4 @settitle T-gnus 6.17 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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295 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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304 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
306 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
309 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
310 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
311 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
312 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
313 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
314 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
315 License'' in the Emacs manual.
317 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
318 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
319 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
321 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
322 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
323 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
324 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
332 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
334 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
335 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
337 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
338 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
339 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
340 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
341 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
342 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
343 License'' in the Emacs manual.
345 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
346 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
347 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
349 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
350 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
351 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
352 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
358 @title T-gnus 6.17 Manual
360 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
363 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
364 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
366 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
368 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
369 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
370 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
371 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
372 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
373 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
374 License'' in the Emacs manual.
376 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
377 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
378 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
380 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
381 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
382 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
383 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
392 @top The gnus Newsreader
396 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using T-gnus. The news
397 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
398 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
401 T-gnus provides @acronym{MIME} features based on @acronym{SEMI} API. So
402 T-gnus supports your right to read strange messages including big images
403 or other various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
404 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
405 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities. Oh,
406 if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
408 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.17.
419 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
420 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
422 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
423 being accused of plagiarism:
425 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
426 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
427 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
428 can even read news with it!
430 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
431 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
432 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
433 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
434 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
440 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
441 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
442 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
443 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
444 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
445 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
446 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
447 * Various:: General purpose settings.
448 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
449 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
450 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
451 * Key Index:: Key Index.
453 Other related manuals
455 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
456 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
457 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
458 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
459 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
462 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
466 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
467 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
468 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
469 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
470 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
471 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
472 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
473 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
474 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
475 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
476 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
480 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
481 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
482 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
486 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
487 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
488 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
489 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
490 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
491 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
492 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
493 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
494 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
495 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
496 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
497 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
498 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
499 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
500 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
501 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
502 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
506 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
507 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
508 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
512 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
513 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
514 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
515 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
516 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
520 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
521 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
522 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
523 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
524 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
528 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
529 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
530 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
531 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
532 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
533 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
534 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
535 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
536 * Threading:: How threads are made.
537 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
538 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
539 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
540 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
541 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
542 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
543 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
544 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
545 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
546 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
547 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
548 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
549 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
550 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
551 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
552 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
553 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
554 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
555 or reselecting the current group.
556 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
557 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
558 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
559 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
561 Summary Buffer Format
563 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
564 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
565 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
566 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
570 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
571 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
573 Reply, Followup and Post
575 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
576 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
577 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
578 * Canceling and Superseding::
582 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
583 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
584 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
588 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
589 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
590 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
594 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
595 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
597 Customizing Threading
599 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
600 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
601 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
602 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
606 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
607 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
608 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
609 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
610 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
611 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
615 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
616 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
617 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
621 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
622 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
623 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
624 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
625 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
626 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
627 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
628 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
629 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
630 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
631 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
633 Alternative Approaches
635 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
636 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
638 Various Summary Stuff
640 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
641 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
642 * Summary Generation Commands::
643 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
647 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
648 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
649 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
650 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
651 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
655 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
656 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
657 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
658 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
659 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
660 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
661 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
662 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
666 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
667 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
668 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
669 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
670 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
671 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
672 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
673 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
677 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
678 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
679 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
680 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
681 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
682 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
683 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
687 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
688 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
692 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
693 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
694 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
698 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
699 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
700 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
701 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
702 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
703 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
704 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
705 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
706 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
707 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
708 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
709 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
710 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
714 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
715 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
716 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
718 Choosing a Mail Back End
720 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
721 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
722 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
723 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
724 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
725 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
726 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
731 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
732 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
733 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
734 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
735 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
736 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
740 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
741 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
742 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
743 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
744 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
745 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
749 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
750 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
751 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
752 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
753 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
757 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
761 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
762 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
763 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
767 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
768 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
772 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
773 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
774 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
775 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
776 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
777 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
778 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
779 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
780 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
781 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
782 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
783 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
784 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
788 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
789 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
790 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
794 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
795 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
796 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
800 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
801 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
802 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
803 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
804 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
805 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
806 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
807 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
808 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
809 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
810 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
811 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
812 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
813 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
814 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
815 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
819 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
820 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
821 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
825 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
826 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
827 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
828 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
829 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
830 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
831 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
832 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
833 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
834 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
835 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
836 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
837 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
838 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
839 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
840 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
841 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
842 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
843 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
844 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
848 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
849 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
850 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
851 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
852 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
853 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
854 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
855 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
859 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
860 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
861 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
862 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
863 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
867 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
868 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
869 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
870 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
871 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
872 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
874 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
876 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
877 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
878 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
879 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
880 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
882 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
883 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
885 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
887 * ifile spam filtering::
888 * spam-stat spam filtering::
890 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
892 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
894 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
895 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
896 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
900 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
901 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
902 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
903 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
904 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
905 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
906 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
907 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
908 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
912 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
913 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
914 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
915 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
916 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
917 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
918 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
919 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
920 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
924 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
925 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
926 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
927 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
928 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
929 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
930 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
934 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
935 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
936 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
937 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
941 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
942 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
943 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
944 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
945 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
946 * Group Info:: The group info format.
947 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
948 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
949 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
953 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
954 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
955 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
956 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
957 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
958 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
962 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
963 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
967 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
968 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
974 @chapter Starting gnus
979 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
980 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
983 @findex gnus-other-frame
984 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
985 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
986 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
988 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
989 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
990 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
992 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
993 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
996 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
997 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
998 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
999 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
1000 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
1001 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
1002 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
1003 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
1004 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
1005 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
1006 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
1010 @node Finding the News
1011 @section Finding the News
1012 @cindex finding news
1014 @vindex gnus-select-method
1016 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
1017 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1018 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1019 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1022 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1023 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1026 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1029 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1032 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1035 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1036 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1037 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1039 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1041 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1042 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
1043 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1044 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1045 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1046 If that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1047 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1049 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1050 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1051 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1052 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1054 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1055 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1056 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1057 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1058 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
1059 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1060 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1061 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1062 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1065 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1067 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1068 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1069 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1070 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1071 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1072 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1074 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1076 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1077 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1078 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1079 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1080 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1081 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1084 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1085 you would typically set this variable to
1088 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1092 @node The First Time
1093 @section The First Time
1094 @cindex first time usage
1096 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1097 be subscribed by default.
1099 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1100 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1101 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1102 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1105 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1106 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1107 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1109 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1110 help you with most common problems.
1112 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1113 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1117 @node The Server is Down
1118 @section The Server is Down
1119 @cindex server errors
1121 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1122 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1123 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1125 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1126 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1127 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1128 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1129 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1130 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1131 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1133 @findex gnus-no-server
1134 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1136 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1137 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1138 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1139 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1140 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1141 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1142 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1146 @section Slave Gnusae
1149 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1150 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1151 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1152 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1154 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1155 @file{.newsrc} file.
1157 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1158 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1159 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1160 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1161 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1162 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1163 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1166 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1167 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1168 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1169 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1170 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1171 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1172 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1173 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1175 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1176 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1178 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1179 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1180 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1181 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1182 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1184 @node Fetching a Group
1185 @section Fetching a Group
1186 @cindex fetching a group
1188 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1189 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1190 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1191 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1192 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1193 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1199 @cindex subscription
1201 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1202 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1203 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1204 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1205 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1206 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1207 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1208 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1209 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1212 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1213 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1214 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1218 @node Checking New Groups
1219 @subsection Checking New Groups
1221 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1222 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1223 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1224 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1225 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1226 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1227 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1228 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1229 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1230 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1232 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1233 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1234 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1235 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1236 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1237 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1238 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1239 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1240 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1241 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1242 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1244 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1245 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1246 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1247 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1248 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1249 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1252 @node Subscription Methods
1253 @subsection Subscription Methods
1255 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1256 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1257 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1259 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1260 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1262 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1266 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1267 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1268 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1269 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1270 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1272 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1273 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1274 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1275 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1277 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1278 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1279 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1281 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1282 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1283 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1284 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1285 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1286 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1287 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1288 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1289 up. Or something like that.
1291 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1292 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1293 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1294 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1295 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1297 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1298 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1299 Kill all new groups.
1301 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1302 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1303 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1304 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1305 topic parameter that looks like
1311 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1314 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1319 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1320 A closely related variable is
1321 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1322 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1323 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1324 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1327 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1328 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1329 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1330 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1333 @node Filtering New Groups
1334 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1336 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1337 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1338 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1341 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1344 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1345 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1346 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1347 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1348 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1349 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1350 subscribing these groups.
1351 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1352 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1354 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1355 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1356 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1357 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1358 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1359 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1360 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1361 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1363 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1364 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1365 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1366 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1367 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1368 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1369 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1370 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1371 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1372 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1375 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1376 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1379 @node Changing Servers
1380 @section Changing Servers
1381 @cindex changing servers
1383 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1384 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1385 very flaky and you want to use another.
1387 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1388 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1392 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1393 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1394 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1395 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1398 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1399 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1400 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1401 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1403 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1404 @findex gnus-change-server
1405 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1406 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1407 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1408 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1409 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1411 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1412 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1413 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1414 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1415 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1417 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1418 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1419 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1420 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1421 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1422 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1424 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1425 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1426 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1427 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1429 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1430 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1431 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1432 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1433 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1434 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1435 cache for all groups).
1439 @section Startup Files
1440 @cindex startup files
1445 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1446 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1448 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1449 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1450 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1451 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1452 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1453 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1454 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1456 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1457 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1458 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1459 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1460 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1461 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1463 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1464 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1465 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1466 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1467 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1468 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1469 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1470 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1471 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1472 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1474 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1475 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1476 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1477 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1478 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1479 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1480 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1481 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1482 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1483 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1484 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1485 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1487 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1488 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1489 @vindex version-control
1490 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1491 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1492 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1493 If you want version control for this file, set
1494 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1495 @code{version-control} variable.
1497 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1498 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1499 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1500 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1501 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1502 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1503 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1504 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1505 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1506 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1509 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1510 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1512 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1513 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1516 @vindex gnus-init-file
1517 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1518 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1519 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1520 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1521 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1522 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1523 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1524 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1525 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1526 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1532 @cindex dribble file
1535 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1536 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1537 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1538 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1539 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1542 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1543 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1546 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1547 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1548 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1550 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1551 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1552 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1553 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1554 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1555 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1557 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1558 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1559 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1562 @node The Active File
1563 @section The Active File
1565 @cindex ignored groups
1567 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1568 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1569 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1571 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1572 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1573 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1574 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1575 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1576 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1577 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1580 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1581 @c if you set it to anything else.
1583 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1585 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1586 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1587 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1589 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1590 you actually subscribe to.
1592 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1593 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1594 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1595 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1597 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1598 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1599 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1600 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1601 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1602 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1604 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1605 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1606 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1609 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1610 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1611 @acronym{NNTP} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1612 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1613 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1614 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1616 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1617 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1619 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1620 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1622 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1623 secondary select methods.
1626 @node Startup Variables
1627 @section Startup Variables
1631 @item gnus-load-hook
1632 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1633 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1634 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1635 times you start gnus.
1637 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1638 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1639 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1641 @item gnus-startup-hook
1642 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1643 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1645 @item gnus-started-hook
1646 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1647 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1650 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1651 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1652 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1653 generating the group buffer.
1655 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1656 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1657 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1658 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1659 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1660 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1661 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1662 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1664 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1665 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1666 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1667 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1668 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1669 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1671 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1672 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1673 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1675 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1676 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1677 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1679 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1680 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1681 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1682 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1688 @chapter Group Buffer
1689 @cindex group buffer
1691 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1693 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1694 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1695 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1696 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1697 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1698 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1699 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1700 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1701 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1702 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1703 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1704 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1705 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1706 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1707 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1708 @c human rights at 9...
1711 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1712 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1713 long as gnus is active.
1717 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1718 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1719 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1720 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1721 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1722 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1723 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1724 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1730 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1731 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1732 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1733 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1734 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1735 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1736 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1737 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1738 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1739 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1740 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1741 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1742 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1743 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1744 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1745 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1746 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1750 @node Group Buffer Format
1751 @section Group Buffer Format
1754 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1755 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1756 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1760 @node Group Line Specification
1761 @subsection Group Line Specification
1762 @cindex group buffer format
1764 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1765 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1767 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1770 25: news.announce.newusers
1771 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1776 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1777 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1778 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1779 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1781 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1782 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1783 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1784 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1785 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1786 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1788 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1790 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1791 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1792 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1793 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1794 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1796 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1797 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1798 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1800 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1805 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1808 Whether the group is subscribed.
1811 Level of subscribedness.
1814 Number of unread articles.
1817 Number of dormant articles.
1820 Number of ticked articles.
1823 Number of read articles.
1826 Number of unseen articles.
1829 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1830 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1832 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1833 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1834 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1835 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1836 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1837 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1838 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1839 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1842 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1845 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1854 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1855 comment element in the group parameters.
1858 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1859 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1860 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1864 @samp{m} if moderated.
1867 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1873 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1879 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1883 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1886 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1887 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1888 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1889 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1890 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1893 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1895 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1899 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1902 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1906 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1907 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1908 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1909 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1910 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1911 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1916 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1917 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1918 group, or a bogus native group.
1921 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1922 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1923 @cindex group mode line
1925 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1926 The mode line can be changed by setting
1927 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1928 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1932 The native news server.
1934 The native select method.
1938 @node Group Highlighting
1939 @subsection Group Highlighting
1940 @cindex highlighting
1941 @cindex group highlighting
1943 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1944 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1945 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1946 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1947 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1949 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1953 (cond (window-system
1954 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1955 (defface my-group-face-1
1956 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1957 (defface my-group-face-2
1958 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1959 "Second group face")
1960 (defface my-group-face-3
1961 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1962 (defface my-group-face-4
1963 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1964 (defface my-group-face-5
1965 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1967 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1968 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1969 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1970 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1971 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1972 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1975 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1977 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1984 The number of unread articles in the group.
1988 Whether the group is a mail group.
1990 The level of the group.
1992 The score of the group.
1994 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1996 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1997 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1999 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
2000 topic being inserted.
2003 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2004 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
2005 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2007 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2008 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2009 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2010 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2011 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2014 @node Group Maneuvering
2015 @section Group Maneuvering
2016 @cindex group movement
2018 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2019 expected, hopefully.
2025 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2026 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2027 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2033 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2034 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2035 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2039 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2040 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2044 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2045 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2049 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2050 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2051 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2055 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2056 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2057 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2060 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2066 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2067 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2068 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2073 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2074 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2075 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2079 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2080 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2081 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2084 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2085 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2086 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2087 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2091 @node Selecting a Group
2092 @section Selecting a Group
2093 @cindex group selection
2098 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2099 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2100 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2101 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2102 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2103 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2104 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2105 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2106 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2107 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2109 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2110 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2111 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2113 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2114 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2119 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2120 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2121 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2122 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2123 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2127 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2128 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2129 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2130 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2131 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2132 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2133 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2134 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2135 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2136 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2139 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2140 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2141 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2142 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2143 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2146 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2147 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2148 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2149 doing any processing of its contents
2150 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2151 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2152 manner will have no permanent effects.
2156 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2157 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2158 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2159 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2160 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
2161 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2162 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2163 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2164 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2165 most recently will be fetched.
2167 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2168 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2169 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2172 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2173 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2174 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2175 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2176 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2177 Which article this is is controlled by the
2178 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2184 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2187 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2190 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2192 @item unseen-or-unread
2193 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2194 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2198 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2202 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2203 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2205 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2206 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2207 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2208 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2212 @node Subscription Commands
2213 @section Subscription Commands
2214 @cindex subscription
2222 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2223 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2224 Toggle subscription to the current group
2225 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2231 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2232 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2233 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2234 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2240 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2241 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2242 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2248 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2249 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2252 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2253 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2254 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2255 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2256 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2262 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2263 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2267 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2268 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2271 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2272 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2273 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2274 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2275 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2276 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2277 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2278 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2279 @file{.newsrc} file.
2283 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2293 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2294 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2295 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2296 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2297 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2298 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2303 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2304 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2305 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2309 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2310 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2311 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2313 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2314 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2315 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2316 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2317 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2318 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2325 @section Group Levels
2329 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2330 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2331 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2332 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2333 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2335 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2341 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2342 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2343 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2344 prompted for a level.
2347 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2348 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2349 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2350 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2351 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2352 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2353 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2354 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2355 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2356 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2357 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2358 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2359 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2360 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2361 reasons of efficiency.
2363 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2364 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2366 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2367 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2368 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2369 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2370 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2371 groups are hidden, in a way.
2373 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2374 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2375 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2376 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2377 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2378 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2380 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2381 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2382 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2383 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2384 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2385 list of killed groups.)
2387 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2388 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2389 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2391 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2392 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2393 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2394 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2395 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2396 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2397 relevant valid ranges.
2399 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2400 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2401 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2402 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2403 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2404 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2407 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2408 one with the best level.
2410 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2411 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2412 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2415 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2416 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2417 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2418 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2421 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2422 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2423 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2424 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2426 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2427 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2428 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2429 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2430 to 5. The default is 6.
2434 @section Group Score
2439 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2440 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2441 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2444 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2445 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2446 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2447 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2448 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2449 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2450 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2451 least significant part.))
2453 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2454 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2455 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2456 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2457 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2458 action after each summary exit, you can add
2459 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2460 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2461 slow things down somewhat.
2464 @node Marking Groups
2465 @section Marking Groups
2466 @cindex marking groups
2468 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2469 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2470 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2471 bidding on those groups.
2473 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2474 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2475 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2483 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2484 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2491 Remove the mark from the current group
2492 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2497 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2502 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2506 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2507 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2511 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2512 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2513 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2516 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2518 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2519 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2520 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2521 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2522 the command to be executed.
2525 @node Foreign Groups
2526 @section Foreign Groups
2527 @cindex foreign groups
2529 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2530 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2531 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2532 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2539 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2540 @cindex making groups
2541 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2542 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2543 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2547 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2548 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2549 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2553 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2554 @cindex renaming groups
2555 Rename the current group to something else
2556 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2557 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2563 @findex gnus-group-customize
2564 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2568 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2569 @cindex renaming groups
2570 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2571 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2575 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2576 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2577 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2581 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2582 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2583 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2587 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2589 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2590 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2595 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2596 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2600 @cindex (ding) archive
2601 @cindex archive group
2602 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2603 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2604 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2605 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2606 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2607 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2608 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2612 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2614 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2615 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2616 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2617 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2621 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2623 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2624 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2625 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2629 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2630 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2632 Make a group based on some file or other
2633 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2634 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2635 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2636 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2637 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2638 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2639 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2640 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2641 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2645 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2646 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2647 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2648 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2652 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2656 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2657 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2658 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2659 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2660 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2661 @xref{Web Searches}.
2663 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2664 to a particular group by using a match string like
2665 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2669 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2670 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2671 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2675 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2676 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2677 This function will delete the current group
2678 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2679 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2680 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2681 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2682 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2686 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2687 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2688 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2692 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2693 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2694 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2697 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2700 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2701 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2702 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2703 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2704 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2705 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2709 @node Group Parameters
2710 @section Group Parameters
2711 @cindex group parameters
2713 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2714 Here's an example group parameter list:
2717 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2721 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2722 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2723 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2724 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2726 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2727 is an alist of regexps and values.
2729 The following group parameters can be used:
2734 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2737 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2740 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2741 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2742 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2743 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2744 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2746 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2747 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2748 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2749 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2750 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2751 list address instead.
2753 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2757 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2760 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2763 It is totally ignored
2764 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2765 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2767 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2768 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2769 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2770 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2771 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2773 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2774 @cindex mail list groups
2775 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2776 entering summary buffer.
2778 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2783 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2784 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2785 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2786 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2787 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2788 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2789 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2790 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2793 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2794 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2797 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2798 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2802 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2803 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2804 of whether it has any unread articles.
2806 @item broken-reply-to
2807 @cindex broken-reply-to
2808 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2809 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2810 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2811 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2812 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2813 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2817 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2818 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2822 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2823 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2824 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2829 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2830 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2831 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2832 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2833 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2834 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2835 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2837 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2838 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2839 doesn't accept articles.
2843 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2844 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2845 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2847 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2850 @cindex total-expire
2851 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2852 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2853 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2854 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2857 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2861 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2862 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2863 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2864 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2865 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2866 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2867 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2870 @cindex expiry-target
2871 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2872 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2875 @cindex score file group parameter
2876 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2877 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2878 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2881 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2882 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2883 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2884 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2887 @cindex admin-address
2888 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2889 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2890 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2891 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2895 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2896 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2900 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2903 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2904 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2907 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2911 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2913 Here are some examples:
2917 Display only unread articles.
2920 Display everything except expirable articles.
2922 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2923 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2927 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2928 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2929 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2930 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2931 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2935 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2936 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2937 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2941 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2942 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2943 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2947 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2948 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2949 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2951 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2953 @item ignored-charsets
2954 @cindex ignored-charset
2955 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2956 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2957 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2959 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2962 @cindex posting-style
2963 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2964 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2965 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2966 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2967 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2969 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2970 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2971 like this in the group parameters:
2976 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2977 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2982 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2983 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2987 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2988 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2989 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2990 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2991 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2995 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2996 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2997 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2998 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3000 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3001 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3002 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3003 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3006 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
3007 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
3011 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3012 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3014 @item (agent parameters)
3015 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3016 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3017 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3018 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3019 minimize the configuration effort.
3021 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3022 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3023 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3024 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3025 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3026 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3027 @code{eval}ed there.
3029 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3030 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3031 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3032 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3033 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3034 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3035 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3036 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3039 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3042 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3043 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3044 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3047 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3050 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3051 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3052 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3053 into the group parameters for the group.
3055 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
3056 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
3057 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
3058 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
3059 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
3063 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3064 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3065 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3066 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3067 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3069 @vindex gnus-parameters
3070 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3071 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3075 (setq gnus-parameters
3077 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3078 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3079 (gnus-summary-line-format
3080 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3084 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3088 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3092 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3095 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3096 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3099 @node Listing Groups
3100 @section Listing Groups
3101 @cindex group listing
3103 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3111 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3112 List all groups that have unread articles
3113 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3114 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3115 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3116 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3123 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3124 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3125 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3126 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3127 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3128 unsubscribed groups).
3132 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3133 List all unread groups on a specific level
3134 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3135 with no unread articles.
3139 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3140 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3141 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3142 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3147 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3148 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3152 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3153 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3154 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3158 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3159 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3163 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3164 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3165 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3166 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3167 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3168 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3169 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3170 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3174 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3175 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3176 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3180 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3181 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3182 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3186 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3187 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3191 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3192 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3196 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3197 List groups limited within the current selection
3198 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3202 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3203 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3207 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3208 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3212 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3213 @cindex visible group parameter
3214 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3215 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3216 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3217 get the same effect.
3219 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3220 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3221 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3222 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3223 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3226 @node Sorting Groups
3227 @section Sorting Groups
3228 @cindex sorting groups
3230 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3231 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3232 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3233 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3234 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3235 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3240 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3241 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3242 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3244 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3245 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3246 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3248 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3249 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3250 Sort by group level.
3252 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3253 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3254 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3256 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3257 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3258 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3259 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3261 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3262 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3263 Sort by number of unread articles.
3265 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3266 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3267 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3269 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3270 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3271 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3276 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3277 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3281 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3282 some sorting criteria:
3286 @kindex G S a (Group)
3287 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3288 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3289 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3292 @kindex G S u (Group)
3293 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3294 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3295 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3298 @kindex G S l (Group)
3299 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3300 Sort the group buffer by group level
3301 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3304 @kindex G S v (Group)
3305 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3306 Sort the group buffer by group score
3307 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3310 @kindex G S r (Group)
3311 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3312 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3313 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3316 @kindex G S m (Group)
3317 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3318 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3319 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3322 @kindex G S n (Group)
3323 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3324 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3325 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3329 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3330 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3332 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3333 commands will sort in reverse order.
3335 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3339 @kindex G P a (Group)
3340 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3341 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3342 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3345 @kindex G P u (Group)
3346 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3347 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3348 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3351 @kindex G P l (Group)
3352 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3353 Sort the groups by group level
3354 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3357 @kindex G P v (Group)
3358 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3359 Sort the groups by group score
3360 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3363 @kindex G P r (Group)
3364 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3365 Sort the groups by group rank
3366 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3369 @kindex G P m (Group)
3370 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3371 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3372 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3375 @kindex G P n (Group)
3376 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3377 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3378 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3381 @kindex G P s (Group)
3382 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3383 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3387 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3391 @node Group Maintenance
3392 @section Group Maintenance
3393 @cindex bogus groups
3398 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3399 Find bogus groups and delete them
3400 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3404 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3405 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3406 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3407 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3408 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3412 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3413 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3414 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3415 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3416 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3417 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3420 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3421 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3422 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3423 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3428 @node Browse Foreign Server
3429 @section Browse Foreign Server
3430 @cindex foreign servers
3431 @cindex browsing servers
3436 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3437 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3438 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3439 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3442 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3443 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3444 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3445 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3447 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3452 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3453 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3457 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3458 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3461 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3462 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3463 Enter the current group and display the first article
3464 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3467 @kindex RET (Browse)
3468 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3469 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3473 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3474 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3475 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3481 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3482 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3486 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3487 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3491 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3492 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3493 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3498 @section Exiting gnus
3499 @cindex exiting gnus
3501 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3506 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3507 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3508 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3509 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3513 @findex gnus-group-exit
3514 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3515 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3519 @findex gnus-group-quit
3520 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3521 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3524 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3525 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3526 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3527 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3528 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3529 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3535 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3536 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3537 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3543 @section Group Topics
3546 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3547 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3548 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3549 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3550 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3551 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3555 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3556 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3567 2: alt.religion.emacs
3570 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3572 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3573 13: comp.sources.unix
3576 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3578 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3579 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3580 is a toggling command.)
3582 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3583 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3584 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3585 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3588 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3589 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3590 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3593 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3597 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3598 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3599 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3600 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3601 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3605 @node Topic Commands
3606 @subsection Topic Commands
3607 @cindex topic commands
3609 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3610 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3611 definitions slightly.
3613 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3614 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3615 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3616 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3617 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3618 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3620 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3627 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3628 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3629 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3633 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3635 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3636 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3637 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3638 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3641 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3642 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3643 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3644 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3648 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3649 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3650 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3651 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3657 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3658 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3659 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3663 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3664 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3665 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3668 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3669 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3670 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3671 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3672 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3674 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3675 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3679 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3680 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3687 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3689 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3690 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3691 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3692 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3693 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3694 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3698 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3704 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3705 Move the current group to some other topic
3706 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3707 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3711 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3712 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3716 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3717 Copy the current group to some other topic
3718 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3719 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3723 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3724 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3725 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3729 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3730 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3731 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3735 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3736 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3737 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3738 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3739 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3740 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3741 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3744 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3745 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3749 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3750 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3751 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3755 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3756 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3757 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3761 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3762 Toggle hiding empty topics
3763 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3767 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3768 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3769 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3770 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3773 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3774 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3775 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3777 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3780 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3781 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3782 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3783 expiry process (if any)
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3788 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3789 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3792 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3793 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3794 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3798 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3799 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3800 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3803 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3804 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3805 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3808 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3809 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3810 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3814 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3815 @cindex group parameters
3816 @cindex topic parameters
3818 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3819 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3824 @node Topic Variables
3825 @subsection Topic Variables
3826 @cindex topic variables
3828 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3829 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3831 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3832 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3833 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3846 Number of groups in the topic.
3848 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3850 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3853 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3854 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3855 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3858 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3859 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3861 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3862 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3863 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3867 @subsection Topic Sorting
3868 @cindex topic sorting
3870 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3876 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3877 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3878 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3879 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3882 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3883 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3884 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3885 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3888 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3889 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3890 Sort the current topic by group level
3891 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3894 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3895 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3896 Sort the current topic by group score
3897 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3900 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3901 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3902 Sort the current topic by group rank
3903 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3906 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3907 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3908 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3909 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3912 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3913 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3914 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3915 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3918 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3919 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3920 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3921 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3922 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3926 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3927 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3931 @node Topic Topology
3932 @subsection Topic Topology
3933 @cindex topic topology
3936 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3943 2: alt.religion.emacs
3946 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3948 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3949 13: comp.sources.unix
3953 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3954 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3955 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3960 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3961 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3965 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3966 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3967 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3968 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3969 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3970 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3972 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3973 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3974 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3977 @node Topic Parameters
3978 @subsection Topic Parameters
3979 @cindex topic parameters
3981 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
3982 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
3983 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
3984 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
3985 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
3987 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3992 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3993 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3994 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3997 @item subscribe-level
3998 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3999 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4000 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4004 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4005 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4006 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4007 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4014 2: alt.religion.emacs
4018 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4020 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4021 13: comp.sources.unix
4026 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4027 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4028 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4029 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4030 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4031 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4033 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4034 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4035 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4036 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4037 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4039 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4040 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4041 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4042 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4043 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4044 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4045 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4046 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4049 @node Misc Group Stuff
4050 @section Misc Group Stuff
4053 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4054 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4055 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4056 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4057 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4064 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4065 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4066 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4070 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4071 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4072 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4073 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4074 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4075 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4076 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4080 @findex gnus-group-mail
4081 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4082 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4083 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4084 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4088 @findex gnus-group-news
4089 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4090 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4091 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4093 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4094 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4095 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4096 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4097 for this to work though.
4101 Variables for the group buffer:
4105 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4106 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4107 is called after the group buffer has been
4110 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4111 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4112 is called after the group buffer is
4113 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4116 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4117 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4118 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4119 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4121 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4122 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4123 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4124 whether they are empty or not.
4126 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4127 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4128 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4129 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4133 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4134 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4137 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4138 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4139 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4140 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4141 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4142 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4143 default is @code{nil}.
4147 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4148 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4153 @node Scanning New Messages
4154 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4155 @cindex new messages
4156 @cindex scanning new news
4162 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4163 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4164 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4165 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4166 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4167 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4172 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4173 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4174 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4175 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4176 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4177 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4178 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4180 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4181 @cindex activating groups
4183 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4184 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4189 @findex gnus-group-restart
4190 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4191 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4192 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
4196 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4197 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4199 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4200 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4204 @node Group Information
4205 @subsection Group Information
4206 @cindex group information
4207 @cindex information on groups
4214 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4215 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4218 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4219 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4220 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4221 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4222 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4223 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4224 used for fetching the file.
4226 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
4227 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4231 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4232 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4234 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4235 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4238 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4239 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4240 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4244 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4245 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4246 @cindex control message
4247 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4248 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4249 group if given a prefix argument.
4251 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4252 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4253 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4254 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4256 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4257 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4258 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4262 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4264 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4265 @cindex describing groups
4266 @cindex group description
4267 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4268 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4269 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4273 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4274 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4275 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4282 @findex gnus-version
4283 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4287 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4288 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4291 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4294 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4295 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4299 @node Group Timestamp
4300 @subsection Group Timestamp
4302 @cindex group timestamps
4304 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
4305 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4306 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4309 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4312 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4314 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4315 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4318 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4319 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4322 This will result in lines looking like:
4325 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4326 0: custom 19961002T012713
4329 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4330 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4334 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4335 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4338 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4339 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4343 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4344 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4345 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4346 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4348 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4354 @subsection File Commands
4355 @cindex file commands
4361 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4362 @vindex gnus-init-file
4363 @cindex reading init file
4364 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4365 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4369 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4370 @cindex saving .newsrc
4371 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4372 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4373 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4376 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4377 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4378 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4383 @node Sieve Commands
4384 @subsection Sieve Commands
4385 @cindex group sieve commands
4387 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4388 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4389 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4390 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4391 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4393 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4394 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4395 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4396 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4397 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4398 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4399 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4400 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4401 regenerate the Sieve script.
4403 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4404 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4405 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4406 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4407 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4408 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4409 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4410 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4411 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4412 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4415 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4416 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4421 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4427 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4428 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4429 @cindex generating sieve script
4430 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4431 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4435 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4436 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4437 @cindex updating sieve script
4438 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4439 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4440 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4445 @node Summary Buffer
4446 @chapter Summary Buffer
4447 @cindex summary buffer
4449 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4450 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4452 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4453 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4455 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4458 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4459 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4460 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4461 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4462 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4463 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4464 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4465 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4466 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4467 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4468 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4469 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4470 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4471 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4472 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4473 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4474 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4475 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4476 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4477 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4478 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4479 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4480 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4481 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4482 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4483 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4484 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4485 or reselecting the current group.
4486 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4487 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4488 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4489 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4493 @node Summary Buffer Format
4494 @section Summary Buffer Format
4495 @cindex summary buffer format
4499 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4500 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4501 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4507 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4508 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4509 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4510 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4513 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4514 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4515 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4516 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4517 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4518 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
4519 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4520 fast, and too simplistic solution;
4521 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
4522 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
4523 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
4524 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
4525 other function instead:
4528 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4529 'mail-extract-address-components)
4532 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4533 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4534 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4535 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4538 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4539 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4541 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4542 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4543 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4544 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4545 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4547 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4548 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4549 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4550 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4551 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4552 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4554 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4556 The following format specification characters and extended format
4557 specification(s) are understood:
4563 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4564 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4566 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4567 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4568 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4570 Full @code{From} header.
4572 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4574 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4577 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4578 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4579 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4580 may be more thorough.
4582 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4585 Number of lines in the article.
4587 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4588 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4590 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4591 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4593 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4595 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4596 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4609 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4610 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4611 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4612 line-drawing glyphs.
4614 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4615 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4616 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4617 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4619 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4620 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4621 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4622 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4624 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4625 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4626 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4627 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4629 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4630 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4631 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4633 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4634 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4635 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4637 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4638 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4639 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4641 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4642 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4643 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4648 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4649 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4651 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4652 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4654 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4655 for adopted articles.
4657 One space for each thread level.
4659 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4661 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4664 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4665 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4666 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4669 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4671 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4672 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4673 default level. If the difference between
4674 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4675 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4683 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4685 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4691 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4692 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4694 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4695 article has any children.
4701 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4702 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4704 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4705 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4706 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4707 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4708 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4709 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4712 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4713 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4714 There can only be one such area.
4716 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4717 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4718 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4719 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4720 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4721 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4723 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4724 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4726 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4729 @node To From Newsgroups
4730 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4734 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4735 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4736 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4737 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4738 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4742 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4743 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4744 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4748 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4749 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4752 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4753 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4756 @findex gnus-extra-header
4757 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4758 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4759 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4762 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4766 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4767 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4768 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4769 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4770 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4771 headers are used instead.
4775 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4776 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4777 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4778 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4779 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4780 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4783 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4784 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4785 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4786 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4788 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4792 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4794 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4795 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4796 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4797 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4801 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4804 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4805 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4808 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4809 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4810 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4816 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4817 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4820 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4821 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4823 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4824 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4825 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4826 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4828 Here are the elements you can play with:
4834 Unprefixed group name.
4836 Current article number.
4838 Current article score.
4842 Number of unread articles in this group.
4844 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4847 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4848 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4849 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4850 and no unselected ones.
4852 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4853 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4855 Subject of the current article.
4857 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4859 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4861 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4863 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4865 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4867 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4871 @node Summary Highlighting
4872 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4876 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4877 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4878 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4879 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4880 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4882 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4883 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4884 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4885 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4887 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4888 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4889 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4890 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4892 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4893 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4894 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4895 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4896 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4897 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4900 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4901 ((> score default) . bold))
4903 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4904 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4908 @node Summary Maneuvering
4909 @section Summary Maneuvering
4910 @cindex summary movement
4912 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4913 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4915 None of these commands select articles.
4920 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4921 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4922 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4923 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4924 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4928 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4929 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4930 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4931 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4932 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4935 @kindex G g (Summary)
4936 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4937 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4938 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4941 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4942 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4943 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4944 to the group buffer.
4946 Variables related to summary movement:
4950 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4951 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4952 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4953 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4954 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4955 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4956 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4957 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4958 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4959 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4960 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4961 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4962 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4963 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4965 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4966 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4967 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4968 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4969 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4970 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4971 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4973 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4975 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4976 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4977 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4978 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4979 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4981 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4982 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4983 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4984 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4985 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4986 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4987 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4988 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4991 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4992 the given number of lines from the top.
4997 @node Choosing Articles
4998 @section Choosing Articles
4999 @cindex selecting articles
5002 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5003 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5007 @node Choosing Commands
5008 @subsection Choosing Commands
5010 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5011 and they all select and display an article.
5013 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5014 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5018 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5019 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5020 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5021 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5023 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5024 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5025 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5030 @kindex G n (Summary)
5031 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5032 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5033 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5038 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5039 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5040 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5045 @kindex G N (Summary)
5046 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5047 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5052 @kindex G P (Summary)
5053 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5054 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5057 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5058 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5059 Go to the next article with the same subject
5060 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5063 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5065 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5066 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5070 @kindex G f (Summary)
5072 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5073 Go to the first unread article
5074 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5078 @kindex G b (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5081 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5082 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5083 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5088 @kindex G l (Summary)
5089 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5090 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5093 @kindex G o (Summary)
5094 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5096 @cindex article history
5097 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5098 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5099 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5100 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5101 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5102 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5107 @kindex G j (Summary)
5108 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5109 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5110 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5115 @node Choosing Variables
5116 @subsection Choosing Variables
5118 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5121 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5122 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5123 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5124 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5125 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5126 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5128 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5129 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5130 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5131 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5132 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5133 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5135 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5136 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5137 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5138 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5139 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5140 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5141 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5142 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5143 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5144 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5145 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5146 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5147 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5148 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5153 @node Paging the Article
5154 @section Scrolling the Article
5155 @cindex article scrolling
5160 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5161 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5162 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5163 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5164 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5166 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5167 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5168 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5169 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5170 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5171 what is considered uninteresting with
5172 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5173 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5176 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5177 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5178 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5181 @kindex RET (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5183 Scroll the current article one line forward
5184 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5187 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5189 Scroll the current article one line backward
5190 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5194 @kindex A g (Summary)
5196 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5197 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5198 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5199 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5200 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5201 the way it came from the server.
5203 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5204 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5205 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5208 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5213 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5218 @kindex A < (Summary)
5219 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5220 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5221 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5226 @kindex A > (Summary)
5227 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5228 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5232 @kindex A s (Summary)
5234 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5235 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5236 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5240 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5241 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5246 @node Reply Followup and Post
5247 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5250 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5251 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5252 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5253 * Canceling and Superseding::
5257 @node Summary Mail Commands
5258 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5260 @cindex composing mail
5262 Commands for composing a mail message:
5268 @kindex S r (Summary)
5270 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5271 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5272 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5273 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5274 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5279 @kindex S R (Summary)
5280 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5281 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5282 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5283 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5284 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5287 @kindex S w (Summary)
5288 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5289 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5290 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5291 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5292 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5293 present, that's used instead.
5296 @kindex S W (Summary)
5297 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5298 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5299 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5300 the process/prefix convention.
5303 @kindex S v (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5305 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5306 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5307 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5308 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5309 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5312 @kindex S V (Summary)
5313 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5314 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5315 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5316 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5319 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5320 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5321 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5322 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5323 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5324 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5325 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5326 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5329 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5330 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5331 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5332 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5333 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5337 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5338 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5339 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5340 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5341 Forward the current article to some other person
5342 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5343 headers of the forwarded article.
5348 @kindex S m (Summary)
5349 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5350 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5351 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5352 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5353 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5358 @kindex S i (Summary)
5359 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5360 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5361 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5362 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5364 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5365 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5366 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5367 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5368 for this to work though.
5371 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5372 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5373 @cindex bouncing mail
5374 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5375 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5376 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5377 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5378 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5379 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
5380 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5381 very well fail, though.
5384 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5385 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5386 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5387 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5388 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5389 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5390 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5391 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5392 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5393 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5395 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5396 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5397 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5398 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5399 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5401 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5402 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5405 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5406 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5408 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5409 if it were a new message before resending.
5412 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5413 @findex gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward
5414 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5415 result using mail (@code{gnus-summary-digest-mail-forward}). This
5416 command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5419 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5420 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5421 @cindex crossposting
5422 @cindex excessive crossposting
5423 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5424 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5426 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5427 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5428 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5429 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5430 command understands the process/prefix convention
5431 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5435 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5436 Manual}, for more information.
5439 @node Summary Post Commands
5440 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5442 @cindex composing news
5444 Commands for posting a news article:
5450 @kindex S p (Summary)
5451 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5452 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5453 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5454 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5455 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5460 @kindex S f (Summary)
5461 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5462 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5463 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5467 @kindex S F (Summary)
5469 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5470 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5471 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5472 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5473 process/prefix convention.
5476 @kindex S n (Summary)
5477 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5478 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5479 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5482 @kindex S N (Summary)
5483 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5484 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5485 message through mail and include the original message
5486 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5487 the process/prefix convention.
5490 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5491 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5492 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5493 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
5494 headers of the forwarded article.
5497 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5498 @findex gnus-summary-digest-post-forward
5500 @cindex making digests
5501 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5502 (@code{gnus-summary-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5503 process/prefix convention.
5506 @kindex S u (Summary)
5507 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5508 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5509 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5510 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5513 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5514 Manual}, for more information.
5517 @node Summary Message Commands
5518 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5522 @kindex S y (Summary)
5523 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5524 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5525 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5526 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5527 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5532 @node Canceling and Superseding
5533 @subsection Canceling Articles
5534 @cindex canceling articles
5535 @cindex superseding articles
5537 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5538 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5540 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5542 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5544 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5545 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5546 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5547 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5548 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5549 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5551 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5552 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5555 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5556 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5557 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5559 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5560 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5561 message, Message Manual}).
5563 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5564 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5565 your original article.
5567 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5569 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5570 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5571 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5574 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5575 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5576 have posted almost the same article twice.
5578 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5579 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5580 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5581 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5582 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5583 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5584 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5585 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5586 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5587 canceled/superseded.
5589 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5591 @node Delayed Articles
5592 @section Delayed Articles
5593 @cindex delayed sending
5594 @cindex send delayed
5596 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5597 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5598 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5599 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5602 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5605 @findex gnus-delay-article
5606 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5607 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5608 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5609 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5613 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5614 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5615 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5616 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5619 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5620 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5621 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5624 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5625 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5626 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5627 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5628 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5629 that means a time tomorrow.
5632 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5633 couple of variables:
5636 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5637 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5638 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5639 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5641 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5642 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5643 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5644 formats described above.
5646 @item gnus-delay-group
5647 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5648 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5649 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5650 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5652 @item gnus-delay-header
5653 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5654 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5655 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5656 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5659 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5660 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5661 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5662 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5663 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5665 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5666 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5667 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5668 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5669 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5670 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5671 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5674 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5675 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5677 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5678 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5679 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5680 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5681 argument is ignored.
5683 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5684 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5685 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5689 @node Marking Articles
5690 @section Marking Articles
5691 @cindex article marking
5692 @cindex article ticking
5695 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5697 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5698 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5699 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5701 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5704 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5705 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5706 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5710 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5714 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5715 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5716 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5720 @node Unread Articles
5721 @subsection Unread Articles
5723 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5728 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5729 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5731 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5732 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5733 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5734 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5735 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5736 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5737 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5740 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5741 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5743 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5744 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5745 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5746 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5750 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5751 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5753 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5758 @subsection Read Articles
5759 @cindex expirable mark
5761 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5766 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5767 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5768 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5771 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5772 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5775 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5776 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5777 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5780 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5781 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5784 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5785 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5788 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5789 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5792 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5793 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5796 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5797 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5800 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5801 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5804 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5805 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5809 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5810 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5811 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5815 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5816 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5818 One more special mark, though:
5822 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5823 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5825 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5826 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5827 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5828 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
5834 @subsection Other Marks
5835 @cindex process mark
5838 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5844 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5845 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5846 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5847 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5848 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5851 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5852 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5853 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5854 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5857 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5858 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5859 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5862 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5863 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5864 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5867 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5868 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5869 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5870 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5873 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5874 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5875 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5876 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5877 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5878 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5881 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5882 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5883 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5884 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5887 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5888 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5889 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5890 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5891 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5895 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5896 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5897 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5898 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5899 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5900 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5903 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5904 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5905 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5906 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5907 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5908 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5912 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5913 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5914 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5915 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5916 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5919 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5920 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5921 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5922 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5923 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5924 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5928 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5929 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5930 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5932 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5933 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5934 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5938 @subsection Setting Marks
5939 @cindex setting marks
5941 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5946 @kindex M c (Summary)
5947 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5948 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5949 @cindex mark as unread
5950 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5951 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5957 @kindex M t (Summary)
5958 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5959 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5960 @xref{Article Caching}.
5965 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5966 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5967 Mark the current article as dormant
5968 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5972 @kindex M d (Summary)
5974 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5975 Mark the current article as read
5976 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5980 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5981 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5982 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5987 @kindex M k (Summary)
5988 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5989 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5990 and then select the next unread article
5991 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5995 @kindex M K (Summary)
5996 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5997 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5998 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5999 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6002 @kindex M C (Summary)
6003 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6004 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6005 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6008 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6009 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6010 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6011 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6014 @kindex M H (Summary)
6015 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6016 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6017 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6020 @kindex M h (Summary)
6021 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6022 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6023 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6026 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6027 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6028 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6029 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6032 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6033 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6034 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6035 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6039 @kindex M e (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6042 Mark the current article as expirable
6043 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6046 @kindex M b (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6048 Set a bookmark in the current article
6049 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6052 @kindex M B (Summary)
6053 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6054 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6055 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6058 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6060 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6061 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6064 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6065 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6066 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6067 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6070 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6071 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6072 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6073 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6074 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6077 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6078 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6079 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6080 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6081 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6082 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6083 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6084 The default is @code{t}.
6087 @node Generic Marking Commands
6088 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6090 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6091 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6092 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6093 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6094 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6097 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6098 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6101 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6102 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6103 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6104 to list in this manual.
6106 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6107 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6108 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6109 article, you could say something like:
6113 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6114 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6115 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6123 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6124 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6128 @node Setting Process Marks
6129 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6130 @cindex setting process marks
6132 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6133 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6134 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6135 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6136 commands into the cache. For more information,
6137 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6144 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6145 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6146 Mark the current article with the process mark
6147 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6148 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6152 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6153 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6154 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6155 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6158 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6159 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6160 Remove the process mark from all articles
6161 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6164 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6165 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6166 Invert the list of process marked articles
6167 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6170 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6171 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6172 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6173 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6176 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6177 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6178 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6179 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6182 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6183 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6184 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6187 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6188 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6189 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6192 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6193 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6194 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6195 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6198 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6199 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6200 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6201 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6204 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6205 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6206 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6207 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6210 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6211 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6212 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6215 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6216 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6217 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6218 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6221 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6222 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6223 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6226 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6227 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6228 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6229 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6232 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6233 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6234 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6235 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6238 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6239 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6240 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6241 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6244 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6246 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6247 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6251 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6252 set process marks based on article body contents.
6259 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6260 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6261 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6264 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6265 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6266 additional articles.
6272 @kindex / / (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6274 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6275 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6279 @kindex / a (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6281 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6282 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6286 @kindex / x (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6288 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6289 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6290 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6295 @kindex / u (Summary)
6297 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6298 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6299 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6300 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6301 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6304 @kindex / m (Summary)
6305 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6306 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6307 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6310 @kindex / t (Summary)
6311 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6312 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6313 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6314 articles younger than that number of days.
6317 @kindex / n (Summary)
6318 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6319 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6320 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6321 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6324 @kindex / w (Summary)
6325 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6326 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6327 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6331 @kindex / . (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6333 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6334 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6337 @kindex / v (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6339 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6340 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6343 @kindex / p (Summary)
6344 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6345 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6346 group parameter predicate
6347 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6348 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6351 @kindex / r (Summary)
6352 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6353 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6354 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6359 @kindex M S (Summary)
6360 @kindex / E (Summary)
6361 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6362 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6363 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6366 @kindex / D (Summary)
6367 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6368 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6369 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6372 @kindex / * (Summary)
6373 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6374 Include all cached articles in the limit
6375 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6378 @kindex / d (Summary)
6379 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6380 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6381 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6384 @kindex / M (Summary)
6385 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6386 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6389 @kindex / T (Summary)
6390 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6391 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6394 @kindex / c (Summary)
6395 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6396 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6397 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6400 @kindex / C (Summary)
6401 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6402 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6403 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6404 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6407 @kindex / N (Summary)
6408 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6409 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6410 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6413 @kindex / o (Summary)
6414 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6415 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6416 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6424 @cindex article threading
6426 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6427 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6428 hierarchical fashion.
6430 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6431 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6432 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6433 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6434 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6435 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6436 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6438 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6442 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6445 A tree-like article structure.
6448 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6451 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6452 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6453 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6454 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6455 called loose threads.
6457 @item thread gathering
6458 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6460 @item sparse threads
6461 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6462 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6468 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6469 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6473 @node Customizing Threading
6474 @subsection Customizing Threading
6475 @cindex customizing threading
6478 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6479 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6480 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6481 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6486 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6489 @cindex loose threads
6492 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6493 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6494 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6495 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6496 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6497 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6499 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
6500 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
6501 There are four possible values:
6505 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6506 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6507 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6508 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6509 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6514 @cindex adopting articles
6519 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6520 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6521 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6522 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6525 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6526 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6527 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6528 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6529 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6530 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6531 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6532 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6533 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6534 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6537 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6538 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6539 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6543 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6544 display them after one another.
6547 Don't gather loose threads.
6550 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6551 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6552 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6553 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
6554 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6555 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6556 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6557 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6558 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6559 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
6560 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6562 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6563 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
6564 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6567 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6568 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6569 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6570 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6571 simplification is used.
6573 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6574 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6575 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6576 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6578 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6580 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6586 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6587 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6588 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6589 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6594 (mapconcat 'identity
6595 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6597 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6600 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6603 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6604 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6605 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6606 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6607 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6608 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6610 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6613 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6614 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6615 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6617 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6618 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6621 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6622 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6623 Remove excessive whitespace.
6625 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6626 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6627 Remove all whitespace.
6630 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6633 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6634 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6635 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6636 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6637 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6638 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6639 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6640 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6642 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6643 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6644 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6645 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6646 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6647 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6648 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6649 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6650 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6654 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6655 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6656 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6657 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6659 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6660 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6661 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6664 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6668 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6669 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6675 @node Filling In Threads
6676 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6679 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6680 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6681 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6682 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6683 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6684 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6685 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6686 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6687 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6688 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6689 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6690 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6693 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6694 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6695 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6697 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6698 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6699 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6702 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6703 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6704 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6705 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6706 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6707 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6708 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
6709 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6710 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
6711 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
6712 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6713 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
6714 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6715 @code{nil} by default.
6717 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6718 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6719 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6720 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6721 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6722 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6723 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6725 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6726 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6727 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6732 @node More Threading
6733 @subsubsection More Threading
6736 @item gnus-show-threads
6737 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6738 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6739 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6740 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6741 slower and more awkward.
6743 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6744 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6745 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6748 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6749 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6750 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6755 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6756 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6757 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6760 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6761 unread, but you get my drift.)
6764 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6765 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6766 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6767 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6768 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6769 threads are expunged.
6771 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6772 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6773 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6776 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6777 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6778 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6779 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6780 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6781 result in a new thread.
6783 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6784 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6785 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6788 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6789 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6790 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6791 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6792 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6793 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6794 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6795 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6796 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6797 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6798 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6803 @node Low-Level Threading
6804 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6808 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6809 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6810 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
6811 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
6812 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
6813 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
6815 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6816 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6817 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6818 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6819 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6820 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6821 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6822 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6823 meaningful. Here's one example:
6826 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6828 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6829 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6831 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6833 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6840 @node Thread Commands
6841 @subsection Thread Commands
6842 @cindex thread commands
6848 @kindex T k (Summary)
6849 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6850 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6851 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6852 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6853 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6858 @kindex T l (Summary)
6859 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6860 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6861 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6862 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6865 @kindex T i (Summary)
6866 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6867 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6868 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6871 @kindex T # (Summary)
6872 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6873 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6874 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6877 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6878 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6879 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6880 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6883 @kindex T T (Summary)
6884 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6885 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6888 @kindex T s (Summary)
6889 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6890 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6891 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6894 @kindex T h (Summary)
6895 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6896 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6899 @kindex T S (Summary)
6900 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6901 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6904 @kindex T H (Summary)
6905 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6906 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6909 @kindex T t (Summary)
6910 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6911 Re-thread the current article's thread
6912 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6913 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6916 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6917 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6918 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6919 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6923 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6924 understand the numeric prefix.
6929 @kindex T n (Summary)
6931 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6933 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6934 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6935 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6938 @kindex T p (Summary)
6940 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6942 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6943 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6944 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6947 @kindex T d (Summary)
6948 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6949 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6952 @kindex T u (Summary)
6953 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6954 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6957 @kindex T o (Summary)
6958 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6959 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6962 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6963 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6964 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6965 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6966 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6967 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6968 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6969 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6970 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6971 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6972 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6973 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6977 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6978 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6980 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6981 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6982 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6983 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6984 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6985 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6986 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6987 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6988 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
6989 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
6990 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6991 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6992 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6993 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6995 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6996 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6997 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6998 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6999 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7000 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7001 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7002 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7004 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7005 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7006 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7008 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7009 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7010 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7011 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7012 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7013 ascending article order.
7015 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7016 by number, you could do something like:
7019 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7020 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7021 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7022 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7025 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7026 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7027 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7028 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7029 which the articles arrived.
7031 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7035 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7037 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7038 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7041 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7042 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7043 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7044 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7047 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7048 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7049 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7050 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7051 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7052 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7053 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7054 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7055 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7056 variable. It is very similar to the
7057 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7058 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7059 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7060 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7061 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7062 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7063 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7065 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7069 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7070 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7071 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7076 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7077 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7078 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7079 @cindex article pre-fetch
7082 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7083 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7084 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7085 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7086 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7088 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7089 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
7091 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7092 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7093 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7094 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7095 connection is blocked.
7097 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7098 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7099 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7100 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
7102 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7103 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7104 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7105 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7108 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7111 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7112 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7113 happen automatically.
7115 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7116 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7117 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7118 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7119 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7120 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7121 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7123 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7124 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7125 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7126 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7127 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7128 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7129 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7130 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7131 article data structure as the only parameter.
7133 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7134 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7137 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7138 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7139 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7140 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7143 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7146 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7147 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
7148 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7150 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7151 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7152 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7153 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7157 Remove articles when they are read.
7160 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7163 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7165 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7166 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7167 @c from the next group.
7170 @node Article Caching
7171 @section Article Caching
7172 @cindex article caching
7175 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7176 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7177 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7178 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7179 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7181 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7183 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7184 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7185 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7186 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7187 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7188 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7189 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7190 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7192 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7193 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7194 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7195 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7196 as dormant, and don't worry.
7198 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7200 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7201 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7202 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7203 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7204 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7205 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7206 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7207 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7208 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7209 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7211 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7212 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7213 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7214 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7215 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7216 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7217 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7218 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7219 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7220 not then be downloaded by this command.
7222 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7223 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7224 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7225 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7226 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7227 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7229 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7230 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7231 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7232 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7233 variables, the group is not cached.
7235 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7236 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7237 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7238 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7239 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7240 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
7241 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7242 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7243 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7246 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7247 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7248 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7249 where, isn't that cool?
7251 @node Persistent Articles
7252 @section Persistent Articles
7253 @cindex persistent articles
7255 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7256 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7257 useful in my opinion.
7259 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7260 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7261 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7262 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7263 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7264 the expiry going on at the news server.
7266 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7267 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7268 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7274 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7275 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7278 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7279 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7280 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7281 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7285 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7287 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7288 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7289 interested in persistent articles:
7292 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7296 @node Article Backlog
7297 @section Article Backlog
7299 @cindex article backlog
7301 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7302 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7303 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
7304 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7305 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7306 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7307 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
7308 increase memory usage some.
7310 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7311 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
7312 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7313 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
7314 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7315 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7316 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7318 The default value is 20.
7321 @node Saving Articles
7322 @section Saving Articles
7323 @cindex saving articles
7325 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7326 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7327 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7328 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7329 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7331 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7332 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7333 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7335 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7336 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
7337 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7339 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7340 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7341 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7342 deleted before saving.
7348 @kindex O o (Summary)
7350 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7351 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7352 Save the current article using the default article saver
7353 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7356 @kindex O m (Summary)
7357 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7358 Save the current article in mail format
7359 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7362 @kindex O r (Summary)
7363 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7364 Save the current article in Rmail format
7365 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7368 @kindex O f (Summary)
7369 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7370 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7371 Save the current article in plain file format
7372 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7375 @kindex O F (Summary)
7376 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7377 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7378 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7381 @kindex O b (Summary)
7382 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7383 Save the current article body in plain file format
7384 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7387 @kindex O h (Summary)
7388 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7389 Save the current article in mh folder format
7390 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7393 @kindex O v (Summary)
7394 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7395 Save the current article in a VM folder
7396 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7400 @kindex O p (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7403 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7404 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7405 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7406 complete headers in the piped output.
7409 @kindex O P (Summary)
7410 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7411 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7412 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7413 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7414 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7415 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7416 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7420 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7421 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7422 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7423 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7424 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7425 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7426 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7427 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7428 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7429 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7430 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7431 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7435 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7436 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7437 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7438 functions below, or you can create your own.
7442 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7443 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7444 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7445 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7446 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7447 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7448 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7450 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7451 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7452 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7453 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7454 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7455 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7457 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7458 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7459 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7460 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7461 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7462 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7463 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7465 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7466 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7467 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7468 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7469 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7470 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7472 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7473 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7474 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7475 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7476 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7478 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7479 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7480 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7481 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7482 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7485 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7486 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7487 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7488 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7489 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7491 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7492 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7493 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7494 reader to use this setting.
7497 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7498 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7499 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7500 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7503 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7504 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7505 available functions that generate names:
7509 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7510 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7511 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7513 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7514 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7515 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7517 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7518 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7519 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7521 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7522 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7523 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7525 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7526 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7527 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7530 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7531 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7532 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7533 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7534 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7538 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7539 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7540 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7541 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7544 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7545 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7546 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7547 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7548 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7549 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7550 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7551 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7552 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7554 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7555 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7556 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7557 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7559 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7560 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7561 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7564 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7565 lots of mail groups called things like
7566 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7567 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7568 following will do just that:
7571 (defun my-save-name (group)
7572 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7573 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7575 (setq gnus-split-methods
7576 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7581 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7582 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7583 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7584 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7585 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7586 all the files in the top level directory
7587 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7588 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7589 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7590 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7592 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7593 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7594 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7595 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7596 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7599 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7603 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7604 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7605 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7608 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7609 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7610 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7611 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7614 @node Decoding Articles
7615 @section Decoding Articles
7616 @cindex decoding articles
7618 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7619 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7622 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7623 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7624 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7625 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7626 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7627 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7631 @cindex article series
7632 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7633 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7634 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7635 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7636 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7638 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7639 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7640 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7642 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
7643 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7644 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7646 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7647 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7648 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7651 @node Uuencoded Articles
7652 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7654 @cindex uuencoded articles
7659 @kindex X u (Summary)
7660 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7661 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7662 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7665 @kindex X U (Summary)
7666 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7667 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7668 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7671 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7672 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7673 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7676 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7677 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7678 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7679 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7683 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7684 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7685 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7686 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7687 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7689 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7690 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7691 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7692 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7695 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7696 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7697 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7698 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7699 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7700 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7704 @node Shell Archives
7705 @subsection Shell Archives
7707 @cindex shell archives
7708 @cindex shared articles
7710 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7711 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7712 some commands to deal with these:
7717 @kindex X s (Summary)
7718 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7719 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7722 @kindex X S (Summary)
7723 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7724 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7727 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7728 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7729 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7732 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7733 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7734 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7735 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7739 @node PostScript Files
7740 @subsection PostScript Files
7746 @kindex X p (Summary)
7747 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7748 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7751 @kindex X P (Summary)
7752 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7753 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7754 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7757 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7758 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7759 View the current PostScript series
7760 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7763 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7764 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7765 View and save the current PostScript series
7766 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7771 @subsection Other Files
7775 @kindex X o (Summary)
7776 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7777 Save the current series
7778 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7781 @kindex X b (Summary)
7782 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7783 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7784 doesn't really work yet.
7788 @node Decoding Variables
7789 @subsection Decoding Variables
7791 Adjective, not verb.
7794 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7795 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7796 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7800 @node Rule Variables
7801 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7802 @cindex rule variables
7804 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7805 variables are of the form
7808 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7815 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7816 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7818 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7819 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7822 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7823 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7826 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7827 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7828 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7829 user and default view rules.
7831 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7832 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7833 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7838 @node Other Decode Variables
7839 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7842 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7844 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7845 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7846 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7847 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7848 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7852 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7853 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7856 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7857 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7858 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7861 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7862 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7863 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7864 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7865 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7868 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7869 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7870 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7872 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7873 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7874 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7875 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7876 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7879 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7880 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7881 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7883 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7884 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7885 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7886 looking for files to display.
7888 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7889 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7890 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7893 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7894 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7895 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7898 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7899 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7900 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7903 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7904 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7905 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7908 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7909 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7910 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7911 decoded articles as unread.
7913 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7914 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7915 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7916 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7918 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7919 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7920 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7922 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7923 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7925 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7926 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7927 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7928 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7930 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7931 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7932 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7933 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7934 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7935 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7936 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7937 simply dropped them.
7942 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7943 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7947 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7948 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7949 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7950 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7951 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7952 for you when you post the article.
7954 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7955 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7956 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7957 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7959 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7960 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7961 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7962 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7963 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7964 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7965 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7967 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7968 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7969 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7970 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7971 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7972 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7973 Default is @code{t}.
7979 @subsection Viewing Files
7980 @cindex viewing files
7981 @cindex pseudo-articles
7983 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
7984 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7985 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7986 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
7987 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7988 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7989 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7991 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7992 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7993 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7994 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7996 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7997 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7998 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8000 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8001 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8002 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8003 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8004 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8006 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8007 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8008 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8009 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8010 a list of parameters to that command.
8012 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8013 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8014 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8016 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8017 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8018 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8021 @node Article Treatment
8022 @section Article Treatment
8024 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8025 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8026 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8027 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8028 these articles easier.
8031 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8032 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8033 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8034 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8035 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8036 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8037 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8038 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8039 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8040 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8041 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8045 @node Article Highlighting
8046 @subsection Article Highlighting
8047 @cindex highlighting
8049 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8050 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8055 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8056 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8057 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8058 Do much highlighting of the current article
8059 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8060 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8063 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8064 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8065 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8066 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8067 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8068 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8069 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8070 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8071 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8072 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8073 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8074 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8077 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8078 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8079 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8081 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8084 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8086 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8087 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8088 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8090 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8091 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8092 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8094 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8095 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8096 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8097 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8098 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8099 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8101 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8102 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8103 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8105 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8106 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8107 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8109 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8110 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8111 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8112 that it's a citation.
8114 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8115 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8116 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8118 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8119 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8120 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8122 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8123 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8124 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8125 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8131 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8132 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8133 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8134 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8135 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8136 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8137 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8138 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8143 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8146 @node Article Fontisizing
8147 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8149 @cindex article emphasis
8151 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8152 @kindex W e (Summary)
8153 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8154 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8155 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8156 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8158 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8159 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8160 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8161 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8162 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8163 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8164 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8165 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8169 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8170 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8171 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8180 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8181 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8182 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8183 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8184 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8185 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8186 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8187 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8188 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8189 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8190 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8191 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8192 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8194 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8195 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8196 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8200 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8203 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8205 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8206 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8207 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8208 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8210 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8213 @node Article Hiding
8214 @subsection Article Hiding
8215 @cindex article hiding
8217 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8218 too much cruft in most articles.
8223 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8224 @findex gnus-article-hide
8225 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8226 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8227 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8230 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8231 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8232 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8236 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8237 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8238 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8239 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8242 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8243 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8244 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8248 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8249 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8250 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8251 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8252 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8253 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8254 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8255 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8259 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8260 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8261 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8262 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8267 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8268 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8269 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8270 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8273 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8274 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8275 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8276 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8279 @cindex stripping advertisements
8280 @cindex advertisements
8281 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8282 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8283 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8284 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8285 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8286 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8287 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8288 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8289 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8290 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8293 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8294 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8295 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8299 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8300 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8301 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8302 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8303 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8304 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8305 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8306 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8307 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8308 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8309 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8312 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8313 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8319 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8320 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8321 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8322 customizing the hiding:
8326 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8327 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8328 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8329 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8330 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8331 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8332 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8337 Starting point of the hidden text.
8339 Ending point of the hidden text.
8341 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8343 Number of lines of hidden text.
8346 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8347 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8348 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8349 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8350 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8355 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8356 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8358 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8359 following two variables:
8362 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8363 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8364 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8365 50), hide the cited text.
8367 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8368 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8369 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8374 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8375 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8376 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8377 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8378 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8379 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8383 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8384 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8385 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8387 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8388 citation customization.
8390 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8394 @node Article Washing
8395 @subsection Article Washing
8397 @cindex article washing
8399 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8400 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8402 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8403 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8406 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8407 articles by default.
8412 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8413 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8417 Force redisplaying of the current article
8418 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8419 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8420 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8421 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8424 @kindex W l (Summary)
8425 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8426 Remove page breaks from the current article
8427 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8431 @kindex W r (Summary)
8432 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8433 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8434 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8435 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8436 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8437 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8439 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8440 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8441 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8442 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8445 @kindex W m (Summary)
8446 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8447 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8451 @kindex W t (Summary)
8453 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8454 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8455 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8458 @kindex W v (Summary)
8459 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8460 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8461 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8464 @kindex W m (Summary)
8465 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
8466 Toggle whether to run the article through @acronym{MIME} before
8467 displaying (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
8470 @kindex W o (Summary)
8471 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8472 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8475 @kindex W d (Summary)
8476 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8477 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8479 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8481 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8482 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8483 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8484 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8487 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8488 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8489 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8490 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8493 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8494 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8495 @cindex Outlook Express
8496 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8497 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8498 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8501 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8502 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8503 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8504 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8505 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8506 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8507 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8508 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8509 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8510 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8513 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8514 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8515 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8516 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8519 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8520 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8521 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8522 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8525 @kindex W w (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8527 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8529 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8533 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8534 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8535 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8538 @kindex W C (Summary)
8539 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8540 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8541 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8544 @kindex W c (Summary)
8545 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8546 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8547 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8548 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8549 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8551 @kindex W q (Summary)
8552 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8553 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8554 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8555 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8556 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8557 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8558 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8559 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8560 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8563 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8564 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8565 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8566 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8567 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8568 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8569 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8570 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8573 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8574 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8575 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8576 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8577 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8580 @kindex W A (Summary)
8581 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8582 Translate ANSI SGR control sequences into overlays or extents
8583 (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). ANSI sequences are used in
8584 some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8587 @kindex W u (Summary)
8588 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8589 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8590 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8591 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8592 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8595 @kindex W h (Summary)
8596 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8597 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8598 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8599 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8601 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8603 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8604 The default is to use the function specified by
8605 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8606 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8607 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8608 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8616 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8619 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8622 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8625 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8630 @kindex W b (Summary)
8631 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8632 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8633 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8636 @kindex W B (Summary)
8637 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8638 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8639 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8642 @kindex W p (Summary)
8643 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8644 Verify a signed control message
8645 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8646 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8647 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8648 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8649 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8650 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8653 @kindex W s (Summary)
8654 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8655 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8656 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8657 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8660 @kindex W a (Summary)
8661 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8662 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8663 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8666 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8667 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8668 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8669 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8672 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8673 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8674 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8675 lines with a single empty line.
8676 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8679 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8680 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8681 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8682 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8685 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8686 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8687 Do all the three commands above
8688 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8691 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8692 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8693 Remove all blank lines
8694 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8697 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8698 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8699 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8700 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8703 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8704 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8705 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8706 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8710 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8713 @node Article Header
8714 @subsection Article Header
8716 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8721 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8722 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8723 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8726 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8727 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8728 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8729 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8732 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8733 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8734 Fold all the message headers
8735 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8738 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8739 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8740 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8741 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8746 @node Article Buttons
8747 @subsection Article Buttons
8750 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8751 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8752 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8753 button on these references.
8755 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8756 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8757 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8758 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8759 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8763 @item gnus-button-alist
8764 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8765 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8768 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8774 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8775 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8776 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8777 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8778 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8781 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8782 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8783 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8786 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8787 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8788 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8789 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8790 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8792 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8795 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8798 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8799 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8803 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8806 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8809 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8810 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8811 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8812 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8813 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8816 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8819 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8822 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8825 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8826 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8828 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8830 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8831 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8832 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8833 default values of the variables above.
8835 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8837 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8838 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8839 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8840 argument with a string naming the man page.
8842 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8844 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8845 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8846 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8848 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8849 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8850 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8851 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8852 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8853 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8854 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8855 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8856 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8857 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8858 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8859 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8861 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8862 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8863 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8864 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8865 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8868 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8869 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8870 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8871 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8873 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8875 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8876 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8877 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8878 argument, the string naming the URL.
8881 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8882 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8883 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8887 @item gnus-article-button-face
8888 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8889 Face used on buttons.
8891 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8892 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8893 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8897 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8900 @node Article Button Levels
8901 @subsection Article button levels
8902 @cindex button levels
8903 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8904 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8905 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8906 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8907 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8908 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8909 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8910 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8913 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8914 (setq gnus-parameters
8915 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8916 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8917 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8922 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8923 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8924 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8925 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8926 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8927 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8929 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8930 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8931 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8932 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8933 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8934 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8935 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8936 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8937 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8938 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8939 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8940 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8941 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8943 @item gnus-button-man-level
8944 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8945 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8946 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8948 @item gnus-button-message-level
8949 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8950 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8951 Related variables and functions include
8952 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8953 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8954 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8955 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8957 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8958 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8959 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8960 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8961 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8962 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8963 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8969 @subsection Article Date
8971 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8972 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8973 when the article was sent.
8978 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8979 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8980 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8981 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8984 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8985 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8987 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8988 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8991 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8992 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8993 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8996 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8997 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8998 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8999 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9002 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9003 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9004 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9005 @findex format-time-string
9006 Display the date using a user-defined format
9007 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9008 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9009 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9010 for a list of possible format specs.
9013 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9014 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9015 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9016 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9017 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9018 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9021 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9024 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9025 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9026 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9029 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9030 into wonderful absurdities.
9032 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9035 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9038 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9039 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9043 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9044 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9045 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9046 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9047 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9048 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9049 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9053 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9054 preferred format automatically.
9057 @node Article Display
9058 @subsection Article Display
9063 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9064 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9066 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9067 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9069 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9070 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9072 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9073 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9075 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9076 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9078 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9083 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9084 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9085 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9086 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9089 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9090 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9091 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9092 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9095 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9096 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9097 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9100 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9101 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9102 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9105 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9106 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9107 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9108 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9111 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9112 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9113 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9114 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9117 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9118 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9119 Remove all images from the article buffer
9120 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9126 @node Article Signature
9127 @subsection Article Signature
9129 @cindex article signature
9131 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9132 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9133 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9134 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9135 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9136 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9137 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9138 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9139 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9142 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9143 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9144 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9145 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9146 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9147 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9148 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9149 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9152 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9155 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9156 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9157 signature when displaying articles.
9161 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9164 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9167 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9168 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9170 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9171 in question is not a signature.
9174 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9175 listed above. Here's an example:
9178 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9179 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9182 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9183 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9184 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9185 signature after all.
9188 @node Article Miscellanea
9189 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9193 @kindex A t (Summary)
9194 @findex gnus-article-babel
9195 Translate the article from one language to another
9196 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9202 @section MIME Commands
9203 @cindex MIME decoding
9205 @cindex viewing attachments
9207 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9208 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9214 @kindex K v (Summary)
9215 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9218 @kindex K o (Summary)
9219 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9222 @kindex K c (Summary)
9223 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9226 @kindex K e (Summary)
9227 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9230 @kindex K i (Summary)
9231 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9234 @kindex K | (Summary)
9235 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9238 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9243 @kindex K b (Summary)
9244 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9245 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9249 @kindex K m (Summary)
9250 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9251 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9252 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9253 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9254 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9257 @kindex X m (Summary)
9258 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9259 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9260 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9261 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9264 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9265 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9266 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9267 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9270 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9271 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9272 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9273 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9276 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9277 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9278 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9279 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9281 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9282 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9283 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9284 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9285 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9286 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9289 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9290 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9291 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9292 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9299 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9300 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9301 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9302 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9305 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9308 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9312 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9313 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9314 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9315 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9316 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9317 default is @code{nil}.
9319 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9320 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9321 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9322 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9323 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9324 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9325 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9327 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9328 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9329 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9330 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9331 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9332 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9333 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9334 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9336 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9337 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9338 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9339 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9340 displayed. This variable overrides
9341 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9342 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9345 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9346 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9347 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9349 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9350 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9351 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9352 default value is @code{nil}.
9354 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9355 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9356 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9357 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9358 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9359 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9360 save all jpegs into some directory).
9362 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9365 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9366 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9368 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9369 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9370 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9371 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9372 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9375 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9376 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9377 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9379 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9380 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9381 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9382 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9384 Ready-made functions include@*
9385 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9386 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9387 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9388 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9389 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9390 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9391 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9392 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9393 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9394 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9395 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9396 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9398 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9399 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9401 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9402 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9403 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9406 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9407 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9408 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9409 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9413 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9422 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9423 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9424 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9425 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9426 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9427 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9428 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9430 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9431 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9432 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9433 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9435 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9436 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9437 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9438 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9439 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9440 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9441 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9442 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9443 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9445 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9446 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9447 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9448 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9449 quoted-printable header encoding.
9451 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9452 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9453 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9457 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9460 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9461 means encode all charsets),
9463 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9464 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9465 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9472 @cindex coding system aliases
9473 @cindex preferred charset
9475 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9477 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9478 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9481 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9482 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9485 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9486 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9488 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9491 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9494 This will almost do the right thing.
9496 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9500 (codepage-setup 1251)
9501 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9505 @node Article Commands
9506 @section Article Commands
9513 @kindex A P (Summary)
9514 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9515 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9516 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9517 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9518 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9519 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9524 @node Summary Sorting
9525 @section Summary Sorting
9526 @cindex summary sorting
9528 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9529 can't really see why you'd want that.
9534 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9535 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9536 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9539 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9540 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9541 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9544 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9545 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9546 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9549 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9550 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9551 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9554 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9555 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9556 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9559 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9560 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9561 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9564 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9565 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9566 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9569 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9570 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9571 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9574 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9575 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9576 Sort using the default sorting method
9577 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9580 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9581 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9582 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9583 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9584 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9588 @node Finding the Parent
9589 @section Finding the Parent
9590 @cindex parent articles
9591 @cindex referring articles
9596 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9597 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9598 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9599 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9600 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9601 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9602 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9603 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9604 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9606 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9607 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9608 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
9609 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9610 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9614 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9615 @kindex A R (Summary)
9616 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9617 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9620 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9621 @kindex A T (Summary)
9622 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9623 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9624 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9625 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9626 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9627 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9628 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9630 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9631 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9632 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9633 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9634 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9635 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9638 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9639 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9641 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9642 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9643 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9644 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9645 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9646 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9647 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9650 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9651 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9652 by giving this command a prefix.
9654 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9655 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9656 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9657 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9658 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9659 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9662 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9663 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9664 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9667 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9668 then ask Google if that fails:
9671 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9673 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9676 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9677 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9678 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9679 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9680 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9681 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9682 not support this at all.
9685 @node Alternative Approaches
9686 @section Alternative Approaches
9688 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9689 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9692 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9693 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9698 @subsection Pick and Read
9699 @cindex pick and read
9701 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9702 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9703 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9704 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9706 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9707 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9708 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9709 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9710 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9711 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9713 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9718 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9719 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9720 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9721 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9722 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9723 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9724 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9725 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9728 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9729 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9730 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9731 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9735 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9736 Unpick the thread or article
9737 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9738 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9739 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9740 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9741 the thread or article at that line.
9745 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9746 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9747 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9748 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9749 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9750 will still be visible when you are reading.
9754 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9755 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9756 which is mapped to the same function
9757 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9759 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9762 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9765 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9766 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9768 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9769 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9770 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9772 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9773 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9774 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9775 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9776 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9777 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9778 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9782 @subsection Binary Groups
9783 @cindex binary groups
9785 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9786 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9787 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9788 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9789 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9790 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9791 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9794 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9795 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9796 command, when you have turned on this mode
9797 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9799 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9800 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9804 @section Tree Display
9807 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9808 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
9809 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9810 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9813 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9816 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9817 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9818 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9820 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9821 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9822 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9823 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9824 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9826 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9827 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9828 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9829 default is @code{modeline}.
9831 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9832 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9833 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9834 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9835 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9836 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9837 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9843 The name of the poster.
9845 The @code{From} header.
9847 The number of the article.
9849 The opening bracket.
9851 The closing bracket.
9856 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9858 Variables related to the display are:
9861 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9862 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9863 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9864 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9866 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9867 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9868 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9870 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9872 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9873 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9874 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9875 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9879 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9880 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9881 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
9882 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
9883 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9884 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9885 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9886 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9887 other windows displayed next to it.
9889 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9893 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9894 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9897 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9898 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9899 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9900 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9901 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9902 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9903 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9907 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9910 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9920 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9925 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9926 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9928 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9930 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9936 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9937 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9938 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9941 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9942 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9943 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9944 (gnus-add-configuration
9948 (summary 0.75 point)
9953 @xref{Window Layout}.
9956 @node Mail Group Commands
9957 @section Mail Group Commands
9958 @cindex mail group commands
9960 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9961 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9963 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9964 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9969 @kindex B e (Summary)
9970 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9971 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9972 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9973 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9974 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9977 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9978 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9979 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9980 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9981 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9982 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9985 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9986 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9987 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9988 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9989 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9990 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9993 @kindex B m (Summary)
9995 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9996 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9997 Move the article from one mail group to another
9998 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9999 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10002 @kindex B c (Summary)
10004 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10005 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10006 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10007 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10008 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10011 @kindex B B (Summary)
10012 @cindex crosspost mail
10013 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10014 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10015 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10016 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10017 be properly updated.
10020 @kindex B i (Summary)
10021 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10022 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10023 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10024 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10027 @kindex B I (Summary)
10028 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10029 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10030 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10031 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10034 @kindex B r (Summary)
10035 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10036 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10037 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10038 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10039 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10040 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10041 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10042 (which is the default).
10046 @kindex B w (Summary)
10047 @kindex e (Summary)
10048 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10049 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10050 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10051 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10052 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10053 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10054 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10057 @kindex B q (Summary)
10058 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10059 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10060 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10061 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10064 @kindex B t (Summary)
10065 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10066 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10067 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10070 @kindex B p (Summary)
10071 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10072 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10073 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10074 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10075 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10076 article from your news server (or rather, from
10077 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10078 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10079 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10080 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10081 just not have arrived yet.
10084 @kindex K E (Summary)
10085 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10086 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10087 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10088 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10089 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10093 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10094 @cindex moving articles
10095 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
10096 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10097 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10098 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10099 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10100 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10101 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10104 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10105 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10106 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10107 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10111 @node Various Summary Stuff
10112 @section Various Summary Stuff
10115 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10116 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10117 * Summary Generation Commands::
10118 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10122 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10123 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10124 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10125 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10126 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10127 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10129 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10130 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10131 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10134 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10135 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10136 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10138 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10139 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10140 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10141 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10142 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10143 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10146 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10147 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10148 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10149 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10150 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10152 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10153 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10154 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10157 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10158 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10159 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10160 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10161 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10162 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10163 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
10164 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10165 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10166 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10168 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10169 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10170 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10171 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10172 list of articles to be selected.
10174 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10175 the list in one particular group:
10178 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10179 (if (string= group "some.group")
10180 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10184 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10185 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10186 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10187 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10188 @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary buffer is
10189 active. These variables can be used to set variables in the group
10190 parameters while still allowing them to affect operations done in
10191 other buffers. For example:
10194 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10195 '(message-use-followup-to
10196 (gnus-visible-headers .
10197 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10203 @node Summary Group Information
10204 @subsection Summary Group Information
10209 @kindex H f (Summary)
10210 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10211 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10212 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10213 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10214 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10215 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10216 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10217 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10218 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10221 @kindex H d (Summary)
10222 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10223 Give a brief description of the current group
10224 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10225 rereading the description from the server.
10228 @kindex H h (Summary)
10229 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10230 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10231 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10234 @kindex H i (Summary)
10235 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10236 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10240 @node Searching for Articles
10241 @subsection Searching for Articles
10246 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10247 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10248 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10249 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10252 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10253 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10254 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10255 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10258 @kindex & (Summary)
10259 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10260 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10261 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10262 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10263 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10264 search backward instead.
10266 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10267 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10270 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10271 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10272 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10273 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10276 @node Summary Generation Commands
10277 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10282 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10283 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10284 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10287 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10288 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10289 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10290 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10293 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10294 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10295 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10296 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10301 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10302 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10308 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10309 @kindex A D (Summary)
10310 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10311 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10312 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10313 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10314 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10315 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10316 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10317 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10321 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10322 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10323 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10324 several documents into one biiig group
10325 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10326 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10327 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10328 command understands the process/prefix convention
10329 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10332 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10333 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10334 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10335 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10336 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10337 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10340 @kindex = (Summary)
10341 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10342 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10343 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10346 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10347 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10348 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10349 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10352 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10353 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10354 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10355 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10360 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10361 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10362 @cindex summary exit
10363 @cindex exiting groups
10365 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10366 group and return you to the group buffer.
10373 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10374 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10375 @kindex q (Summary)
10376 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10377 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10378 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10379 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10380 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10381 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10382 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10383 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10384 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10385 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10386 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10387 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10391 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10392 @kindex Q (Summary)
10393 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10394 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10395 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10399 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10400 @kindex c (Summary)
10401 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10402 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10403 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10404 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10407 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10408 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10409 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10410 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10413 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10414 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10415 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10416 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10420 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10421 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10422 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10423 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10424 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10425 all articles, both read and unread.
10429 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10430 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10431 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10432 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10433 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10434 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10435 articles, both read and unread.
10438 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10439 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10440 Exit the group and go to the next group
10441 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10444 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10445 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10446 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10447 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10450 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10451 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10452 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10453 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10454 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10455 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10458 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10459 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10460 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10461 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10463 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10464 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10465 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10466 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10467 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10468 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10469 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10470 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10471 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10472 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10473 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10474 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10476 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10478 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10479 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10480 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10481 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10482 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10483 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10484 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10485 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10486 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10489 @node Crosspost Handling
10490 @section Crosspost Handling
10494 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10495 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10496 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10497 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10498 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10499 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10502 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10503 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10504 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10505 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10506 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10508 @cindex cross-posting
10510 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10511 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10512 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10513 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10514 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10515 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10516 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10517 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10518 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10519 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10520 the cross reference mechanism.
10522 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10523 @cindex overview.fmt
10524 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10525 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10526 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10527 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10528 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10529 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10532 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10533 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10534 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10539 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10542 @node Duplicate Suppression
10543 @section Duplicate Suppression
10545 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10546 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10547 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10548 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10553 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10554 is evil and not very common.
10557 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10558 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10561 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10562 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10565 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10568 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10569 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10571 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10572 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10573 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10574 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10575 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10576 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10577 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10580 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10581 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10582 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10583 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10584 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10585 saw the article in.
10588 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10589 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10590 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10592 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10593 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10594 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10595 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10596 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
10597 session are suppressed.
10599 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10600 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10601 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10602 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10604 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10605 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10606 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10607 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10610 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
10611 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10612 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10613 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10614 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
10615 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10616 to you to figure out, I think.
10621 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10622 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10623 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10628 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10629 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10630 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10631 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10634 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10635 or newer is recommended.
10639 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10640 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10643 @item mm-verify-option
10644 @vindex mm-verify-option
10645 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10646 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10647 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10649 @item mm-decrypt-option
10650 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10651 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10652 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10653 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10656 @vindex mml1991-use
10657 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10658 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10659 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10663 @vindex mml2015-use
10664 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10665 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10666 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10671 @cindex snarfing keys
10672 @cindex importing PGP keys
10673 @cindex PGP key ring import
10674 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10675 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10676 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10677 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10678 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10679 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10680 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10681 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10682 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10685 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10688 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10689 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10692 @section Mailing List
10693 @cindex mailing list
10696 @kindex A M (summary)
10697 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10698 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10699 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10700 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10703 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10708 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10709 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10710 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10713 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10714 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10715 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10718 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10719 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10720 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10724 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10725 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10726 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10729 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10730 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10731 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10734 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10735 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10736 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10741 @node Article Buffer
10742 @chapter Article Buffer
10743 @cindex article buffer
10745 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10746 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10747 tell gnus otherwise.
10750 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10751 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10752 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10753 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10754 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10758 @node Hiding Headers
10759 @section Hiding Headers
10760 @cindex hiding headers
10761 @cindex deleting headers
10763 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10764 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10766 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10767 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10768 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10769 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10770 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10771 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10772 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10773 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10774 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10776 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10780 @item gnus-visible-headers
10781 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10782 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10783 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10784 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10786 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10787 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10790 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10793 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10796 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10797 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10798 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10799 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10800 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10801 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10803 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
10804 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
10807 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10810 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10813 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10814 variable will have no effect.
10818 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10819 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10820 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10821 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10822 the headers are to be displayed.
10824 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10825 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10828 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10831 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10832 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10834 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10835 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10836 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10837 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10838 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10839 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
10840 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10843 These conditions are:
10846 Remove all empty headers.
10848 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10849 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10851 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
10852 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
10855 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10858 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10859 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
10861 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10862 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10864 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10865 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10867 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10870 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10872 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10875 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10878 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10879 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10882 This is also the default value for this variable.
10886 @section Using MIME
10887 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10889 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10890 while people stand around yawning.
10892 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10893 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10895 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10896 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10897 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10899 @vindex gnus-show-mime
10900 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
10901 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
10902 gnus handles @acronym{MIME} by pushing the articles through
10903 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
10904 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
10905 calls the @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View program to actually do the work. For
10906 more information on @acronym{SEMI} MIME-View, see its manual page
10907 (however it is not existed yet, sorry).
10909 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
10910 @acronym{MIME} all the time. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime} set,
10911 then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article buffer.
10912 These can't be avoided.
10914 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
10915 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
10916 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
10917 @acronym{MIME} has decoded the sound file in the article and some
10918 horrible sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you
10919 can't find the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are
10920 starting to look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't,
10921 and you can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else
10922 in the room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll
10923 feel rather stupid.)
10925 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10927 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
10928 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
10929 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
10930 buffer when there are nobody else.
10932 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10935 @node Customizing Articles
10936 @section Customizing Articles
10937 @cindex article customization
10939 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10940 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10941 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10942 called automatically when you select the articles.
10944 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10945 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10946 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10947 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10949 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10950 for sensible values.
10954 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10957 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10960 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10963 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10966 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10970 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10971 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10972 regexps in the list.
10975 A list where the first element is not a string:
10977 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10978 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10979 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10983 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10987 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
10992 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10993 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
10994 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10995 considered to contain just a single part.
10997 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10998 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10999 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11000 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11001 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11002 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11003 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11005 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11006 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11007 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11008 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11011 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11012 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11014 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11016 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11017 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11018 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11019 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11020 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
11021 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11022 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11023 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11024 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11025 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11026 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset (t, integer)
11028 @xref{Article Washing}.
11030 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11031 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11032 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11033 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11034 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11035 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11036 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11038 @xref{Article Date}.
11040 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11041 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11042 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11046 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11048 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11050 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11051 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11052 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11056 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11060 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11064 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11065 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11066 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11067 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11068 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11069 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11070 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11071 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11072 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11073 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11075 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11077 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11078 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11079 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11081 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11083 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11084 @item gnus-treat-translate
11085 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11087 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11088 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11089 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11090 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11092 @xref{Article Header}.
11097 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11098 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11099 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11100 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11101 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11105 @node Article Keymap
11106 @section Article Keymap
11108 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11109 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11110 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11111 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11114 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11119 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11120 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11121 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11122 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11125 @kindex DEL (Article)
11126 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11127 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11128 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11131 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11132 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11133 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11134 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11135 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11138 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11139 @findex gnus-article-mail
11140 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11141 given a prefix, include the mail.
11144 @kindex s (Article)
11145 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11146 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11147 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11150 @kindex ? (Article)
11151 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11152 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11153 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11156 @kindex TAB (Article)
11157 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11158 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11159 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11162 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11163 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11164 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11167 @kindex R (Article)
11168 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11169 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11170 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11171 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11175 @kindex F (Article)
11176 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11177 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11178 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11179 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11187 @section Misc Article
11191 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11192 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11193 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11194 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11197 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11198 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11199 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11200 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11201 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11203 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11204 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11205 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11206 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11207 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11208 the contents of the article buffer.
11210 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11211 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11212 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11214 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11215 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11216 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11217 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11219 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11220 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11221 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11222 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11224 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11225 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11226 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11227 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11228 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11234 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11235 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11236 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11241 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11244 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11247 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11248 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11249 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11252 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11255 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11258 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11263 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11267 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11269 @item gnus-break-pages
11270 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11271 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11272 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11273 paging will not be done.
11275 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11276 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11277 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11281 @cindex internationalized domain names
11282 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11283 @item gnus-use-idna
11284 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11285 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11286 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11287 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11288 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11293 @node Composing Messages
11294 @chapter Composing Messages
11295 @cindex composing messages
11298 @cindex sending mail
11303 @cindex using s/mime
11304 @cindex using smime
11306 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11307 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11308 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11309 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11310 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11311 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11314 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11315 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11316 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11317 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11318 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11319 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11320 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11321 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11324 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11325 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11331 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11334 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11335 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11336 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11337 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11338 @code{nil} include all headers.
11340 @item gnus-add-to-list
11341 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11342 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11343 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11345 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11346 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11347 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11348 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11349 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11350 confirmation is should be asked for.
11352 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11353 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11355 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11356 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11357 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11358 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11359 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11364 @node Posting Server
11365 @section Posting Server
11367 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11368 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11370 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11372 It can be quite complicated.
11374 @vindex gnus-post-method
11375 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11376 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11377 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11378 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11379 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11380 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11381 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11382 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11383 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11386 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11389 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11390 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11391 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11392 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11394 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11395 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11397 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11398 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11401 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11402 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11404 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11405 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11406 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11407 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11408 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11409 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11410 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11411 package correctly. An example:
11414 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11415 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11416 ;; The following variable needs to be set because of the FLIM version of
11417 ;; smtpmail.el. Which smtpmail.el is used depends on the `load-path'.
11418 (setq smtp-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11421 To the thing similar to this, there is
11422 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your ISP requires
11423 the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. See the
11424 documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11426 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11427 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11428 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11430 @node Mail and Post
11431 @section Mail and Post
11433 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11437 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11438 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11439 @cindex mailing lists
11441 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11442 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11443 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11444 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11445 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11446 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11447 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11448 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11449 still a pain, though.
11451 @item gnus-user-agent
11452 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11455 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11456 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11457 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11458 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11459 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11460 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11461 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11465 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11466 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11467 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11470 @findex ispell-message
11472 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11475 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11476 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11479 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11483 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11484 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11486 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11489 Modify to suit your needs.
11492 @node Archived Messages
11493 @section Archived Messages
11494 @cindex archived messages
11495 @cindex sent messages
11497 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11498 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11499 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11500 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11503 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11504 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11507 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11508 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
11509 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11512 (nnfolder "archive"
11513 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11514 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11515 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11516 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11519 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11520 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11521 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11522 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11525 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11526 '(nnfolder "archive"
11527 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11528 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11529 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11532 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11534 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11535 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11536 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11538 This variable can be used to do the following:
11542 Messages will be saved in that group.
11544 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11545 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11546 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11547 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11548 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11549 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11550 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11551 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11554 @item a list of strings
11555 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11557 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11558 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11561 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11566 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11568 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11571 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11573 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11576 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11578 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11579 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11580 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11581 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11584 More complex stuff:
11586 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11587 '((if (message-news-p)
11592 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11593 messages in one file per month:
11596 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11597 '((if (message-news-p)
11599 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11602 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11603 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11605 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11606 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11607 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11608 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11609 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11610 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11611 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11612 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11613 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11614 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11616 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11617 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11618 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11619 this will disable archiving.
11622 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11623 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11624 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11625 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11626 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11629 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11630 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11631 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11634 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11635 but the latter is the preferred method.
11637 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11638 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11639 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11641 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11642 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11643 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11644 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11645 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11646 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11647 changed in the future.
11652 @node Posting Styles
11653 @section Posting Styles
11654 @cindex posting styles
11657 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11659 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11660 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11661 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11664 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11665 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11666 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11667 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11668 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11673 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11674 (organization "What me?"))
11676 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11677 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11678 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11681 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11682 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11683 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11684 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11685 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11686 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11687 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11688 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11690 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11691 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11692 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11693 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11694 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11695 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
11696 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11697 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11698 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11699 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11700 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11701 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11702 said to @dfn{match}.
11704 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11705 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11706 attribute name can be one of:
11709 @item @code{signature}
11710 @item @code{signature-file}
11711 @item @code{x-face-file}
11712 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
11713 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
11717 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
11718 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
11719 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
11720 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
11721 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
11723 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11724 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11725 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11726 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11727 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11728 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11729 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11730 references chars lines xref extra.
11732 @vindex message-reply-headers
11734 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11735 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11736 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11738 @findex message-mail-p
11739 @findex message-news-p
11741 So here's a new example:
11744 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11746 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11748 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11749 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11751 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11752 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11753 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11754 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11755 (signature my-news-signature))
11756 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11757 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11758 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11759 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11760 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11761 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11762 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11763 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11764 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11765 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11767 (From (save-excursion
11768 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11769 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11771 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11774 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11775 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11776 if you fill many roles.
11778 Setting the @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} variable will make
11779 posting-styles allow to have distinctive names. You can specify an
11780 arbitrary posting-style when article posting with @kbd{S P} in the
11781 summary buffer. @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} is an alist which maps
11782 the names to styles. Once a posting-style is added to the alist, we can
11783 import it from @code{gnus-posting-styles}. If an attribute whose name
11784 is @code{import} is found, Gnus will look for the attribute value in
11785 @code{gnus-named-posting-styles} and expand it in place.
11790 (setq gnus-named-posting-styles
11792 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11794 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11795 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11798 (organization "The Church of Emacs"))))
11801 The posting-style named "Emacs" will inherit all the attributes from
11802 "Default" except @code{organization}.
11809 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11810 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11811 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11812 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11813 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11815 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11816 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11817 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11818 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11819 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11823 @vindex nndraft-directory
11824 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11825 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11826 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11827 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11828 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11829 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11831 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11832 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11833 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11834 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11835 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11836 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11837 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11838 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11839 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11841 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11842 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11843 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11844 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11845 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11846 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11847 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11848 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11849 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11850 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11851 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11852 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11853 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11854 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11856 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11857 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11858 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11860 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11861 @kindex D e (Draft)
11862 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11863 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11864 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11866 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11869 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11870 @kindex D s (Draft)
11871 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11872 @kindex D S (Draft)
11873 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11874 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11875 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11876 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11877 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11880 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11881 @kindex D t (Draft)
11882 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11883 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11884 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11887 @node Rejected Articles
11888 @section Rejected Articles
11889 @cindex rejected articles
11891 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11892 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11893 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11894 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11896 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
11897 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11898 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11899 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
11900 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11902 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11903 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11904 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11906 @node Signing and encrypting
11907 @section Signing and encrypting
11909 @cindex using s/mime
11910 @cindex using smime
11912 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
11913 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
11914 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
11915 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
11917 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11918 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11919 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11920 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11921 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11922 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11923 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11924 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11925 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11926 automatically encrypted messages.
11928 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
11929 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
11930 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11935 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
11936 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11938 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11941 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
11942 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11944 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11947 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
11948 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11950 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11953 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
11954 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11956 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11959 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
11960 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11962 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11965 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
11966 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11968 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11971 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
11972 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11973 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
11977 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11979 @node Select Methods
11980 @chapter Select Methods
11981 @cindex foreign groups
11982 @cindex select methods
11984 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11985 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11986 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11987 personal mail group.
11989 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11990 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11991 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11992 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11993 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11994 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11996 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11997 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11999 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12002 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12003 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12004 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12005 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12006 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12008 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12011 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12012 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12013 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12014 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12015 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12016 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12017 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12018 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12022 @node Server Buffer
12023 @section Server Buffer
12025 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12026 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12027 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12028 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12029 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12030 back end represents a virtual server.
12032 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12033 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12034 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12035 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12037 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12038 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12039 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12040 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12041 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12042 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12043 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12045 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12046 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12049 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12050 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12051 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12052 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12053 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12054 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12055 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12058 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12059 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12062 @node Server Buffer Format
12063 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12064 @cindex server buffer format
12066 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12067 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12068 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12069 variable, with some simple extensions:
12074 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12077 The name of this server.
12080 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12083 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12086 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12087 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12088 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12089 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12099 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12102 @node Server Commands
12103 @subsection Server Commands
12104 @cindex server commands
12110 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12111 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12115 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12116 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12119 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12120 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12121 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12125 @findex gnus-server-exit
12126 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12130 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12131 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12135 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12136 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12140 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12141 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12145 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12146 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12150 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12151 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12152 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12157 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12158 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12159 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12160 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12165 @node Example Methods
12166 @subsection Example Methods
12168 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12171 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12174 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12180 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12181 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12184 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12185 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12187 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12188 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12192 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12195 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12196 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12198 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12199 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12200 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12204 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12207 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12210 Here's the method for a public spool:
12214 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12215 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12221 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12222 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12223 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12224 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12225 should probably look something like this:
12229 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12230 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12231 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12232 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12235 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12236 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12237 configuration to the example above:
12240 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12243 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12245 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12246 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12247 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12251 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12252 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12253 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12254 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12257 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12258 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12259 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12260 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12263 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12264 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12266 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12267 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12269 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12270 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12271 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12273 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12275 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12276 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12277 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12278 will contain the following:
12288 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12289 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12292 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12293 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12294 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12297 @node Server Variables
12298 @subsection Server Variables
12299 @cindex server variables
12300 @cindex server parameters
12302 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12303 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12304 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12305 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12306 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12308 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12309 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12310 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12311 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12312 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12313 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12314 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12315 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12316 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12320 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12321 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12322 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12325 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12327 @node Servers and Methods
12328 @subsection Servers and Methods
12330 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12331 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12332 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12333 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12337 @node Unavailable Servers
12338 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12340 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12341 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12342 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12343 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12344 actually the case or not.
12346 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12347 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12348 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12349 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12350 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12351 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12352 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12353 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12355 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12356 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12358 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12359 with the following commands:
12365 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12366 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12367 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12371 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12372 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12373 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12377 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12378 Mark the current server as unreachable
12379 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12382 @kindex M-o (Server)
12383 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12384 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12385 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12388 @kindex M-c (Server)
12389 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12390 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12391 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12395 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12396 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12397 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12401 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12402 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12408 @section Getting News
12409 @cindex reading news
12410 @cindex news back ends
12412 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12413 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12414 or it can read from a local spool.
12417 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12418 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12426 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12427 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12428 server as the, uhm, address.
12430 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12431 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12432 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12433 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12435 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12436 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12437 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12439 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12444 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12445 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12446 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12448 @cindex authentification
12449 @cindex nntp authentification
12450 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12451 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12452 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12453 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12454 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12455 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12456 present in this hook.
12458 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12459 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12460 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12461 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12462 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12463 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12464 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12465 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12466 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12467 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12468 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12469 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12473 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12476 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12478 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12479 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12480 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12481 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12482 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12483 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12484 @samp{force} is explained below.
12488 Here's an example file:
12491 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12492 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12495 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12496 have to be first, for instance.
12498 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12499 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12500 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12501 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12502 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12503 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12504 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12506 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12507 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12513 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12514 previously mentioned.
12516 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12518 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12519 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12520 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12521 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12522 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12525 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12526 '(("innd" (ding))))
12529 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12531 The default value is
12534 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12535 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12536 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12539 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12540 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12542 @item nntp-maximum-request
12543 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12544 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12545 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12546 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12547 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12548 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12549 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12551 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12552 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12553 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12554 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12555 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12556 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12557 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12558 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12559 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12560 no timeouts are done.
12562 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12563 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12564 @c @cindex PPP connections
12565 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12566 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12567 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12568 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12569 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12570 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12571 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12572 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12573 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12574 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12576 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12577 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12578 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12579 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12580 @c described above.
12582 @item nntp-server-hook
12583 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12584 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12587 @item nntp-buggy-select
12588 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12589 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12591 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12592 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12593 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12594 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12597 @item nntp-xover-commands
12598 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12599 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12601 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12602 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12606 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12607 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12608 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12609 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12610 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12611 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12612 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12613 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12614 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12615 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12616 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12618 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12619 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12620 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12622 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12623 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12624 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12625 server closes connection.
12627 @item nntp-record-commands
12628 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12629 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12630 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12631 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12632 that doesn't seem to work.
12634 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12635 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12636 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12637 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12638 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12639 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12640 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12641 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12643 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12644 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12645 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12646 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12647 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12648 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12649 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12652 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12655 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12656 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12658 @item nntp-read-timeout
12659 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12660 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12661 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12662 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12663 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12666 @item nntp-list-options
12667 @vindex nntp-list-options
12668 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
12669 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
12670 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
12671 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
12672 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
12676 (setq gnus-select-method
12677 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12678 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
12681 @item nntp-options-subscribe
12682 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
12683 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
12684 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12685 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12686 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12687 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12690 (setq gnus-select-method
12691 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12692 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
12695 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
12696 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
12697 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
12698 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
12699 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
12700 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
12701 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
12704 (setq gnus-select-method
12705 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
12706 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
12711 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12712 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12713 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12717 @node Direct Functions
12718 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12719 @cindex direct connection functions
12721 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12722 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12723 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12724 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12727 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12728 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12729 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12732 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12733 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12734 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12735 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12736 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12739 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12740 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12742 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12743 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12744 (nntp-port-number )
12745 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12748 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12749 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12750 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12751 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12752 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12753 then define a server as follows:
12756 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12757 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12759 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12760 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12761 (nntp-port-number 563)
12762 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12765 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12766 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12767 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12768 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12769 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12770 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12771 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12772 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12776 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12777 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12778 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12781 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12782 session, which is not a good idea.
12786 @node Indirect Functions
12787 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12788 @cindex indirect connection functions
12790 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12791 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12792 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12793 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12794 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12795 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12798 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12799 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12800 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12801 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12802 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12804 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12807 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12808 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12809 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12810 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12812 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12813 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12814 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12815 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12816 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12817 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12818 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12819 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12823 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12824 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12825 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12826 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12828 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12831 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12832 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12833 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12836 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12837 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12838 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12839 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12841 @item nntp-via-user-password
12842 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12843 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12845 @item nntp-via-envuser
12846 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12847 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12848 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12849 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12851 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12852 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12853 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12854 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12861 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12866 @item nntp-via-user-name
12867 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12868 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12870 @item nntp-via-address
12871 @vindex nntp-via-address
12872 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12877 @node Common Variables
12878 @subsubsection Common Variables
12880 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12881 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12886 @item nntp-pre-command
12887 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12888 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12889 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12890 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12891 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12894 @vindex nntp-address
12895 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12897 @item nntp-port-number
12898 @vindex nntp-port-number
12899 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12900 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
12901 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12902 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
12903 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
12904 not work with named ports.
12906 @item nntp-end-of-line
12907 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12908 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
12909 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12910 using a non native connection function.
12912 @item nntp-telnet-command
12913 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12914 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
12915 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
12916 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12919 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12920 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12921 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12928 @subsection News Spool
12932 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12933 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12934 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12937 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12938 anything else) as the address.
12940 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12941 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12942 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12943 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12947 @item nnspool-inews-program
12948 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12949 Program used to post an article.
12951 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12952 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12953 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12955 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12956 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12957 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12958 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12960 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12961 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12962 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
12963 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12965 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12966 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12967 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12969 @item nnspool-active-file
12970 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12971 The name of the active file.
12973 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12974 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12975 The name of the group descriptions file.
12977 @item nnspool-history-file
12978 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12979 The name of the news history file.
12981 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12982 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12983 The name of the active date file.
12985 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12986 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12987 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
12990 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12991 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12993 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12994 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
12995 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13002 @section Getting Mail
13003 @cindex reading mail
13006 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13010 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13011 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13012 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13013 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13014 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13015 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13016 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13017 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13018 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13019 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13020 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13021 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13022 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13026 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13027 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13029 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13030 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13031 of a culture shock.
13033 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13034 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13036 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13037 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13038 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13039 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13041 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13043 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13044 deleted? How awful!
13046 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13047 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13048 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13049 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13052 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13053 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13054 they want to treat a message.
13056 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13057 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13058 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13059 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13060 archived somewhere else.
13062 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13063 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13064 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13065 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13066 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13068 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13069 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13070 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13072 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13073 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13076 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13077 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13078 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13079 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13080 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13082 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13083 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13084 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13085 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13086 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13087 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13091 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13092 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13094 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13095 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13096 and things will happen automatically.
13098 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13099 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13102 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13105 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13106 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13107 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13108 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13109 like any other group.
13111 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13114 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13115 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13116 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13120 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13121 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13122 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13125 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13126 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13127 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13130 @node Splitting Mail
13131 @subsection Splitting Mail
13132 @cindex splitting mail
13133 @cindex mail splitting
13134 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13136 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13137 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13138 to be split into groups.
13141 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13142 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13143 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13144 ("mail.other" "")))
13147 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13148 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13149 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13150 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13151 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13152 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13153 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13156 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13159 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13160 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13161 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13162 mail belongs in that group.
13164 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13165 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13166 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13167 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13168 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13169 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
13171 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13172 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13173 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13174 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13175 thinks should carry this mail message.
13177 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13178 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13179 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13180 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13182 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13183 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13184 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13185 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13186 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13188 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13191 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13192 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13193 links. If that's the case for you, set
13194 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13195 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13197 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13198 @findex nnmail-split-history
13199 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13200 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13201 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13202 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13205 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13206 Header lines longer than the value of
13207 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13210 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13211 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13212 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13213 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13214 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13215 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13216 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13217 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13219 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13220 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13221 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13222 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13223 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13224 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13225 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13226 other kinds of entries.)
13228 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13229 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13230 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13231 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13232 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13233 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13234 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13235 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13236 month's rent money.
13240 @subsection Mail Sources
13242 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13243 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13244 maildir, for instance.
13247 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13248 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13249 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13253 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13254 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13256 @cindex mail server
13259 @cindex mail source
13261 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13262 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13267 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13270 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13271 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13272 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13275 The following mail source types are available:
13279 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13285 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13286 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13287 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13291 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13294 An example file mail source:
13297 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13300 Or using the default file name:
13306 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13307 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13308 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13309 mail spool while moving the mail.
13311 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13315 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13318 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13322 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13325 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13327 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13330 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13334 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13335 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13336 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13337 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13338 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13339 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13340 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13341 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13342 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13343 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13345 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13346 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13347 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13348 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13354 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13358 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13362 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13363 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13364 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13365 predicate are considered.
13369 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13373 An example directory mail source:
13376 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13381 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13387 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13388 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13391 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13392 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13393 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13394 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13395 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13398 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13402 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13403 the user is prompted.
13406 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13407 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13410 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13413 The valid format specifier characters are:
13417 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13418 included in this string.
13421 The name of the server.
13424 The port number of the server.
13427 The user name to use.
13430 The password to use.
13433 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13434 corresponding keywords.
13437 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13438 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13441 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13442 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13445 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13446 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13447 mail should be moved to.
13449 @item :authentication
13450 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13451 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13455 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this can be the symbol
13456 @code{ssl}, the symbol @code{tls} or others. The default is @code{nil}
13457 and use insecure connections. Note that for SSL/TLS, you need external
13458 programs and libraries:
13462 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL@. Requires OpenSSL (the program
13463 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
13464 library @samp{ssl.el}.
13466 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to SSL)@.
13467 Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13472 Non-@code{nil} if mail is to be left on the server and UIDL used for
13473 message retrieval. The default is @code{nil}.
13477 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13478 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13480 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13481 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13487 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13490 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13491 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13494 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13497 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13501 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13502 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13503 contains exactly one mail.
13509 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13510 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13513 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13514 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13516 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13517 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13518 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13521 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13522 from locking problems).
13526 Two example maildir mail sources:
13529 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13530 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13534 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13539 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13540 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13541 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13542 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13543 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13545 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13546 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13552 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13553 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13556 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13557 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13560 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13564 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13568 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13569 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13570 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13571 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13573 @item :authentication
13574 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13575 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13576 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13577 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13580 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13581 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13582 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13588 The valid format specifier characters are:
13592 The name of the server.
13595 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13598 The port number of the server.
13601 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13602 corresponding keywords.
13605 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13606 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13609 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13610 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13611 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13612 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13613 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13614 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13617 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13618 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13619 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13620 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13623 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13624 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13628 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13631 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13633 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13637 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13638 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13639 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13641 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13642 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13644 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13650 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13651 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13654 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13658 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13662 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13663 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13667 An example webmail source:
13670 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13672 :password "secret")
13677 @item Common Keywords
13678 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13684 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13685 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13690 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13695 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13696 useful when you use local mail and news.
13701 @subsubsection Function Interface
13703 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13704 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13705 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13706 consider the following mail-source setting:
13709 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13710 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13713 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13714 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13715 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13716 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13717 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13719 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13722 @node Mail Source Customization
13723 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13725 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13726 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13730 @item mail-source-crash-box
13731 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13732 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13733 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13735 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13736 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13737 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13738 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13739 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13740 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
13741 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13742 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13744 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13745 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13746 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13747 files. This variable only applies when
13748 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13750 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13751 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13752 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13754 @item mail-source-directory
13755 @vindex mail-source-directory
13756 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13757 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13758 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13761 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13762 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13763 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13764 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13765 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13766 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13768 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13769 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13770 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13772 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13773 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13774 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13775 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13780 @node Fetching Mail
13781 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13783 @vindex mail-sources
13784 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13785 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13786 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13787 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13789 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13790 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13793 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13794 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13799 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13800 :password "secret")))
13803 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13807 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13808 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13811 :password "secret")))
13815 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13816 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13817 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13818 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13819 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13820 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13824 @node Mail Back End Variables
13825 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13827 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13831 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13832 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13833 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13834 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13836 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13837 @item nnmail-split-hook
13838 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13839 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
13840 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
13841 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13842 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13843 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13844 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13845 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13846 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13849 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13850 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13851 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13852 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13853 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13854 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13855 starting to handle the new mail) and
13856 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13857 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13858 default file modes the new mail files get:
13861 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13862 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13864 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13865 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13868 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13869 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13870 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13871 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13872 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13873 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13874 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13876 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13877 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13878 @findex delete-file
13879 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13881 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13882 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13883 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13884 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13885 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13887 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13888 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13889 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13890 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13891 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13893 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13894 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13895 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13900 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13901 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13902 @cindex mail splitting
13903 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13905 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13906 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13907 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13908 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13909 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13910 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13912 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13915 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
13916 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
13917 ;; @r{from real errors.}
13918 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13920 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
13921 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
13922 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
13923 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13924 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13925 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
13926 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13927 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13928 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
13929 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
13930 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
13931 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
13932 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13933 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13934 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
13935 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13936 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
13940 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
13941 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
13942 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
13947 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
13948 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
13950 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split})
13951 If the split is a list, the first element of which is a string, then
13952 store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field}
13953 (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict}
13954 (yet another regexp) matches some string after @var{field} and before
13955 the end of the matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If
13956 none of the @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13958 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
13959 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
13960 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
13961 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
13962 stored in one or more groups.
13964 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
13965 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
13966 process all @var{split}s in the list.
13969 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
13970 this message. Use with extreme caution.
13972 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
13973 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
13974 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
13975 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
13978 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13979 body of the messages:
13982 (defun split-on-body ()
13986 (goto-char (point-min))
13987 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13991 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
13992 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
13993 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
13994 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
13995 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
13996 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
13997 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
13999 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14000 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14001 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14002 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14003 should return a split.
14006 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14010 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14011 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
14012 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
14013 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
14014 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
14016 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14017 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14018 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14019 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14020 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14021 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14022 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14026 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14028 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14029 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14031 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14034 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14035 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14036 when all this splitting is performed.
14038 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14039 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14040 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14043 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14046 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14047 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14049 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14050 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14051 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14052 groupings 1 through 9.
14054 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14055 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} controls whether partial
14056 words are matched during fancy splitting.
14058 Normally, regular expressions given in @code{nnmail-split-fancy} are
14059 implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers, which are word
14060 delimiters. If this variable is true, they are not implicitly
14061 surrounded by anything.
14064 (any "joe" "joemail")
14067 In this example, messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will
14068 normally not be filed in @samp{joemail}. With
14069 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} set to t, however, the
14070 match will happen. In effect, the requirement of a word boundary is
14071 removed and instead the match becomes more like a grep.
14073 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14074 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14075 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14076 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14077 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14078 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14079 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14080 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14081 it once per thread.
14083 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14084 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14085 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14086 using the colon feature, like so:
14088 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14089 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14091 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14092 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14096 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14097 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14098 in the file specified by the variable
14099 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14100 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14101 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14102 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14103 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14104 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14105 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14106 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14107 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14108 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14109 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14110 300 kBytes in size.)
14111 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14112 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14113 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14114 messages goes into the new group.
14116 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14117 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14118 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14119 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14120 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14121 ``outgoing'' group.
14124 @node Group Mail Splitting
14125 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14126 @cindex mail splitting
14127 @cindex group mail splitting
14129 @findex gnus-group-split
14130 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14131 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14132 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14133 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14134 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14135 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14136 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14137 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14139 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14140 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14141 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14142 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14144 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14145 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14146 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14147 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14148 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14149 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14150 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14152 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14153 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14154 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14155 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14156 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14157 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14158 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14160 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14161 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14162 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14163 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14164 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14165 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14166 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14167 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14168 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14169 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14170 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14171 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14172 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14174 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14179 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14180 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14182 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14183 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14184 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14185 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14187 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14190 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14191 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14192 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14195 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14196 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14197 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14201 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14202 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14203 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14207 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14210 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14211 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14212 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14213 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14214 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14215 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14216 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14217 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14218 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14220 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14221 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14222 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14223 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14224 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14225 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14226 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14227 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14228 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14230 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14231 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14232 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14233 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14234 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14235 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14238 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14241 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14242 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14243 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14244 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14245 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14248 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14249 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14250 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14251 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14253 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14254 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14255 @cindex incorporating old mail
14256 @cindex import old mail
14258 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14259 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14260 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14263 Doing so can be quite easy.
14265 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14266 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14267 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14268 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14269 your @code{nnml} groups.
14275 Go to the group buffer.
14278 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14279 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14282 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14285 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14286 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14289 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14290 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14293 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14294 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14295 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14296 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14297 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14299 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14300 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14301 using the new mail back end.
14304 @node Expiring Mail
14305 @subsection Expiring Mail
14306 @cindex article expiry
14308 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14309 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14310 different approach to mail reading.
14312 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14313 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14314 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14315 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14316 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14317 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14320 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14321 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14322 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14323 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14324 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14325 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14326 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14327 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14328 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14330 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14331 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14332 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14333 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14334 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14335 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14336 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14339 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14340 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14341 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14342 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14343 into its own group.)
14345 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14346 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14347 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14348 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14349 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14350 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14351 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14352 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14355 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14356 Groups that match the regular expression
14357 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14358 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14359 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14361 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14362 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14363 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14364 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14365 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14367 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14369 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14370 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14371 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14374 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14375 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14376 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14377 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14378 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14380 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14381 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14384 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14385 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14388 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14389 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14391 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14392 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14393 don't really mix very well.
14395 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14396 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14397 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14398 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14401 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14402 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14403 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14404 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14407 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14409 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14411 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14413 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14415 ((string= group "important")
14421 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14422 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14424 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14425 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14426 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14429 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14430 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14432 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14433 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14434 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14435 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14436 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14437 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14438 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14439 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14440 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14441 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14442 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14443 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14444 name or @code{delete}.
14446 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14448 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14451 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14452 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14453 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14454 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14455 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14458 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14459 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14460 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14461 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14462 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14465 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14466 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14467 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14468 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14469 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14470 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14472 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14473 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14474 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14475 easier for procmail users.
14477 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14478 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14479 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14480 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14481 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14482 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14483 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14484 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14485 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14486 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14487 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14488 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14489 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14492 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14494 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14495 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14496 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14497 auto-expire turned on.
14501 @subsection Washing Mail
14502 @cindex mail washing
14503 @cindex list server brain damage
14504 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14506 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14507 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14508 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14509 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14510 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14511 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14513 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14514 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14515 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14518 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14519 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14520 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14521 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14524 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14525 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14526 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14527 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14528 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14531 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14532 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14533 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14534 Emacs running on MS machines.
14538 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14539 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14540 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14541 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14544 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14545 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14546 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14547 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14549 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14550 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14551 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14552 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14553 into a feature by documenting it.)
14555 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14556 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14557 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14558 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14559 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14560 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14561 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14564 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14565 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14568 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14569 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14572 This can also be done non-destructively with
14573 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14575 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14576 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14577 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14579 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14580 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14582 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14583 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14584 @code{References} headers.
14588 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14589 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14590 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14594 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14595 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14596 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14603 @subsection Duplicates
14605 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14606 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14607 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14608 @cindex duplicate mails
14609 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14610 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14611 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14612 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14613 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14614 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14615 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14616 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14617 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14618 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14619 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14620 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14621 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14623 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14624 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14625 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14626 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14628 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14631 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14632 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14636 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14637 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14638 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14639 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14640 (any mail "mail.misc")
14641 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14647 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14648 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14649 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14653 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14654 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14655 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14656 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14657 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14660 @node Not Reading Mail
14661 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14663 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14664 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14665 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14667 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14668 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14669 mail, which should help.
14671 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14672 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14673 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14674 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14675 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14676 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14677 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14678 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14679 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14680 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14681 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14683 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14684 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14688 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14689 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14691 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14692 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14693 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14695 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14696 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14697 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14701 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14702 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14703 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14704 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14705 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14706 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14707 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14711 @node Unix Mail Box
14712 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14714 @cindex unix mail box
14716 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14717 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14718 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14719 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14720 which group it belongs in.
14722 Virtual server settings:
14725 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14726 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14727 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14730 @item nnmbox-active-file
14731 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14732 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14733 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14735 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14736 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14737 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14738 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14743 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14747 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14748 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14749 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14750 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14751 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14753 Virtual server settings:
14756 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14757 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14758 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14760 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14761 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14762 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14763 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14765 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14766 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14767 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14773 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14775 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14777 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14778 format. It should be used with some caution.
14780 @vindex nnml-directory
14781 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14782 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14783 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14784 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14786 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14789 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14790 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14791 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14792 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14793 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14794 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14795 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14796 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14798 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14799 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14800 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14801 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14803 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14805 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14806 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14807 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14808 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14809 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14810 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14811 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14812 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14815 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14816 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14817 them next time it starts.
14819 Virtual server settings:
14822 @item nnml-directory
14823 @vindex nnml-directory
14824 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14825 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14828 @item nnml-active-file
14829 @vindex nnml-active-file
14830 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14831 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14833 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14834 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14835 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14836 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14838 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14839 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14840 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14843 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14844 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14845 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
14846 default is @code{nil}.
14848 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14849 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14850 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14852 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14853 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14854 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14856 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14857 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14858 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14859 default is @code{nil}.
14861 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14862 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14863 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14865 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14866 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14867 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14872 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14873 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
14874 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14875 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14876 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14877 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14878 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14883 @subsubsection MH Spool
14885 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14887 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14888 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
14889 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
14890 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
14893 Virtual server settings:
14896 @item nnmh-directory
14897 @vindex nnmh-directory
14898 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14899 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14902 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14903 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14904 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14908 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14909 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14910 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
14911 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14912 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14913 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
14914 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14919 @subsubsection Maildir
14923 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14924 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14925 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14926 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
14927 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
14930 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14931 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
14932 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14933 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14934 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
14935 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
14936 that appear as group in Gnus.
14938 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
14939 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
14940 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
14942 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
14943 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
14944 another, and you will keep your marks.
14946 Virtual server settings:
14950 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
14951 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
14952 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
14953 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
14954 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
14955 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
14956 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
14957 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
14958 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
14959 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
14961 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14962 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14963 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14964 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14965 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14966 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14967 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14968 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14969 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14970 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
14973 @item target-prefix
14974 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14975 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14976 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14979 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
14980 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14981 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14982 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14983 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14984 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
14985 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14986 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14987 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14989 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14990 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14991 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14992 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14993 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14995 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14996 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14997 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14998 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14999 @code{force} argument.
15001 @item directory-files
15002 This should be a function with the same interface as
15003 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15004 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15005 parameter is optional; the default is
15006 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15007 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15008 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15009 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15010 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15011 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15014 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15015 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15016 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15017 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15018 value is @code{nil}.
15020 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15021 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15022 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15023 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15024 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15027 @subsubsection Group parameters
15029 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15030 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15031 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15032 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15033 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15034 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15037 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15038 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15039 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15040 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15041 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15042 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15043 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15044 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15045 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15049 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15050 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15051 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15052 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15053 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overrideable by
15054 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
15055 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15056 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15057 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15058 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15059 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15060 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15063 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15065 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15067 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15068 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15069 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15070 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15071 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15072 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15073 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15074 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15075 article. So that form can refer to
15076 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15077 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir} does
15078 not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15079 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15082 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15083 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15084 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15085 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15086 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15087 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15088 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15089 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15090 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15091 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15092 contain extra copies of the articles.
15094 @item directory-files
15095 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15096 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15097 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15098 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15100 @item distrust-Lines:
15101 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15102 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15103 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15106 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15107 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15108 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15109 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15110 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15111 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15114 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15115 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15116 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15117 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15118 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15119 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15120 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15122 @item nov-cache-size
15123 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15124 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15125 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15126 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15127 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15128 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15129 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15130 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15131 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15132 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15133 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15136 @subsubsection Article identification
15137 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15138 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15139 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15140 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15141 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15142 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15143 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15144 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15145 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15146 request the article in the summary buffer.
15148 @subsubsection NOV data
15149 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15150 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15151 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15152 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15153 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15154 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15155 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15156 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15157 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15158 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15159 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15161 @subsubsection Article marks
15162 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15163 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15164 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15165 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15166 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15167 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15168 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15169 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15171 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15172 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15173 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15174 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15175 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15176 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15177 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15178 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15179 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15183 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15185 @cindex mbox folders
15186 @cindex mail folders
15188 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15189 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15190 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15191 numbers and arrival dates.
15193 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15195 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15196 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15197 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15198 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15199 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15200 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15201 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15202 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15203 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15204 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15206 Virtual server settings:
15209 @item nnfolder-directory
15210 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15211 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15212 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15213 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15215 @item nnfolder-active-file
15216 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15217 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15219 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15220 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15221 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15222 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15224 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15225 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15226 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15227 default is @code{t}
15229 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15230 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15231 @cindex backup files
15232 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15233 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15234 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15235 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15238 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15239 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15241 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15244 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15245 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15246 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15247 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15248 extract some information from it before removing it.
15250 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15251 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15252 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15253 default is @code{nil}.
15255 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15256 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15257 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15259 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15260 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15261 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15262 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15264 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15265 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15266 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15267 default is @code{nil}.
15269 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15270 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15271 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15273 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15274 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15275 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15276 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15281 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15282 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15283 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15284 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15285 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15286 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15289 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15290 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15292 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15293 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15294 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15295 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15296 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15298 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15299 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15300 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15301 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15302 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15303 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15304 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15305 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15308 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15309 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15310 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15311 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15316 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15317 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15318 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15319 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15320 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15321 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15322 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15323 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15324 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15325 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15326 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15327 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15328 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15333 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15334 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15335 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15336 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15337 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15338 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15339 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15340 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15341 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15342 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15343 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15344 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15345 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15346 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15348 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15349 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15354 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15355 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15356 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15357 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15358 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15359 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15360 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15361 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15362 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15363 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15364 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15365 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15366 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15367 provided by the active file and overviews.
15369 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15370 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15371 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15372 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15373 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15376 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15377 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15382 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15383 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15384 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15385 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15386 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15387 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15388 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15392 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15393 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15394 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15395 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15396 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15397 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15398 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15399 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15400 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15402 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15403 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15404 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15405 friendly mail back end all over.
15409 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15410 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15413 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15414 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15415 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15416 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15417 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15418 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15419 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15420 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15423 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15424 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15425 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15426 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15427 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15428 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15429 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15430 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15431 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15432 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15433 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15435 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15436 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15437 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15438 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15439 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15442 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15443 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15444 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15445 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15446 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15447 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15448 removed in the future.
15450 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15451 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15452 on your file system.
15454 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15455 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15460 @node Browsing the Web
15461 @section Browsing the Web
15463 @cindex browsing the web
15467 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15468 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15469 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15470 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15471 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15472 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15473 even know what a news group is.
15475 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15476 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15477 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15478 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15479 you mad in the end.
15481 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15484 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15485 interfaces to these sources.
15489 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15490 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15491 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15492 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15493 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15494 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15497 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15499 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15500 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15501 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15502 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15503 though, you should be ok.
15505 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15506 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15507 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15508 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15509 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15511 @node Archiving Mail
15512 @subsection Archiving Mail
15513 @cindex archiving mail
15514 @cindex backup of mail
15516 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15517 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15518 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15519 marks is fairly simple.
15521 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15522 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15525 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15526 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15527 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15528 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15529 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15530 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15531 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15532 before you restore the data.
15534 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15535 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15536 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15537 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15538 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15539 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15540 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15541 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15542 is unnecessary in that case.
15545 @subsection Web Searches
15550 @cindex Usenet searches
15551 @cindex searching the Usenet
15553 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15554 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15555 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15556 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15557 searches without having to use a browser.
15559 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15560 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15561 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15562 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15563 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15565 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15566 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15567 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15568 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15569 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15570 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15571 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15572 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15573 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15574 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15577 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15578 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15579 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
15580 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15581 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15582 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15584 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15585 to use @code{nnweb}.
15587 Virtual server variables:
15592 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15593 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15594 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15597 @vindex nnweb-search
15598 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15600 @item nnweb-max-hits
15601 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15602 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15605 @item nnweb-type-definition
15606 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15607 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15608 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15613 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15617 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15620 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15623 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15627 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15634 @subsection Slashdot
15638 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15639 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15640 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15642 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15643 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15646 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15647 '((nnslashdot "")))
15650 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15651 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15652 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15653 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15654 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15657 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15658 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15660 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15661 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15662 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15663 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
15664 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15665 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15666 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15668 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15671 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15672 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15673 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15674 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15675 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15676 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15677 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15679 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15680 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15681 The login name to use when posting.
15683 @item nnslashdot-password
15684 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15685 The password to use when posting.
15687 @item nnslashdot-directory
15688 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15689 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15690 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15692 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15693 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15694 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
15695 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
15696 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15698 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15699 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15700 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
15702 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15703 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15704 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
15705 article. The default is
15706 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15708 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15709 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15710 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15712 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15713 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15714 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15715 updated. The default is 0.
15722 @subsection Ultimate
15724 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15726 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15727 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15728 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15729 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15731 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15732 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15733 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
15734 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15735 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15736 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15737 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15739 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15742 @item nnultimate-directory
15743 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15744 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15745 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15750 @subsection Web Archive
15752 @cindex Web Archive
15754 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15755 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15756 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15757 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15760 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15761 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15762 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15763 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15764 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15765 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15766 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15767 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15769 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15772 @item nnwarchive-directory
15773 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15774 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15775 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15777 @item nnwarchive-login
15778 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15779 The account name on the web server.
15781 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15782 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15783 The password for your account on the web server.
15791 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
15792 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
15793 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
15794 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
15795 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
15797 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
15798 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15800 @kindex G R (Summary)
15801 Use @kbd{G R} from the summary buffer to subscribe to a feed---you
15802 will be prompted for the location of the feed.
15804 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
15805 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET y}, then
15806 subscribe to groups.
15808 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15811 @item nnrss-directory
15812 @vindex nnrss-directory
15813 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15814 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15816 @item nnrss-use-local
15817 @vindex nnrss-use-local
15818 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
15819 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
15820 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
15821 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
15822 download script using @command{wget}.
15825 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15826 the summary buffer.
15829 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15830 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15832 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15834 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15835 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15838 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15841 (require 'browse-url)
15843 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15845 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15848 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15849 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15852 (browse-url (cdr url))
15853 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15854 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15856 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15857 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15858 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15859 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15862 @node Customizing w3
15863 @subsection Customizing w3
15869 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15870 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15871 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15873 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15874 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15875 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15878 (eval-after-load "w3"
15880 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15881 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15882 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15883 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15885 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15888 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15889 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15896 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
15898 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15899 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
15900 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15901 specify the network address of the server.
15903 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
15904 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
15905 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
15906 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
15907 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
15908 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15910 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
15911 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
15912 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
15913 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
15915 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15916 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15917 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
15918 usage explained in this section.
15920 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
15921 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
15922 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
15926 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15927 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
15928 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
15930 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15931 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15932 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
15934 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15935 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15936 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15937 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
15938 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15939 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15940 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15941 (nnimap-stream network))
15942 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
15944 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15945 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15946 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15949 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15950 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15951 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15952 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15954 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15959 @item nnimap-address
15960 @vindex nnimap-address
15962 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
15963 server name if not specified.
15965 @item nnimap-server-port
15966 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15967 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
15969 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15972 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15973 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15976 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15977 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15978 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15979 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15980 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
15981 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15982 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15984 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15985 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15986 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15989 Example server specification:
15992 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15993 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15994 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15997 @item nnimap-stream
15998 @vindex nnimap-stream
15999 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16000 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16001 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16002 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16003 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16005 Example server specification:
16008 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16009 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16012 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16016 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16017 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16019 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16021 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16022 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16025 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16026 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16028 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16029 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16031 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16033 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16036 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16037 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16038 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16039 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16040 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16041 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16042 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16043 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16044 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16047 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16048 needed. It is available from
16049 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16051 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16052 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16053 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16054 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16055 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16056 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16057 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16060 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16061 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16062 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16063 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16064 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16065 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16066 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16069 @vindex imap-shell-program
16070 @vindex imap-shell-host
16071 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16072 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16074 @item nnimap-authenticator
16075 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16077 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16078 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16080 Example server specification:
16083 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16084 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16087 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16091 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16092 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16094 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16097 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16098 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16100 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16102 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16104 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16107 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16109 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16110 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16111 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16112 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16113 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16114 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16117 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16118 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16119 running in circles yet?
16121 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16122 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16125 The possible options are:
16130 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16133 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16134 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16135 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16136 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16138 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16143 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16144 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16146 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16147 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16148 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16149 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16150 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16153 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16154 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16157 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16158 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16159 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16160 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16163 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16164 as ticked for other users.
16166 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16168 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16170 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16171 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16172 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16173 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16175 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16176 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16177 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16178 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16180 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16181 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16183 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16184 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16185 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16188 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16189 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16191 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16192 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16198 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16199 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16200 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16201 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16202 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16203 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16208 @node Splitting in IMAP
16209 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16210 @cindex splitting imap mail
16212 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16213 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16214 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16215 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16216 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16220 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16221 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16222 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16224 Here are the variables of interest:
16228 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16229 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16231 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16233 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16234 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16235 found will be used.
16237 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16239 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16240 @cindex splitting, inbox
16242 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16244 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16245 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16246 splitting is disabled!
16249 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16250 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16253 No nnmail equivalent.
16255 @item nnimap-split-rule
16256 @cindex splitting, rules
16257 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16259 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16262 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16263 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16264 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16265 Neither did I, we need examples.
16268 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16270 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16271 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16272 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16275 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16276 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16277 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16279 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16280 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16284 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16287 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16288 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16290 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16291 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16292 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16293 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16295 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16296 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16297 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16298 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16299 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16300 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16302 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16303 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16304 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16306 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16307 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16308 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16310 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16312 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16313 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16314 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16317 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16318 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16319 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16320 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16321 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16322 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16325 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16326 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16327 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16328 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16329 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16330 group/function elements.
16332 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16334 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16336 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16338 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16339 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16341 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16342 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16343 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16346 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16347 @cindex splitting, fancy
16348 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16349 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16351 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16352 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16353 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16355 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16356 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16357 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16358 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16363 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16364 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16367 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16369 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16370 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16371 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16373 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16374 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16375 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16376 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16380 @node Expiring in IMAP
16381 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16382 @cindex expiring imap mail
16384 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16385 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16386 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16387 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16388 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16389 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16392 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16393 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16394 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16395 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16396 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16397 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16398 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16399 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16403 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16404 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16406 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16407 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16409 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16411 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16412 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16413 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16414 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16418 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16419 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16420 @cindex editing imap acls
16421 @cindex Access Control Lists
16422 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16423 @kindex G l (Group)
16424 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16426 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16427 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16428 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16431 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16432 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16433 editing window with detailed instructions.
16435 Some possible uses:
16439 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16440 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16441 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16443 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16444 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16445 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16449 @node Expunging mailboxes
16450 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16454 @cindex manual expunging
16455 @kindex G x (Group)
16456 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16458 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16459 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16460 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16462 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16465 @node A note on namespaces
16466 @subsection A note on namespaces
16467 @cindex IMAP namespace
16470 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16471 by the following text in the RFC:
16474 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16476 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16477 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16478 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16479 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16481 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16482 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16483 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16484 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16485 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16486 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16489 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16490 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16491 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16493 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16494 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16495 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16496 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16497 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16498 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16499 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16500 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16503 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16504 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16505 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16507 @node Debugging IMAP
16508 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16509 @cindex IMAP debugging
16510 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16512 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16513 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16514 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behaviour, chances
16515 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16517 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16518 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16519 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16520 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16521 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16522 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16523 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16527 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16528 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16535 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16536 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16537 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16538 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16541 @node Other Sources
16542 @section Other Sources
16544 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16545 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16549 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16550 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16551 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16552 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16553 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16557 @node Directory Groups
16558 @subsection Directory Groups
16560 @cindex directory groups
16562 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16563 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16566 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16567 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16568 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16569 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16571 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16572 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16573 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16574 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16575 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16577 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16579 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16580 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16581 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16582 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16585 @node Anything Groups
16586 @subsection Anything Groups
16589 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16590 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16591 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16594 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16595 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16596 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16597 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16598 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16599 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16600 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16601 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16602 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16603 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16606 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16607 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16608 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16609 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16611 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16612 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16613 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16614 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16616 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16617 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16618 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16619 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16620 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16621 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16622 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16623 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16628 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16629 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16630 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16631 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16633 @item nneething-exclude-files
16634 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16635 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16636 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16638 @item nneething-include-files
16639 @vindex nneething-include-files
16640 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16641 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16643 @item nneething-map-file
16644 @vindex nneething-map-file
16645 Name of the map files.
16649 @node Document Groups
16650 @subsection Document Groups
16652 @cindex documentation group
16655 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16656 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16663 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16668 The standard Unix mbox file.
16670 @cindex MMDF mail box
16672 The MMDF mail box format.
16675 Several news articles appended into a file.
16678 @cindex rnews batch files
16679 The rnews batch transport format.
16680 @cindex forwarded messages
16683 Forwarded articles.
16686 Netscape mail boxes.
16689 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16691 @item standard-digest
16692 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16695 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16697 @item lanl-gov-announce
16698 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16700 @item rfc822-forward
16701 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16704 The Outlook mail box.
16707 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16710 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16713 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16716 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16722 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16725 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16731 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16732 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16733 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16736 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16737 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16738 group. And that's it.
16740 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16741 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16742 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16743 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16744 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16745 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16746 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16747 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16748 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16749 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16751 Virtual server variables:
16754 @item nndoc-article-type
16755 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16756 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16757 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16758 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16759 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16760 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16762 @item nndoc-post-type
16763 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16764 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16765 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16770 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16774 @node Document Server Internals
16775 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16777 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16778 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16779 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16780 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16782 First, here's an example document type definition:
16786 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16787 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16790 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16791 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16792 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16793 types can be defined with very few settings:
16796 @item first-article
16797 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16798 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16801 @item article-begin
16802 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16803 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16805 @item head-begin-function
16806 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16809 @item nndoc-head-begin
16810 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16813 @item nndoc-head-end
16814 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16815 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16817 @item body-begin-function
16818 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16822 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16825 @item body-end-function
16826 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16830 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16833 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16834 regexp will be totally ignored.
16838 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16839 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16840 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16841 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16842 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16845 @item prepare-body-function
16846 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16847 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16848 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16850 @item article-transform-function
16851 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16852 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16853 body of the article.
16855 @item generate-head-function
16856 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16857 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16858 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16859 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16863 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16868 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16869 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16870 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16871 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16872 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16873 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16874 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16875 (subtype digest guess))
16878 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16879 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16880 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16881 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16882 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16884 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16885 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16886 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16887 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16888 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
16889 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
16890 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
16891 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16892 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
16893 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16894 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
16895 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16903 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16904 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16905 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16907 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16908 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16909 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16912 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16913 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16914 that interested in doing things properly.
16916 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16917 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16920 First some terminology:
16925 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16926 get news and/or mail from.
16929 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16930 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16933 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16937 @item message packets
16938 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16939 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16940 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16942 @item response packets
16943 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16944 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16945 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16955 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16956 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16957 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16958 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16961 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16964 You put the packet in your home directory.
16967 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16968 the native or secondary server.
16971 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16972 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16975 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16979 You transfer this packet to the server.
16982 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16985 You then repeat until you die.
16989 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16990 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16993 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16994 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16995 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16999 @node SOUP Commands
17000 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17002 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17006 @kindex G s b (Group)
17007 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17008 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17009 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17010 process/prefix convention.
17013 @kindex G s w (Group)
17014 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17015 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17018 @kindex G s s (Group)
17019 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17020 Send all replies from the replies packet
17021 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17024 @kindex G s p (Group)
17025 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17026 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17029 @kindex G s r (Group)
17030 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17031 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17034 @kindex O s (Summary)
17035 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17036 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17037 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17038 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17043 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17048 @item gnus-soup-directory
17049 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17050 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17051 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17053 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17054 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17055 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17056 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17058 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17059 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17060 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17061 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17063 @item gnus-soup-packer
17064 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17065 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17066 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17068 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17069 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17070 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17071 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17073 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17074 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17075 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17077 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17078 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17079 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17080 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17086 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17089 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17090 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17091 you can read them at leisure.
17093 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17097 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17098 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17099 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17100 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17102 @item nnsoup-directory
17103 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17104 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17105 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17107 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17108 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17109 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17110 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17112 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17113 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17114 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17115 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17116 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17118 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17119 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17120 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17121 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17123 @item nnsoup-active-file
17124 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17125 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17126 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17127 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17128 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17130 @item nnsoup-packer
17131 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17132 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17133 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17135 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17136 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17137 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17138 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17140 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17141 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17142 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17145 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17146 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17147 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17150 @item nnsoup-always-save
17151 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17152 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17158 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17160 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17161 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17162 more for that to happen.
17164 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17165 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17166 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17169 In specific, this is what it does:
17172 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17173 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17176 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17177 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17178 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17181 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17182 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17183 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17186 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17187 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17188 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17190 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17196 @item nngateway-address
17197 @vindex nngateway-address
17198 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17200 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17201 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17202 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17203 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17204 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17205 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17206 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17209 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17210 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17211 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17214 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17217 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17220 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17223 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17225 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17228 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17229 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17230 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17232 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17234 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17235 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17236 @code{nngateway-address}.
17244 (setq gnus-post-method
17246 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17247 (nngateway-header-transformation
17248 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17251 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17254 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17259 @node Combined Groups
17260 @section Combined Groups
17262 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17266 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17267 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17271 @node Virtual Groups
17272 @subsection Virtual Groups
17274 @cindex virtual groups
17275 @cindex merging groups
17277 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17280 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17281 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17282 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17284 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17285 regexp to match component groups.
17287 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17288 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17289 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17290 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17291 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17292 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17293 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17294 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17296 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17297 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17300 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17303 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17304 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17306 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17307 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17308 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17309 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17312 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17315 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17316 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17317 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17319 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17320 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17321 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17322 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17323 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17325 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17326 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17327 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17329 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17330 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17331 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17332 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17333 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17334 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17335 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17336 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17337 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17338 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17339 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17341 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17342 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17343 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17344 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17345 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17346 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17347 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17349 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17350 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17352 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17353 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17357 @node Kibozed Groups
17358 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17362 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17363 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17364 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17365 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17367 @kindex G k (Group)
17368 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17371 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17372 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17373 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17374 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17376 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17377 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17378 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17380 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17381 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17382 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17383 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17384 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17385 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17386 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17387 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17389 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17390 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17391 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17392 Stranger things have happened.
17394 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17395 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17397 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17398 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17399 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17400 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17401 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17402 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17403 component articles.
17405 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17406 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17409 @node Gnus Unplugged
17410 @section Gnus Unplugged
17415 @cindex Gnus unplugged
17417 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17418 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17419 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17420 read news. Believe it or not.
17422 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17423 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17424 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17425 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17426 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17428 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17429 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17430 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17431 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17432 reading news on a machine.
17434 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17435 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
17436 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
17438 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17441 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17442 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17443 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17444 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
17445 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17446 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17447 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17448 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17449 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17450 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17451 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17452 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17453 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17458 @subsection Agent Basics
17460 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17462 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17463 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17464 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17465 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17467 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17468 connected to the net continuously.
17470 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17471 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17473 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
17474 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
17475 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
17476 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
17477 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
17479 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
17480 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
17481 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
17482 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
17483 they're kinda like plugged always).
17485 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
17486 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
17487 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
17490 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
17491 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
17492 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
17493 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
17494 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
17496 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17501 @findex gnus-unplugged
17502 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17503 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17504 already fetched while in this mode.
17507 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17508 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17509 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17510 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
17511 Source Specifiers}).
17514 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
17515 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
17516 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
17517 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
17518 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
17521 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17522 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17523 then you read the news offline.
17526 And then you go to step 2.
17529 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17535 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17536 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17537 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17538 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17539 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17540 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17541 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17542 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17545 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17546 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17547 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17548 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
17550 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17551 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17552 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17553 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17554 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17555 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17559 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17563 @node Agent Categories
17564 @subsection Agent Categories
17566 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17567 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17568 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17569 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17570 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17571 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17572 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17574 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17575 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17576 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17577 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17578 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17580 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17581 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17582 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17583 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17584 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17587 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17588 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17589 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17590 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17591 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17592 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17596 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17597 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17598 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17602 @node Category Syntax
17603 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17605 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17606 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17607 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17610 @cindex Agent Parameters
17612 @item agent-cat-name
17613 The name of the category.
17616 The list of groups that are in this category.
17618 @item agent-predicate
17619 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17620 are eligible for downloading; and
17622 @item agent-score-file
17623 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17624 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17625 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17627 @item agent-enable-expiration
17628 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17629 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17630 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17631 only groups that should not be expired.
17633 @item agent-days-until-old
17634 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17635 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17637 @item agent-low-score
17638 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17640 @item agent-high-score
17641 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17643 @item agent-length-when-short
17644 an integer that overrides the value of
17645 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17647 @item agent-length-when-long
17648 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17650 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
17651 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
17652 undownloaded articles using the gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face
17653 faces. Any symbol other than nil will enable the use of undownloaded
17657 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17660 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17661 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17662 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17665 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17666 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17667 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17668 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17670 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17671 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17672 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17674 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17675 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17676 operators sprinkled in between.
17678 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17680 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17681 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17687 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17688 short (for some value of ``short'').
17690 Here's a more complex predicate:
17699 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17700 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17703 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17704 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17705 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17707 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17708 you want to do, you can write your own.
17710 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17711 bound to the value determined by calling
17712 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17713 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17714 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17715 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17716 predicate to individual groups.
17720 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17721 lines; default 100.
17724 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17725 lines; default 200.
17728 True iff the article has a download score less than
17729 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17732 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17733 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17736 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17737 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17738 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17747 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17748 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17749 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17752 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17753 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17754 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17755 something along the lines of the following:
17758 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17759 "Say whether an article is old."
17760 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17761 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17764 with the predicate then defined as:
17767 (not my-article-old-p)
17770 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17771 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17775 (require 'gnus-agent)
17776 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17777 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17778 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17781 and simply specify your predicate as:
17787 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17788 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17789 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17790 just don't give a damn.
17792 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17793 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17794 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17795 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
17796 parameters like so:
17799 (agent-predicate . short)
17802 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17803 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17804 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17806 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17809 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17812 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17813 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17814 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17817 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17818 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17819 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17820 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17821 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17822 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17824 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17825 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17826 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17827 if it's to be specific to that group.
17829 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17836 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
17837 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17843 Category specification
17847 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17853 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17856 (agent-score ("from"
17857 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17862 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17868 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17869 keywords stated above.
17875 Category specification
17878 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17884 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17888 Group Parameter specification
17891 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17894 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17899 Use @code{normal} score files
17901 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17902 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17903 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17904 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17906 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17907 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17908 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17909 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17913 Category Specification
17920 Group Parameter specification
17923 (agent-score . file)
17928 @node Category Buffer
17929 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17931 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17932 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17933 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17935 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17939 @kindex q (Category)
17940 @findex gnus-category-exit
17941 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17944 @kindex e (Category)
17945 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17946 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17947 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17950 @kindex k (Category)
17951 @findex gnus-category-kill
17952 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17955 @kindex c (Category)
17956 @findex gnus-category-copy
17957 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17960 @kindex a (Category)
17961 @findex gnus-category-add
17962 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17965 @kindex p (Category)
17966 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17967 Edit the predicate of the current category
17968 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17971 @kindex g (Category)
17972 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17973 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17974 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17977 @kindex s (Category)
17978 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17979 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17980 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17983 @kindex l (Category)
17984 @findex gnus-category-list
17985 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17989 @node Category Variables
17990 @subsubsection Category Variables
17993 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17994 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17995 Hook run in category buffers.
17997 @item gnus-category-line-format
17998 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17999 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18000 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18004 The name of the category.
18007 The number of groups in the category.
18010 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18011 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18012 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18014 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18015 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18016 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18018 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18019 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18020 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18022 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18023 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18024 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18027 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18028 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18029 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18032 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18033 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18034 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18035 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18036 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18037 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18038 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18039 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18043 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18044 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18045 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18046 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18047 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18048 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18049 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18054 @node Agent Commands
18055 @subsection Agent Commands
18056 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18057 @kindex J j (Agent)
18059 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18060 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18061 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18065 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18066 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18067 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18073 @node Group Agent Commands
18074 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18078 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18079 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18080 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18081 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18084 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18085 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18086 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18089 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18090 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18091 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18092 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18095 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18096 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18097 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18098 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18101 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18102 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18103 Add the current group to an Agent category
18104 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18105 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18108 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18109 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18110 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18111 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18112 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18115 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18116 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18117 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18123 @node Summary Agent Commands
18124 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18128 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18129 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18130 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18133 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18134 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18135 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18136 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18140 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18141 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18142 Toggle whether to download the article
18143 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18147 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18148 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18149 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18152 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18153 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18154 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18155 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18158 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18159 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
18160 Download all processable articles in this group.
18161 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
18164 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18165 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18166 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18167 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18172 @node Server Agent Commands
18173 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18177 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18178 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18179 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18180 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18183 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18184 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18185 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18186 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18191 @node Agent Visuals
18192 @subsection Agent Visuals
18194 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18195 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18196 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18197 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18198 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18199 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18200 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18201 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18202 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18203 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18205 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18206 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18207 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18208 way, "If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18209 less than satisfying unplugged session". For this reason, the Agent
18210 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18211 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18212 articles will be available when unplugged.
18214 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18215 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18216 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18217 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18218 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18219 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18220 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18221 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18223 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18224 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18225 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18226 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18227 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18228 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18229 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18230 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18231 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18233 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18234 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18235 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18236 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18237 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
18238 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
18239 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
18240 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
18241 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
18242 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
18244 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
18245 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
18246 group parameter to t. This parameter, like all other agent
18247 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent
18248 Categories}), a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an
18249 individual group (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18251 @node Agent as Cache
18252 @subsection Agent as Cache
18254 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18255 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18256 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18257 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18258 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18259 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18260 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18261 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18262 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18264 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18265 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18266 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18267 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18268 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18271 @subsection Agent Expiry
18273 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18274 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18275 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18276 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18277 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18278 @cindex agent expiry
18279 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18282 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18283 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18284 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18285 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18286 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18287 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18288 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18289 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18291 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
18292 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
18293 synchronized with the group.
18295 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18296 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18298 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18299 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18300 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18301 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18302 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18303 be kept indefinitely.
18305 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18306 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18307 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18308 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18310 @node Agent Regeneration
18311 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18313 @cindex agent regeneration
18314 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
18315 @cindex regeneration
18317 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18318 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18319 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18320 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18321 internal inconsistencies.
18323 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18324 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18325 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18326 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18327 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18328 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18330 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18331 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18332 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18333 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18334 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18335 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18337 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18338 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18339 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18340 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18341 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18342 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18345 @node Agent and IMAP
18346 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18348 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18349 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18350 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18351 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18353 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18354 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18355 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18356 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18358 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18359 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18360 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18361 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18363 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18364 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18365 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18366 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18367 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18368 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18370 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18371 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18372 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18373 in the group buffer.
18375 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18376 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18381 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18384 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18388 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18389 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18390 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18391 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group and
18392 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18393 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18394 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18395 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18398 @node Outgoing Messages
18399 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18401 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
18402 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
18403 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18405 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
18406 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
18407 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
18409 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
18410 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
18411 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
18412 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
18415 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
18416 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
18417 ask you to confirm your action (see
18418 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
18420 @node Agent Variables
18421 @subsection Agent Variables
18426 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
18427 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
18428 automatically mark some backends as agentized. You may change which
18429 backends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
18431 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
18432 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
18435 @item gnus-agent-directory
18436 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18437 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18438 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18440 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18441 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18442 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18443 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18444 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18447 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18448 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18449 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18451 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18452 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18453 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18455 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18456 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18457 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18459 @item gnus-agent-cache
18460 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18461 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18462 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18463 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18465 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18466 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18467 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18468 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18469 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18470 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18471 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18474 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18475 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18476 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18477 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18478 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18479 read. The default is t.
18481 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18482 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18483 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18484 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
18485 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
18486 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
18487 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
18488 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
18489 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
18490 over and over again.
18492 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18493 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18494 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18495 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18496 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18497 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18498 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18499 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18500 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18501 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18502 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18503 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18506 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18507 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18508 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18509 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18510 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18511 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18512 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18513 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18514 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18516 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18517 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18518 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
18519 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18520 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18521 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18523 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18524 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18525 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18526 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18527 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18529 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
18530 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
18531 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
18532 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
18533 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
18534 mail. The default is @code{t}.
18536 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
18537 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
18538 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
18539 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
18540 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
18542 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18543 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18544 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
18545 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
18546 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
18547 which backends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
18548 to agentize remote backends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
18549 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
18550 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
18551 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
18552 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
18557 @node Example Setup
18558 @subsection Example Setup
18560 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18561 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18562 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18565 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18566 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18567 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18569 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18570 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18571 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18573 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18574 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18576 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18577 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18578 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18581 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18582 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18585 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18586 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18587 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18588 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18589 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18592 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18593 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18594 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18595 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18596 back all the killed groups.)
18598 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18599 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18600 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18603 @node Batching Agents
18604 @subsection Batching Agents
18605 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18607 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18608 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18609 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18611 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18612 following incantation:
18616 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18620 @node Agent Caveats
18621 @subsection Agent Caveats
18623 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18624 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18628 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18630 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18631 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18632 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18634 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18635 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18637 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18641 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18642 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18643 locally stored articles.
18650 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18651 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18652 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18655 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18656 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18657 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18658 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18659 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18661 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18662 before generating the summary buffer.
18664 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18665 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18666 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18668 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18669 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18670 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18671 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18674 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18675 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18676 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18677 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18678 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18679 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18680 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18681 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18682 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18683 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18684 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18685 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18686 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18687 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18688 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18689 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18693 @node Summary Score Commands
18694 @section Summary Score Commands
18695 @cindex score commands
18697 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18698 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18699 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18700 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18701 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18703 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18704 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18705 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18706 score file the current one.
18708 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18713 @kindex V s (Summary)
18714 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18715 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18718 @kindex V S (Summary)
18719 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18720 Display the score of the current article
18721 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18724 @kindex V t (Summary)
18725 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18726 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18727 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18728 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
18729 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
18730 score file and edit it.
18733 @kindex V w (Summary)
18734 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18735 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18738 @kindex V R (Summary)
18739 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18740 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18741 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18742 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18743 effect you're having.
18746 @kindex V c (Summary)
18747 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18748 Make a different score file the current
18749 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18752 @kindex V e (Summary)
18753 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18754 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18755 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18759 @kindex V f (Summary)
18760 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18761 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18762 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18765 @kindex V F (Summary)
18766 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18767 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18768 after editing score files.
18771 @kindex V C (Summary)
18772 @findex gnus-score-customize
18773 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18774 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18778 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18783 @kindex V m (Summary)
18784 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18785 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18786 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18789 @kindex V x (Summary)
18790 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18791 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18792 expunge all articles below this score
18793 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18796 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18797 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18800 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18801 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18805 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18806 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18808 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18809 keys are available:
18813 Score on the author name.
18816 Score on the subject line.
18819 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18822 Score on the @code{References} line.
18828 Score on the number of lines.
18831 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18834 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18835 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18838 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18839 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18840 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18849 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18855 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18856 what headers you are scoring on.
18868 Substring matching.
18871 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18900 Greater than number.
18905 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18906 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18907 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18912 Temporary score entry.
18915 Permanent score entry.
18918 Immediately scoring.
18922 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18923 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18924 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18928 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18929 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18930 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18931 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18933 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18934 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18935 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18936 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18937 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18939 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18940 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18941 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18942 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18943 current score file.
18945 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18946 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18947 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18950 @node Group Score Commands
18951 @section Group Score Commands
18952 @cindex group score commands
18954 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18959 @kindex W e (Group)
18960 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
18961 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
18962 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
18965 @kindex W f (Group)
18966 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18967 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18968 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18969 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18973 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18975 @findex gnus-batch-score
18976 @cindex batch scoring
18978 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18982 @node Score Variables
18983 @section Score Variables
18984 @cindex score variables
18988 @item gnus-use-scoring
18989 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18990 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18991 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18993 @item gnus-kill-killed
18994 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18995 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18996 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18997 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18998 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18999 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19000 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19002 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19003 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19004 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19005 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19006 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19008 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19009 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19010 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19011 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19013 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19014 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19015 @cindex score cache
19016 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19017 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
19018 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19019 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19020 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19021 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19022 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19025 @item gnus-save-score
19026 @vindex gnus-save-score
19027 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19028 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19029 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19031 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19032 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19033 across group visits.
19035 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19036 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19037 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19038 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19039 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19040 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19041 manually entered data.
19043 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19044 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19045 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19047 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19048 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19049 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19050 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19051 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19052 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19054 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19055 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19056 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19057 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19059 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19060 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19061 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19062 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19064 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19065 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19066 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19067 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19069 Predefined functions available are:
19072 @item gnus-score-find-single
19073 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19074 Only apply the group's own score file.
19076 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19077 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19078 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19079 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19080 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19081 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19082 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19083 then a regexp match is done.
19085 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19086 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19088 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19089 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19090 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19091 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19093 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19094 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19095 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19096 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19097 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19101 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19102 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19103 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19104 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19105 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19106 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19107 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19110 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19111 overall score file, you could use the value
19113 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19114 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19117 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19118 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19119 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19120 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19121 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19123 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19124 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19125 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19126 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19127 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19128 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19129 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19130 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19132 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19133 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19134 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19136 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19137 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19138 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19139 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19140 threading---according to the current value of
19141 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19142 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19143 simplified in this manner.
19148 @node Score File Format
19149 @section Score File Format
19150 @cindex score file format
19152 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19153 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19154 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19156 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19160 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19162 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19164 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19166 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19171 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19175 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19176 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19177 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19178 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19182 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19183 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19185 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19186 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19187 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19189 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19194 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19195 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19196 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19197 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19198 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19199 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19200 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19201 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19202 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19203 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19204 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19205 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19206 to articles that matches these score entries.
19208 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19209 score entry has one to four elements.
19213 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19214 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19218 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19219 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19220 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19221 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19222 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19223 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19226 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19227 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19228 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19229 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19230 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19233 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19234 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19235 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19236 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19239 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19240 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19241 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19242 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19243 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19244 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19245 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19246 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19247 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19248 instead, if you feel like.
19251 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19252 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19253 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19254 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19255 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19256 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19260 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19261 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19265 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19266 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19268 These predicates are true if
19271 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19274 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19275 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19282 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19283 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19284 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19285 it's not. I think.)
19287 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19288 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19289 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19290 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19293 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19294 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19295 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
19296 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
19297 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
19298 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
19299 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
19303 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
19304 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
19305 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
19306 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
19307 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
19308 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
19309 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
19310 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
19313 @item Head, Body, All
19314 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
19318 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
19319 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
19320 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
19321 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
19322 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
19323 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
19324 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
19328 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
19329 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
19330 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
19331 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
19332 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
19333 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
19334 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
19335 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
19336 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
19337 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
19338 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
19342 @cindex score file atoms
19344 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19345 lower than this number will be marked as read.
19348 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19349 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
19351 @item mark-and-expunge
19352 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19353 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
19356 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
19357 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
19358 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
19359 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
19360 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
19363 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
19364 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19367 @item exclude-files
19368 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19369 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19373 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19374 ignored when handling global score files.
19377 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19378 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19379 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19380 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19383 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19384 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19385 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19386 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19388 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19392 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19395 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19396 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19397 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19398 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19399 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19401 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19402 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19403 scoring rules exist.
19406 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19407 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19408 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19409 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19410 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19411 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19412 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19413 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19414 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19415 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19416 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19420 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19421 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19422 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19423 file for a number of groups.
19426 @cindex local variables
19427 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19428 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19429 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19430 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19431 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19436 @node Score File Editing
19437 @section Score File Editing
19439 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19440 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19441 with a mode for that.
19443 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19444 additional commands:
19449 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19450 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19451 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19452 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19455 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19456 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19457 Insert the current date in numerical format
19458 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19459 you were wondering.
19462 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19463 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19464 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19465 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19466 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19471 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19473 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19474 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19476 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
19477 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
19480 @node Adaptive Scoring
19481 @section Adaptive Scoring
19482 @cindex adaptive scoring
19484 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19485 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19486 stupidity, to be precise.
19488 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19489 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19490 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19491 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19492 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19493 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19494 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19495 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19496 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19498 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19499 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19500 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19501 might look something like this:
19504 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19505 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19506 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19507 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19508 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19509 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19510 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19511 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19512 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19513 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19514 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19515 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19518 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19519 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19520 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19521 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19522 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19523 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19526 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19527 will be applied to each article.
19529 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19530 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19531 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19532 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19534 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19535 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19536 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19537 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19539 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19540 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19541 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19542 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19544 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19545 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19546 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19547 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19548 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19549 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19551 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19552 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19553 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19555 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19556 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19557 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19559 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19560 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19561 let you use different rules in different groups.
19563 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19564 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19565 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19568 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19569 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19570 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19571 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19572 the length of the match is less than
19573 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19574 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19577 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19578 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19579 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19580 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19581 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19584 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19585 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19586 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19587 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19588 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19591 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19592 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19593 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19594 score with 30 points.
19596 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19597 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19598 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19599 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19600 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19602 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19603 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19604 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19605 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19606 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19608 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19609 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19610 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19611 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19613 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19614 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19615 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19616 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19618 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19619 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19620 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19621 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19622 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19624 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19625 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19626 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19628 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19629 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19630 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19631 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19634 @node Home Score File
19635 @section Home Score File
19637 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19638 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19639 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19640 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19642 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19643 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19644 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19646 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19647 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19652 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19656 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19657 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19661 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19665 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19666 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19669 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19670 be used as the home score file.
19673 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19676 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19681 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19684 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19685 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19688 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19689 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19691 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19693 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19694 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19697 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19698 Other functions include
19701 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19702 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19703 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19704 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19708 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19709 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19710 their own home score files:
19713 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19714 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19715 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19716 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19717 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19720 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19721 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19722 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19723 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19724 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19726 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19727 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19728 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19729 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19730 precedence over this variable.
19733 @node Followups To Yourself
19734 @section Followups To Yourself
19736 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19737 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19738 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19739 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19740 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19741 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19745 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19746 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19747 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19750 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19751 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19752 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19756 @vindex message-sent-hook
19757 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19758 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19760 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19764 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19765 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19769 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19770 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19773 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19774 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19779 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19783 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19784 is system-dependent.
19787 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19788 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19789 @cindex scoring on other headers
19791 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19792 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19793 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19794 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19795 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19797 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19798 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
19799 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
19800 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
19801 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19803 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19806 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19807 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19810 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19811 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19812 time if you have much mail.
19814 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19815 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19821 @section Scoring Tips
19822 @cindex scoring tips
19828 @cindex scoring crossposts
19829 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19830 the @code{Xref} header.
19832 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19835 @item Multiple crossposts
19836 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19837 more than, say, 3 groups:
19840 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19844 @item Matching on the body
19845 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19846 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19847 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19848 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19849 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19850 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19851 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19854 @item Marking as read
19855 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19856 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19857 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19861 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19863 @item Negated character classes
19864 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19865 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19866 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19870 @node Reverse Scoring
19871 @section Reverse Scoring
19872 @cindex reverse scoring
19874 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19875 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19876 like this in your score file:
19880 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19885 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19886 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19889 @node Global Score Files
19890 @section Global Score Files
19891 @cindex global score files
19893 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19894 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19895 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19897 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19898 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19899 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19901 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19902 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19903 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19904 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19905 files are applicable to which group.
19907 To use the score file
19908 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19909 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19913 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19914 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19915 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19918 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19920 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19921 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19922 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19923 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19925 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19926 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19928 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19929 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19930 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19931 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19932 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19933 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19935 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19941 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19943 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19945 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19947 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19948 lowered out of existence.
19950 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19951 articles completely.
19954 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19955 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19956 old articles for a long time.
19959 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19960 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19961 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19962 holding our breath yet?
19966 @section Kill Files
19969 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19970 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19971 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19973 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19974 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19975 files into score files.
19977 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19978 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19979 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19980 that isn't a very good idea.
19982 Normal kill files look like this:
19985 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19986 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19990 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19991 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19993 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19994 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19997 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20002 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20003 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20004 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20007 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20008 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20009 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20012 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20017 @kindex M-k (Group)
20018 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20019 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20022 @kindex M-K (Group)
20023 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20024 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20027 Kill file variables:
20030 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20031 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20032 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20033 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20034 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20035 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20036 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20038 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20039 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20040 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20041 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20044 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20045 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20046 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20047 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20048 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20049 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20050 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20051 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20052 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20054 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20055 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20056 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20061 @node Converting Kill Files
20062 @section Converting Kill Files
20064 @cindex converting kill files
20066 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20067 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20068 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20071 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
20072 You can fetch it from
20073 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20075 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20076 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20077 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20081 @node Advanced Scoring
20082 @section Advanced Scoring
20084 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20085 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20086 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20087 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20088 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20090 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20094 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20095 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20096 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20100 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20101 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20103 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20104 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20105 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20106 non-@code{nil} value.
20108 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20109 operator, and various match operators.
20116 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20117 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20118 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20123 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20124 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20125 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20130 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20131 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20135 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20136 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20137 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20138 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20139 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20140 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20141 the ancestry you want to go.
20143 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20144 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20145 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20146 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20147 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20150 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20151 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20153 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20154 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20157 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20158 when he's talking about Gnus:
20163 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20164 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20171 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20175 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20182 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20183 really don't want to read what he's written:
20187 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20188 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20192 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20193 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20194 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20201 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20202 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20203 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20204 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20208 The possibilities are endless.
20211 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20212 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20214 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20215 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20216 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20217 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20218 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20219 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20220 @samp{subject}) first.
20222 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20223 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20234 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20235 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20241 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20248 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20249 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20254 @section Score Decays
20255 @cindex score decays
20258 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20259 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20260 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20261 use them in any sensible way.
20263 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20264 @findex gnus-decay-score
20265 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20266 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20267 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20268 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20269 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20270 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20271 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20272 definition of that function:
20275 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20276 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20277 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20279 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
20281 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20283 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20284 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
20285 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
20286 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
20287 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
20289 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
20293 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20294 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20295 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20296 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20300 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20303 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20306 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20310 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20311 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20312 the new score, which should be an integer.
20314 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20315 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20320 @include message.texi
20321 @chapter Emacs MIME
20322 @include emacs-mime.texi
20324 @include sieve.texi
20326 @c @include pgg.texi
20328 @c @include sasl.texi
20336 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20337 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20338 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20339 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20340 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20341 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20342 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20343 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20344 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20345 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20346 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20347 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20348 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20349 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20350 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20351 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20352 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20353 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20354 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
20355 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20359 @node Process/Prefix
20360 @section Process/Prefix
20361 @cindex process/prefix convention
20363 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20364 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20366 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20367 command to be performed on.
20371 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20372 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20373 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20374 with the current one.
20376 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20377 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20378 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20380 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20381 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20384 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20385 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20387 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20390 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20391 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20392 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20393 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20395 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20396 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20397 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20398 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20399 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20400 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20401 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20402 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20404 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20405 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20406 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20407 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20408 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20412 @section Interactive
20413 @cindex interaction
20417 @item gnus-novice-user
20418 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20419 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20420 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20421 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20422 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20425 @item gnus-expert-user
20426 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20427 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20428 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20429 matter how strange.
20431 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20432 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20433 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20434 is @code{t} by default.
20436 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20437 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20438 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20443 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20444 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20445 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20447 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20448 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20449 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20450 rule of 900 to the current article.
20452 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20453 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20454 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20455 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20456 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20457 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20458 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20460 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20461 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20462 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20463 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20464 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20465 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20466 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20467 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20468 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20470 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20471 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20472 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20474 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20478 @node Formatting Variables
20479 @section Formatting Variables
20480 @cindex formatting variables
20482 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20483 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20484 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20485 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20486 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20489 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20490 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20491 lots of percentages everywhere.
20494 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20495 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20496 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20497 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20498 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20499 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20500 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20501 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20504 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20505 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20506 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20507 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20508 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20509 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20510 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20511 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20513 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20514 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20516 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20517 @findex gnus-update-format
20518 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20519 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20520 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20521 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20525 @node Formatting Basics
20526 @subsection Formatting Basics
20528 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20529 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20530 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20532 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20533 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20534 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20535 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20536 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20539 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20540 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20541 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20542 less than 4 characters wide.
20544 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20545 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20548 @node Mode Line Formatting
20549 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20551 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20552 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20553 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20554 with the following two differences:
20559 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20562 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20563 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20564 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20565 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20566 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20567 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20568 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20573 @node Advanced Formatting
20574 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20576 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20577 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20578 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20579 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20581 These are the valid modifiers:
20586 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20590 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20595 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20598 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20603 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20606 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20609 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20612 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20618 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20623 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20624 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20625 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20626 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20627 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20628 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20629 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20631 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20632 last operation, padding.
20634 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
20635 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
20636 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
20637 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
20638 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
20639 the look of your lines.
20640 @xref{Compilation}.
20643 @node User-Defined Specs
20644 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20646 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20647 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20648 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20649 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20650 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20651 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20652 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20653 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20654 should protect against that.
20656 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20657 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20659 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20660 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20661 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20662 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20666 @node Formatting Fonts
20667 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20669 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20670 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20671 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20672 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20675 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20676 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20677 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20678 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20679 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20680 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20682 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20683 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20684 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20685 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20686 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20687 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20688 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20689 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20690 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20691 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20692 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20695 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20698 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20699 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20700 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20702 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20703 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20704 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20705 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20706 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20707 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20708 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20710 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20711 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20712 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20715 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20716 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20718 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20719 mode-line variables.
20721 @node Positioning Point
20722 @subsection Positioning Point
20724 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20725 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20726 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20728 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20730 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20731 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20732 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20734 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20735 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20736 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20741 @subsection Tabulation
20743 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20744 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20745 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20746 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20748 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20749 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20751 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20752 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20753 This is the soft tabulator.
20755 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20756 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20757 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20760 @node Wide Characters
20761 @subsection Wide Characters
20763 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20764 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20765 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20767 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20768 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20769 these countries, that's not true.
20771 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20772 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20773 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20774 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20778 @node Window Layout
20779 @section Window Layout
20780 @cindex window layout
20782 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20784 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20785 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20786 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20787 @code{t} by default.
20789 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20790 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20792 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20793 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20794 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20797 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20798 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20799 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20803 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20804 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20805 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20806 possible names is listed below.
20808 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20809 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20812 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20816 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20817 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20818 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20819 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20820 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20821 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20822 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20823 size spec per split.
20825 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20826 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20827 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20828 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20829 present) gets focus.
20831 Here's a more complicated example:
20834 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20835 (summary 0.25 point)
20836 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20840 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20841 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20842 occupy, not a percentage.
20844 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20845 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20846 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20847 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20848 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20851 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20854 (article (horizontal 1.0
20859 (summary 0.25 point)
20864 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20865 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20867 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20868 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20869 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20870 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20871 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20873 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20874 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20875 lines from the splits.
20877 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20882 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20883 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20884 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20885 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20886 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20887 size = number | frame-params
20888 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20892 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20893 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20894 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20895 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20897 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20898 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20899 @cindex window height
20900 @cindex window width
20901 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20902 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20903 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20904 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20905 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20906 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20908 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20909 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20910 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20911 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20913 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20914 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20915 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20916 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20917 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20918 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20919 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20920 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20921 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20922 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20923 configuration list.
20926 (gnus-configure-frame
20930 (article 0.3 point))
20938 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20939 @code{frame} split:
20942 (gnus-configure-frame
20945 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20947 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20948 (user-position . t)
20949 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20954 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20955 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20956 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20957 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20958 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20959 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20960 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20961 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20963 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20964 be found in its default value.
20966 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20967 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20968 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20972 (message (horizontal 1.0
20973 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20975 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20980 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20981 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20982 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20987 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20988 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20989 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20990 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20991 (name . "Message"))
20992 (message 1.0 point))))
20995 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20996 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20997 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20998 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20999 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21002 (gnus-add-configuration
21003 '(article (vertical 1.0
21005 (summary .25 point)
21009 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21010 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21011 Gnus has been loaded.
21013 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21014 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21015 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21016 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21017 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21019 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21020 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21021 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21024 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21028 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21029 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21044 (gnus-add-configuration
21047 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21049 (summary 0.16 point)
21052 (gnus-add-configuration
21055 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21056 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21062 @node Faces and Fonts
21063 @section Faces and Fonts
21068 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21069 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21070 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21075 @section Compilation
21076 @cindex compilation
21077 @cindex byte-compilation
21079 @findex gnus-compile
21081 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21082 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21083 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
21084 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
21085 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
21086 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21087 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21088 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21091 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21092 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21093 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21094 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
21095 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
21098 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
21099 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
21100 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
21101 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
21102 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
21107 @section Mode Lines
21110 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21111 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21112 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21113 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21114 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21115 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21116 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21119 @cindex display-time
21121 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
21122 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
21123 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
21124 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
21125 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
21126 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
21127 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
21128 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
21131 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
21133 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
21134 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
21136 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
21137 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
21138 (length display-time-string)))))
21141 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
21142 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
21143 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
21144 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
21145 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
21148 @node Highlighting and Menus
21149 @section Highlighting and Menus
21151 @cindex highlighting
21154 @vindex gnus-visual
21155 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
21156 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
21157 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
21160 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
21161 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
21164 @item group-highlight
21165 Do highlights in the group buffer.
21166 @item summary-highlight
21167 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
21168 @item article-highlight
21169 Do highlights in the article buffer.
21171 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
21173 Create menus in the group buffer.
21175 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21177 Create menus in the article buffer.
21179 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21181 Create menus in the server buffer.
21183 Create menus in the score buffers.
21185 Create menus in all buffers.
21188 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21189 buffers, you could say something like:
21192 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21195 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21198 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21201 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21202 in all Gnus buffers.
21204 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21207 @item gnus-mouse-face
21208 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21209 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21210 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21214 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21218 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21219 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21220 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21222 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21223 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21224 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21226 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21227 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21228 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21230 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21231 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21232 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21234 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21235 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21236 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21238 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21239 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21240 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21251 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21252 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21253 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21254 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21255 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21259 @vindex gnus-carpal
21260 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21261 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21262 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21267 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21268 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21269 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21271 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21272 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21273 Face used on buttons.
21275 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21276 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21277 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21279 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21280 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21281 Buttons in the group buffer.
21283 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21284 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21285 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21287 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21288 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21289 Buttons in the server buffer.
21291 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21292 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21293 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21296 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21297 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21298 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21306 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21307 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21308 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21309 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21310 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21312 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21313 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21314 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21316 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21317 been idle for thirty minutes:
21320 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21323 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21327 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21330 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
21331 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21332 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21334 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21335 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21336 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21337 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21339 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21340 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21341 @var{idle} minutes.
21343 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21344 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21347 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21348 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21349 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21351 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21352 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21353 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21354 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21356 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21357 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21359 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21361 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21364 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21365 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21366 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21367 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21368 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21369 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21370 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21371 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21372 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21373 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21374 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21376 @findex gnus-demon-init
21377 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21378 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21379 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21380 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21381 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21383 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21384 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21385 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21394 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21395 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21397 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21398 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21399 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21400 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21403 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21404 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21405 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21406 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21408 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21409 this will make spam disappear.
21411 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21414 @item gnus-use-nocem
21415 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21416 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21419 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21420 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21421 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21424 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21425 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21428 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21429 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21430 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21431 people you want to listen to. The default is
21433 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21434 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21436 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21438 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21439 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21441 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21442 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21443 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21444 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21445 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21446 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21447 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21448 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21449 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21450 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21452 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21453 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21456 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21459 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21460 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21463 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21466 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21469 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21470 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21472 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21473 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21474 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21475 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21477 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21478 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21481 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21483 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21491 This might be dangerous, though.
21493 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21494 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21495 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21496 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21498 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21499 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21500 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21501 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21502 might then see old spam.
21504 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21505 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21506 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21507 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21508 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21511 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21512 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21513 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21514 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21518 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21519 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21520 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21521 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21528 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21529 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21530 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21532 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21533 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21534 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21535 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21536 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21537 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21538 @code{undo} function.
21540 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21541 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21542 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21543 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21544 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21545 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21546 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21547 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21548 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21549 never be totally undoable.
21551 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21552 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21554 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21555 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21556 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21557 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21561 @node Predicate Specifiers
21562 @section Predicate Specifiers
21563 @cindex predicate specifiers
21565 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21566 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21567 to type all that much.
21569 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21574 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21575 gnus-article-unread-p)
21578 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21579 functions all take one parameter.
21581 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21582 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21583 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21584 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21589 @section Moderation
21592 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21593 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21594 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21597 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21601 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21604 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21606 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21611 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21612 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21613 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21616 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21617 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21620 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21621 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21625 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21628 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21629 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21633 @node Image Enhancements
21634 @section Image Enhancements
21636 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
21637 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
21638 taken advantage of that.
21641 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21642 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
21643 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21644 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21645 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21653 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21654 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21655 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21659 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21660 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21661 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21669 Gnus now uses the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program for
21670 decoding an @code{X-Face} header normally in Emacs. While it doesn't
21671 require any other external program, you may feel it is slow if you are
21672 using a slow machine. In such a case, you can modify the following
21676 @item uncompface-use-external
21677 @vindex uncompface-use-external
21678 Specify which of the internal or the external decoder should be used.
21679 @code{nil} means to use the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface}
21680 program. @code{t} means to use the external decoder. The default value
21681 is normally @code{undecided} which means to determine it by checking
21682 whether the host machine is slow, being controlled by
21683 @code{uncompface-use-external-threshold} (which see).
21685 @item uncompface-use-external-threshold
21686 @vindex uncompface-use-external-threshold
21687 @vindex uncompface-use-external-threshold
21688 A number of seconds to check whether the host machine is slow. If the
21689 host takes time larger than this value for decoding an @code{X-Face}
21690 using the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program, it will be
21691 changed to using the external decoder.
21694 If the internal decoder is invalidated or if you are using XEmacs,
21695 decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21696 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21697 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21698 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21700 The variable that controls this is the
21701 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21702 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21703 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21704 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21705 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21707 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21708 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21709 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21710 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21713 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21714 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21715 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21716 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21717 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21718 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21719 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21720 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21722 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21725 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21726 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21728 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21729 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21730 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21731 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21732 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21733 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21734 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21735 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21736 header data as a string.
21738 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21739 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21740 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21741 randomly generated data.
21743 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21744 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21745 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21746 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21747 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21749 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21750 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21753 (setq message-required-news-headers
21754 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21755 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21758 Using the last function would be something like this:
21761 (setq message-required-news-headers
21762 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21763 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21764 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21765 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21773 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
21775 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
21776 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
21777 represent the author of the message.
21780 @findex gnus-article-display-face
21781 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
21782 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
21785 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21786 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
21788 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
21789 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
21790 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
21792 @findex gnus-face-from-file
21793 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
21794 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
21795 converts the file to Face format by using the
21796 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
21798 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
21799 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21802 (setq message-required-news-headers
21803 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21804 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
21805 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
21810 @subsection Smileys
21815 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21820 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21821 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21823 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21824 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21827 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21830 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21831 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21832 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21833 text and maps that to file names.
21835 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21836 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21837 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21838 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21839 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21842 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21847 @item smiley-data-directory
21848 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21849 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21851 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21852 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21853 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21867 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21868 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
21869 over your shoulder as you read news.
21871 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21880 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21881 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21882 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21883 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21884 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21885 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21886 @code{GIF} formats.
21889 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21890 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21891 point your Web browser at
21892 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21894 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21895 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21897 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21898 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21901 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21905 @item gnus-picon-databases
21906 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21907 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21908 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21909 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21910 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21912 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21913 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21914 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21915 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21917 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21918 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21919 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21920 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21922 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21923 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21924 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21925 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21926 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21928 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21929 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21930 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21931 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
21937 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21940 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21941 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21942 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21943 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21944 unusual directory structure.
21946 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21947 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21948 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21949 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21951 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21952 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21953 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21954 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21955 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21956 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21958 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21959 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21960 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21965 @subsubsection Toolbar
21969 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21970 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21971 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21972 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21973 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21975 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21976 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21977 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21979 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21980 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21981 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21983 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21984 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21985 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21996 @node Fuzzy Matching
21997 @section Fuzzy Matching
21998 @cindex fuzzy matching
22000 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22001 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22003 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22004 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22005 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22007 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22008 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22009 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22010 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22011 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22014 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22015 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22019 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22021 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22022 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22023 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22024 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22025 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22026 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22027 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22028 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22031 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22032 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22033 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22034 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22035 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22036 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22038 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22041 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22042 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22043 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22044 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22045 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22046 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22049 @node The problem of spam
22050 @subsection The problem of spam
22052 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22053 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22055 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22057 First, some background on spam.
22059 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22060 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
22061 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
22062 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
22063 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
22064 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
22065 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
22066 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
22067 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22069 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22070 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22071 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22072 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22073 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22074 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22075 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22076 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22077 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22080 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
22081 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
22082 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
22083 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
22084 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
22085 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
22086 from Bulgarian IPs.
22088 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
22089 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
22090 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
22091 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
22093 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
22094 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
22095 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
22096 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
22098 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
22099 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
22100 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
22101 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
22102 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
22103 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
22104 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
22105 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
22106 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
22108 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
22109 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
22110 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
22111 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
22112 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
22113 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
22114 down for some time because of the incident.
22116 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
22117 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
22118 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
22119 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
22120 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
22121 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
22122 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
22123 to store the database of spam analyses. Statistical analysis on the
22124 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
22125 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
22126 the server that it has misclassified mail.
22128 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
22129 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
22130 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
22131 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
22132 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
22133 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
22134 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
22137 @node Anti-Spam Basics
22138 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
22142 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22144 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
22145 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
22147 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
22148 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
22149 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
22150 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
22151 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
22152 part of the mail address.)
22155 (setq message-default-news-headers
22156 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
22159 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22160 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22164 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
22165 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
22166 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
22171 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
22172 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
22173 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
22174 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
22176 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
22177 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
22178 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
22179 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
22180 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
22181 your fancy split rule in this way:
22186 (to "larsi" "misc")
22190 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
22191 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
22192 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
22193 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
22194 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
22196 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
22197 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
22198 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
22199 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
22201 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
22205 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
22206 @cindex SpamAssassin
22207 @cindex Vipul's Razor
22210 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
22211 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
22212 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
22213 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
22214 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
22215 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
22216 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
22218 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
22219 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
22220 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
22223 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
22224 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
22225 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
22226 Specifiers}) follow.
22230 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
22234 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
22237 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
22238 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
22239 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
22242 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
22246 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22249 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
22250 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
22254 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
22255 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
22256 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
22257 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
22260 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
22262 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
22266 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22267 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22271 Note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will not be
22272 downloaded by default. You need to set
22273 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
22274 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
22276 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22277 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22278 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22281 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22282 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22284 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22285 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22286 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22290 @subsection Hashcash
22293 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22294 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22295 you cannot rely on everyone in the world using this technique,
22296 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22297 in smaller communities.
22299 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22300 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22301 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22302 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22303 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22304 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
22305 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22306 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22307 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22308 one of them separately.
22311 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22312 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22313 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22314 header. For more details, and for the external application
22315 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22316 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22317 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22319 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22323 (require 'hashcash)
22324 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22327 The @file{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22328 contrib directory or at
22329 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22331 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22335 @item hashcash-default-payment
22336 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22337 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22338 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22339 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22341 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22342 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22343 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22344 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22345 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22346 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22347 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22348 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22349 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22353 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22357 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22358 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22359 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22360 a useful contribution, however.
22362 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22363 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22364 @cindex spam filtering
22367 The idea behind @file{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22368 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @file{spam.el} does two things: it
22369 filters new mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22370 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @file{spam.el} to indicate
22373 First of all, you @strong{must} run the function
22374 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @code{spam.el} and to install the
22375 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
22376 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
22377 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
22380 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
22384 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
22386 First, some hooks will get installed by @code{spam-initialize}. There
22387 are some hooks for @code{spam-stat} so it can save its databases, and
22388 there are hooks so interesting things will happen when you enter and
22389 leave a group. More on the sequence of events later (@pxref{Spam
22390 ELisp Package Sequence of Events}).
22392 You get the following keyboard commands:
22402 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22403 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22405 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22406 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22407 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22408 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22414 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22415 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22417 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22423 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22424 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22428 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
22429 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
22430 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
22431 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
22432 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22433 * BBDB Whitelists::
22434 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
22435 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
22437 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22439 * ifile spam filtering::
22440 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22442 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
22445 @node Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22446 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22447 @cindex spam filtering
22448 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
22451 You must read this section to understand how @code{spam.el} works.
22452 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
22454 There are two @emph{contact points}, if you will, between
22455 @code{spam.el} and the rest of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and
22458 Getting new mail is done in one of two ways. You can either split
22459 your incoming mail or you can classify new articles as ham or spam
22460 when you enter the group.
22462 Splitting incoming mail is better suited to mail backends such as
22463 @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap} where new mail appears in a single file
22464 called a @dfn{Spool File}. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Filtering of
22467 For backends such as @code{nntp} there is no incoming mail spool, so
22468 an alternate mechanism must be used. This may also happen for
22469 backends where the server is in charge of splitting incoming mail, and
22470 Gnus does not do further splitting. The @code{spam-autodetect} and
22471 @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameters (accessible with
22472 @kbd{G c} and @kbd{G p} as usual), and the corresponding variables
22473 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect} and
22474 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods} (accessible with @kbd{M-x
22475 customize-variable} as usual).
22477 When @code{spam-autodetect} is used, it hooks into the process of
22478 entering a group. Thus, entering a group with unseen or unread
22479 articles becomes the substitute for checking incoming mail. Whether
22480 only unseen articles or all unread articles will be processed is
22481 determined by the @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages}. When set
22482 to @code{t}, unread messages will be rechecked.
22484 @code{spam-autodetect} grants the user at once more and less control
22485 of spam filtering. The user will have more control over each group's
22486 spam methods, so for instance the @samp{ding} group may have
22487 @code{spam-use-BBDB} as the autodetection method, while the
22488 @samp{suspect} group may have the @code{spam-use-blacklist} and
22489 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods enabled. Every article detected to
22490 be spam will be marked with the spam mark @samp{$} and processed on
22491 exit from the group as normal spam. The user has less control over
22492 the @emph{sequence} of checks, as he might with @code{spam-split}.
22494 When the newly split mail goes into groups, or messages are
22495 autodetected to be ham or spam, those groups must be exited (after
22496 entering, if needed) for further spam processing to happen. It
22497 matters whether the group is considered a ham group, a spam group, or
22498 is unclassified, based on its @code{spam-content} parameter
22499 (@pxref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). Spam groups have the
22500 additional characteristic that, when entered, any unseen or unread
22501 articles (depending on the @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam}
22502 variable) will be marked as spam. Thus, mail split into a spam group
22503 gets automatically marked as spam when you enter the group.
22505 So, when you exit a group, the @code{spam-processors} are applied, if
22506 any are set, and the processed mail is moved to the
22507 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination}
22508 depending on the article's classification. If the
22509 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination},
22510 whichever is appropriate, are @code{nil}, the article is left in the
22513 If a spam is found in any group (this can be changed to only non-spam
22514 groups with @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only}), it is
22515 processed by the active @code{spam-processors} (@pxref{Spam ELisp
22516 Package Global Variables}) when the group is exited. Furthermore, the
22517 spam is moved to the @code{spam-process-destination} (@pxref{Spam
22518 ELisp Package Global Variables}) for further training or deletion.
22519 You have to load the @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22520 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want spam to be processed
22521 no more than once. Thus, spam is detected and processed everywhere,
22522 which is what most people want. If the
22523 @code{spam-process-destination} is @code{nil}, the spam is marked as
22524 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
22526 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22527 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22529 If a ham mail is found in a ham group, as determined by the
22530 @code{ham-marks} parameter, it is processed as ham by the active ham
22531 @code{spam-processor} when the group is exited. With the variables
22532 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
22533 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} the behavior can be further
22534 altered so ham found anywhere can be processed. You have to load the
22535 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22536 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want ham to be processed
22537 no more than once. Thus, ham is detected and processed only when
22538 necessary, which is what most people want. More on this in
22539 @xref{Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples}.
22541 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22542 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22544 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
22545 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
22546 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
22548 @node Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22549 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22550 @cindex spam filtering
22551 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
22554 To use the @file{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22555 must add the following to your fancy split list
22556 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22562 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22563 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22564 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22566 Also, @code{spam-split} will not modify incoming mail in any way.
22568 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22569 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22570 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22571 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
22572 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
22573 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
22574 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
22575 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
22576 actually give you the group
22577 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
22578 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
22580 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
22581 e.g. @code{spam-use-regex-headers} or @code{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
22584 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
22585 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
22588 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22589 (any "ding" "ding")
22591 ;; @r{default mailbox}
22595 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
22596 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
22597 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
22598 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
22599 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
22600 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
22602 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
22603 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
22604 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
22609 ;; @r{all spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
22610 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22611 (any "ding" "ding")
22612 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
22614 ;; @r{default mailbox}
22618 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
22619 your particular needs, and to target the results of those checks to a
22620 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
22621 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
22622 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
22623 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
22624 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
22626 You should still have specific checks such as
22627 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you
22628 specifically invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is
22629 that when loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done
22630 depending on what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. This
22631 is usually not critical, though.
22633 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22635 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22636 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22637 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
22638 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22639 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22640 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22641 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and
22642 that is not an appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user.
22644 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22646 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22647 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22650 @node Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22651 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22652 @cindex spam filtering
22653 @cindex spam filtering variables
22654 @cindex spam variables
22657 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
22658 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22659 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22660 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22661 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22662 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22663 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22664 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22665 will be detected later.
22667 The format of the spam or ham processor entry used to be a symbol,
22668 but now it is a @sc{cons} cell. See the individual spam processor entries
22669 for more information.
22671 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22672 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22673 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22674 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22675 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22676 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22677 by customizing the corresponding variable
22678 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22679 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22680 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22681 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22682 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22683 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22684 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22687 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
22689 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22690 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
22691 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
22692 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
22693 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
22694 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
22695 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
22696 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
22697 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
22698 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
22699 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
22700 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
22701 processor which will study them as spam samples.
22703 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22704 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
22705 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22706 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22707 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22708 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22709 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22710 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
22713 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22714 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
22715 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
22716 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
22717 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
22718 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
22719 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
22724 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22725 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
22726 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
22727 you really want to.
22730 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22731 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22732 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22733 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22734 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22735 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22738 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
22739 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22740 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22741 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22742 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22743 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22744 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22745 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22746 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
22747 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
22748 newsgroup specification has the format @code{(@var{regexp}
22749 @var{processor})} in a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
22750 the variable manually. The ultimate location is a group name or
22751 names. If the @code{ham-process-destination} parameter is not set,
22752 ham articles are left in place. If the
22753 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
22754 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
22756 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22757 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22759 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
22760 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
22761 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
22763 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22764 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22766 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
22767 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
22768 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
22769 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
22770 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
22772 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
22773 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
22774 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
22775 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
22776 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
22779 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
22780 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22781 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22782 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22783 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22784 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22785 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
22786 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each newsgroup specification has
22787 the repeated format @code{(@var{regexp} @var{group})} and they are all
22788 in a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable
22789 manually. The ultimate location is a group name or names. If the
22790 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
22791 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
22792 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
22793 group buffer then you need it here as well.
22795 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22796 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22798 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
22799 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
22802 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
22803 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
22804 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
22805 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
22806 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
22807 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
22808 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
22810 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
22811 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
22812 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
22813 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
22815 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
22816 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
22817 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
22818 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
22819 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
22820 from the mail server.
22822 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
22823 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
22824 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
22825 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
22827 @node Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
22828 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
22829 @cindex spam filtering
22830 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
22831 @cindex spam configuration examples
22834 @subsubheading Ted's setup
22836 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
22838 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
22839 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
22840 (gnus-registry-initialize)
22843 ;; @r{I like @kbd{C-s} for marking spam}
22844 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map "\C-s" 'gnus-summary-mark-as-spam)
22847 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
22849 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
22850 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
22851 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22852 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
22853 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
22854 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
22855 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
22856 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
22857 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
22858 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
22859 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22860 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
22861 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
22862 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
22863 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22864 (any "ding" "ding")
22865 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
22867 ;; @r{default mailbox}
22870 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
22872 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
22873 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
22874 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
22875 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
22877 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
22879 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
22880 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
22881 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
22882 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
22883 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
22885 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
22886 ((spam-autodetect . t))
22888 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
22890 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
22891 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
22893 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
22894 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
22895 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
22897 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
22899 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
22900 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
22902 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
22903 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
22904 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
22906 (gnus-ticked-mark))
22907 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
22908 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
22909 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
22911 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
22912 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
22913 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
22917 @subsubheading Using @file{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
22918 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
22920 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
22921 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
22922 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
22923 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
22924 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
22925 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
22926 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
22927 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
22928 @samp{training.spam} folders.
22930 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
22931 does most of the job for me:
22934 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
22935 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
22936 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
22937 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
22938 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
22939 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
22940 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
22945 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
22947 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
22948 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
22949 bogofilter or DCC).
22951 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
22952 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
22953 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark (@code{ham-marks},
22954 @ref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). On group exit, those
22955 messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want to have
22956 the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter) and
22957 deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
22959 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
22960 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
22961 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
22962 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
22963 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
22964 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
22966 @item @b{Ham folders:}
22968 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
22969 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
22970 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
22971 @samp{training.ham}.
22974 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
22976 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
22978 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
22979 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
22980 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
22984 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
22987 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
22988 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
22989 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
22990 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
22991 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
22993 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22994 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22995 @cindex spam filtering
22996 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22997 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
23000 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
23002 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
23003 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
23004 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
23005 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
23010 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
23012 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
23013 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
23014 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23015 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
23016 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23020 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
23022 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
23023 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23024 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
23028 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
23030 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23031 customizing the group parameters or the
23032 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23033 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23034 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
23038 Instead of the obsolete
23039 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
23040 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
23041 the same way, we promise.
23045 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
23047 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23048 customizing the group parameters or the
23049 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23050 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23051 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23052 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
23053 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23057 Instead of the obsolete
23058 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
23059 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
23060 the same way, we promise.
23064 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
23065 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
23066 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
23067 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
23068 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
23070 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
23071 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
23072 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
23073 Emacs regular expression syntax.
23075 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
23076 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
23077 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
23078 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
23079 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
23080 @file{blacklist} respectively.
23082 @node BBDB Whitelists
23083 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
23084 @cindex spam filtering
23085 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
23086 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
23089 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
23091 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23092 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
23093 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
23094 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
23095 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23096 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
23097 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23101 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
23103 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
23104 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23105 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
23106 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
23107 classified as spammers.
23111 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
23113 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23114 customizing the group parameters or the
23115 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23116 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23117 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23118 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
23119 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23123 Instead of the obsolete
23124 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
23125 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
23126 the same way, we promise.
23130 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
23131 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
23132 @cindex spam reporting
23133 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23134 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23137 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
23139 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23140 customizing the group parameters or the
23141 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23142 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23143 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
23146 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
23150 Instead of the obsolete
23151 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
23152 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
23153 same way, we promise.
23157 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
23159 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
23160 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
23161 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
23162 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
23163 @code{spam-report.el} will use the @code{X-Report-Spam} header that
23168 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23169 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23170 @cindex spam filtering
23171 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
23174 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
23176 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23177 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
23178 instead of the sender address. You must have the @code{hashcash.el}
23179 package loaded for @code{spam-use-hashcash} to work properly.
23180 Messages without a hashcash payment token will be sent to the next
23181 spam-split rule. This is an explicit filter, meaning that unless a
23182 hashcash token is found, the messages are not assumed to be spam or
23188 @subsubsection Blackholes
23189 @cindex spam filtering
23190 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
23193 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
23195 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
23196 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
23197 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
23198 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
23199 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
23200 contains outdated servers.
23202 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
23203 @file{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
23204 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
23205 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
23206 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
23207 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
23211 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
23213 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
23217 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
23219 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
23220 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
23224 @defvar spam-use-dig
23226 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
23227 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
23231 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
23232 ham processor for blackholes.
23234 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
23235 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
23236 @cindex spam filtering
23237 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
23240 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
23242 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
23243 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
23244 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
23245 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
23246 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
23247 message is spam or ham, respectively.
23251 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
23253 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23254 the message, positively identify it as spam.
23258 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
23260 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23261 the message, positively identify it as ham.
23265 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
23266 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
23269 @subsubsection Bogofilter
23270 @cindex spam filtering
23271 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
23274 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
23276 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23279 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
23280 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
23281 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
23282 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
23283 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
23284 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
23286 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
23287 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
23290 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
23291 processing will be turned off.
23293 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
23297 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
23299 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23300 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
23301 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
23302 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
23303 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
23304 installation documents for details.
23306 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
23310 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
23311 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23312 customizing the group parameters or the
23313 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23314 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
23315 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
23319 Instead of the obsolete
23320 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23321 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23322 the same way, we promise.
23325 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
23326 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23327 customizing the group parameters or the
23328 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23329 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23330 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
23331 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
23332 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23336 Instead of the obsolete
23337 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23338 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23339 the same way, we promise.
23342 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
23344 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
23345 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
23346 database directory.
23350 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
23351 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23352 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
23353 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
23354 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
23355 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
23357 @node ifile spam filtering
23358 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
23359 @cindex spam filtering
23360 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
23363 @defvar spam-use-ifile
23365 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
23366 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
23370 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
23372 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
23373 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
23374 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
23378 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
23380 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
23381 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
23382 the default value of @samp{spam}.
23385 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
23387 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
23388 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
23392 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
23393 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23394 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
23395 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
23398 @node spam-stat spam filtering
23399 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
23400 @cindex spam filtering
23401 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
23405 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
23407 @defvar spam-use-stat
23409 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
23410 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
23414 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
23415 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23416 customizing the group parameters or the
23417 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23418 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23419 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
23423 Instead of the obsolete
23424 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23425 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23426 the same way, we promise.
23429 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
23430 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23431 customizing the group parameters or the
23432 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23433 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23434 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
23435 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
23436 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23440 Instead of the obsolete
23441 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23442 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23443 the same way, we promise.
23446 This enables @file{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
23447 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
23448 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
23449 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
23450 @code{spam-split} are provided.
23453 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
23454 @cindex spam filtering
23458 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
23459 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
23460 installed separately.
23462 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
23463 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
23464 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
23465 mail as a spam mail or not.
23467 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
23468 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
23469 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
23471 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
23472 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
23474 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
23475 To enable SpamOracle usage by @file{spam.el}, set the variable
23476 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
23477 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
23478 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
23479 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
23480 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
23481 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
23485 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
23486 spam-split-group "Junk"
23487 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
23488 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23489 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
23492 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
23493 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
23497 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
23498 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
23499 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
23503 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
23504 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
23505 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
23506 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
23507 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
23508 database to live somewhere special, set
23509 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
23512 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
23513 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
23514 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
23515 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
23516 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
23517 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
23518 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @file{spam.el}'s
23519 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
23520 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
23521 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
23523 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
23524 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23525 customizing the group parameter or the
23526 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23527 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
23528 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
23532 Instead of the obsolete
23533 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23534 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23535 the same way, we promise.
23538 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
23539 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23540 customizing the group parameter or the
23541 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23542 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
23543 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
23544 messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam} or
23545 @emph{unclassified} groups.
23549 Instead of the obsolete
23550 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23551 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23552 the same way, we promise.
23555 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
23556 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
23559 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
23560 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
23561 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
23563 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
23564 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
23565 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
23566 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
23567 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
23568 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
23570 @node Extending the Spam ELisp package
23571 @subsubsection Extending the Spam ELisp package
23572 @cindex spam filtering
23573 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
23574 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
23576 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
23577 incoming mail, provide the following:
23585 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
23586 "True if blackbox should be used.")
23591 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
23593 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
23597 (gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox ham spam-use-blackbox)
23598 (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox spam spam-use-blackbox)
23601 to @code{spam-list-of-processors}.
23605 (spam-use-blackbox spam-blackbox-register-routine
23607 spam-blackbox-unregister-routine
23611 to @code{spam-registration-functions}. Write the register/unregister
23612 routines using the bogofilter register/unregister routines as a
23613 start, or other restister/unregister routines more appropriate to
23619 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
23620 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other
23621 conventions. See the existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for
23622 examples of what you can do, and stick to the template unless you
23623 fully understand the reasons why you aren't.
23625 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
23626 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
23627 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
23631 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
23638 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
23639 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
23641 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
23642 variables. Instead the form @code{'(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
23643 @code{'(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
23644 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
23647 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
23648 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
23649 Only applicable to spam groups.")
23651 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
23652 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
23653 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
23662 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
23663 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
23665 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
23666 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
23667 variable customization.
23671 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
23673 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
23679 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23680 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23681 @cindex Paul Graham
23682 @cindex Graham, Paul
23683 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
23684 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
23685 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
23687 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
23688 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
23689 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
23690 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
23691 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
23692 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
23693 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
23694 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
23695 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
23698 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
23699 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
23700 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
23701 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
23702 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
23703 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
23704 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
23705 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
23707 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
23708 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
23709 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
23710 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
23711 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
23714 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
23715 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
23716 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
23719 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23720 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23722 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
23723 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
23724 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
23725 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
23726 need several hundred emails in both collections.
23728 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
23729 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
23730 per mail. Use the following:
23732 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
23733 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
23734 is treated as one spam mail.
23737 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
23738 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
23739 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
23742 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
23743 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
23744 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
23745 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
23746 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
23747 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
23749 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
23750 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
23751 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
23752 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
23753 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
23756 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
23757 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
23758 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
23759 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
23762 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
23763 reset the dictionary.
23765 @defun spam-stat-reset
23766 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
23769 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
23770 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
23771 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
23772 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
23773 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
23774 only non-spam mails.
23776 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
23777 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
23778 to update the dictionary incrementally.
23781 @defun spam-stat-save
23782 Save the dictionary.
23785 @defvar spam-stat-file
23786 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
23787 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
23790 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
23791 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
23793 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
23794 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23797 (require 'spam-stat)
23801 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
23804 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
23805 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
23806 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
23807 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
23809 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
23810 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
23811 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
23812 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
23815 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23816 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23820 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
23821 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
23824 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
23825 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
23826 expression are considered potential spam.
23829 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23830 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23831 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23835 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
23836 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
23837 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
23838 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
23839 mails, when creating the dictionary!
23842 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23843 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23844 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23848 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
23849 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
23850 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
23851 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
23852 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
23856 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23857 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
23858 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23859 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23864 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23865 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23867 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
23869 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
23870 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
23871 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23874 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
23875 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
23876 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23879 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
23880 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
23881 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
23882 already been processed as non-spam.
23885 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
23886 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
23887 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
23888 been processed as spam.
23891 @defun spam-stat-save
23892 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
23893 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23896 @defun spam-stat-load
23897 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
23898 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23901 @defun spam-stat-score-word
23902 Return the spam score for a word.
23905 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
23906 Return the spam score for a buffer.
23909 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
23910 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
23911 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23914 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
23915 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23918 (require 'spam-stat)
23922 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
23925 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23926 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23927 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23928 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23929 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23930 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23931 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23932 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23933 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23934 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23935 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23936 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23937 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23938 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23941 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
23944 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23945 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23946 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23947 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
23948 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23949 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23953 @section Interaction with other modes
23958 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provided some useful functions for dired
23959 buffers. It is enabled with
23961 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
23966 @findex gnus-dired-attach
23967 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
23968 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
23971 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
23972 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
23973 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
23977 @findex gnus-dired-print
23978 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
23979 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
23982 @node Various Various
23983 @section Various Various
23989 @item gnus-home-directory
23990 @vindex gnus-home-directory
23991 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
23992 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
23994 @item gnus-directory
23995 @vindex gnus-directory
23996 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
23997 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
23998 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
24000 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
24001 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
24002 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
24003 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
24005 @item gnus-default-directory
24006 @vindex gnus-default-directory
24007 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
24008 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
24009 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
24010 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
24011 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
24012 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
24015 @vindex gnus-verbose
24016 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
24017 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
24018 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
24019 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
24020 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
24022 @item gnus-verbose-backends
24023 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
24024 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
24025 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
24027 @item nnheader-max-head-length
24028 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
24029 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
24030 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
24031 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
24032 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
24033 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
24034 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
24035 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
24036 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
24038 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
24039 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
24040 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
24041 read when doing the operation described above.
24043 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24044 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24046 @cindex invalid characters in file names
24047 @cindex characters in file names
24048 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
24049 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
24050 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
24054 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24059 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
24060 Windows (phooey) systems.
24062 @item gnus-hidden-properties
24063 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
24064 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
24065 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
24066 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
24068 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
24069 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
24070 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
24071 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
24072 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
24074 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
24075 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
24076 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
24078 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24079 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24081 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
24082 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
24083 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
24084 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
24087 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
24095 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
24096 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
24098 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
24100 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
24106 Not because of victories @*
24109 but for the common sunshine,@*
24111 the largess of the spring.
24115 but for the day's work done@*
24116 as well as I was able;@*
24117 not for a seat upon the dais@*
24118 but at the common table.@*
24123 @chapter Appendices
24126 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
24127 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
24128 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
24129 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
24130 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
24131 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
24132 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
24133 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
24134 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
24141 @cindex installing under XEmacs
24143 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
24144 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
24145 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
24146 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
24147 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{w3},
24148 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
24155 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
24156 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
24158 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
24159 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
24160 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
24161 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
24162 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
24164 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
24165 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
24166 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
24167 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
24168 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
24169 appropriate name, don't you think?)
24171 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
24172 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
24173 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
24174 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
24177 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
24178 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
24179 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
24180 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
24181 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
24182 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
24183 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
24184 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
24185 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
24189 @node Gnus Versions
24190 @subsection Gnus Versions
24192 @cindex September Gnus
24194 @cindex Quassia Gnus
24195 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
24198 @cindex Gnus versions
24200 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
24201 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
24202 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
24204 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
24205 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
24207 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
24208 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
24210 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
24211 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
24213 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
24214 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
24217 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
24219 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
24220 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
24221 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
24222 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
24223 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
24224 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
24227 @node Other Gnus Versions
24228 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
24231 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
24232 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
24233 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
24234 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
24236 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
24237 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
24238 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
24239 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
24246 What's the point of Gnus?
24248 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
24249 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
24250 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
24251 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
24252 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
24253 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
24254 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
24255 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
24256 keep track of millions of people who post?
24258 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
24259 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
24260 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
24261 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
24262 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
24263 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
24264 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
24265 every one of you to explore and invent.
24267 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
24268 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
24271 @node Compatibility
24272 @subsection Compatibility
24274 @cindex compatibility
24275 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
24276 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
24277 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
24282 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
24286 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
24289 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
24292 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
24293 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
24294 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
24295 important variables have their values copied into their global
24296 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
24297 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
24299 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
24300 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
24301 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
24302 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
24303 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
24307 @cindex highlighting
24308 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
24309 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
24310 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
24311 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
24312 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
24313 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
24316 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
24317 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
24318 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
24319 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
24321 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
24322 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
24323 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
24324 to stop doing it the old way.
24326 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
24328 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24330 @cindex reporting bugs
24332 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
24333 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
24334 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
24336 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
24337 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
24338 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
24339 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
24344 @subsection Conformity
24346 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
24347 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
24355 There are no known breaches of this standard.
24359 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
24361 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
24362 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
24363 We do have some breaches to this one.
24369 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
24370 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
24371 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
24372 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
24373 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
24378 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
24379 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
24380 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
24381 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
24383 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
24384 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
24385 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
24387 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
24388 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
24390 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
24393 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
24394 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
24395 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
24396 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
24397 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
24400 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
24401 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
24402 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
24403 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
24405 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
24406 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
24408 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
24409 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
24410 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
24411 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
24412 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
24413 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
24414 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
24415 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
24419 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
24420 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
24425 @subsection Emacsen
24431 Gnus should work on:
24439 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
24443 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
24444 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
24445 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
24446 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
24447 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
24449 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
24450 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
24451 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
24455 @node Gnus Development
24456 @subsection Gnus Development
24458 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
24459 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
24460 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
24461 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
24462 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
24463 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
24464 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
24465 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
24467 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
24468 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
24469 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
24470 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
24471 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
24474 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
24475 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
24476 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
24477 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
24478 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
24480 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
24481 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
24482 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
24483 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
24484 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
24485 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
24486 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
24487 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
24488 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
24489 can't be assumed to do so.
24494 @subsection Contributors
24495 @cindex contributors
24497 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
24498 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
24499 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
24500 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
24501 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
24502 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
24503 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
24504 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
24505 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
24506 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
24508 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
24514 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
24517 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
24518 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
24519 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
24520 functionality and stuff.
24523 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
24524 well as numerous other things).
24527 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
24530 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
24533 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
24536 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
24539 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
24540 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
24543 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
24546 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
24549 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
24552 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
24555 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
24558 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
24561 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
24562 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
24565 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
24568 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
24571 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
24574 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
24578 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
24581 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
24584 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
24587 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
24588 well as autoconf support.
24592 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
24593 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
24595 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
24610 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
24612 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
24616 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
24626 Alexei V. Barantsev,
24641 Massimo Campostrini,
24646 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
24647 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
24651 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
24654 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
24660 Michael Welsh Duggan,
24665 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
24669 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
24677 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
24679 Michelangelo Grigni,
24683 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
24685 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
24687 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
24694 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
24695 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
24696 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
24698 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
24708 Peter Skov Knudsen,
24709 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
24711 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
24712 Thor Kristoffersen,
24715 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
24733 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
24734 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
24741 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
24746 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
24750 John McClary Prevost,
24756 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
24761 Christian von Roques,
24764 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
24771 Philippe Schnoebelen,
24773 Randal L. Schwartz,
24787 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
24792 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
24812 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
24813 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
24814 (550kB and counting).
24816 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
24819 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
24820 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
24824 @subsection New Features
24825 @cindex new features
24828 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
24829 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
24830 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
24831 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
24832 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
24833 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
24834 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
24837 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
24838 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
24839 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
24842 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
24844 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
24849 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
24850 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
24853 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
24854 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
24857 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
24860 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
24861 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
24862 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
24865 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
24866 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
24867 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
24868 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24871 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
24872 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24875 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
24876 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
24877 (@pxref{The Active File}).
24880 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
24881 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
24884 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
24885 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
24886 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24889 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
24890 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
24891 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
24894 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
24895 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
24898 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
24899 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
24902 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
24903 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
24906 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
24907 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24910 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
24911 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
24914 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
24915 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24918 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
24921 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
24922 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
24925 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
24926 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
24929 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
24930 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
24933 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
24936 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
24937 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24940 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
24944 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
24948 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
24949 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
24952 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
24958 @node September Gnus
24959 @subsubsection September Gnus
24963 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
24967 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
24972 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
24973 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
24977 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
24978 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
24982 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
24986 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
24987 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
24990 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
24994 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
24997 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
25000 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
25003 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
25007 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
25008 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
25011 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
25015 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
25019 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
25023 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
25027 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
25030 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
25031 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
25034 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
25038 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
25039 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
25042 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
25045 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
25046 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
25047 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25050 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
25054 The Gnus cache is much faster.
25057 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
25061 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
25062 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
25065 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
25066 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
25069 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
25070 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
25073 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
25074 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
25075 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
25078 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
25079 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
25082 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
25085 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25088 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
25091 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
25094 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
25095 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
25098 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
25102 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
25105 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
25110 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
25113 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
25117 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25120 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
25124 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
25127 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
25130 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
25131 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25134 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
25135 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
25139 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
25140 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
25143 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
25147 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
25148 buffer to allow easier treatment.
25151 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
25154 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
25158 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
25162 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
25163 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
25166 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
25170 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
25171 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25174 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
25175 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25178 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
25182 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25185 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
25188 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
25194 @subsubsection Red Gnus
25196 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
25200 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
25207 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
25210 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
25211 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25214 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
25215 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
25219 Article washing status can be displayed in the
25220 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
25223 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
25226 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
25227 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
25230 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
25234 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
25235 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
25239 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
25240 Server Internals}).
25243 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
25247 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
25250 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
25251 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
25254 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
25255 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
25256 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
25259 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
25260 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25263 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
25264 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
25267 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
25271 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
25272 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25275 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
25276 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25279 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
25283 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
25286 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
25290 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
25291 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25294 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
25295 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25298 A new command for reading collections of documents
25299 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
25300 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
25303 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
25307 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
25308 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
25311 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
25312 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
25313 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
25316 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
25317 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
25321 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
25325 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
25329 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
25334 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
25338 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
25342 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
25343 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
25346 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
25352 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
25354 New features in Gnus 5.6:
25359 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
25360 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
25361 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
25364 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
25365 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
25366 group, which is created automatically.
25369 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
25373 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
25376 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
25377 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
25380 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
25384 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
25387 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
25388 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
25391 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
25394 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
25398 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
25399 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
25402 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
25403 control over simplification.
25406 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
25409 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
25413 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
25416 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
25419 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
25420 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
25421 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
25424 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
25425 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
25428 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
25432 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
25433 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
25436 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
25437 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
25440 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
25444 A history of where mails have been split is available.
25447 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
25450 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
25451 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
25454 A new function for citing in Message has been
25455 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
25458 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
25461 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
25465 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
25466 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
25469 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
25470 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
25473 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
25476 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
25480 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
25481 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
25483 New features in Gnus 5.8:
25488 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
25489 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
25491 If you used procmail like in
25494 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
25495 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
25496 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
25497 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
25500 this now has changed to
25504 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
25508 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
25511 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
25512 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
25515 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
25516 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
25519 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
25520 called to position point.
25523 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
25524 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
25527 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
25528 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
25531 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
25532 subtly different manner.
25535 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
25536 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
25537 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
25540 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
25545 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
25548 New features in Gnus 5.10:
25553 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
25557 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
25558 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
25561 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
25562 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
25565 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
25567 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
25568 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
25569 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
25570 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
25571 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
25572 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
25573 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
25574 isn't save in general.
25579 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
25580 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
25581 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
25582 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
25587 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
25588 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
25589 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
25593 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
25596 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
25601 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
25602 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
25604 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
25605 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
25609 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
25610 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
25613 Retrieval of charters and control messages
25615 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
25616 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
25621 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
25622 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
25623 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
25626 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
25627 decompressed when activated.
25630 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
25631 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
25634 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
25637 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
25638 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
25641 Warn about email replies to news
25643 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
25644 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
25648 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
25649 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
25653 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
25654 opposed to old but unread messages).
25657 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
25658 Gcc articles as read.
25661 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
25664 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
25665 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
25668 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
25669 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
25672 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
25673 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
25676 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
25677 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
25680 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
25682 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
25683 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
25684 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
25685 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
25688 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
25690 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
25691 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
25692 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
25693 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
25694 the second parameter.
25696 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
25697 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
25698 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
25699 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
25700 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
25701 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
25702 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
25703 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
25704 cycle used under Unix systems.
25706 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
25710 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
25712 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
25713 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
25714 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
25715 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
25716 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
25720 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
25722 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
25723 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
25724 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
25725 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
25729 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
25731 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
25732 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
25733 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
25734 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
25736 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
25737 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
25738 message cited below.
25741 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
25744 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
25746 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
25747 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
25748 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
25749 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
25750 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
25753 (setq gnus-parameters
25755 (gnus-show-threads nil)
25756 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
25757 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
25758 (to-group . "\\1"))))
25762 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
25764 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to
25768 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
25770 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
25771 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
25772 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
25773 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
25774 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
25775 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
25776 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
25777 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
25778 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
25781 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
25783 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
25784 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
25785 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
25786 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
25787 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
25788 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
25791 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
25792 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
25796 Improved anti-spam features.
25798 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
25799 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
25800 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
25801 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
25802 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
25805 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
25808 Face headers handling.
25811 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
25812 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
25815 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
25818 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
25820 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
25821 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
25822 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
25823 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
25824 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
25825 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
25826 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
25827 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
25828 when getting new mail, remove the function.
25831 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
25833 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
25834 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
25835 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
25836 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
25837 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
25838 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
25839 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
25840 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
25841 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
25842 was inserted directly.
25845 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
25847 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
25848 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
25854 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
25855 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
25856 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
25857 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
25858 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
25859 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
25860 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
25861 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
25862 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
25863 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
25864 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
25865 behaviour of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
25866 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
25867 is not needed any more.
25870 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
25872 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
25873 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
25874 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
25875 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
25876 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
25880 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
25882 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
25883 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
25886 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
25888 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
25889 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
25890 lisp directory into load-path.
25892 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
25893 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
25896 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
25898 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
25901 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
25903 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
25904 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
25905 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
25906 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
25909 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
25911 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
25913 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
25914 'bbdb-complete-name)
25918 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
25920 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
25921 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
25922 local files as external parts.
25924 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
25925 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
25926 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
25927 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
25928 that support editing.
25931 @code{gnus-default-charset}
25933 The default value is determined from the
25934 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
25935 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
25936 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
25939 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
25941 Add a new format of match like
25943 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
25944 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25946 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
25948 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
25949 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25953 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
25955 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
25956 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
25957 need add those two headers too.
25960 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
25962 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
25963 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
25964 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
25967 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
25968 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
25969 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
25973 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
25975 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
25978 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
25980 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
25983 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
25985 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
25986 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
25987 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
25990 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
25992 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
25996 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
25998 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
25999 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
26000 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
26001 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
26002 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
26003 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
26004 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
26005 The behaviour can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
26008 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
26010 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
26011 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
26012 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
26013 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
26014 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
26017 Extended format specs.
26019 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
26020 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
26021 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
26022 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
26023 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
26024 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
26027 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
26029 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
26030 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
26031 out other articles.
26033 @item Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
26035 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
26036 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
26037 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
26038 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
26041 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
26043 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
26044 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
26045 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
26048 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
26050 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
26051 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
26052 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
26053 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
26054 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
26055 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
26056 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
26057 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
26058 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
26059 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
26060 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
26063 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
26064 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
26067 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
26068 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
26069 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
26070 message, Message Manual}).
26073 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
26074 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
26076 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
26077 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
26078 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
26080 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
26084 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
26085 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
26087 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
26088 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
26089 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
26090 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
26093 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
26096 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
26099 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
26100 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
26103 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
26105 The behaviour for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
26106 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
26107 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
26108 invalidate the digital signature.
26112 @subsubsection No Gnus
26115 New features in No Gnus:
26116 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
26118 @include gnus-news.texi
26124 @section The Manual
26128 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
26129 either @code{texi2dvi}
26131 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
26132 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
26134 to get what you hold in your hands now.
26136 The following conventions have been used:
26141 This is a @samp{string}
26144 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
26147 This is a @file{file}
26150 This is a @code{symbol}
26154 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
26158 (setq flargnoze "yes")
26161 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
26164 (setq flumphel 'yes)
26167 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
26168 ever get them confused.
26172 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
26173 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
26174 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
26175 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
26176 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
26177 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
26178 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
26184 @node On Writing Manuals
26185 @section On Writing Manuals
26187 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
26188 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
26189 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
26190 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
26191 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
26192 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
26195 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
26196 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
26197 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
26200 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
26201 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
26206 @section Terminology
26208 @cindex terminology
26213 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
26214 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
26215 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
26216 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
26217 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
26221 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
26222 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
26223 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
26224 not posting, and replying is not following up.
26228 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
26232 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
26237 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
26238 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
26239 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
26240 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
26241 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
26242 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
26243 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
26244 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
26245 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
26248 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
26249 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
26250 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
26251 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
26252 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
26253 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
26255 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
26256 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
26257 access the articles.
26259 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
26260 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
26261 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
26266 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
26267 default, way of getting news.
26271 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
26272 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
26277 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
26278 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
26282 A message that has been posted as news.
26285 @cindex mail message
26286 A message that has been mailed.
26290 A mail message or news article
26294 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
26299 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
26304 A line from the head of an article.
26308 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
26309 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
26311 @item @acronym{NOV}
26312 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
26313 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
26314 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
26315 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
26316 normal @sc{head} format.
26320 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
26321 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
26322 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
26323 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
26324 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
26325 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
26327 @item killed groups
26328 @cindex killed groups
26329 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
26330 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
26332 @item zombie groups
26333 @cindex zombie groups
26334 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
26337 @cindex active file
26338 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
26339 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
26340 is rather large, as you might surmise.
26343 @cindex bogus groups
26344 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
26345 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
26346 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
26349 @cindex activating groups
26350 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
26351 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
26352 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
26356 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
26358 @item select method
26359 @cindex select method
26360 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
26363 @item virtual server
26364 @cindex virtual server
26365 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
26366 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
26367 whole is a virtual server.
26371 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
26372 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
26375 @item ephemeral groups
26376 @cindex ephemeral groups
26377 @cindex temporary groups
26378 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
26379 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
26380 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
26383 @cindex solid groups
26384 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
26385 group buffer are solid groups.
26387 @item sparse articles
26388 @cindex sparse articles
26389 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
26390 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
26394 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
26395 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
26399 @cindex thread root
26400 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
26401 articles in the thread.
26405 An article that has responses.
26409 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
26413 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
26414 specified by RFC 1153.
26417 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
26418 @cindex mail sorting
26419 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
26420 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
26421 incorrectly called mail filtering.
26427 @node Customization
26428 @section Customization
26429 @cindex general customization
26431 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
26432 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
26433 for some quite common situations.
26436 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
26437 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
26438 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
26439 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
26443 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
26444 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
26446 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
26447 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
26448 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
26452 @item gnus-read-active-file
26453 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
26454 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
26455 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26456 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
26457 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
26459 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
26460 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
26461 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
26462 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
26466 @node Slow Terminal Connection
26467 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
26469 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
26470 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
26471 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
26475 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
26476 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
26477 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
26478 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
26479 horizontal and vertical recentering.
26481 @item gnus-visible-headers
26482 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
26483 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
26484 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
26485 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
26487 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
26489 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
26490 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
26491 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
26494 @item gnus-use-full-window
26495 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
26496 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
26497 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
26498 want to read them anyway.
26500 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
26501 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
26505 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
26506 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
26507 lines, which might save some time.
26511 @node Little Disk Space
26512 @subsection Little Disk Space
26515 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
26516 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
26520 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
26521 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
26522 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26523 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26526 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
26527 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
26528 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26529 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26532 @item gnus-save-killed-list
26533 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
26534 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
26535 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
26536 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
26542 @subsection Slow Machine
26543 @cindex slow machine
26545 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
26546 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
26548 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26549 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
26551 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
26552 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
26553 summary buffer faster.
26555 Gnus uses the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program for
26556 decoding an @code{X-Face} header normally in Emacs. If you feel it is
26557 slow, set @code{uncompface-use-external} to @code{t}. @xref{X-Face}.
26561 @node Troubleshooting
26562 @section Troubleshooting
26563 @cindex troubleshooting
26565 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
26573 Make sure your computer is switched on.
26576 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
26577 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
26581 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
26582 like @samp{T-gnus 6.17.* (based on Gnus v5.10.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
26583 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old
26584 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
26587 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
26588 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
26591 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
26592 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
26593 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
26594 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
26595 something like that.
26598 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
26601 @cindex reporting bugs
26603 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26605 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
26606 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
26607 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
26608 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
26610 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
26611 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
26612 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
26613 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
26616 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
26617 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
26618 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
26619 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
26620 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
26621 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
26623 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
26624 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
26625 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
26629 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
26630 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
26633 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
26634 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
26635 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
26636 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
26637 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
26638 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
26639 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
26640 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
26641 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
26642 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
26643 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
26644 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
26645 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
26646 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
26651 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
26652 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
26653 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
26654 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
26655 helps isolating the real problem areas).
26657 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
26658 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
26659 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
26660 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
26661 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
26662 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
26663 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
26664 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
26665 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
26666 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
26667 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
26668 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
26669 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
26672 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
26673 @cindex ding mailing list
26674 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
26675 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
26676 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
26677 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
26681 @node Gnus Reference Guide
26682 @section Gnus Reference Guide
26684 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
26685 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
26686 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
26687 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
26690 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
26691 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
26692 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
26693 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
26694 and general methods of operation.
26697 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
26698 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
26699 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
26700 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
26701 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
26702 * Group Info:: The group info format.
26703 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
26704 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
26705 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
26709 @node Gnus Utility Functions
26710 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
26711 @cindex Gnus utility functions
26712 @cindex utility functions
26714 @cindex internal variables
26716 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
26717 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
26718 Below is a list of the most common ones.
26722 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
26723 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
26724 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
26726 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
26727 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
26728 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
26730 @item gnus-group-real-name
26731 @findex gnus-group-real-name
26732 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
26735 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
26736 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
26737 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
26738 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
26740 @item gnus-get-info
26741 @findex gnus-get-info
26742 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
26744 @item gnus-group-unread
26745 @findex gnus-group-unread
26746 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
26750 @findex gnus-active
26751 The active entry for @var{group}.
26753 @item gnus-set-active
26754 @findex gnus-set-active
26755 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
26757 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26758 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26759 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
26762 @item gnus-continuum-version
26763 @findex gnus-continuum-version
26764 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
26765 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
26768 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
26769 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
26770 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
26772 @item gnus-news-group-p
26773 @findex gnus-news-group-p
26774 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
26776 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26777 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26778 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
26780 @item gnus-server-to-method
26781 @findex gnus-server-to-method
26782 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
26784 @item gnus-server-equal
26785 @findex gnus-server-equal
26786 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
26788 @item gnus-group-native-p
26789 @findex gnus-group-native-p
26790 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
26792 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
26793 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
26794 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
26796 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
26797 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
26798 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
26800 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
26801 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
26802 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
26803 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
26805 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
26806 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
26807 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
26809 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
26810 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
26811 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
26813 @item gnus-check-backend-function
26814 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
26815 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
26816 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
26819 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
26823 @item gnus-read-method
26824 @findex gnus-read-method
26825 Prompts the user for a select method.
26830 @node Back End Interface
26831 @subsection Back End Interface
26833 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
26834 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
26835 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
26836 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
26837 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
26838 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
26840 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
26841 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
26842 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
26843 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
26844 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
26845 been opened, the function should fail.
26847 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
26848 name. Take this example:
26852 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
26853 (nntp-port-number 4324))
26856 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
26857 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
26859 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
26860 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
26861 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
26863 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
26864 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
26865 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
26867 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
26868 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
26869 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
26870 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
26871 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
26872 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
26875 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
26876 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
26877 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
26878 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
26881 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
26882 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
26883 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
26884 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
26885 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
26886 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
26887 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
26888 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
26889 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
26890 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
26892 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
26893 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
26894 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
26895 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
26896 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
26897 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
26898 of numbers as long as possible.
26900 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
26901 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
26902 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
26904 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
26907 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
26910 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
26911 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
26912 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
26913 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
26914 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
26915 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
26919 @node Required Back End Functions
26920 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
26924 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
26926 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
26927 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
26928 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
26929 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
26931 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
26932 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
26933 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
26934 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
26936 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
26937 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
26938 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
26939 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
26940 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
26941 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
26942 number, do maximum fetches.
26944 Here's an example HEAD:
26947 221 1056 Article retrieved.
26948 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
26949 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
26950 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
26951 Subject: Re: Something very droll
26952 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
26953 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
26955 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
26956 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
26957 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
26961 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
26962 these in the data buffer.
26964 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
26968 head = error / valid-head
26969 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
26970 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
26971 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
26972 header = <text> eol
26976 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
26978 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
26979 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
26983 nov-buffer = *nov-line
26984 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
26985 field = <text except TAB>
26988 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
26992 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
26994 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
26995 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
26997 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
26998 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
26999 server. In fact, it should do so.
27001 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
27002 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
27005 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
27007 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
27008 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
27011 There should be no data returned.
27014 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
27016 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
27017 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
27018 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
27019 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
27021 There should be no data returned.
27024 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
27026 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
27027 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
27028 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
27029 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
27031 There should be no data returned.
27034 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
27036 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
27038 There should be no data returned.
27041 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
27043 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
27044 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
27045 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
27046 it would be nice if that were possible.
27048 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
27049 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
27050 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
27051 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
27052 into its article buffer.
27054 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
27055 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
27056 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
27057 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
27058 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
27059 on successful article retrieval.
27062 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
27064 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
27065 making @var{group} the current group.
27067 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
27070 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
27073 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
27076 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
27077 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
27078 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
27079 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
27080 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
27081 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
27082 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
27083 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
27084 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
27088 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
27089 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
27090 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
27094 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27096 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
27097 a no-op on most back ends.
27099 There should be no data returned.
27102 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
27104 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
27107 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
27110 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
27111 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
27114 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
27115 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
27116 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
27117 and the highest as 0.
27120 active-file = *active-line
27121 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
27123 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
27126 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
27127 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
27128 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
27131 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
27133 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
27134 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
27135 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
27136 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
27137 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
27138 clear if the posting could not be completed.
27140 There should be no result data from this function.
27145 @node Optional Back End Functions
27146 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
27150 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
27152 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
27153 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
27154 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
27156 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
27157 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
27158 former is in the same format as the data from
27159 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
27160 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
27163 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
27167 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
27169 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
27170 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
27171 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
27172 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
27173 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
27175 There should be no result data from this function.
27178 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
27180 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
27181 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
27182 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
27183 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
27184 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
27185 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
27186 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
27187 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
27189 There should be no result data from this function.
27192 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
27194 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
27195 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
27196 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
27197 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
27198 propagate the mark information to the server.
27200 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
27203 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
27206 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
27207 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
27208 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
27209 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
27210 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
27211 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
27212 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
27213 possible, not limit itself to these.
27215 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
27216 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
27217 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
27218 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
27220 An example action list:
27223 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
27224 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
27225 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
27228 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
27229 mark on (currently not used for anything).
27231 There should be no result data from this function.
27233 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
27235 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
27236 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
27237 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
27238 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
27239 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
27241 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
27242 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
27243 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
27246 There should be no result data from this function.
27249 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
27251 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
27252 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
27253 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
27254 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
27255 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
27256 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
27257 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
27258 local if that's practical.
27260 There should be no result data from this function.
27263 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
27265 The result data from this function should be a description of
27269 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
27271 description = <text>
27274 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
27276 The result data from this function should be the description of all
27277 groups available on the server.
27280 description-buffer = *description-line
27284 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
27286 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
27287 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
27288 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
27289 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
27290 in the active buffer format.
27292 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
27293 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
27294 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
27295 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
27296 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
27297 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
27298 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
27301 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27303 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
27305 There should be no return data.
27308 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
27310 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
27311 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
27312 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
27313 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
27314 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
27317 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
27320 There should be no result data returned.
27323 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
27325 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
27326 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
27328 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
27329 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
27330 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
27331 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
27332 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
27333 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
27335 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
27336 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
27339 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27340 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27342 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
27343 article for that group.
27345 There should be no data returned.
27348 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
27350 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
27351 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
27352 this function in short order.
27354 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27355 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27357 There should be no data returned.
27360 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
27362 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
27363 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
27365 There should be no data returned.
27368 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
27370 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
27371 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
27372 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
27374 There should be no data returned.
27377 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
27379 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
27380 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
27382 There should be no data returned.
27387 @node Error Messaging
27388 @subsubsection Error Messaging
27390 @findex nnheader-report
27391 @findex nnheader-get-report
27392 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
27393 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
27394 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
27395 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
27396 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
27397 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
27400 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
27402 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
27405 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
27406 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
27407 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
27408 takes one argument---the server symbol.
27410 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
27411 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
27412 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
27415 @node Writing New Back Ends
27416 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
27418 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
27419 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
27420 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
27421 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
27422 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
27425 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
27426 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
27427 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
27429 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
27430 package called @code{nnoo}.
27432 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
27433 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
27439 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
27440 parameters. For instance:
27443 (nnoo-declare nndir
27447 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
27448 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
27451 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
27452 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
27453 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
27455 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
27456 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
27457 a function in those back ends.
27460 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27461 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27462 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27465 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
27466 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
27467 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
27469 @item nnoo-define-basics
27470 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
27474 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27478 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
27479 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
27480 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
27482 @item nnoo-map-functions
27483 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
27484 functions from the parent back ends.
27487 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27488 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27489 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
27492 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
27493 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
27494 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
27495 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
27498 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
27499 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
27500 haven't already been defined.
27506 nnmh-request-newgroups)
27510 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
27511 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
27512 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
27517 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
27520 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
27521 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
27525 (require 'nnheader)
27529 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
27531 (nnoo-declare nndir
27534 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27535 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27536 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27538 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
27539 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
27542 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
27544 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
27545 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
27546 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
27548 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
27549 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
27551 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
27553 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27555 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
27556 (setq nndir-directory
27557 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
27559 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
27560 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
27561 (push `(nndir-current-group
27562 ,(file-name-nondirectory
27563 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27565 (push `(nndir-top-directory
27566 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27568 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
27570 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27571 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27572 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27573 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
27574 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
27578 nnmh-status-message
27580 nnmh-request-newgroups))
27586 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27587 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27589 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
27590 @findex gnus-declare-backend
27591 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
27592 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
27593 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
27595 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
27596 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
27601 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
27604 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
27606 The abilities can be:
27610 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
27612 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
27614 This back end supports both mail and news.
27616 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
27619 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
27620 articles and groups.
27622 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
27623 true for almost all back ends.
27624 @item prompt-address
27625 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
27626 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
27627 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
27631 @node Mail-like Back Ends
27632 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
27634 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
27635 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
27636 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
27637 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
27640 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
27641 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
27642 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
27645 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
27646 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
27649 This function takes four parameters.
27653 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
27656 @item exit-function
27657 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
27659 @item temp-directory
27660 Where the temporary files should be stored.
27663 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
27664 performed for one group only.
27667 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
27668 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
27669 find the article number assigned to this article.
27671 The function also uses the following variables:
27672 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
27673 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
27674 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
27675 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
27679 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
27680 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
27684 @node Score File Syntax
27685 @subsection Score File Syntax
27687 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
27688 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
27689 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
27691 Here's a typical score file:
27695 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
27702 BNF definition of a score file:
27705 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
27706 element = rule / atom
27707 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
27708 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
27709 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
27710 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
27712 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
27713 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
27714 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
27715 date-header = "date"
27716 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27717 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27718 score = "nil" / <integer>
27719 date = "nil" / <natural number>
27720 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
27721 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
27722 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
27723 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
27724 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27725 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27726 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
27727 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27728 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
27729 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
27730 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
27731 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
27732 exclude-files / read-only / touched
27733 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
27734 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
27735 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
27736 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
27737 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
27738 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
27739 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
27740 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
27741 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
27742 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
27743 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
27744 eval = "eval" space <form>
27745 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
27748 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
27751 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
27752 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
27753 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
27754 one looong line, then that's ok.
27756 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
27757 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27761 @subsection Headers
27763 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
27764 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
27765 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
27766 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
27768 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
27769 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
27770 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
27771 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
27772 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
27773 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
27774 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
27776 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
27777 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
27778 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
27779 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
27780 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
27782 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
27783 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
27789 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
27790 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
27792 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
27793 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
27794 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
27795 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
27797 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
27801 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
27804 is transformed into
27807 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
27810 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
27811 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
27814 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
27817 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
27818 is slightly tricky:
27821 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
27827 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
27830 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
27836 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
27843 and is equal to the previous range.
27845 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
27846 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
27847 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
27851 range = simple-range / normal-range
27852 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
27853 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
27854 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
27855 number *[ " " contents ]
27858 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
27859 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
27860 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
27861 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
27862 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
27867 @subsection Group Info
27869 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
27870 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
27871 describes the group.
27873 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
27874 second is a more complex one:
27877 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
27879 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
27880 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
27882 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
27885 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
27886 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
27887 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
27888 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
27889 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
27890 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
27891 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
27892 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
27893 this section is about.
27895 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
27896 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
27897 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
27899 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
27902 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
27903 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
27904 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27905 group = quote <string> quote
27906 ralevel = rank / level
27907 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
27908 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
27909 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
27911 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
27912 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
27913 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
27914 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
27917 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
27918 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
27921 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
27922 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
27925 @item gnus-info-group
27926 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
27927 @findex gnus-info-group
27928 @findex gnus-info-set-group
27929 Get/set the group name.
27931 @item gnus-info-rank
27932 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
27933 @findex gnus-info-rank
27934 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
27935 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
27937 @item gnus-info-level
27938 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
27939 @findex gnus-info-level
27940 @findex gnus-info-set-level
27941 Get/set the group level.
27943 @item gnus-info-score
27944 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
27945 @findex gnus-info-score
27946 @findex gnus-info-set-score
27947 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
27949 @item gnus-info-read
27950 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
27951 @findex gnus-info-read
27952 @findex gnus-info-set-read
27953 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
27955 @item gnus-info-marks
27956 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
27957 @findex gnus-info-marks
27958 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
27959 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
27961 @item gnus-info-method
27962 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
27963 @findex gnus-info-method
27964 @findex gnus-info-set-method
27965 Get/set the group select method.
27967 @item gnus-info-params
27968 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
27969 @findex gnus-info-params
27970 @findex gnus-info-set-params
27971 Get/set the group parameters.
27974 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
27975 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
27977 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
27978 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
27979 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
27980 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
27983 @node Extended Interactive
27984 @subsection Extended Interactive
27985 @cindex interactive
27986 @findex gnus-interactive
27988 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
27989 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
27990 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
27993 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
27994 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
27999 The best thing to do would have been to implement
28000 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
28001 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
28002 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
28003 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
28004 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
28005 @code{interactive}.
28007 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
28012 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
28013 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
28017 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
28018 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
28019 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
28022 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
28026 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
28030 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
28036 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
28037 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
28041 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
28042 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
28043 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
28045 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
28046 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
28047 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
28048 Gnus, that's very useful.
28050 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
28051 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
28052 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
28053 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
28054 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
28055 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
28056 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
28057 following function:
28060 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
28064 (,function ,@@args))
28068 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
28069 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
28070 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
28073 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
28074 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
28075 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
28077 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
28078 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
28079 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
28082 @node Various File Formats
28083 @subsection Various File Formats
28086 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
28087 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
28091 @node Active File Format
28092 @subsubsection Active File Format
28094 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
28095 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
28098 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
28101 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
28102 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
28103 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
28104 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
28105 no.general 1000 900 y
28108 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
28111 active = *group-line
28112 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
28113 group = <non-white-space string>
28115 high-number = <non-negative integer>
28116 low-number = <positive integer>
28117 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
28120 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
28121 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
28124 @node Newsgroups File Format
28125 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
28127 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
28128 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
28129 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
28132 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
28133 Here's the definition:
28137 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
28138 group = <non-white-space string>
28140 description = <string>
28145 @node Emacs for Heathens
28146 @section Emacs for Heathens
28148 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
28149 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
28150 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
28151 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
28152 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
28153 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
28154 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
28158 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
28159 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
28164 @subsection Keystrokes
28168 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
28171 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
28174 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
28175 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
28176 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
28177 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
28178 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
28179 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
28181 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
28182 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
28183 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
28184 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
28185 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
28186 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
28187 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
28189 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
28190 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
28191 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
28192 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
28193 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
28194 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
28195 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
28197 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
28198 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
28199 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
28200 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
28201 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
28207 @subsection Emacs Lisp
28209 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
28210 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
28211 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
28212 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
28214 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
28215 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
28216 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
28217 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
28218 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
28219 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
28220 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
28223 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
28224 write the following:
28227 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
28230 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
28231 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
28232 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
28235 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
28236 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
28237 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
28238 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
28239 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
28241 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
28242 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
28243 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
28247 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
28251 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
28254 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
28255 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
28258 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
28261 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
28262 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
28265 @include gnus-faq.texi
28285 @c Local Variables:
28287 @c coding: iso-8859-1