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13335 @item mail-source-crash-box
13336 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13337 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13338 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13340 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13341 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13342 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13344 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13345 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13346 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13348 @item mail-source-directory
13349 @vindex mail-source-directory
13350 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13351 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13352 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13355 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13356 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13357 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13358 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13359 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13360 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13362 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13363 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13364 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13366 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13367 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13368 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13369 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13374 @node Fetching Mail
13375 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13377 @vindex mail-sources
13378 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13379 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13380 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13381 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13383 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13384 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13387 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13388 mail server, you'd say something like:
13393 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13394 :password "secret")))
13397 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13401 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13402 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13405 :password "secret")))
13409 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13410 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13411 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13412 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13413 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13414 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13418 @node Mail Back End Variables
13419 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13421 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13425 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13426 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13427 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13428 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13430 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13431 @item nnmail-split-hook
13432 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13433 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13434 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13435 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13436 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13437 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13438 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13439 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13440 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13443 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13444 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13445 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13446 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13447 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13448 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13449 starting to handle the new mail) and
13450 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13451 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13452 default file modes the new mail files get:
13455 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13456 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13458 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13459 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13462 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13463 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13464 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13465 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13466 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13467 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13468 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13470 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13471 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13472 @findex delete-file
13473 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13475 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13476 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13477 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13478 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13479 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13481 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13482 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13483 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13484 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13485 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13487 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13488 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13489 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13494 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13495 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13496 @cindex mail splitting
13497 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13499 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13500 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13501 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13502 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13503 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13504 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13506 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13509 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13510 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13511 ;; from real errors.
13512 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13514 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13515 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13516 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13517 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13518 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13519 ;; Other mailing lists...
13520 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13521 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13522 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13523 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13524 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13525 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13526 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13527 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13529 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13530 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13534 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13535 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13536 the five possible split syntaxes:
13541 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13542 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13546 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13547 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13548 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13549 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13550 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13551 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13552 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13553 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13556 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13557 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13558 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13559 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13562 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13563 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13566 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13567 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13570 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13571 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13572 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13573 function should return a @var{split}.
13576 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13577 body of the messages:
13580 (defun split-on-body ()
13582 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13583 (goto-char (point-min))
13584 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13588 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13589 when the @code{:} function is run.
13592 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13593 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13594 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13598 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13602 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13603 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13604 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13605 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13606 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13608 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13609 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13610 are expanded as specified by the variable
13611 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13612 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13615 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13616 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13617 when all this splitting is performed.
13619 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13620 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13621 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13624 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13627 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13628 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13630 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13631 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13632 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13633 groupings 1 through 9.
13635 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13636 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13637 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13638 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13639 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13640 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13641 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13642 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13643 it once per thread.
13645 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13646 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13647 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13650 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13651 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13653 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13654 ;; other splits go here
13658 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13659 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13660 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13661 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13662 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13663 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13664 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13665 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13666 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13667 unless the group name matches the regexp
13668 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13669 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13670 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13671 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13672 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13673 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13674 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13675 messages goes into the new group.
13677 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13678 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13679 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13680 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13681 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13685 @node Group Mail Splitting
13686 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13687 @cindex mail splitting
13688 @cindex group mail splitting
13690 @findex gnus-group-split
13691 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13692 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13693 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13694 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13695 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13696 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13697 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13698 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13700 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13701 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13702 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13703 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13705 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13706 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13707 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13708 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13709 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13710 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13711 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13713 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13714 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13715 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13716 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13717 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13718 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13719 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13721 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13722 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13723 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13724 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13725 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13726 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13727 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13728 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13729 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13730 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13731 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13732 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13733 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13735 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13740 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13741 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13743 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13744 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13745 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13746 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13748 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13751 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13752 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13753 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13756 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13757 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13758 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13762 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13763 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13764 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13768 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13771 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13772 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13773 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13774 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13775 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13776 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13777 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13778 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13779 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13781 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13782 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13783 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13784 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13785 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13786 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13787 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13788 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13789 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13791 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13792 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13793 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13794 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13795 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13796 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus.el}:
13799 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13802 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13803 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13804 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13805 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13806 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13809 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13810 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13811 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13812 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13814 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13815 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13816 @cindex incorporating old mail
13817 @cindex import old mail
13819 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13820 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13821 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13824 Doing so can be quite easy.
13826 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13827 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13828 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13829 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13830 your @code{nnml} groups.
13836 Go to the group buffer.
13839 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13840 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13843 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
13846 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13847 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13850 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13851 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13854 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13855 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13856 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13857 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13858 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13860 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13861 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13862 using the new mail back end.
13865 @node Expiring Mail
13866 @subsection Expiring Mail
13867 @cindex article expiry
13869 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13870 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13871 different approach to mail reading.
13873 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13874 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13875 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13876 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13877 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13878 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13881 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13882 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default keybindings, this means
13883 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
13884 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13885 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13886 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13887 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13888 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13889 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13891 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
13892 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
13893 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
13894 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
13895 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
13896 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
13897 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
13900 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
13901 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
13902 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
13903 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
13904 into its own group.)
13906 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
13907 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
13908 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
13909 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
13910 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
13911 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
13912 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
13913 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
13916 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13917 Groups that match the regular expression
13918 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
13919 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
13920 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
13922 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13923 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13924 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13925 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13926 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13928 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13930 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13931 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13932 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13935 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13936 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13937 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13938 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13939 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13941 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13942 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13945 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13946 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13949 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13950 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13952 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13953 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13954 don't really mix very well.
13956 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13957 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13958 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13959 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13962 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13963 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13964 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13965 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13968 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13970 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13972 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13974 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13976 ((string= group "important")
13982 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13983 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13985 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13986 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13987 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13990 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13991 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13993 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13994 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13995 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13996 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13997 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13998 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13999 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14000 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14001 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14002 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14003 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14004 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
14005 name or @code{delete}.
14007 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14009 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14012 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14013 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14014 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14015 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14016 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14019 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14020 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14021 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14022 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14023 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14026 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14027 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14028 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14029 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14030 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14031 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14033 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14034 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14035 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14036 easier for procmail users.
14038 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14039 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14040 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14041 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14042 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14043 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14044 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14045 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14046 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14047 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14048 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14049 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14050 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14053 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14055 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14056 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14057 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14058 auto-expire turned on.
14062 @subsection Washing Mail
14063 @cindex mail washing
14064 @cindex list server brain damage
14065 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14067 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14068 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14069 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14070 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14071 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14072 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14074 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14075 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14076 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14079 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14080 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14081 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14082 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14085 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14086 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14087 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14088 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14089 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14092 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14093 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14094 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14095 Emacs running on MS machines.
14099 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14100 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14101 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14102 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14105 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14106 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14107 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14108 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14110 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14111 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14112 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14113 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14114 into a feature by documenting it.)
14116 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14117 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14118 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14119 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14120 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14121 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14122 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14125 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14126 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14129 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14130 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14133 This can also be done non-destructively with
14134 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14136 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14137 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14138 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14140 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14141 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14143 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14144 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14145 @code{References} headers.
14149 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14150 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14151 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14155 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14156 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14157 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14164 @subsection Duplicates
14166 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14167 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14168 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14169 @cindex duplicate mails
14170 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14171 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14172 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14173 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14174 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14175 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14176 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14177 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14178 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14179 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14180 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14181 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14182 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14184 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14185 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14186 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14187 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14189 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14192 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14193 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14197 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14198 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
14199 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14200 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
14201 (any mail "mail.misc")
14208 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14209 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14214 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14215 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14216 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14217 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14218 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14221 @node Not Reading Mail
14222 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14224 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14225 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14226 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14228 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14229 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14230 mail, which should help.
14232 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14233 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14234 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14235 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14236 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14237 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14238 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
14239 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14240 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14241 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14242 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14244 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14245 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14249 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14250 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14252 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14253 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14254 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14256 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14257 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14258 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14259 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
14260 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
14261 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
14262 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
14265 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14266 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
14267 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14268 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14269 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14270 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14274 @node Unix Mail Box
14275 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14277 @cindex unix mail box
14279 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14280 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14281 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14282 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14283 which group it belongs in.
14285 Virtual server settings:
14288 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14289 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14290 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14293 @item nnmbox-active-file
14294 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14295 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14296 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14298 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14299 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14300 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14301 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14306 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14310 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14311 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14312 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14313 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14314 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14316 Virtual server settings:
14319 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14320 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14321 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14323 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14324 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14325 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14326 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14328 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14329 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14330 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14336 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14338 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14340 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14341 format. It should be used with some caution.
14343 @vindex nnml-directory
14344 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14345 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14346 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14347 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14349 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14352 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14353 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14354 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14355 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14356 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14357 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14358 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14359 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14361 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14362 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14363 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14364 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14366 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14368 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14369 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14370 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14371 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14372 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14373 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14374 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14375 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14378 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14379 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14380 them next time it starts.
14382 Virtual server settings:
14385 @item nnml-directory
14386 @vindex nnml-directory
14387 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14388 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14391 @item nnml-active-file
14392 @vindex nnml-active-file
14393 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14394 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14396 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14397 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14398 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14399 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14401 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14402 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14403 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14406 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14407 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14408 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14409 default is @code{nil}.
14411 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14412 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14413 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14415 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14416 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14417 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14419 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14420 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14421 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14422 default is @code{nil}.
14424 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14425 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14426 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14428 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14429 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14430 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14435 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14436 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14437 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14438 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14439 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14440 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14441 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14446 @subsubsection MH Spool
14448 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14450 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14451 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14452 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14453 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14455 Virtual server settings:
14458 @item nnmh-directory
14459 @vindex nnmh-directory
14460 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14461 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14464 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14465 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14466 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14470 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14471 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14472 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14473 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14474 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14475 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14476 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14481 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14483 @cindex mbox folders
14484 @cindex mail folders
14486 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14487 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14488 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14491 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14493 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14494 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14495 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14496 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14497 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14498 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14499 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14500 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14501 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14502 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14504 Virtual server settings:
14507 @item nnfolder-directory
14508 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14509 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14510 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14513 @item nnfolder-active-file
14514 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14515 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14517 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14518 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14519 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14520 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
14522 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14523 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14524 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14527 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14528 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14529 @cindex backup files
14530 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14531 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14532 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14533 your @file{.emacs} file:
14536 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14537 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14539 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14542 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14543 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14544 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14545 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14546 extract some information from it before removing it.
14548 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14549 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14550 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14551 default is @code{nil}.
14553 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14554 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14555 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14557 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14558 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14559 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14560 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14562 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14563 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14564 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14565 default is @code{nil}.
14567 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14568 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14569 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14571 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14572 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14573 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14574 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14579 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14580 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14581 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14582 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14583 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14584 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14587 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14588 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14590 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14591 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14592 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14593 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14594 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14596 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14597 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14598 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14599 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14600 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14601 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14602 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14603 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14606 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14607 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14608 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14609 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14614 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14615 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14616 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14617 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14618 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14619 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14620 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14621 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14622 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14623 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14624 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14625 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14626 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14631 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14632 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14633 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14634 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14635 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14636 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14637 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14638 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14639 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14640 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14641 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14642 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14643 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14644 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14646 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14647 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14652 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14653 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14654 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14655 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14656 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14657 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14658 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14659 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14660 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14661 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14662 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14663 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14664 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14665 provided by the active file and overviews.
14667 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14668 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
14669 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14670 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14671 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14674 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14675 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14680 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14681 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14682 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14683 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14684 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14685 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14686 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14690 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14691 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14692 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14693 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14694 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14695 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14696 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14697 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14698 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14700 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14701 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14702 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14703 friendly mail back end all over.
14707 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14708 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14709 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14710 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14711 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14712 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14713 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14714 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14717 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14718 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14719 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14720 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14721 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14722 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14723 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14724 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14725 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14726 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14727 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14729 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14730 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14731 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14732 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14733 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14734 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14735 This will probably be changed in the future.
14737 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14738 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14739 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14740 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14741 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14744 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14745 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14747 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14748 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14749 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14750 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14751 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14752 would) to make it use less memory.
14754 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14755 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14756 depending in part on your file system.
14758 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14759 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14764 @node Browsing the Web
14765 @section Browsing the Web
14767 @cindex browsing the web
14771 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14772 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14773 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14774 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14775 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14776 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14777 even know what a news group is.
14779 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14780 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14781 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14782 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14783 you mad in the end.
14785 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14788 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14789 interfaces to these sources.
14793 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14794 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14795 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14796 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14797 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14798 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14801 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14803 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14804 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14805 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14806 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14807 though, you should be ok.
14809 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14810 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14811 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14812 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14813 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14815 @node Archiving Mail
14816 @subsection Archiving Mail
14817 @cindex archiving mail
14818 @cindex backup of mail
14820 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14821 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14822 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14823 marks is fairly simple.
14825 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14826 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14829 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14830 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14831 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14832 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14833 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14834 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14835 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14836 before you restore the data.
14838 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14839 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14840 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14841 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14842 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14843 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14844 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14845 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14846 is unnecessary in that case.
14849 @subsection Web Searches
14854 @cindex Usenet searches
14855 @cindex searching the Usenet
14857 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14858 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14859 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14860 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14861 searches without having to use a browser.
14863 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14864 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14865 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14866 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14867 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14869 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14870 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14871 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14872 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14873 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14874 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14875 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14876 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14877 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14878 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14881 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14882 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14883 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14884 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14885 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14886 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14888 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14889 to use @code{nnweb}.
14891 Virtual server variables:
14896 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14897 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14898 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14901 @vindex nnweb-search
14902 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14904 @item nnweb-max-hits
14905 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14906 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14909 @item nnweb-type-definition
14910 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14911 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14912 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14917 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14921 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14924 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14927 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14931 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14938 @subsection Slashdot
14942 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14943 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14944 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14946 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14947 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14950 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14951 '((nnslashdot "")))
14954 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14955 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14956 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14957 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14958 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14961 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14962 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14964 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14965 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14966 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14967 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14968 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14969 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14972 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14975 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14976 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14977 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14978 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14979 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14980 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14981 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
14983 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14984 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14985 The login name to use when posting.
14987 @item nnslashdot-password
14988 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14989 The password to use when posting.
14991 @item nnslashdot-directory
14992 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14993 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14994 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
14996 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14997 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14998 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14999 news articles and comments. The default is
15000 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15002 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15003 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15004 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15006 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15008 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15009 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15010 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15012 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15014 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15015 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15016 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15018 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15019 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15020 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15021 updated. The default is 0.
15028 @subsection Ultimate
15030 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15032 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
15033 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15034 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15035 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15037 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15038 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15039 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15040 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15041 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15042 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15043 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15045 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15048 @item nnultimate-directory
15049 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15050 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
15051 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15056 @subsection Web Archive
15058 @cindex Web Archive
15060 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15061 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15062 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15063 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15066 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15067 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15068 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15069 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
15070 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
15071 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15072 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15073 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15075 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15078 @item nnwarchive-directory
15079 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15080 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
15081 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15083 @item nnwarchive-login
15084 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15085 The account name on the web server.
15087 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15088 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15089 The password for your account on the web server.
15097 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15098 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15099 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15102 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15103 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15106 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15109 @item nnrss-directory
15110 @vindex nnrss-directory
15111 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15112 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15116 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15117 the summary buffer.
15120 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15121 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15123 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15125 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15126 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15129 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15132 (require 'browse-url)
15134 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15136 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15139 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15140 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15143 (browse-url (cdr url))
15144 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15145 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15147 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15148 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15149 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15150 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15153 @node Customizing w3
15154 @subsection Customizing w3
15160 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15161 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15162 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15164 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15165 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15166 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15169 (eval-after-load "w3"
15171 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15172 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15173 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15174 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15176 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15179 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15180 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15189 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15190 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
15191 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15192 specify the network address of the server.
15194 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
15195 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
15196 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
15197 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
15198 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15200 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
15201 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
15202 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
15203 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
15205 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15206 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15207 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
15208 usage explained in this section.
15210 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
15211 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
15212 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15215 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15216 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
15217 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
15219 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15220 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15221 ; a UW server running on localhost
15223 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15224 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15225 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15226 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
15227 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15228 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15229 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15230 (nnimap-stream network))
15231 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
15233 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15234 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15235 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15238 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15239 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15240 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15241 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15243 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15248 @item nnimap-address
15249 @vindex nnimap-address
15251 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
15252 server name if not specified.
15254 @item nnimap-server-port
15255 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15256 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
15258 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15261 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15262 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15265 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15266 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15267 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15268 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15269 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
15270 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15271 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15273 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15274 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15275 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15278 Example server specification:
15281 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15282 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15283 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15286 @item nnimap-stream
15287 @vindex nnimap-stream
15288 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15289 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15290 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15291 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15293 Example server specification:
15296 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15297 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15300 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15304 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15305 @samp{imtest} program.
15307 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15309 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15310 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15313 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15314 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15315 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15317 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15319 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15322 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15323 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15324 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15325 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15326 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15327 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15328 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15329 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15330 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15333 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15334 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15335 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15336 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
15337 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15338 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15339 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15340 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15341 distribution, for instance).
15343 @vindex imap-shell-program
15344 @vindex imap-shell-host
15345 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15346 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15348 @item nnimap-authenticator
15349 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15351 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15352 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15354 Example server specification:
15357 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15358 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15361 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15365 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15366 external program @code{imtest}.
15368 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15371 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15372 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15374 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15376 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15378 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15381 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15383 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15384 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15385 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15386 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15387 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15388 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15391 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15392 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15393 running in circles yet?
15395 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15396 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15399 The possible options are:
15404 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
15407 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15408 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15409 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15410 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15412 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15417 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15418 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15420 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15421 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15422 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15423 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15424 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15427 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15428 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15431 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15432 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15433 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15434 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15437 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15438 as ticked for other users.
15440 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15442 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15444 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15445 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15446 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15447 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15449 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15450 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15451 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15452 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15454 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15455 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15457 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15458 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15459 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15465 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15466 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
15467 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15468 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
15469 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15474 @node Splitting in IMAP
15475 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15476 @cindex splitting imap mail
15478 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15479 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15480 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15481 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15482 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15486 Here are the variables of interest:
15490 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15491 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15493 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15495 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15496 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15498 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15500 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15501 @cindex splitting, inbox
15503 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15505 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15506 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15510 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15511 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15514 No nnmail equivalent.
15516 @item nnimap-split-rule
15517 @cindex Splitting, rules
15518 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15520 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15523 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15524 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15525 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15526 Neither did I, we need examples.
15529 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15531 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15532 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15533 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15536 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15537 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15538 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15540 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15541 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15545 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15548 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15549 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15551 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15552 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15553 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15554 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15556 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15557 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15558 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15559 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15560 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15561 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15563 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15564 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
15565 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
15567 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15568 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15569 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15571 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15573 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15574 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15575 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15578 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15579 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15580 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15581 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15582 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15583 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15586 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15587 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15588 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15589 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15590 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15591 group/function elements.
15593 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15595 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15597 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15599 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15600 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15602 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15603 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15604 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15607 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15608 @cindex splitting, fancy
15609 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15610 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15612 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15613 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15614 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15616 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15617 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15618 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15619 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15624 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15625 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15628 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15630 @item nnimap-split-download-body
15631 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
15632 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
15634 Set to non-nil to download entire articles during splitting. This is
15635 generally not required, and will slow things down considerably. You
15636 may need it if you want to use an advanced splitting function that
15637 analyses the body to split the article.
15641 @node Expiring in IMAP
15642 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
15643 @cindex expiring imap mail
15645 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
15646 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
15647 Mail}). Unlike splitting in IMAP (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}) it do
15648 not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
15649 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
15650 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
15653 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @sc{imap} server is
15654 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
15655 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
15656 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
15657 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
15658 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
15659 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
15660 messages. Most do, fortunately.
15664 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
15665 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15667 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
15668 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
15670 @item nnmail-expiry-target
15672 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
15673 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
15674 that if the destination is a IMAP group on the same server, the
15675 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
15679 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15680 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15681 @cindex editing imap acls
15682 @cindex Access Control Lists
15683 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15685 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15687 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15688 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15689 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15692 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15693 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15694 editing window with detailed instructions.
15696 Some possible uses:
15700 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15701 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15702 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15704 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15705 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
15706 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15710 @node Expunging mailboxes
15711 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15715 @cindex Manual expunging
15717 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15719 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15720 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15721 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15723 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15726 @node A note on namespaces
15727 @subsection A note on namespaces
15728 @cindex IMAP namespace
15731 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15732 following text in the RFC:
15735 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15737 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15738 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15739 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15740 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15742 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15743 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15744 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15745 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15746 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15747 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15750 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15751 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15752 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15754 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15755 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15756 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15757 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15758 the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15759 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15760 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15761 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15763 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15764 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15765 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15767 @node Other Sources
15768 @section Other Sources
15770 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15771 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15775 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15776 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15777 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15778 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15779 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15783 @node Directory Groups
15784 @subsection Directory Groups
15786 @cindex directory groups
15788 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15789 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15792 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15793 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15794 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15795 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15797 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15798 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15799 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15800 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15801 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15803 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15805 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15806 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15807 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15808 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15811 @node Anything Groups
15812 @subsection Anything Groups
15815 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15816 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15817 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15820 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15821 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15822 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15823 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15824 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15825 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15826 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15827 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15828 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15829 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15832 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15833 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15834 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15835 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15837 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15838 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15839 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15840 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15842 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15843 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15844 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15845 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15846 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15847 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15848 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15849 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15854 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15855 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15856 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15857 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15859 @item nneething-exclude-files
15860 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15861 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15862 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15864 @item nneething-include-files
15865 @vindex nneething-include-files
15866 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15867 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15869 @item nneething-map-file
15870 @vindex nneething-map-file
15871 Name of the map files.
15875 @node Document Groups
15876 @subsection Document Groups
15878 @cindex documentation group
15881 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15882 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15889 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15894 The standard Unix mbox file.
15896 @cindex MMDF mail box
15898 The MMDF mail box format.
15901 Several news articles appended into a file.
15904 @cindex rnews batch files
15905 The rnews batch transport format.
15906 @cindex forwarded messages
15909 Forwarded articles.
15912 Netscape mail boxes.
15915 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15917 @item standard-digest
15918 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15921 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15923 @item lanl-gov-announce
15924 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15926 @item rfc822-forward
15927 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15930 The Outlook mail box.
15933 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15936 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15939 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15942 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15948 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15951 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15957 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15958 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15959 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15962 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15963 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15964 group. And that's it.
15966 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15967 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15968 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15969 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15970 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15971 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15972 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15973 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15974 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15975 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15977 Virtual server variables:
15980 @item nndoc-article-type
15981 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15982 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15983 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15984 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15985 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15986 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15988 @item nndoc-post-type
15989 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15990 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15991 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15996 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16000 @node Document Server Internals
16001 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16003 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16004 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16005 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16006 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16008 First, here's an example document type definition:
16012 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16013 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16016 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16017 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16018 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16019 types can be defined with very few settings:
16022 @item first-article
16023 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16024 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16027 @item article-begin
16028 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16029 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16031 @item head-begin-function
16032 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16035 @item nndoc-head-begin
16036 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16039 @item nndoc-head-end
16040 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16041 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16043 @item body-begin-function
16044 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16048 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16051 @item body-end-function
16052 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16056 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16059 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16060 regexp will be totally ignored.
16064 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16065 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16066 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16067 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16068 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16071 @item prepare-body-function
16072 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16073 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16074 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16076 @item article-transform-function
16077 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16078 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16079 body of the article.
16081 @item generate-head-function
16082 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16083 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16084 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16085 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16089 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16094 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16095 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16096 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16097 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16098 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16099 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16100 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16101 (subtype digest guess))
16104 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16105 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16106 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16107 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16108 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16110 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16111 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
16112 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
16113 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
16114 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
16115 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16116 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
16117 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16118 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
16119 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16127 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16128 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16129 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16131 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16132 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16133 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16136 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16137 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16138 that interested in doing things properly.
16140 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16141 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16144 First some terminology:
16149 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16150 get news and/or mail from.
16153 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16154 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16157 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16161 @item message packets
16162 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16163 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16164 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16166 @item response packets
16167 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16168 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16169 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16179 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16180 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16181 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16182 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16185 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16188 You put the packet in your home directory.
16191 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16192 the native or secondary server.
16195 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16196 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16199 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16203 You transfer this packet to the server.
16206 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16209 You then repeat until you die.
16213 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16214 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16217 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16218 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16219 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16223 @node SOUP Commands
16224 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16226 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16230 @kindex G s b (Group)
16231 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16232 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16233 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16234 process/prefix convention.
16237 @kindex G s w (Group)
16238 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16239 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16242 @kindex G s s (Group)
16243 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16244 Send all replies from the replies packet
16245 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16248 @kindex G s p (Group)
16249 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16250 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16253 @kindex G s r (Group)
16254 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16255 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16258 @kindex O s (Summary)
16259 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16260 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16261 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16262 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16267 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16272 @item gnus-soup-directory
16273 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16274 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16275 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16277 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16278 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16279 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16280 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16282 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16283 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16284 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16285 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16287 @item gnus-soup-packer
16288 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16289 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16290 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16292 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16293 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16294 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16295 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16297 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16298 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16299 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16301 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16302 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16303 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16304 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16310 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16313 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16314 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16315 you can read them at leisure.
16317 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16321 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16322 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16323 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16324 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16326 @item nnsoup-directory
16327 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16328 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16329 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16331 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16332 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16333 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16334 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
16336 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16337 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16338 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16339 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16340 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16342 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16343 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16344 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16345 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16347 @item nnsoup-active-file
16348 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16349 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16350 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16351 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16352 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16354 @item nnsoup-packer
16355 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16356 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16357 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16359 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16360 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16361 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16362 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16364 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16365 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16366 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16369 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16370 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16371 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16374 @item nnsoup-always-save
16375 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16376 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16382 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16384 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16385 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16386 more for that to happen.
16388 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16389 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16390 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16393 In specific, this is what it does:
16396 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16397 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16400 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16401 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16402 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16405 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16406 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16407 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16410 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16411 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16412 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16414 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16420 @item nngateway-address
16421 @vindex nngateway-address
16422 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16424 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16425 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16426 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16427 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16428 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16429 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16430 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16433 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16434 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16435 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16438 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16441 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16444 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16447 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16449 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16452 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16453 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16454 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16456 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16458 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16459 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16460 @code{nngateway-address}.
16465 (setq gnus-post-method
16467 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16468 (nngateway-header-transformation
16469 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16477 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16480 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16485 @node Combined Groups
16486 @section Combined Groups
16488 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16492 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16493 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16497 @node Virtual Groups
16498 @subsection Virtual Groups
16500 @cindex virtual groups
16501 @cindex merging groups
16503 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16506 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16507 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16508 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16510 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16511 regexp to match component groups.
16513 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16514 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16515 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16516 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16517 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16518 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16519 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16520 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16522 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16523 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16526 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16529 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16530 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16532 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16533 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16534 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16535 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16538 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16541 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16542 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16543 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16545 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16546 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16547 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16548 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16549 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16551 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16552 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16553 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16555 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16556 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16557 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16558 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16559 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16560 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16561 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16562 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16563 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16564 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16565 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16567 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16568 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16569 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16570 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16571 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16572 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16573 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16575 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16576 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16578 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16579 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16583 @node Kibozed Groups
16584 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16588 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16589 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16590 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16591 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16593 @kindex G k (Group)
16594 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16597 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16598 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16599 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16600 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16602 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16603 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16604 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16606 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16607 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16608 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16609 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16610 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16611 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16612 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16613 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16615 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16616 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16617 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16618 Stranger things have happened.
16620 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16621 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16623 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16624 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16625 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16626 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16627 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16628 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16630 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16631 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16634 @node Gnus Unplugged
16635 @section Gnus Unplugged
16640 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16642 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16643 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16644 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16645 read news. Believe it or not.
16647 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16648 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16649 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16650 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16651 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16653 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16654 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16655 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16656 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16657 reading news on a machine.
16659 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16660 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16662 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16665 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16666 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16667 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16668 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16669 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16670 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
16671 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16672 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16673 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16674 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16675 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16676 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16681 @subsection Agent Basics
16683 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16685 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16686 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16687 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16688 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16690 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16691 connected to the net continuously.
16693 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16694 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16696 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16701 @findex gnus-unplugged
16702 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16703 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16704 already fetched while in this mode.
16707 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16708 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16709 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16710 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16711 Source Specifiers}).
16714 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16715 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16716 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16717 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16718 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16721 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16722 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16723 then you read the news offline.
16726 And then you go to step 2.
16729 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16735 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16736 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16737 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16738 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16739 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16740 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16741 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16742 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16745 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16748 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
16752 @node Agent Categories
16753 @subsection Agent Categories
16755 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16756 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16757 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16758 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16759 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16760 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16761 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16763 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16764 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16765 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16766 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16767 managing categories.
16770 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16771 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16772 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16776 @node Category Syntax
16777 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16779 A category consists of two things.
16783 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16784 are eligible for downloading; and
16787 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16788 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16789 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16792 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16793 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16794 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16795 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16797 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16798 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16799 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16801 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16802 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16803 operators sprinkled in between.
16805 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16807 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16808 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16814 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16815 short (for some value of ``short'').
16817 Here's a more complex predicate:
16826 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16827 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16830 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16831 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16832 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16834 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16835 you want to do, you can write your own.
16839 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16840 lines; default 100.
16843 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16844 lines; default 200.
16847 True iff the article has a download score less than
16848 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16851 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16852 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16855 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16856 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16857 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16866 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16867 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16868 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16871 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16872 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16873 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16874 something along the lines of the following:
16877 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16878 "Say whether an article is old."
16879 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16880 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16883 with the predicate then defined as:
16886 (not my-article-old-p)
16889 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16890 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16894 (require 'gnus-agent)
16895 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16896 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16897 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16900 and simply specify your predicate as:
16906 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16907 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16908 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16909 just don't give a damn.
16911 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
16912 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16913 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16914 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16915 parameters like so:
16918 (agent-predicate . short)
16921 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16922 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16923 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16925 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16928 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16931 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16932 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16933 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16936 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16937 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16938 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16939 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16940 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16941 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16943 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16944 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16945 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16946 if it's to be specific to that group.
16948 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16955 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16956 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16962 Category specification
16966 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16972 Group Parameter specification
16975 (agent-score ("from"
16976 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16981 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16987 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
16988 keywords stated above.
16994 Category specification
16997 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17003 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17007 Group Parameter specification
17010 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17013 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17018 Use @code{normal} score files
17020 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17021 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17022 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17023 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17025 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17026 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17027 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17028 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17032 Category Specification
17039 Group Parameter specification
17042 (agent-score . file)
17047 @node Category Buffer
17048 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17050 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17051 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17052 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17054 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17058 @kindex q (Category)
17059 @findex gnus-category-exit
17060 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17063 @kindex k (Category)
17064 @findex gnus-category-kill
17065 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17068 @kindex c (Category)
17069 @findex gnus-category-copy
17070 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17073 @kindex a (Category)
17074 @findex gnus-category-add
17075 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17078 @kindex p (Category)
17079 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17080 Edit the predicate of the current category
17081 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17084 @kindex g (Category)
17085 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17086 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17087 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17090 @kindex s (Category)
17091 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17092 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17093 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17096 @kindex l (Category)
17097 @findex gnus-category-list
17098 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17102 @node Category Variables
17103 @subsubsection Category Variables
17106 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17107 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17108 Hook run in category buffers.
17110 @item gnus-category-line-format
17111 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17112 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17113 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17117 The name of the category.
17120 The number of groups in the category.
17123 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17124 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17125 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17127 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17128 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17129 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17131 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17132 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17133 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17135 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17136 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17137 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17140 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17141 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17142 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17148 @node Agent Commands
17149 @subsection Agent Commands
17150 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17151 @kindex J j (Agent)
17153 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17154 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17155 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17159 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17160 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17161 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17167 @node Group Agent Commands
17168 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17172 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17173 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17174 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17175 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17178 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17179 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17180 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17183 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17184 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17185 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17186 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17189 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17190 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17191 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17192 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17195 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17196 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17197 Add the current group to an Agent category
17198 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17199 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17202 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17203 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17204 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17205 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17206 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17209 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17210 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17211 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17217 @node Summary Agent Commands
17218 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17222 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17223 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17224 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17227 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17228 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17229 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17230 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17234 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17235 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17236 Toggle whether to download the article
17237 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The dowload mark is @samp{%} by
17241 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17242 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17243 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17246 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17247 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17248 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17249 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17252 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17253 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17254 Download all processable articles in this group.
17255 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17258 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17259 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17260 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17261 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17266 @node Server Agent Commands
17267 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17271 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17272 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17273 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17274 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17277 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17278 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17279 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17280 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17285 @node Agent as Cache
17286 @subsection Agent as Cache
17288 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17289 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17290 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17291 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17292 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17293 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17294 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17295 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17296 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17298 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17299 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
17302 @subsection Agent Expiry
17304 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17305 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17306 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17307 @cindex Agent expiry
17308 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17311 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
17312 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
17313 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
17314 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
17315 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
17316 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
17318 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17319 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17320 synchronized with the group.
17322 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
17323 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
17324 expiry in different groups.
17327 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
17333 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
17334 method---it must always match all groups. Also, for a regexp to match,
17335 it must match from the beginning of the group's name.
17337 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17338 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
17339 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
17340 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
17341 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
17343 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
17344 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
17345 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
17347 @node Agent Regeneration
17348 @subsection Agent Regeneration
17350 @cindex Agent Regeneration
17351 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
17352 @cindex regeneration
17354 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
17355 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
17356 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
17357 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
17358 internal inconsistencies.
17360 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
17361 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
17362 know about articles downloaded prior to the connection failure.
17363 Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
17364 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
17365 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
17367 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
17368 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
17369 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
17370 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
17371 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
17372 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
17374 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17375 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
17376 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
17377 of individual articles to repair the local NOV(header) database. It
17378 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
17379 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
17382 @node Agent and IMAP
17383 @subsection Agent and IMAP
17385 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
17386 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17387 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17388 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17390 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17391 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
17392 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17393 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17395 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17396 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17397 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17398 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17400 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17401 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17402 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17403 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17404 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17405 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17407 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17408 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17409 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17410 in the group buffer.
17412 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17413 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17418 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17421 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17425 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
17426 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17427 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17428 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17429 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17430 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
17431 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17432 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17435 @node Outgoing Messages
17436 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17438 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17439 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17440 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17442 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17443 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17444 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17445 messages in the draft group.
17449 @node Agent Variables
17450 @subsection Agent Variables
17453 @item gnus-agent-directory
17454 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17455 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17456 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17458 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17459 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17460 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17461 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17462 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17465 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17466 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17467 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17469 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17470 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17471 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17473 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17474 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17475 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17477 @item gnus-agent-cache
17478 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17479 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17480 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17481 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17483 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17484 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17485 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17486 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17487 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17488 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17489 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17492 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17493 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
17494 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
17495 mark articles as unread after downloading. The default is t.
17497 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17498 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
17499 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
17500 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
17501 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
17503 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17504 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
17505 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
17506 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
17507 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
17508 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
17509 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
17510 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
17511 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
17512 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
17513 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
17514 available while unplugged).
17516 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17517 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17518 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17519 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17520 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17521 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17522 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17523 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17524 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17529 @node Example Setup
17530 @subsection Example Setup
17532 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17533 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17534 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17537 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17538 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17539 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17541 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17542 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17543 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17545 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17546 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17548 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17549 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17550 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17553 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17554 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17557 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17558 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17559 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17560 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17561 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17564 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17565 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17566 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17567 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17568 back all the killed groups.)
17570 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17571 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17572 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17575 @node Batching Agents
17576 @subsection Batching Agents
17577 @findex gnus-agent-batch
17579 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17580 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17581 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17583 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
17584 following incantation:
17588 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
17592 @node Agent Caveats
17593 @subsection Agent Caveats
17595 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17596 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17600 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17602 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
17603 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
17604 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
17606 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17608 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
17612 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17613 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
17614 locally stored articles.
17621 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17622 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17623 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17626 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17627 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17628 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17629 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17630 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17632 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17633 before generating the summary buffer.
17635 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17636 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17637 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17639 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17640 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17641 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17642 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17645 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17646 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17647 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17648 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17649 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17650 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17651 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17652 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17653 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17654 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17655 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17656 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17657 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17658 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17659 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17660 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17661 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17665 @node Summary Score Commands
17666 @section Summary Score Commands
17667 @cindex score commands
17669 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17670 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17671 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17672 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17673 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17675 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17676 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17677 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17678 score file the current one.
17680 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17685 @kindex V s (Summary)
17686 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17687 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17690 @kindex V S (Summary)
17691 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17692 Display the score of the current article
17693 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17696 @kindex V t (Summary)
17697 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17698 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17699 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17702 @kindex V w (Summary)
17703 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17704 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17707 @kindex V R (Summary)
17708 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17709 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17710 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17711 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17712 effect you're having.
17715 @kindex V c (Summary)
17716 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17717 Make a different score file the current
17718 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17721 @kindex V e (Summary)
17722 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17723 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17724 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17728 @kindex V f (Summary)
17729 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17730 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17731 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17734 @kindex V F (Summary)
17735 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17736 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17737 after editing score files.
17740 @kindex V C (Summary)
17741 @findex gnus-score-customize
17742 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17743 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17747 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17752 @kindex V m (Summary)
17753 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17754 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17755 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17758 @kindex V x (Summary)
17759 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17760 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17761 expunge all articles below this score
17762 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17765 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17766 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17769 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17770 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17774 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17775 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17777 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17778 keys are available:
17782 Score on the author name.
17785 Score on the subject line.
17788 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17791 Score on the @code{References} line.
17797 Score on the number of lines.
17800 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17803 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17804 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17807 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17808 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17809 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17818 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17824 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17825 what headers you are scoring on.
17837 Substring matching.
17840 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17869 Greater than number.
17874 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17875 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17876 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17881 Temporary score entry.
17884 Permanent score entry.
17887 Immediately scoring.
17891 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17892 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17893 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17897 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17898 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17899 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17900 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17902 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17903 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17904 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17905 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17906 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17908 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17909 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17910 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17911 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17912 current score file.
17914 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17915 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17916 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17919 @node Group Score Commands
17920 @section Group Score Commands
17921 @cindex group score commands
17923 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17928 @kindex W f (Group)
17929 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17930 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17931 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17932 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17936 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17938 @findex gnus-batch-score
17939 @cindex batch scoring
17941 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17945 @node Score Variables
17946 @section Score Variables
17947 @cindex score variables
17951 @item gnus-use-scoring
17952 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17953 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17954 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17956 @item gnus-kill-killed
17957 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17958 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17959 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17960 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17961 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17962 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17963 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17965 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17966 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17967 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17968 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17969 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17971 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17972 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17973 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17974 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17976 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17977 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17978 @cindex score cache
17979 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17980 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17981 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
17982 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17983 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17984 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17987 @item gnus-save-score
17988 @vindex gnus-save-score
17989 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17990 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17991 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17993 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17994 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17995 across group visits.
17997 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17998 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17999 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18000 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18001 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18002 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18003 manually entered data.
18005 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18006 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18007 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18009 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18010 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18011 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18012 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18013 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18014 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18016 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18017 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18018 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18019 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18021 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18022 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18023 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18024 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18026 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18027 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18028 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18029 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18031 Predefined functions available are:
18034 @item gnus-score-find-single
18035 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18036 Only apply the group's own score file.
18038 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18039 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18040 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18041 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18042 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18043 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18044 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18045 then a regexp match is done.
18047 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18048 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18050 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18051 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18052 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18053 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18055 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18056 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18057 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18058 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18059 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18063 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18064 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18065 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18066 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18067 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18068 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18069 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18072 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18073 overall score file, you could use the value
18075 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18076 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18079 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18080 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18081 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18082 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18083 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18085 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18086 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18087 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18088 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18089 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18090 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18091 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18092 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18094 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18095 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18096 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18098 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18099 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18100 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
18101 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18102 threading---according to the current value of
18103 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
18104 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18105 simplified in this manner.
18110 @node Score File Format
18111 @section Score File Format
18112 @cindex score file format
18114 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18115 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18116 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18118 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18122 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18124 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18126 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18128 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18133 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18137 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18138 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18139 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18140 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18144 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18145 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18147 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
18148 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18149 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18151 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18156 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18157 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18158 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18159 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18160 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18161 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18162 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18163 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18164 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18165 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18166 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18167 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18168 to articles that matches these score entries.
18170 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18171 score entry has one to four elements.
18175 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18176 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18180 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18181 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18182 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18183 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18184 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18185 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18188 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18189 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18190 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18191 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18192 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18195 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18196 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18197 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18198 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18201 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18202 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18203 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18204 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18205 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18206 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18207 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18208 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18209 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18210 instead, if you feel like.
18213 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18214 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18215 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18216 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18217 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18218 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18221 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18225 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18226 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18228 These predicates are true if
18231 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18234 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18235 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18242 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18243 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18244 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18245 it's not. I think.)
18247 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18248 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18249 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18250 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18253 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18254 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18255 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18256 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18257 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18258 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18259 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18263 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18264 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18265 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18266 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18267 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18268 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18269 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18270 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18273 @item Head, Body, All
18274 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18278 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18279 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18280 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18281 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18282 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18283 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18284 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18288 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18289 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18290 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18291 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18292 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18293 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18294 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18295 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18296 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18297 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18298 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18302 @cindex Score File Atoms
18304 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18305 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18308 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18309 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18311 @item mark-and-expunge
18312 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18313 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18316 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18317 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18318 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18319 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
18320 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
18323 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
18324 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
18327 @item exclude-files
18328 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
18329 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
18333 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
18334 ignored when handling global score files.
18337 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
18338 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
18339 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
18340 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
18343 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
18344 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
18345 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
18346 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
18348 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
18352 (mark-and-expunge -100)
18355 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
18356 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
18357 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
18358 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
18359 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
18361 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
18362 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
18363 scoring rules exist.
18366 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
18367 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
18368 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
18369 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
18370 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
18371 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
18372 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18373 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
18374 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
18375 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
18376 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
18380 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
18381 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
18382 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
18383 file for a number of groups.
18386 @cindex local variables
18387 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
18388 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
18389 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
18390 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
18391 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
18396 @node Score File Editing
18397 @section Score File Editing
18399 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
18400 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
18401 with a mode for that.
18403 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
18404 additional commands:
18409 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
18410 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
18411 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
18412 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
18415 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
18416 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
18417 Insert the current date in numerical format
18418 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18419 you were wondering.
18422 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18423 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18424 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18425 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18426 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18431 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18433 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18434 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18436 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18437 e} to begin editing score files.
18440 @node Adaptive Scoring
18441 @section Adaptive Scoring
18442 @cindex adaptive scoring
18444 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18445 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18446 stupidity, to be precise.
18448 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18449 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18450 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18451 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18452 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18453 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18454 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18455 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18456 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18458 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18459 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18460 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18461 might look something like this:
18464 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18465 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18466 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18467 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18468 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18469 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18470 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18471 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18472 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18473 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18474 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18475 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18478 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18479 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18480 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18481 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18482 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18483 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18486 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18487 will be applied to each article.
18489 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18490 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18491 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18492 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18494 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18495 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18496 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18497 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18499 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18500 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18501 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18502 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18504 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18505 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18506 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18507 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18508 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18509 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18511 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18512 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18513 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18515 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18516 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18517 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18519 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18520 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18521 let you use different rules in different groups.
18523 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18524 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18525 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18528 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18529 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18530 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18531 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18532 the length of the match is less than
18533 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18534 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18537 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18538 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18539 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18540 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18541 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18544 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18545 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18546 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18547 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18548 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18551 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18552 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18553 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18554 score with 30 points.
18556 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18557 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18558 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18559 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18560 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18562 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18563 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18564 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18565 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18566 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
18568 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18569 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18570 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18571 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18573 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18574 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18575 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18576 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18578 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18579 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18580 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18581 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18582 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18584 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18585 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18586 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18588 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18589 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18590 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18591 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18594 @node Home Score File
18595 @section Home Score File
18597 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18598 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18599 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18600 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18602 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18603 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18604 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18606 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18607 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18612 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18616 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18617 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18621 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18625 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18626 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18629 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18630 the home score file.
18633 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18636 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18641 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18644 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18645 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18648 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18649 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18651 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18653 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18654 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18657 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18658 Other functions include
18661 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18662 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18663 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18664 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18668 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18669 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18670 their own home score files:
18673 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18674 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18675 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18676 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18677 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18680 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18681 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18682 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18683 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18684 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18686 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18687 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18688 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18689 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18690 precedence over this variable.
18693 @node Followups To Yourself
18694 @section Followups To Yourself
18696 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18697 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18698 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18699 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18700 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18701 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18705 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18706 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18707 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18710 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18711 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18712 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18716 @vindex message-sent-hook
18717 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18718 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18720 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18724 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18725 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18729 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18730 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18733 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18734 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18739 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18743 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18744 is system-dependent.
18747 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18748 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18749 @cindex scoring on other headers
18751 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18752 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18753 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18754 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18755 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18757 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18758 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18759 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18760 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18761 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18763 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18766 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18767 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18770 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18771 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18772 time if you have much mail.
18774 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18775 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18781 @section Scoring Tips
18782 @cindex scoring tips
18788 @cindex scoring crossposts
18789 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18790 the @code{Xref} header.
18792 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18795 @item Multiple crossposts
18796 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18797 more than, say, 3 groups:
18800 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18804 @item Matching on the body
18805 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18806 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18807 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18808 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18809 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18810 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18811 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18814 @item Marking as read
18815 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18816 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18817 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18821 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18823 @item Negated character classes
18824 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18825 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18826 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18830 @node Reverse Scoring
18831 @section Reverse Scoring
18832 @cindex reverse scoring
18834 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18835 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18836 like this in your score file:
18840 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18845 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18846 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18849 @node Global Score Files
18850 @section Global Score Files
18851 @cindex global score files
18853 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18854 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18855 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18857 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18858 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18859 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18861 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18862 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18863 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18864 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18865 files are applicable to which group.
18867 To use the score file
18868 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18869 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18873 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18874 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18875 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18878 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18880 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18881 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18882 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18883 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18885 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18886 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18888 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18889 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18890 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18891 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18892 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18893 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18895 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18901 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18903 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18905 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18907 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18908 lowered out of existence.
18910 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18911 articles completely.
18914 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18915 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18916 old articles for a long time.
18919 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18920 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18921 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18922 holding our breath yet?
18926 @section Kill Files
18929 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18930 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18931 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18933 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18934 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18935 files into score files.
18937 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18938 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18939 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18940 that isn't a very good idea.
18942 Normal kill files look like this:
18945 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18946 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18950 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18951 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18953 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18954 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18957 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18962 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18963 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18964 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18967 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18968 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18969 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18972 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18977 @kindex M-k (Group)
18978 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18979 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18982 @kindex M-K (Group)
18983 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18984 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18987 Kill file variables:
18990 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18991 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18992 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18993 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18994 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18995 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18996 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18998 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18999 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19000 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19001 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19004 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19005 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19006 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19007 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19008 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19009 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19010 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19011 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19012 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19014 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19015 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19016 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19021 @node Converting Kill Files
19022 @section Converting Kill Files
19024 @cindex converting kill files
19026 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19027 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19028 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19031 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19032 You can fetch it from
19033 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19035 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19036 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19037 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19045 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
19046 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19047 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19048 news articles generated every day.
19050 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19051 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19052 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19053 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19054 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19055 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19056 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19057 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19060 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19061 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19064 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19065 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19066 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19067 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19071 @node Using GroupLens
19072 @subsection Using GroupLens
19074 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
19076 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
19077 better bit in town at the moment.
19079 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19083 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19084 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19085 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19086 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19088 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19089 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19090 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19091 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19093 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19094 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19095 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19099 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19100 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19101 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19102 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19103 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19104 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19107 @node Rating Articles
19108 @subsection Rating Articles
19110 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19111 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19112 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19113 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19116 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19121 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19122 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19123 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19126 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19127 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19128 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19129 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19130 threads in rec.humor.
19134 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19135 the score of the article you're reading.
19140 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19141 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19142 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19145 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19146 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19147 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19151 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19152 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19155 @node Displaying Predictions
19156 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19158 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19159 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19160 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19161 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19162 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19164 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19165 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19166 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19167 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19168 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19169 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19170 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19171 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19172 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19173 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19174 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19175 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19176 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19178 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19179 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19180 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19181 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19183 The following are valid values for that variable.
19186 @item prediction-spot
19187 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19190 @item confidence-interval
19191 A numeric confidence interval.
19193 @item prediction-bar
19194 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19196 @item confidence-bar
19197 Numerical confidence.
19199 @item confidence-spot
19200 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19202 @item prediction-num
19203 Plain-old numeric value.
19205 @item confidence-plus-minus
19206 Prediction +/- confidence.
19211 @node GroupLens Variables
19212 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19216 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19217 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19218 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19219 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19222 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19223 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19226 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19227 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19229 @item grouplens-score-offset
19230 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19231 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19234 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19235 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19236 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19241 @node Advanced Scoring
19242 @section Advanced Scoring
19244 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19245 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19246 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19247 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19248 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19250 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19254 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19255 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19256 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19260 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19261 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19263 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19264 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19265 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19266 non-@code{nil} value.
19268 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19269 operator, and various match operators.
19276 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19277 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19278 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19283 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19284 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19285 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19290 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19291 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19295 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19296 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19297 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19298 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19299 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19300 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19301 the ancestry you want to go.
19303 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19304 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19305 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19306 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19307 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19310 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19311 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19313 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19314 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19317 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19318 when he's talking about Gnus:
19322 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19323 ("subject" "Gnus"))
19329 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
19333 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19340 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
19341 really don't want to read what he's written:
19345 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19346 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
19350 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
19351 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
19352 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
19359 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
19360 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
19361 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
19362 ("body" "white.*socks"))
19366 The possibilities are endless.
19369 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
19370 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
19372 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
19373 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
19374 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
19375 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
19376 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
19377 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
19378 @samp{subject}) first.
19380 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
19381 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
19392 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
19393 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
19399 ("subject" "Gnus")))
19406 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
19407 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19412 @section Score Decays
19413 @cindex score decays
19416 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19417 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19418 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19419 use them in any sensible way.
19421 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19422 @findex gnus-decay-score
19423 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19424 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19425 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19426 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19427 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19428 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19429 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19430 definition of that function:
19433 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19435 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19436 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19439 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19441 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19443 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19446 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19447 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19448 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19449 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19453 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19456 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19459 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19463 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19464 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19465 the new score, which should be an integer.
19467 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19468 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19473 @include message.texi
19474 @chapter Emacs MIME
19475 @include emacs-mime.texi
19477 @include sieve.texi
19479 @c @include pgg.texi
19487 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19488 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19489 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19490 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19491 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19492 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19493 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19494 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19495 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19496 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19497 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19498 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19499 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19500 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19501 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19502 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19503 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19504 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19505 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19509 @node Process/Prefix
19510 @section Process/Prefix
19511 @cindex process/prefix convention
19513 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19514 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19516 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19517 command to be performed on.
19521 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19522 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19523 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19524 with the current one.
19526 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19527 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19528 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19530 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19531 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19534 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19535 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19537 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19540 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19541 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19542 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19543 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19545 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19546 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19547 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19548 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19549 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19550 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19551 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19552 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19554 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19555 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19556 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19557 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19558 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
19562 @section Interactive
19563 @cindex interaction
19567 @item gnus-novice-user
19568 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19569 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19570 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19571 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19572 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19575 @item gnus-expert-user
19576 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19577 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19578 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19579 matter how strange.
19581 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19582 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19583 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19584 is @code{t} by default.
19586 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19587 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19588 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19593 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19594 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19595 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19597 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19598 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19599 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19600 rule of 900 to the current article.
19602 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19603 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19604 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19605 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19606 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19607 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19608 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19610 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19611 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19612 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19613 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19614 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19615 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19616 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19617 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19618 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19620 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19621 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19622 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19624 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19628 @node Formatting Variables
19629 @section Formatting Variables
19630 @cindex formatting variables
19632 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19633 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19634 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19635 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19636 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19639 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19640 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19641 lots of percentages everywhere.
19644 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19645 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19646 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19647 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19648 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19649 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19650 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19651 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19654 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19655 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19656 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19657 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19658 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19659 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19660 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19661 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19663 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19664 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19666 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19667 @findex gnus-update-format
19668 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19669 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19670 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19671 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19675 @node Formatting Basics
19676 @subsection Formatting Basics
19678 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19679 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19680 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19682 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19683 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19684 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19685 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19686 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19689 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19690 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19691 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19692 less than 4 characters wide.
19694 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19695 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19698 @node Mode Line Formatting
19699 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19701 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19702 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19703 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19704 with the following two differences:
19709 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19712 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19713 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19714 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19715 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19716 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19717 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19718 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19723 @node Advanced Formatting
19724 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19726 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19727 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19728 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19729 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19731 These are the valid modifiers:
19736 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19740 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19745 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19748 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19753 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19756 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19759 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19762 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19768 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19773 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19774 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19775 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19776 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19777 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19778 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19779 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19781 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19782 last operation, padding.
19784 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
19785 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
19786 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
19787 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
19788 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
19789 the look of your lines.
19790 @xref{Compilation}.
19793 @node User-Defined Specs
19794 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19796 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19797 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19798 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19799 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19800 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19801 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19802 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19803 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19804 should protect against that.
19806 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19807 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19809 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19810 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19811 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19812 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19816 @node Formatting Fonts
19817 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19819 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19820 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19821 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19822 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19825 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19826 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19827 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19828 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19829 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19830 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19832 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
19833 special @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}.
19834 If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on.
19835 The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or
19836 symbols naming functions that return a string. When the mouse passes
19837 over text with this property set, a balloon window will appear and
19838 display the string. Please refer to @ref{(emacs)Help Echo} (in GNU
19839 Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in XEmacs) for
19840 more information on this. (For technical reasons, the guillemets have
19841 been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this paragraph.)
19843 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19846 ;; Create three face types.
19847 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19848 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19850 ;; We want the article count to be in
19851 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19852 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19853 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19855 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19856 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19858 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19859 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19860 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19863 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19864 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19866 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19867 mode-line variables.
19869 @node Positioning Point
19870 @subsection Positioning Point
19872 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19873 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19874 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19876 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19878 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19879 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19880 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19882 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19883 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
19884 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19889 @subsection Tabulation
19891 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19892 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19893 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19894 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19896 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19897 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19899 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19900 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19901 This is the soft tabulator.
19903 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19904 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19905 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19908 @node Wide Characters
19909 @subsection Wide Characters
19911 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19912 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19913 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19915 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19916 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19917 these countries, that's not true.
19919 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19920 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19921 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19922 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
19926 @node Window Layout
19927 @section Window Layout
19928 @cindex window layout
19930 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19932 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19933 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19934 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19935 @code{t} by default.
19937 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19938 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19940 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19941 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19942 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19945 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19946 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19947 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19951 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19952 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19953 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19954 possible names is listed below.
19956 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19957 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19960 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19964 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19965 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19966 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19967 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19968 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19969 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19970 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19971 size spec per split.
19973 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19974 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19975 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19976 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19977 present) gets focus.
19979 Here's a more complicated example:
19982 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19983 (summary 0.25 point)
19984 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19988 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19989 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19990 occupy, not a percentage.
19992 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19993 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19994 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19995 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19996 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19999 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20002 (article (horizontal 1.0
20007 (summary 0.25 point)
20012 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20013 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20015 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20016 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20017 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20018 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20019 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20021 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20022 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20023 lines from the splits.
20025 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20029 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20030 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20031 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20032 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20033 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20034 size = number | frame-params
20035 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20038 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20039 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20040 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20041 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20043 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20044 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20045 @cindex window height
20046 @cindex window width
20047 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20048 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20049 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20050 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20051 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20052 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20054 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20055 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20056 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20057 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20059 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20060 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20061 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20062 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20063 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20064 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20065 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20066 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20067 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20068 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20069 configuration list.
20072 (gnus-configure-frame
20076 (article 0.3 point))
20084 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20085 @code{frame} split:
20088 (gnus-configure-frame
20091 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20093 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20094 (user-position . t)
20095 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20100 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20101 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20102 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20103 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20104 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20105 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20106 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20107 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20109 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20110 be found in its default value.
20112 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20113 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20114 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20118 (message (horizontal 1.0
20119 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20121 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20126 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20127 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20128 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20133 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20134 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20135 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20136 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20137 (name . "Message"))
20138 (message 1.0 point))))
20141 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20142 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20143 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20144 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20145 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20148 (gnus-add-configuration
20149 '(article (vertical 1.0
20151 (summary .25 point)
20155 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20156 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20157 Gnus has been loaded.
20159 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20160 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20161 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20162 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20163 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20165 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20166 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20167 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20170 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20174 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20175 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20190 (gnus-add-configuration
20193 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20195 (summary 0.16 point)
20198 (gnus-add-configuration
20201 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20202 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20208 @node Faces and Fonts
20209 @section Faces and Fonts
20214 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20215 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20216 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20221 @section Compilation
20222 @cindex compilation
20223 @cindex byte-compilation
20225 @findex gnus-compile
20227 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20228 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20229 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
20230 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
20231 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
20232 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20233 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20234 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20237 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20238 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20239 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20240 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
20241 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20244 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
20245 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20246 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
20247 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
20248 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
20253 @section Mode Lines
20256 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20257 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20258 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20259 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20260 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20261 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20262 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20265 @cindex display-time
20267 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20268 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20269 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20270 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20271 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20272 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20273 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20274 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20277 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20279 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20280 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20282 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20283 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20284 (length display-time-string)))))
20287 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20288 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20289 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20290 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20291 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20294 @node Highlighting and Menus
20295 @section Highlighting and Menus
20297 @cindex highlighting
20300 @vindex gnus-visual
20301 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20302 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20303 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20306 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20307 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20310 @item group-highlight
20311 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20312 @item summary-highlight
20313 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20314 @item article-highlight
20315 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20317 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20319 Create menus in the group buffer.
20321 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20323 Create menus in the article buffer.
20325 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20327 Create menus in the server buffer.
20329 Create menus in the score buffers.
20331 Create menus in all buffers.
20334 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
20335 buffers, you could say something like:
20338 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
20341 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
20344 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
20347 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
20348 in all Gnus buffers.
20350 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
20353 @item gnus-mouse-face
20354 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
20355 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
20356 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
20360 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
20364 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
20365 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
20366 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
20368 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
20369 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
20370 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
20372 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
20373 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
20374 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
20376 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
20377 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
20378 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
20380 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
20381 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
20382 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
20384 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
20385 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
20386 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
20397 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
20398 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
20399 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
20400 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
20401 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
20405 @vindex gnus-carpal
20406 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
20407 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
20408 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
20413 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20414 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
20415 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
20417 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
20418 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
20419 Face used on buttons.
20421 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
20422 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
20423 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20425 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20426 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20427 Buttons in the group buffer.
20429 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20430 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20431 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20433 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20434 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20435 Buttons in the server buffer.
20437 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20438 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20439 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20442 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20443 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20444 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20452 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20453 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20454 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20455 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20456 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20458 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20459 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20460 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20462 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20463 been idle for thirty minutes:
20466 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20469 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20473 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20476 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20477 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20478 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20480 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20481 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20482 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20483 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20485 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20486 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20487 @var{idle} minutes.
20489 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20490 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20493 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20494 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20495 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20497 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20498 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20499 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20500 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20502 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20503 your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20505 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20507 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20510 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20511 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20512 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20513 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20514 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20515 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20516 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20517 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20518 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20519 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20520 @file{.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
20522 @findex gnus-demon-init
20523 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20524 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20525 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20526 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20527 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20529 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20530 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20531 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20540 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20541 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20543 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20544 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20545 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20546 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20549 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20550 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20551 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20552 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20554 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20555 this will make spam disappear.
20557 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20560 @item gnus-use-nocem
20561 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20562 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20565 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20566 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20567 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20568 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20569 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20571 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20572 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20573 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20574 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20575 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20576 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20578 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20579 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20581 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20582 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20583 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20584 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20585 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20586 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20587 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20588 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20589 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20590 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20592 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20593 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20596 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20599 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20600 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20603 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20606 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20609 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20610 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20612 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20613 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20614 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20615 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20617 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20618 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20621 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20623 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20631 This might be dangerous, though.
20633 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20634 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20635 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20636 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20638 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20639 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20640 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20641 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20642 might then see old spam.
20644 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20645 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20646 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20647 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20648 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20651 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20652 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20653 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20654 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20658 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20659 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20660 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20661 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20668 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20669 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20670 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20672 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20673 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20674 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20675 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20676 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20677 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20678 @code{undo} function.
20680 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20681 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20682 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20683 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20684 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20685 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20686 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20687 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20688 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20689 never be totally undoable.
20691 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20692 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20694 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20695 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20696 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20697 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20701 @node Predicate Specifiers
20702 @section Predicate Specifiers
20703 @cindex predicate specifiers
20705 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20706 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20707 to type all that much.
20709 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20714 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20715 gnus-article-unread-p)
20718 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20719 functions all take one parameter.
20721 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20722 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20723 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20724 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20729 @section Moderation
20732 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20733 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20734 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20737 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20741 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20744 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20746 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20751 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20752 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20753 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20756 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20757 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20760 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20761 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20765 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20768 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20769 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20773 @node Image Enhancements
20774 @section Image Enhancements
20776 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20777 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20780 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20781 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20782 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20783 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20796 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20797 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20798 over your shoulder as you read news.
20800 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20809 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20810 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20811 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20812 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20813 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20814 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20815 @code{GIF} formats.
20818 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20819 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
20820 point your Web browser at
20821 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
20823 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20824 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20826 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
20827 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
20830 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
20834 @item gnus-picon-databases
20835 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
20836 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
20837 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20838 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
20839 "/usr/local/faces")}.
20841 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
20842 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
20843 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20844 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20846 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
20847 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
20848 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
20849 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
20851 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
20852 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
20853 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
20854 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20855 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20857 @item gnus-picon-file-types
20858 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
20859 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20860 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your Emacs.
20865 @subsection Smileys
20870 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20875 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20876 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20878 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20879 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20882 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20885 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
20886 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20887 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20888 text and maps that to file names.
20890 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
20891 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
20892 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
20893 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
20894 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
20897 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20902 @item smiley-data-directory
20903 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20904 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20906 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
20907 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
20908 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
20917 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20918 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20919 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20923 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20924 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20925 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20926 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20934 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20935 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20936 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20937 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20939 The variable that controls this is the
20940 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20941 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20942 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20943 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20944 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20946 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20947 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20948 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20949 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20952 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20953 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20954 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20955 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20956 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20957 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20958 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20959 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20961 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20964 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20965 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20967 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20968 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
20969 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
20970 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
20971 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20972 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20973 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20974 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
20975 header data as a string.
20977 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
20978 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
20979 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
20980 randomly generated data.
20982 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
20983 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
20984 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20985 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20986 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20988 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
20989 like the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20992 (setq message-required-news-headers
20993 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20994 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20997 Using the last function would be something like this:
21000 (setq message-required-news-headers
21001 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21002 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21003 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21004 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21009 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21012 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21013 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21014 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21015 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21016 unusual directory structure.
21018 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21019 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21020 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21021 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21023 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21024 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21025 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21026 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21027 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21028 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21030 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21031 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21032 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21037 @subsubsection Toolbar
21041 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21042 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21043 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21044 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21045 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21047 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21048 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21049 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21051 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21052 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21053 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21055 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21056 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21057 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21068 @node Fuzzy Matching
21069 @section Fuzzy Matching
21070 @cindex fuzzy matching
21072 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21073 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21075 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21076 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21077 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21079 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21080 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21081 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21082 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21083 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21086 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21087 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21091 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21093 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21094 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21095 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21096 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21097 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21098 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21099 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21100 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21103 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21104 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21105 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21106 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21107 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21108 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21110 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21113 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21114 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21115 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21116 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21117 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21118 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21121 @node The problem of spam
21122 @subsection The problem of spam
21124 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21125 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21127 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21129 First, some background on spam.
21131 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21132 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21133 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21134 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21135 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21136 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21137 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21138 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21140 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21141 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21142 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21143 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21144 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21145 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21146 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21147 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21148 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21151 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21152 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21153 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21154 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21155 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21156 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21157 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21158 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21159 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21160 mail can be useful.
21162 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21163 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21164 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21165 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21166 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21167 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary - it may be the
21168 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21169 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21170 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21172 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21173 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21174 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21175 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21176 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21177 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21178 because of the incident.
21180 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21181 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21182 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21183 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21184 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21185 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21186 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21187 to store the database of spam analyses.
21189 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21190 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21194 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21196 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21197 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21199 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21200 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21201 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21202 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21203 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21204 part of the mail address.)
21207 (setq message-default-news-headers
21208 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21211 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21212 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21217 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21218 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21219 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21225 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21226 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21227 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21228 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21230 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
21231 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21232 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21233 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21234 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21235 your fancy split rule in this way:
21240 (to "larsi" "misc")
21244 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21245 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21246 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21247 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21248 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21250 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21251 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21252 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21253 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21254 cosmic balance somewhat.
21256 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21257 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21258 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21259 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21264 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21265 @cindex SpamAssassin
21266 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21269 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21270 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21271 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21272 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21273 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21274 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21275 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21277 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21278 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21279 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21280 Specifiers}) follows.
21284 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21287 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21290 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21291 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21292 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21295 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21299 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21302 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21303 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21307 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21308 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21309 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21310 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21313 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21315 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21317 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21318 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21320 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21322 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21323 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21327 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21328 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21329 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21332 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21333 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21335 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21336 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21337 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21341 @subsection Hashcash
21344 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21345 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21346 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21347 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
21348 in smaller communities.
21350 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21351 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21352 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21353 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21354 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21355 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21356 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21357 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21358 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21359 one of them separately.
21362 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21363 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21364 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21365 header. For more details, and for the external application
21366 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21367 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21368 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21370 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21374 (require 'hashcash)
21375 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21378 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21379 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21380 development contrib directory.
21382 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21386 @item hashcash-default-payment
21387 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21388 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21389 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21390 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21392 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21393 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21394 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21395 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21396 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21397 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21398 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21399 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21403 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21407 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21408 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21409 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21410 a useful contribution, however.
21412 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21413 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
21414 @cindex spam filtering
21417 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
21418 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
21419 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
21420 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
21423 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
21424 the following keyboard commands:
21434 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
21435 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
21437 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
21438 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
21439 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
21440 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
21446 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
21447 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
21449 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
21455 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
21456 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
21459 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
21460 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
21461 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
21462 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
21463 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
21464 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
21465 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
21466 will be detected later.
21468 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
21469 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
21470 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
21471 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
21472 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
21473 by customizing the corresponding variable
21474 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
21475 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
21476 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
21477 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
21478 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
21479 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
21480 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
21483 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
21484 they get the @samp{$} mark when you enter the group. You must review
21485 these messages from time to time and remove the @samp{$} mark for
21486 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
21487 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or @kbd{d} for
21488 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
21489 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
21490 will study them as spam samples.
21492 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
21493 @code{spam-ham-marks} gets overridden below, marks @samp{R} and
21494 @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
21495 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
21496 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
21497 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
21498 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
21499 should then adjust the @code{spam-ham-marks} variable.
21501 @defvar spam-ham-marks
21502 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21503 consider ham. By default, the list contains the deleted, read,
21504 killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
21507 @defvar spam-spam-marks
21508 You can customize this variable to be the list of marks you want to
21509 consider spam. By default, the list contains only the spam mark.
21512 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
21513 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
21514 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
21515 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
21516 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
21517 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
21520 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
21521 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
21522 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
21523 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
21524 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
21525 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
21526 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
21527 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
21528 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
21529 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
21530 parameter is not set, spam articles are only expired.
21532 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
21533 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
21535 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
21536 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
21537 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
21538 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
21539 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
21540 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
21541 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
21542 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
21543 the spam articles are only expired.
21545 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
21546 must add the following to your fancy split list
21547 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
21553 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
21554 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
21555 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
21557 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
21558 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
21559 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
21560 but you can customize it.
21562 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
21564 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
21565 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
21566 the headers. By default, the nnimap backend will only retrieve the
21567 message headers. If you use spam-check-bogofilter, spam-check-ifile,
21568 or spam-check-stat (the splitters that can benefit from the full
21569 message body), you should set this variable. It is not set by default
21570 because it will slow IMAP down.
21572 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
21574 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
21575 into a backend. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
21576 longer spam or ham.}
21578 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
21579 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
21582 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
21583 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
21586 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
21587 * BBDB Whitelists::
21589 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
21591 * ifile spam filtering::
21592 * spam-stat spam filtering::
21593 * Extending the spam elisp package::
21596 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
21597 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
21598 @cindex spam filtering
21599 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
21600 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
21603 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
21605 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
21606 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
21607 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
21608 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
21613 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
21615 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
21616 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
21617 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
21618 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
21619 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
21623 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
21625 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
21626 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
21627 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
21631 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
21633 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21634 customizing the group parameters or the
21635 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21636 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21637 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
21641 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
21643 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21644 customizing the group parameters or the
21645 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21646 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21647 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21648 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21649 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21653 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
21654 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
21655 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
21656 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
21657 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
21659 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
21660 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
21661 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
21662 Emacs regular expression syntax.
21664 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
21665 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
21666 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
21667 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
21668 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
21669 @file{blacklist} respectively.
21671 @node BBDB Whitelists
21672 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
21673 @cindex spam filtering
21674 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
21675 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
21678 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
21680 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
21681 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
21682 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
21683 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
21684 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
21685 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
21686 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
21690 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
21692 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
21693 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
21694 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
21695 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
21696 classified as spammers.
21700 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
21702 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21703 customizing the group parameters or the
21704 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21705 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
21706 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
21707 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
21708 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21713 @subsubsection Blackholes
21714 @cindex spam filtering
21715 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
21718 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
21720 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
21721 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
21722 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
21723 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
21724 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
21725 contains outdated servers.
21727 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
21728 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
21729 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil. It is not recommended at this
21730 time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to nil despite the possible
21731 performance improvements, because some users may be unable to use it,
21732 but you can try it and see if it works for you.
21736 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
21738 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
21742 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
21744 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
21745 blackhole server list. When set to nil, it has no effect.
21749 @defvar spam-use-dig
21751 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
21752 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
21756 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
21757 ham processor for blackholes.
21759 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
21760 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
21761 @cindex spam filtering
21762 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
21765 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
21767 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
21768 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
21769 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
21770 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
21771 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
21772 message is spam or ham, respectively.
21776 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
21778 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21779 the message, positively identify it as spam.
21783 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
21785 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
21786 the message, positively identify it as ham.
21790 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
21791 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
21794 @subsubsection Bogofilter
21795 @cindex spam filtering
21796 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
21799 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
21801 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21804 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
21805 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
21806 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
21807 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
21808 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
21809 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
21811 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
21812 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
21815 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
21816 processing will be turned off.
21818 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
21822 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
21824 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
21825 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
21826 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
21827 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
21828 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
21829 installation documents for details.
21831 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
21835 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
21836 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21837 customizing the group parameters or the
21838 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21839 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
21840 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
21843 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
21844 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21845 customizing the group parameters or the
21846 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21847 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21848 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
21849 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21850 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21853 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
21855 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
21856 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
21857 database directory.
21861 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
21862 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21863 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
21864 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
21865 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
21866 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
21868 @node ifile spam filtering
21869 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
21870 @cindex spam filtering
21871 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
21874 @defvar spam-use-ifile
21876 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
21877 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
21881 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
21883 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
21884 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
21885 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
21889 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
21891 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
21892 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
21893 the default value of @samp{spam}.
21896 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
21898 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
21899 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
21903 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
21904 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
21905 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
21906 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
21909 @node spam-stat spam filtering
21910 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
21911 @cindex spam filtering
21912 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
21916 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
21918 @defvar spam-use-stat
21920 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
21921 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
21925 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
21926 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21927 customizing the group parameters or the
21928 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21929 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
21930 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
21933 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
21934 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
21935 customizing the group parameters or the
21936 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
21937 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
21938 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
21939 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
21940 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
21943 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
21944 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
21945 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
21946 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
21949 @node Extending the spam elisp package
21950 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
21951 @cindex spam filtering
21952 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
21953 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
21955 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
21956 incoming mail, provide the following:
21964 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
21965 "True if blackbox should be used.")
21970 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
21972 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
21977 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
21978 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
21979 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
21982 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
21989 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
21990 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
21993 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21994 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
21995 Only applicable to spam groups.")
21997 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
21998 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
21999 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22007 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22008 (spam-generic-register-routine
22009 ;; the spam function
22011 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22012 (when (stringp from)
22013 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22014 ;; the ham function
22017 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22018 (spam-generic-register-routine
22019 ;; the spam function
22021 ;; the ham function
22023 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22024 (when (stringp from)
22025 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22028 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22029 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22030 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22031 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22032 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22033 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22038 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22039 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22040 @cindex Paul Graham
22041 @cindex Graham, Paul
22042 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22043 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22044 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22046 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22047 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22048 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22049 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22050 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22051 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22052 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22053 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22054 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22057 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22058 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22059 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22060 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22061 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22062 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22063 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22064 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22066 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22067 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22068 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22069 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22070 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22073 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22074 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22075 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22078 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22079 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22081 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22082 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22083 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22084 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22085 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22087 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22088 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22089 per mail. Use the following:
22091 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22092 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22093 is treated as one spam mail.
22096 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22097 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22098 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22101 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22102 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22103 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22104 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22105 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22106 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22108 When you are using IMAP, you won't have the mails available locally,
22109 so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent to cache
22110 the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22111 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22112 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22115 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics -- the
22116 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22117 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22118 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22121 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22122 reset the dictionary.
22124 @defun spam-stat-reset
22125 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22128 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22129 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22130 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22131 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22132 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22133 only non-spam mails.
22135 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22136 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22137 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22140 @defun spam-stat-save
22141 Save the dictionary.
22144 @defvar spam-stat-file
22145 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22146 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22149 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22150 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22152 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22153 following to your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22156 (require 'spam-stat)
22160 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22163 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22164 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22165 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22166 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22168 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22169 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22170 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22171 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22174 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22175 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22179 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22180 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22183 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22184 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22185 expression are considered potential spam.
22188 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22189 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22190 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22194 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22195 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22196 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22197 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22198 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22201 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22202 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22203 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22207 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22208 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22209 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22210 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22211 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
22215 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22216 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
22217 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22218 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22223 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22224 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
22226 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
22228 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
22229 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
22230 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22233 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
22234 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
22235 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
22238 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
22239 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
22240 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
22241 already been processed as non-spam.
22244 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
22245 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
22246 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
22247 been processed as spam.
22250 @defun spam-stat-save
22251 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
22252 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22255 @defun spam-stat-load
22256 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
22257 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
22260 @defun spam-stat-score-word
22261 Return the spam score for a word.
22264 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
22265 Return the spam score for a buffer.
22268 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
22269 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
22270 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22273 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
22274 following in your @file{~/.gnus} file:
22277 (require 'spam-stat)
22281 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
22284 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22285 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22286 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22287 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22288 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22289 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22290 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22291 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22292 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22293 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22294 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
22295 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
22296 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22297 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22300 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
22303 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
22304 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
22305 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
22306 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
22307 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
22308 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
22311 @node Various Various
22312 @section Various Various
22318 @item gnus-home-directory
22319 @vindex gnus-home-directory
22320 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
22321 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
22323 @item gnus-directory
22324 @vindex gnus-directory
22325 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
22326 this variable, which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment
22327 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
22329 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
22330 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
22331 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
22332 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
22334 @item gnus-default-directory
22335 @vindex gnus-default-directory
22336 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
22337 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
22338 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
22339 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
22340 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
22341 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
22344 @vindex gnus-verbose
22345 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
22346 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
22347 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
22348 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
22349 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
22351 @item gnus-verbose-backends
22352 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
22353 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
22354 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
22356 @item nnheader-max-head-length
22357 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
22358 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
22359 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
22360 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
22361 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
22362 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
22363 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
22364 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
22365 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
22367 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
22368 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
22369 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
22370 read when doing the operation described above.
22372 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22373 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22375 @cindex invalid characters in file names
22376 @cindex characters in file names
22377 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
22378 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
22379 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
22382 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
22386 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
22387 Windows (phooey) systems.
22389 @item gnus-hidden-properties
22390 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
22391 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
22392 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
22393 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
22395 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
22396 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
22397 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
22398 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
22399 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
22401 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
22402 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
22403 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
22405 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22406 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
22408 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
22409 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
22410 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
22411 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
22414 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
22422 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
22423 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
22425 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
22427 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
22433 Not because of victories @*
22436 but for the common sunshine,@*
22438 the largess of the spring.
22442 but for the day's work done@*
22443 as well as I was able;@*
22444 not for a seat upon the dais@*
22445 but at the common table.@*
22450 @chapter Appendices
22453 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
22454 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
22455 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
22456 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
22457 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
22458 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
22459 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
22460 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
22461 * Frequently Asked Questions::
22468 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
22470 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
22471 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
22472 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
22473 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
22474 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
22475 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
22482 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
22483 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
22485 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
22486 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
22487 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
22488 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
22489 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
22491 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
22492 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
22493 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
22494 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
22495 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
22496 appropriate name, don't you think?)
22498 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
22499 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
22500 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
22501 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
22504 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
22505 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
22506 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
22507 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
22508 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
22509 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
22510 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
22511 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
22512 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
22516 @node Gnus Versions
22517 @subsection Gnus Versions
22519 @cindex September Gnus
22521 @cindex Quassia Gnus
22522 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
22526 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
22527 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
22528 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
22530 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
22531 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
22533 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
22534 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
22536 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
22537 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
22539 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
22540 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
22543 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
22545 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
22546 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
22547 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
22548 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
22549 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
22550 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
22553 @node Other Gnus Versions
22554 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
22557 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
22558 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
22559 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
22560 @sc{mime} capabilities.
22562 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
22563 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
22564 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
22565 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
22572 What's the point of Gnus?
22574 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
22575 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
22576 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
22577 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
22578 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
22579 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
22580 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
22581 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
22582 keep track of millions of people who post?
22584 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
22585 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
22586 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
22587 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
22588 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
22589 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
22590 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
22591 every one of you to explore and invent.
22593 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
22594 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
22597 @node Compatibility
22598 @subsection Compatibility
22600 @cindex compatibility
22601 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
22602 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
22603 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
22608 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
22612 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
22615 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
22618 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
22619 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
22620 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
22621 important variables have their values copied into their global
22622 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
22623 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
22625 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
22626 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
22627 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
22628 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
22629 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
22633 @cindex highlighting
22634 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
22635 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
22636 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
22637 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
22638 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
22639 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
22642 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
22643 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
22644 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
22645 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
22647 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
22648 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
22649 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
22650 to stop doing it the old way.
22652 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
22654 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
22656 @cindex reporting bugs
22658 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
22659 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
22660 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
22662 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
22663 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
22664 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
22665 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
22670 @subsection Conformity
22672 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
22673 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
22681 There are no known breaches of this standard.
22685 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
22687 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
22688 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
22689 We do have some breaches to this one.
22695 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
22696 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
22697 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
22698 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
22699 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
22704 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
22705 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
22706 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
22707 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
22709 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
22711 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
22713 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
22714 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
22716 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
22719 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
22720 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
22721 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
22722 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
22723 decoding (verification and decryption).
22725 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
22726 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
22727 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
22728 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
22730 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
22731 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
22733 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
22734 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
22735 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
22736 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
22737 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
22738 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
22739 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
22743 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
22744 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
22749 @subsection Emacsen
22755 Gnus should work on :
22763 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
22767 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
22768 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
22769 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
22770 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
22771 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
22773 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
22774 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
22775 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
22779 @node Gnus Development
22780 @subsection Gnus Development
22782 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
22783 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
22784 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
22785 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
22786 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
22787 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
22788 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
22789 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
22791 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
22792 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
22793 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
22794 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
22795 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
22798 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
22799 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
22800 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
22801 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
22802 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
22804 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
22805 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
22806 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
22807 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
22808 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
22809 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
22810 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
22811 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
22812 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
22813 can't be assumed to do so.
22818 @subsection Contributors
22819 @cindex contributors
22821 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
22822 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
22823 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
22824 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
22825 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
22826 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
22827 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
22828 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
22829 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
22830 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
22832 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
22838 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
22841 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
22842 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
22843 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
22844 functionality and stuff.
22847 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
22848 well as numerous other things).
22851 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
22854 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
22857 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
22860 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
22863 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
22864 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
22867 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
22870 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
22871 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22874 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
22877 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
22880 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
22883 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
22886 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
22887 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
22890 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
22893 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
22896 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
22899 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
22903 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
22906 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
22909 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
22912 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
22913 well as autoconf support.
22917 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
22918 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
22920 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
22929 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
22933 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
22943 Alexei V. Barantsev,
22958 Massimo Campostrini,
22963 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
22964 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
22968 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
22971 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
22977 Michael Welsh Duggan,
22982 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
22986 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
22994 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
22996 Michelangelo Grigni,
23000 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23002 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
23004 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23011 François Felix Ingrand,
23012 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
23013 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23015 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23026 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23027 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23029 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23030 Thor Kristoffersen,
23033 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23051 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23052 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23059 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23064 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23068 John McClary Prevost,
23074 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23079 Christian von Roques,
23082 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23089 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23091 Randal L. Schwartz,
23105 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23110 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23126 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
23131 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23132 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23133 (550kB and counting).
23135 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23138 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23139 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23143 @subsection New Features
23144 @cindex new features
23147 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23148 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23149 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23150 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23151 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23154 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23155 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23156 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23159 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23161 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23166 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23167 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23170 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
23171 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23174 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23177 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23178 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23179 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23182 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23183 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23184 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23185 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23188 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23189 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23192 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23193 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23194 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23197 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23198 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23201 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23202 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23203 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23206 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
23207 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
23208 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
23211 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus.el}) to avoid cluttering up
23212 the @file{.emacs} file.
23215 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
23216 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
23219 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
23220 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
23223 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
23224 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23227 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
23228 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
23231 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
23232 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23235 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
23238 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
23239 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
23242 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
23243 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
23246 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
23247 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
23250 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
23253 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
23254 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23257 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
23261 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
23265 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
23266 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
23269 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
23275 @node September Gnus
23276 @subsubsection September Gnus
23280 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
23284 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
23289 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
23290 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
23294 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
23295 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
23299 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
23303 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
23304 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
23307 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
23311 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23314 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
23317 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
23320 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
23324 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
23325 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
23328 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
23332 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
23336 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
23340 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
23344 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
23347 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
23348 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
23351 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
23355 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
23356 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
23359 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
23362 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
23363 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
23364 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
23367 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
23371 The Gnus cache is much faster.
23374 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
23378 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
23379 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
23382 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
23383 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
23386 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
23387 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
23390 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
23391 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
23392 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
23395 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
23396 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
23399 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
23402 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23405 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
23408 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
23411 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
23412 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
23415 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
23419 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
23422 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
23427 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
23430 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
23434 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23437 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
23441 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
23444 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
23447 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
23448 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23451 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
23452 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
23456 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
23457 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
23460 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
23464 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
23465 buffer to allow easier treatment.
23468 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
23471 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
23475 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
23479 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
23480 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
23483 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
23487 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
23488 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
23491 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
23492 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23495 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
23499 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
23502 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
23505 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
23511 @subsubsection Red Gnus
23513 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
23517 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
23524 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
23527 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
23528 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
23531 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
23532 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
23536 Article washing status can be displayed in the
23537 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
23540 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
23543 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
23544 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
23547 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
23551 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
23552 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
23556 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
23557 Server Internals}).
23560 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
23564 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
23567 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
23568 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
23571 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
23572 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
23573 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
23576 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
23577 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23580 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
23581 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
23584 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
23588 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
23589 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23592 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
23593 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
23596 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
23600 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
23603 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
23607 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
23608 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
23611 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
23612 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
23615 A new command for reading collections of documents
23616 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
23617 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
23620 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
23624 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
23625 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
23628 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
23629 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
23630 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
23633 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
23634 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
23638 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
23642 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
23646 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
23651 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
23655 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
23659 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
23660 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
23663 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
23669 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
23671 New features in Gnus 5.6:
23676 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
23677 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
23678 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
23681 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
23682 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
23683 group, which is created automatically.
23686 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
23690 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
23693 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
23694 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
23697 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
23701 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
23704 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
23705 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
23708 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
23711 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section ``Symbolic
23712 Prefixes'' in the Gnus manual for details.
23715 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
23716 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
23719 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
23720 control over simplification.
23723 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
23726 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
23730 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
23733 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
23736 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
23737 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
23738 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
23741 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
23742 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
23745 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
23749 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
23750 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
23753 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
23754 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
23757 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
23761 A history of where mails have been split is available.
23764 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
23767 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
23768 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
23771 A new function for citing in Message has been
23772 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
23775 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
23778 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
23782 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
23783 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
23786 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
23787 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
23790 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
23793 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
23797 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
23798 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
23800 New features in Gnus 5.8:
23805 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
23806 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
23808 If you used procmail like in
23811 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
23812 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
23813 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
23814 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
23817 this now has changed to
23821 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
23825 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
23826 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
23829 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
23830 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
23833 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
23834 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
23837 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
23838 called to position point.
23841 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
23842 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
23845 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
23846 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
23849 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
23850 subtly different manner.
23853 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
23854 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
23855 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
23858 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
23866 @section The Manual
23870 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
23871 either @code{texi2dvi}
23873 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
23874 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
23876 to get what you hold in your hands now.
23878 The following conventions have been used:
23883 This is a @samp{string}
23886 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
23889 This is a @file{file}
23892 This is a @code{symbol}
23896 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
23900 (setq flargnoze "yes")
23903 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
23906 (setq flumphel 'yes)
23909 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
23910 ever get them confused.
23914 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
23915 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
23916 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
23917 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
23918 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
23919 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
23920 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
23926 @node On Writing Manuals
23927 @section On Writing Manuals
23929 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
23930 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
23931 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
23932 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
23933 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
23934 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
23937 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
23938 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
23939 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
23942 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
23943 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
23948 @section Terminology
23950 @cindex terminology
23955 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
23956 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
23957 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
23958 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
23959 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
23963 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
23964 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
23965 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
23966 not posting, and replying is not following up.
23970 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
23974 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
23979 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
23980 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
23981 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
23982 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
23983 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
23984 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
23985 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
23986 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
23987 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
23989 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
23990 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
23991 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
23992 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
23993 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
23996 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
23997 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
23998 access the articles.
24000 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
24001 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
24002 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
24007 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
24008 default, way of getting news.
24012 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
24013 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
24018 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
24019 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
24023 A message that has been posted as news.
24026 @cindex mail message
24027 A message that has been mailed.
24031 A mail message or news article
24035 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
24040 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
24045 A line from the head of an article.
24049 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
24050 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
24054 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
24055 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
24056 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
24057 normal @sc{head} format.
24061 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
24062 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
24063 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
24064 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
24065 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
24066 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
24068 @item killed groups
24069 @cindex killed groups
24070 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
24071 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
24073 @item zombie groups
24074 @cindex zombie groups
24075 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
24078 @cindex active file
24079 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
24080 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
24081 is rather large, as you might surmise.
24084 @cindex bogus groups
24085 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
24086 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
24087 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
24090 @cindex activating groups
24091 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
24092 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
24093 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
24097 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
24099 @item select method
24100 @cindex select method
24101 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
24104 @item virtual server
24105 @cindex virtual server
24106 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
24107 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
24108 whole is a virtual server.
24112 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
24113 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
24116 @item ephemeral groups
24117 @cindex ephemeral groups
24118 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
24119 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
24120 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
24123 @cindex solid groups
24124 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
24125 group buffer are solid groups.
24127 @item sparse articles
24128 @cindex sparse articles
24129 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
24130 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
24134 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
24135 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
24139 @cindex thread root
24140 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
24141 articles in the thread.
24145 An article that has responses.
24149 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
24153 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
24154 specified by RFC 1153.
24160 @node Customization
24161 @section Customization
24162 @cindex general customization
24164 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
24165 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
24166 for some quite common situations.
24169 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
24170 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
24171 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
24172 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
24176 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
24177 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
24179 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
24180 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
24181 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
24185 @item gnus-read-active-file
24186 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
24187 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
24188 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24189 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
24190 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
24192 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
24193 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
24194 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
24195 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
24199 @node Slow Terminal Connection
24200 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
24202 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
24203 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
24204 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
24208 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
24209 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
24210 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
24211 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
24212 horizontal and vertical recentering.
24214 @item gnus-visible-headers
24215 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
24216 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
24217 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
24218 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
24220 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
24222 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
24223 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
24224 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
24227 @item gnus-use-full-window
24228 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
24229 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
24230 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
24231 want to read them anyway.
24233 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
24234 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
24238 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
24239 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
24240 lines, which might save some time.
24244 @node Little Disk Space
24245 @subsection Little Disk Space
24248 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
24249 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
24253 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
24254 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
24255 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24256 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24259 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
24260 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
24261 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
24262 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
24265 @item gnus-save-killed-list
24266 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
24267 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
24268 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
24269 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
24275 @subsection Slow Machine
24276 @cindex slow machine
24278 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
24279 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
24281 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
24282 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
24284 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
24285 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
24286 summary buffer faster.
24290 @node Troubleshooting
24291 @section Troubleshooting
24292 @cindex troubleshooting
24294 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
24302 Make sure your computer is switched on.
24305 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
24306 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
24310 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
24311 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
24312 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
24313 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
24314 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
24317 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
24321 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
24322 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
24323 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
24324 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
24325 something like that.
24328 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
24331 @cindex reporting bugs
24333 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24335 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
24336 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
24337 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
24338 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
24340 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
24341 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
24342 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
24343 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
24346 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
24347 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
24348 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
24349 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
24350 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
24351 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
24353 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
24354 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
24355 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
24359 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
24360 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
24363 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
24364 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
24365 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
24366 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
24367 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
24368 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
24369 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
24370 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
24371 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
24372 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
24373 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
24374 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
24375 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
24376 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
24381 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
24382 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
24383 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-j} when things are
24384 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
24385 helps isolating the real problem areas). A fancier approach is to use
24386 the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is (or should be) fully
24387 documented elsewhere, but to get you started there are a few steps
24388 that need to be followed. First, instrument the part of Gnus you are
24389 interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package RET
24390 gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-packagre RET message}. Then perform
24391 the operation that is slow and press @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will
24392 then see which operations that takes time, and can debug them further.
24393 If the entire operation takes much longer than the time spent in the
24394 slowest function in the profiler output, you probably profiled the
24395 wrong part of Gnus. To reset profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x
24396 elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove
24397 profiling, but given the complexities and dynamic code generation in
24398 Gnus, it might not always work perfectly.
24400 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
24401 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
24403 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
24404 @cindex ding mailing list
24405 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@email{ding@@gnus.org}.
24406 Write to @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
24410 @node Gnus Reference Guide
24411 @section Gnus Reference Guide
24413 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
24414 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
24415 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
24416 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
24419 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
24420 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
24421 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
24422 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
24423 and general methods of operation.
24426 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
24427 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
24428 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
24429 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
24430 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
24431 * Group Info:: The group info format.
24432 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
24433 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
24434 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
24438 @node Gnus Utility Functions
24439 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
24440 @cindex Gnus utility functions
24441 @cindex utility functions
24443 @cindex internal variables
24445 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
24446 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
24447 Below is a list of the most common ones.
24451 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
24452 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
24453 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
24455 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
24456 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
24457 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
24459 @item gnus-group-real-name
24460 @findex gnus-group-real-name
24461 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
24464 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
24465 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
24466 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
24467 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
24469 @item gnus-get-info
24470 @findex gnus-get-info
24471 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
24473 @item gnus-group-unread
24474 @findex gnus-group-unread
24475 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
24479 @findex gnus-active
24480 The active entry for @var{group}.
24482 @item gnus-set-active
24483 @findex gnus-set-active
24484 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
24486 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24487 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
24488 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
24491 @item gnus-continuum-version
24492 @findex gnus-continuum-version
24493 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
24494 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
24497 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
24498 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
24499 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
24501 @item gnus-news-group-p
24502 @findex gnus-news-group-p
24503 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
24505 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24506 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
24507 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
24509 @item gnus-server-to-method
24510 @findex gnus-server-to-method
24511 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
24513 @item gnus-server-equal
24514 @findex gnus-server-equal
24515 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
24517 @item gnus-group-native-p
24518 @findex gnus-group-native-p
24519 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
24521 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
24522 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
24523 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
24525 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
24526 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
24527 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
24529 @item group-group-find-parameter
24530 @findex group-group-find-parameter
24531 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
24532 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
24534 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
24535 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
24536 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
24538 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
24539 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
24540 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
24542 @item gnus-check-backend-function
24543 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
24544 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
24545 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
24548 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
24552 @item gnus-read-method
24553 @findex gnus-read-method
24554 Prompts the user for a select method.
24559 @node Back End Interface
24560 @subsection Back End Interface
24562 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
24563 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
24564 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
24565 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
24566 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
24567 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
24569 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
24570 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
24571 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
24572 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
24573 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
24574 been opened, the function should fail.
24576 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
24577 name. Take this example:
24581 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
24582 (nntp-port-number 4324))
24585 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
24586 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
24588 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
24589 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
24590 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
24592 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
24593 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
24594 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
24596 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
24597 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
24598 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
24599 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
24600 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
24601 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
24604 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
24605 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
24606 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
24607 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
24610 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
24611 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
24612 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
24613 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
24614 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
24615 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
24616 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
24617 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
24618 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
24619 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
24621 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
24622 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
24623 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
24624 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
24625 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
24626 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
24627 of numbers as long as possible.
24629 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
24630 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
24631 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
24633 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
24636 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
24639 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
24640 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
24641 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
24642 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
24643 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
24644 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
24648 @node Required Back End Functions
24649 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
24653 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
24655 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
24656 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
24657 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
24658 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
24660 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
24661 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
24662 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
24663 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
24665 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
24666 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
24667 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
24668 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
24669 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
24670 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
24671 number, do maximum fetches.
24673 Here's an example HEAD:
24676 221 1056 Article retrieved.
24677 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
24678 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
24679 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
24680 Subject: Re: Something very droll
24681 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
24682 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
24684 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
24685 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
24686 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
24690 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
24691 these in the data buffer.
24693 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
24697 head = error / valid-head
24698 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
24699 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
24700 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
24701 header = <text> eol
24704 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
24705 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
24709 nov-buffer = *nov-line
24710 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
24711 field = <text except TAB>
24714 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
24718 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
24720 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
24721 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
24723 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
24724 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
24725 server. In fact, it should do so.
24727 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
24728 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
24731 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
24733 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
24734 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
24737 There should be no data returned.
24740 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
24742 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
24743 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
24744 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
24745 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
24747 There should be no data returned.
24750 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
24752 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
24753 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
24754 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
24755 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
24757 There should be no data returned.
24760 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
24762 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
24764 There should be no data returned.
24767 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
24769 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
24770 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
24771 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
24772 it would be nice if that were possible.
24774 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
24775 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
24776 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
24777 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
24778 into its article buffer.
24780 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
24781 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
24782 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
24783 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
24784 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
24785 on successful article retrieval.
24788 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
24790 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
24791 making @var{group} the current group.
24793 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
24796 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
24799 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
24802 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
24803 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
24804 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
24805 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
24806 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
24807 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
24808 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
24809 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
24810 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
24814 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
24815 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
24816 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
24820 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
24822 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
24823 a no-op on most back ends.
24825 There should be no data returned.
24828 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
24830 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
24833 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
24836 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
24837 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
24840 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
24841 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
24842 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
24843 and the highest as 0.
24846 active-file = *active-line
24847 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
24849 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
24852 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
24853 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
24854 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
24857 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
24859 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
24860 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
24861 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
24862 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
24863 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
24864 clear if the posting could not be completed.
24866 There should be no result data from this function.
24871 @node Optional Back End Functions
24872 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
24876 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
24878 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
24879 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
24880 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
24882 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
24883 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
24884 former is in the same format as the data from
24885 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
24886 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
24889 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
24893 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
24895 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
24896 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
24897 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
24898 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
24899 should return a non-nil value.
24901 There should be no result data from this function.
24904 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
24906 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
24907 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
24908 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
24909 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
24910 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
24911 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
24912 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
24913 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
24915 There should be no result data from this function.
24918 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
24920 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
24921 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
24922 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
24923 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
24924 propagate the mark information to the server.
24926 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
24929 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
24932 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
24933 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
24934 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
24935 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
24936 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
24937 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
24938 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
24939 possible, not limit itself to these.
24941 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
24942 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
24943 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
24944 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
24946 An example action list:
24949 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
24950 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
24951 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
24954 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
24955 mark on (currently not used for anything).
24957 There should be no result data from this function.
24959 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
24961 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
24962 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
24963 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
24964 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
24965 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
24967 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
24968 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
24969 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
24972 There should be no result data from this function.
24975 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
24977 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
24978 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
24979 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
24980 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
24981 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
24982 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
24983 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
24985 There should be no result data from this function.
24988 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
24990 The result data from this function should be a description of
24994 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
24996 description = <text>
24999 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
25001 The result data from this function should be the description of all
25002 groups available on the server.
25005 description-buffer = *description-line
25009 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
25011 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
25012 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
25013 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
25014 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
25015 in the active buffer format.
25017 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
25018 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
25019 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
25020 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
25021 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
25022 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
25023 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
25026 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
25028 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
25030 There should be no return data.
25033 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
25035 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
25036 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
25037 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
25038 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
25039 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
25042 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
25045 There should be no result data returned.
25048 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
25050 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
25051 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
25053 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
25054 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
25055 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
25056 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
25057 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
25058 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
25060 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
25061 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
25064 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25065 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25067 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
25068 article for that group.
25070 There should be no data returned.
25073 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
25075 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
25076 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
25077 this function in short order.
25079 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
25080 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
25082 There should be no data returned.
25085 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
25087 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
25088 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
25090 There should be no data returned.
25093 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
25095 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
25096 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
25097 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
25099 There should be no data returned.
25102 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
25104 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
25105 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
25107 There should be no data returned.
25112 @node Error Messaging
25113 @subsubsection Error Messaging
25115 @findex nnheader-report
25116 @findex nnheader-get-report
25117 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
25118 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
25119 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
25120 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
25121 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
25122 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
25125 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
25127 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
25130 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
25131 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
25132 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
25133 takes one argument---the server symbol.
25135 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
25136 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
25137 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
25140 @node Writing New Back Ends
25141 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
25143 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
25144 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
25145 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
25146 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
25147 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
25150 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
25151 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
25152 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
25154 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
25155 package called @code{nnoo}.
25157 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
25158 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
25164 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
25165 parameters. For instance:
25168 (nnoo-declare nndir
25172 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
25173 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
25176 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
25177 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
25178 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
25180 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
25181 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
25182 a function in those back ends.
25185 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25186 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25187 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25190 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
25191 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
25192 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
25194 @item nnoo-define-basics
25195 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
25199 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25203 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
25204 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
25205 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
25207 @item nnoo-map-functions
25208 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
25209 functions from the parent back ends.
25212 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25213 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25214 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
25217 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
25218 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
25219 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
25220 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
25223 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
25224 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
25225 haven't already been defined.
25231 nnmh-request-newgroups)
25235 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
25236 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
25237 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
25242 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
25245 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
25246 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
25250 (require 'nnheader)
25254 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
25256 (nnoo-declare nndir
25259 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
25260 "Where nndir will look for groups."
25261 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
25263 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
25264 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
25267 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
25269 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
25270 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
25271 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
25273 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
25274 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
25276 ;;; Interface functions.
25278 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
25280 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
25281 (setq nndir-directory
25282 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
25284 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
25285 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
25286 (push `(nndir-current-group
25287 ,(file-name-nondirectory
25288 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25290 (push `(nndir-top-directory
25291 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
25293 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
25295 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
25296 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25297 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
25298 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
25299 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
25303 nnmh-status-message
25305 nnmh-request-newgroups))
25311 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25312 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
25314 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
25315 @findex gnus-declare-backend
25316 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
25317 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
25318 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
25320 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
25321 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
25326 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
25329 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
25331 The abilities can be:
25335 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
25337 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
25339 This back end supports both mail and news.
25341 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
25344 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
25345 articles and groups.
25347 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
25348 true for almost all back ends.
25349 @item prompt-address
25350 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
25351 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
25352 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
25356 @node Mail-like Back Ends
25357 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
25359 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
25360 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
25361 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
25362 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
25365 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
25366 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
25367 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
25370 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
25371 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
25374 This function takes four parameters.
25378 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
25381 @item exit-function
25382 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
25384 @item temp-directory
25385 Where the temporary files should be stored.
25388 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
25389 performed for one group only.
25392 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
25393 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
25394 find the article number assigned to this article.
25396 The function also uses the following variables:
25397 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
25398 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
25399 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
25400 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
25404 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
25405 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
25409 @node Score File Syntax
25410 @subsection Score File Syntax
25412 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
25413 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
25414 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
25416 Here's a typical score file:
25420 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
25427 BNF definition of a score file:
25430 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
25431 element = rule / atom
25432 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
25433 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
25434 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
25435 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
25437 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
25438 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
25439 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
25440 date-header = "date"
25441 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25442 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25443 score = "nil" / <integer>
25444 date = "nil" / <natural number>
25445 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
25446 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
25447 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
25448 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
25449 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25450 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25451 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
25452 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
25453 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
25454 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
25455 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
25456 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
25457 exclude-files / read-only / touched
25458 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
25459 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
25460 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
25461 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
25462 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
25463 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
25464 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
25465 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
25466 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
25467 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
25468 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
25469 eval = "eval" space <form>
25470 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
25473 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
25476 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
25477 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
25478 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
25479 one looong line, then that's ok.
25481 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
25482 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25486 @subsection Headers
25488 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
25489 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
25490 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
25491 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
25493 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
25494 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
25495 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
25496 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
25497 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
25498 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
25499 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
25501 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
25502 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
25503 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
25504 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
25505 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
25507 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
25508 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
25514 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
25515 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
25517 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
25518 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
25519 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
25520 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
25522 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
25526 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
25529 is transformed into
25532 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
25535 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
25536 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
25539 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
25542 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
25543 is slightly tricky:
25546 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
25552 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
25555 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
25561 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
25568 and is equal to the previous range.
25570 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
25571 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
25572 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
25576 range = simple-range / normal-range
25577 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
25578 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
25579 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
25580 number *[ " " contents ]
25583 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
25584 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
25585 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
25586 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
25587 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
25592 @subsection Group Info
25594 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
25595 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
25596 describes the group.
25598 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
25599 second is a more complex one:
25602 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
25604 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
25605 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
25607 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
25610 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
25611 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
25612 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
25613 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
25614 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
25615 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
25616 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
25617 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
25618 this section is about.
25620 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
25621 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
25622 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
25624 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
25627 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
25628 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
25629 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
25630 group = quote <string> quote
25631 ralevel = rank / level
25632 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25633 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
25634 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
25636 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
25637 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
25638 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
25639 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
25642 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
25643 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
25646 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
25647 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
25650 @item gnus-info-group
25651 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
25652 @findex gnus-info-group
25653 @findex gnus-info-set-group
25654 Get/set the group name.
25656 @item gnus-info-rank
25657 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
25658 @findex gnus-info-rank
25659 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
25660 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
25662 @item gnus-info-level
25663 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
25664 @findex gnus-info-level
25665 @findex gnus-info-set-level
25666 Get/set the group level.
25668 @item gnus-info-score
25669 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
25670 @findex gnus-info-score
25671 @findex gnus-info-set-score
25672 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
25674 @item gnus-info-read
25675 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
25676 @findex gnus-info-read
25677 @findex gnus-info-set-read
25678 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
25680 @item gnus-info-marks
25681 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
25682 @findex gnus-info-marks
25683 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
25684 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
25686 @item gnus-info-method
25687 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
25688 @findex gnus-info-method
25689 @findex gnus-info-set-method
25690 Get/set the group select method.
25692 @item gnus-info-params
25693 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
25694 @findex gnus-info-params
25695 @findex gnus-info-set-params
25696 Get/set the group parameters.
25699 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
25700 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
25702 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
25703 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
25704 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
25705 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
25708 @node Extended Interactive
25709 @subsection Extended Interactive
25710 @cindex interactive
25711 @findex gnus-interactive
25713 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
25714 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
25715 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
25718 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
25719 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
25724 The best thing to do would have been to implement
25725 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
25726 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
25727 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
25728 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
25729 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
25730 @code{interactive}.
25732 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
25737 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
25738 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
25742 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
25743 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
25744 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
25747 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
25751 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
25755 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
25761 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
25762 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
25766 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
25767 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
25768 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
25770 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
25771 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
25772 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
25773 Gnus, that's very useful.
25775 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
25776 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
25777 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
25778 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
25779 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
25780 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
25781 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
25782 following function:
25785 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
25789 (,function ,@@args))
25793 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
25794 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
25795 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
25798 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
25799 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
25800 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
25802 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
25803 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
25804 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
25807 @node Various File Formats
25808 @subsection Various File Formats
25811 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
25812 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
25816 @node Active File Format
25817 @subsubsection Active File Format
25819 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
25820 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
25823 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
25826 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
25827 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
25828 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
25829 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
25830 no.general 1000 900 y
25833 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
25836 active = *group-line
25837 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
25838 group = <non-white-space string>
25840 high-number = <non-negative integer>
25841 low-number = <positive integer>
25842 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
25845 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
25846 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
25849 @node Newsgroups File Format
25850 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
25852 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
25853 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
25854 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
25857 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
25858 Here's the definition:
25862 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
25863 group = <non-white-space string>
25865 description = <string>
25870 @node Emacs for Heathens
25871 @section Emacs for Heathens
25873 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
25874 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
25875 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
25876 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
25877 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
25878 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
25879 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
25883 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
25884 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
25889 @subsection Keystrokes
25893 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
25896 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
25899 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
25900 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
25901 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
25902 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
25903 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
25904 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
25906 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
25907 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
25908 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
25909 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
25910 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
25911 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
25912 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
25914 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
25915 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
25916 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
25917 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
25918 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
25919 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
25920 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
25922 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
25923 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
25924 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
25925 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
25926 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
25932 @subsection Emacs Lisp
25934 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
25935 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
25936 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
25937 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
25939 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
25940 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
25941 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
25942 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
25943 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
25944 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
25945 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
25948 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
25949 write the following:
25952 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
25955 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
25956 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
25957 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
25960 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
25961 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
25962 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
25963 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
25964 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
25966 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
25967 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
25968 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
25972 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
25976 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
25979 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
25980 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
25983 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
25986 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
25987 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
25990 @include gnus-faq.texi
26010 @c Local Variables:
26012 @c coding: iso-8859-1
26014 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
26015 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
26016 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
26017 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
26018 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref